Animation:

How Inanimate Objects Come to Life

Animating has been around for a long time, and throughout this time it has evolved into levels where it can be done with anything. Animating has been one of the most important genres in cinematic history and has proven that fictional and nonliving things can come to life with this powerful tool, and it all comes down to only one limit: Imagination.

The first 2d animation can head back all the way to the 20th Century, when the first ever hand-drawn animation had been published. The man behind this animation was the French artist Émile Cohl, whose film would be known as ‘Phantasmagorie’. This on piece of animation is the beginning mark of a new era of original art. Hand-drawn animation became worldwide known thanks to Walt Disney, who made the company we know today: Disney. Disney made the short ‘Steamboat Willy’ and this lead to more and more openings for the next steps in evolution.

It may sound simple, but animating a 10-minute-long short can last weeks, if not, months, if not, years! Drawing many different characters, aligning them frame-by-frame and making their movements noticeable to spectators is a long and tedious process: erasing, redrawing, coloring, composing the soundtracks, and finally releasing the animation can be tough, but once the animator gets the hang of it, animating is just a simple task.

Apart from hand-drawn animation, there are different types such as computer animation (the most common one nowadays), and stop motion animation.

The main difference between hand-drawn animation and the 2 already mentioned is the number of dimensions used: 2d, and 3d. But there also more differences like the use of 3d models, statues, toys, and even everyday life objects. The main similarity between these three is the effort taken.

Even with these problems, animating can be a really good way to use your imagination and creativity and combine these two with an original film. Animating can also be a way to express one’s self: one’s feelings, thoughts, beliefs, among many other things. Animating can also be used for educational purposes. Using animated videos can really help students to comprehend a topic or issue, and students can also use this method to make presentations because it is an innovative alternative to bland, text-filled slideshows; and yet educational animations being presented by students, for students is a very rare task because it is time consuming and kind of boring, but overall it uses creativity and helps students to further develop their imagination.

In conclusion, animation is a new way of art: it can lead to entertainment, understanding, among other things. It can also be a form of communication because actions can hold a meaning much deeper than words, and it can also communicate ideas, thoughts, feelings, and school lessons only to mention a few.

Even with these very good ideas, animating is a complex, and time consuming task that requires a lot of patience, time, and effort to do successfully.

Animating can be fun. If used correctly, it can be possibly the mark of a new era of imagining.

 BY Angelo Martínez, Step 9