3d Animation An Art Or A Technical Skill
As mankind has made progress, its artistic tastes have also found new and ingenious means to express itself. Nowadays, the evolution of art has entered the realms of computers and new technology, as animation was invented as a new form of art. This has been a serious change from the ordinary beginnings which can be traced back to the ancient cave paintings, but nevertheless, it has presented us with exciting opportunities.
An application of 3D Computer Graphics, 3D Animation is the art of creating moving images with a three dimensional photo realism on a 2 dimensional screen. 3D Animation holds its distinction from 2D animation due to its depiction of amazingly realistic animated pictures. 3D Computer Animation is used in motion pictures, computer games, architecture, simulations, models, special effects and in whatever way it can be used to portray a message or an idea.
The process of executing 3D Animation involves 3D modeling, texturing, 3 Dimensional animation and rendering. 3D Modeling is the creation of an object into digital 3D space through special software functions. Texturing is the next step and it gives meaning to the Three Dimensional models produced during the first stage by setting physical shading parameters of Three Dimensional models. Texturing can be compared to an artist painting on a sculpture to display more details. Texturing gives the shape to the scenario as it would appear in the finished version.
During the animation stage of the film production process, the ideas remain the same as have been used in the traditional version. 3D Animation is to a great extent based on two main techniques: Motion Capture and Key-framing. Key-framing, like traditional animation, is also based on the slight gradual changes to create an optical illusion of motion, by determining two or more key positions representing a unit of animation. The single distinction is that the in-betweens in this case are computed automatically and filled in by the computer. Before it was done by the animation assistant who by hand was drawing all the character poses in between the key frames. That’s why all these frames were called in-betweens.
Motion Capture is another one of the advanced animation forms, the use of which is not exclusive to animation. It brings life to characters in animations by translating the recorded movements of real actors or models into the 3D Animation. Three Dimensional Animations also require a much higher frame rate to support its photorealism and effectiveness, which exceeds 24 frames per second, which is used for conventional animation.
Computer Animation is a challenging and exciting profession. Before you begin some serious professional work, it is always helpful to study in specialized institutes that offer animation courses. You should focus on schools like Academy of Digital Animation and Gnomon School of Visual Arts, to really have a substantial foundation to your career. However, attending shallow courses will do you no good as this way you will only learn to work with different software, which is not enough to become a good 3 Dimensional Animator.
Besides formal education, you should be focusing on developing and refining some skills to make your mark as an animator. You should be well versed with key animation concepts and skills like constructing Avars, or Animation Variables, which are the building blocks of animated characters.
You must have and idea of the color theory and should be able to work with colors to an effective end. Usually an arts degree will even help you in such cause. You should also have an comprehension of creating materials, lighting and rendering, which are prerequisite for the realism of your animation. You should have the creativity of an artist, an eye for detail and a taste for story-telling.
How can 3D Animation be of some practical use to a web page designer, who does not have the experience and knowledge on how to create 3d animations? Web Designers can create animations on quite a decent level through a number of available software for this purpose. 3ds max, Motion Builder, XSI, Messiah Studio and Luxology Modo are a few names of professional 3D animation programs, but these are mostly utilized by experienced animators. It is a good idea to research their features by checking their reviews out on different web sites and choose which one suits you better. There are other software for website designers and general purpose animation, such as Anim8or, Xara 3D and Poser, which are much simple to use.
If you prefer to use 3D animation as the content of your website, you could settle for software with simple features and an easy and accessible user interface. 3D Animations have become an effective communication tool of our century and can be a potential source of good traffic for web designers as computer software have brought this technology into their access. This technology allows you to explore new horizons on whatever front it can be utilized. It is up to you to make the most of it.
