Types of Animation with movies examples

Hi all! Bonjour!!

In the last posts, I have been sharing so many things on animation. In this post, I will be sharing about types of animation.

Do you guys know that there are many types of animation?

Let me share with you guys some of them. 

1. 2D Animation:

This 2D animation show movements of flat characters and object in a two-dimensional world without depth.

Example Movie: "The Lion King" (1994) - This Disney classic uses traditional hand-drawn animation techniques and it's in 2D (Figure 1).

Figure 1: The Lion King (1994).

2. 3D animation:

This 3D animation also known as Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI). This animation type show characters and objects in 3D which can be rotate 360 degrees.

Example Movie: "Toy Story" (1995) - This animation film was the first feature-length movie entirely created using CGI (Figure 2) and it is produced by Pixar Animation Studio. 

Figure 2: Toy Story (1995).

3. Traditional Animation:

This traditional animation also known as cel animation. This involves creating frames by hand-drawing each individual image and played in rapid succession to create the illusion of movement.

Example Movie: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). It was the first feature length film to be produced using cel animation. A cel (or celluloid) is a transparent sheet used. Characters were hand-drawn on that transparent sheet and superimposed on a fixed background image to produce an animation (Figure 3).

Figure 3: "Snow White and the seven Dwarfs" animation in process.

4. Stop Motion Animation:

Stop motion animation involves each frame is captured separately, and played in sequence to creates the illusion of movement. This can be done using various materials, such as objects like toys, puppets, fruits or clay (which often called Claymation).

Example Movie: "Coraline" (2009) - This film was using puppets, other objects and amazing set design to form a stop motion animation (Figure 4) and it is directed by Henry Selick.

Figure 4: Coraline (2009) behind the scenes.

5. Motion Graphics:

Motion graphics is simply mean movement of visual elements, such as typography, shapes, icons, logos, and any graphic designs. The movements usually in a form of transitions, transformations, and ideal timing. It is used to convey information, enhance storytelling, or create more attractive visually compositions.

Example Movie: "Guardians of the Galaxy" (2014). This film incorporates motion graphics into its opening credits sequence to introduce the characters and establish the film's retro-futuristic style and the playful feeling (Figure 5). This Marvel studio film was directed by James Gunn.

Figure 5: Guardian of the Galaxy (2014) opening credits.

6. In-Game Animation:

In-game animation involves the actions and movement of characters, objects and environments in real-time as the player, that occurs during gameplay within a video game. 

Example Game: "Uncharted" series: The animation in this game brings the character named Nathan Drake to life by including realistic movements during his exploration, climbing, running, and lots of cinematic moments, making the game more immersive to players (Figure 6). This game was developed by Naughty Dog.

Figure 6: One of the scenes in Uncharted.

7. Cutscenes Animation:

This cutscenes animation also called the event scene, in-game cinematic or in-game movie, where anytime within the game, they will add in the non-interactive backstories and context to achieve the objectives of the game.

Example Game: "The Last of Us" series. In this game, the cutscenes with gripping narrative feature character animations, facial expressions, and cinematography to convey emotions and to drive the story forward (Figure 7). This game also developed by Naughty Dog.

Figure 7: One of the scenes of the cutscenes in The Last of Us

8. Freeform Animation:

This freeform animation gives no restrictions and allows animators to show their ultimate creativity, spontaneity and express their vision through shapes, movements, colours and other visual elements.

Example Movie: Fantasia - The Nutcracker Suite (1940). This Walt Disney's film "Fantasia" has eight animated segments, each segment set with classical music which one of it is The Nutcracker Suite (Figure 8). This segment has freeform and experimental animation.

Figure 8: The Nutcracker suite part 1 - fairies dancing

9. Motion Capture Animation:

Motion capture animation involves recording the movements of real actors and then transferred onto digital characters, which gives them the realistic motion. 

Example Movie: Avatar (2009) - This film combines live-action performances with motion capture technology (Figure 9). It is directed by James Cameron.

Figure 9: Motion capture used in Avatar.

10. Cutout Animation:

Cutout animation involves the motion of cut-out characters or objects that moved according to each wanted scene and then photographed. This cut-out is made from materials like paper, cardboard, or even fabric. 

Example Movie: The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926). This is an early example of cutout animation, where these cutouts are used to tell a visual story (Figure 10).

Figure 10: Cut-out silhouette used in The Adventure of Prince Achmed. 

Above are some of the examples of types of animation that we can see from different kinds of movies. 

Thats all for this post, will see you guys again in the next post. Au revoir!

Love, Peach💕