adminCOMPUTER ANIMATION
Computer animation is the process of creating digital engineered images of objects and scenes using computer technology. Computer animation adds the dimension of time to the graphic element by generating images and models of objects and scenes to simulate real world activity, creating in the process a moving and dynamic virtual world.
Computer animation falls into three broad categories; key framing, motion capture and simulation.
Key framing requires that the animator specify critical or key position for the objects on a scene and the computer will automatically fill in the missing frames by smoothly interpolating between those positions as well as update the scene.
Motion capture uses magnetic or vision based sensors to record the actions of a real world scene and object in three dimensions. This object may be human or animal or other objects in the scene are captured electronically using sensors and the data stored for use by the computer to animate the desired event or action.
Simulation uses the law of physics to generate motion of real world phenomenon such as rivers, air, fire or whatever known natural phenomenon or objects. Virtual objects such as humans or animals are usually represented as a collection of rigid body parts. However these models are only approximation of the real objects.
The computer animation production process involves the following; modeling, texturing and shading, rigging, animation, lightings, special effects and other post production process deemed necessary.
The first stage in the animation process is creating 3D models of the characters, objects and the environment or scene using appropriate 3D modeling software like Autodesk Maya or blender.
The next stage in the process which is texturing and shading involves adding surface details, colors and materials to the 3D models to achieve a realistic or stylized appearances. Then a skeleton system for the 3d model is created to enable movement and deformation. Then thereafter the key frame or motion capture or simulation or the combinations of these animation techniques are used to create the desired movements, performance and special effects. Thereafter a lighting scheme is setup for the scene to create the required mood, atmosphere and realism. Finally special effects like smoke, fire, water and explosions are created.
The other post production processes follows to perfect the desired qualities and standard of all aspect of the computer animation production process like rendering, composting, editing, sound design and music composition and others effect or processes deemed necessary to create the desired animation.
The hardware and software requirements for computer animation are extreme and very specialized. For hardware for instance, the minimum requirement for the processor, memory (RAM), graphics card or graphics processing unit (GPU), storage, and display and input devices differs greatly from the norm. for instance an animation personal computer will require a high performance processors with multiple cores (at least 4 to 6 cores), a RAM memory of at least 16GB or more, a graphics card of high performance graphic capabilities like NVidia GeForce or AMD Radeon pro or graphic card of at least 4GB of VRAM.
Fast access and large capacity storage is also desirable for animation. The display for accurate color representation and detail, especially those with high dynamic range and input devices 3D capabilities are preferred above others.
The software requirements are of necessity 64 bit operating systems and the animation software may be selected from a vast array of software which may include; Autodesk Maya or blender for modeling, sketch up, substance painter or Quixel for texturizing and shading, V-ray or Arnold for rendering, adobe after effects or nuke for composting, adobe premiere pro or avid media composer for video editing Davinci resolve and Baselight for color grading and color correction and others too numerous to mention.
The benefit of computer animation cannot be overemphasized; its use creates a highly realistic and immersive animation compared to the other methods. Its use enables the automation of tasks and processes thereby reducing production time and cost. Computer animation offers a wide range of creative possibilities and techniques and above all its use is not only cost effective but gives a better quality in terms of the overall goals of the animation picture production compared with traditional methods.
On the other hand the challenges of computer animation can be quite daunting due to the technical complexities involved in the production and the time and the highly skilled resource persons needed to complete an animation project. Also the cost implication of using high end technology may result in significant uptake time to master the art before use.
Computer animation finds widespread application in the following industries; film and television, video games, advertising and marketing, education and training, architecture and product design and engineering and research.
The future of computer animation will follow the trends and development in computer hardware and software industry. For instance, faster processor, improved graphic processing unit (GPU) capabilities and increased RAM memory of 64GB or more will improve greatly the system performance, reducing computer animation production time as well as improve the output quality. In terms of the future, advanced rendering engines will enable real time rendering thereby reducing drastically production time and cost. It will not be hard to predict that animation films like the lion king, superman, fantastic four and a host of other will be more realistic, immersive and captivating than the traditional movies that we will prefer above all computer animations as our main medium of entertainment.
SOURCES:
- The animator’s survival kit by Richard Williams.
- Computer animation by Rick Parent.
- Texturing and modeling: A procedural approach by David S. Ebert.
- 3D math primer for graphics and game programming by Fletcher Dunn and Ian Parberry.
- Character animation crash course by Eric Goldberg.
