DRAWING MOVEMENT- PART A

The development of cel animation greatly simplified the animator's task.Working on transparent celluloid or acetate sheets called "cels" freed the animator from repeatedly drawing the same image and made it unnecessary to redraw background images. Separate elements of the drawingcould be placed on individual cels and then assembled in layers of two or three for the camera. For example, if one scene showed only a moving arm, the animator might draw the body on one cel and each progressive arm movement on additional cels.Then the various movements could be inserted on the same body visual in subsequent scenes. Cels also enabled the animator to include more detail in the characters and background, as one drawing could be used multiple times without recopying. As animated films have become longer and more elaborate, an assembly line of sorts has developed in the studios. Certain animators specialize in backgrounds, while others design and draw the extremes. "In-betweeners" then complete the numerous drawings that connect the two extremes. Other animators fill in the colors, clean up the drawings, and apply special effects such as fire, smoke, water, shadows and lighting. The boxes on the activity sheet represent frames in an animated film. In the first row, the beginning and ending "extremes" of an action are shown. It takes planning to get to the right position at the right time.Thought, as well as imagination, is required to make something move in a believable way.To illustrate the process, have your students use the middle five boxes on that page to take the action from its beginning to its end. Check that the midpoint of the movement occurs in the middle box. Next, in the second row, have your students complete the action shown in the first two boxes. Ask them to consider different ways of visualizing movement. For example, they might act out a possible sequence, or they might observe a similar action in real life. Have them change one element of the series and discuss how that change affects the outcome or the mood.Then have them add a special effect.