Animation 2

Traditional Animation• Also called cel animation or hand-drawn animation.• Begins with a storyboard.• A preliminary soundtrack is recorded.• Penciled drawings are made by lead animators of keyframes• Pencil tests are prepared• Artists called in-betweeners draw the frames between the

keyframes.• The drawings are traced onto cels and painted.• Finally, they are photographed one by one in sequence

Little Nemo

1911 Winsor McCay produced an animation sequence using his comic strip character "Little Nemo” colorized by hand.

If you remember, McCay also produced “Gertie, the dinosaur”

Gertie

It was shown as a film in the theaters and also as a multi media event on stage with McCay interacting with the animated Gertie.

Felix the Cat

1920 FELIX THE CAT, the most popular character and series of this period, started as the Feline Follies from Sullivan's studio.

The merchandising of Felix's image for dolls, watches, etc was very successful and paved the way for the later merchandising of animated characters.

**intro, Mickey Mouse

Mickey Mouse

1928 STEAMBOAT WILLIE was the first successful sound animated film; it made Mickey an international star, and launched the Disney studio of today.

When Disney used sound, as a soundtrack & NOT a piano/organ score, for the first time in Steamboat Willie (1928), he gained an advantage over his competitors.

Mickey Mouse’s image is the most reproduced in the world. Over 7,500 items bear his likeness. Jesus is number two, and Elvis is number three.

Critics came to see in Mickey Mouse as blend of Charlie Chaplin in his championing of the underdog, Douglas Fairbanks in his rascally adventurous spirit, and Fred Astaire in his grace and freedom from gravity's laws.

Walt Disney

Walt Disney invented both Mickey Mouse and the multiplane camera. Disney was granted U.S patent for the "art on animation" camera on May 1, 1940.

Multiplane Camera

The multiplane used stacked planes of glass each painted with different elements of the animation. This allowed the animator to re-use the same background, foreground, or any elements not in motion, saving hours of labor. The exposure differences for each plane was calculated.

Storyboards

Disney's other innovations in animation technology were the use of a storyboard to review the story and the use of pencil sketches to review motion.

Betty BoopIn 1930 Betty Boop was first created as a dog character by Grim Natwick and appeared as the girl friend of another dog named Bimbo

Betty's figure was modeled after Mae West, a famous actress/icon of the 30’s.

Snow White, 1937

Produced by Disney, based on the German fairy tale by the brothers Grimm.

It was the FIRST full-length cel animated feature in motion picture history. It was also the first ever produced in color.

The “life-like” movements of Snow White are attributed to a very inventive feature known as rotoscoping.