Making the Animatic... An Analysis of 2D Animation

In order to create the final animatic, I decided to create each image using the technique I will be demonstrating, which should give the final piece a higher quality finish.

The first stage of my animatic entails the 2D animation sequence. It demonstrates how the final piece would have seen me draw the character by hand and pencil, and see the initial movements of the character examining his body.

Whilst drawing the character, it was relatively simple to edit; one disadvantage with drawing on paper though is that using an eraser doesn't always remove the pencil line completely, leaving a faint line in place. However if you draw over the top of it again the faint lines aren't very noticeable.

Despite this it was still enjoyable to draw, although the character design works best as a 3D model, it was still manageable to replicate it by hand. If I were to animate the whole sequence, it would have become repetitive since it would be required to redraw the whole character fresh onto every page, making up one frame. This would have been time consuming, which is ultimately why I decided to prioritise 3D animation.

Another, faster way to create hand drawn animation is on the computer; in the form of softwares such as Photoshop or Flash. I used Photoshop to draw the images in my storyboard, and ultimately found that it was a faster way to work; the lines themselves are clear and precise, with a variety of shapes and colours to choose from, it creates an easier way to achieve a good quality image. This proves that 3D animation isn't the only technique that has benefitted from the development in technology.

Despite it being the first method of animation to become established, I would say that it is not the best technique to use anymore. For the purposes of teaching, it is worth having the knowledge of how to use this method, since it is the most basic material that majority of people can use, whereas using stop motion or 3D animation requires further skills. 

A quote written in my dissertation agrees with this theory:

“Teaching software, and not the fundamental principles of animation, ultimately breeds a generation of technicians rather than artists.” (White, 2006, p.xviii Introduction). Written by Tony White in 'Animation, From Pencils to Pixels', ultimately states that if animation students were taught the principles of animation on 3D software rather than hand drawn, everybody would become more technical rather than artistic.

As a technique to use for filming it's a long and expensive process, so naturally it's no longer the number one option (unless you have money and a team to work with).