Animation Basics of 3D

There is a great demand for good quality 3D animators, this is because although animation itself is not very difficult to learn, it is the application of the learning which makes the big difference. Acquiring finesse and applying one's animation skills to create high quality and effective images is a quality that only come from dedicated practice.

3D Animation is primarily of two kinds -

1.Keyframe Animation and

2.Motion Capture

Keyframe animation is a very old technique. In fact it is so old that one can find examples of it which go as far back as the 1600 B.C. Surprised? You shouldn't be because keyframing refers to the simple technique of making a series of sketches of a character or object in which the position of the subject changes just a little in each successive frame. When this series of frames are displayed rapidly one after another the viewer gets the illusion that the subject is moving. Many readers of this article might have come across keyframe animation in the form of flip books. In 3D animation the process of making keyframes has been made a lot less tedious and quicker. Animators nowadays don't have to manually create all the frames required for an animation sequence. They only create a few selected keyframes, say the beginning, middle and end portions of a sequence and then let animation software fill in the rest of the frames.
Motion capture took some time getting adapted as the technology took longer to develop compared to keyframe animation. But now it is gradually becoming popular and is being used in filmmaking, as well as video games. The advantage of motion capture is that it is a much faster process compared to keyframing. In motion capture the subject is usually a human actor who is made to wear special suits that contain sensors which record their movements. The actor already has a virtual 3D counterpart in a computer. The data captured by the motion sensor suit is transferred to the 3D character which then moves accordingly. However there are some problems with motion capture. Firstly it is a very expensive technology and costs can run into many thousands of dollars. This is why those who learn motion capture generally use motion capture data from commercial motion capture libraries. The other drawback of the technology is that more often than not the results are not perfect and the animated sequences need to be worked upon by keyframe artists to make them appear real. This especially happens when the 3D model does not have a human form, like it generally occurs in animation films in which lead characters can be insects and animals, as well as objects.

Those who intend to build a career in the field of 3D animation should go beyond learning to use various software packages. It is more important for them to develop a deep understanding of motion, movement, and facial expressions of both humans and animals. Keen observation is an important quality for animators. They should observe and study life around and practice expressing their observations through sketches. They should not limit their education to only the field of animation but also study other arts like film, theatre and comic books. Classic 2D animations are a great way to begin learning 3D animation. The works of important animation artists of yesteryears like Walt Disney and Ken Anderson can still serve as a valuable educational resource for a 3D animator.