The word animation has been derived from a Latin word ‘anima’ which means soul. The process of animating objects means when you put life into the characters. The art of making the characters move and perform any action is a creative process. It is a unique blend of technical knowledge and creative inspiration. In other words, you need to have a sound knowledge of graphics to create desirable characters. You need to link the series of drawings and simulate their movements. These drawings create an illusion of motion by swiftly displaying two-dimensional or three-dimensional images.

If you have opted for this career path, you need an imaginative and creative mind. An aspirant should have a flair for sketching and drawing. The field of animation does not entirely require technical bent of mind. It also requires a creative bent of mind of a person. The process involves a few simple steps. An aspirant who is good at story building can create the concept first. In story building step, a person can decide the main concept or the story. Then you can create a Story Board which includes each and every scene of the story line. These scenes are arranged in a sequence. Character sketching is another step in which the animator creates characters. Modeling, rigging, character and mechanical animation are the steps followed by the character sketching. Voice recording is also the part of an animated film. You record the voice and give ‘Voice Over’ to the characters. Then you have the Digital Editing step that involves the step of editing the complete film with the help of editing software. For this step, you should have sound knowledge of the latest editing tools available in the market and their features.

A person requires using animated films for entertainment purposes. Film industry creates animated movies. In the modern business, you need to make multimedia presentations for presenting or proposing business ideas or concepts. Advertising, sales and marketing field require 2d or 3d computer animation for the purpose of promotion of business. Medical, IT and Defense Personnel require using this form of presentation. This field is fast mushrooming and the career has a lot of prospects to explore.

The use of computers is very compulsory and mandatory in all of the fields of media. Whether you talk about audio-video film production or journalism, some ad agency or content writing it is required in every field. Another important area in which the use of computers is very important is the Graphic Designing and Animation. It also requires the computers as all the work is totally computer based. The animation is required in mostly all of the films and TV shows. The opportunities are also very much in this area. The animation sector has a great scope in working. Many students has opted this animation field as their serious career track in life. There are many advertising agencies also who are looking forward for these kinds of professionals.

They have to prepare ad films which are print as well as electronic. For that they need aspiring professionals who can work for them as per the need and taste of their client. In the film industry also, there is a new trend of animated movies. Films like Hanuman, Avatar, Dashaavtra; Ghatothkach etc were very liked and appreciated by the people. It is just due to the increased trend of animation in the media industry.

There are also many institutes who are offering various different courses to the students. These courses vary from audio-video post production, to graphics and animation. Rest it all depends upon the taste and interest of the student. As the media industry is expanding its roots and stems in the Indian media market so more and more TV channels and production houses are coming. Many Ad Agencies are also coming into existence as the trend for animation and film making with never end and will always multiply.

Up
Why not start with Pixar. In the last years their films have dominated this category and there have been rumblings that some of their films should in fact compete with life action films for Best Picture of the year. Their films are that good. Winners in the past few years have included The Incredibles, Finding Nemo and Wall-E.

This year, their film Up has garnered the highest praise from critics being called the best animated film since, well…since Wall-e. An old widower sets out to achieve his wife’s lifelong dreams by floating his house with thousands of balloons and travelling to South America.

Ponyo
Hayao Miyazaki is one of the greatest and most successful film makers in Japan’s history. Like Pixar, Miyazaki’s movies are constantly on lists for the best films of the year, each and every year and if you come across a list of the top 10 animated films of all time chances are there will be more than one of his films represented. Miyazaki has won only once before in this category for the masterpiece, Spirited Away. This year his retelling of Hans Christian Anderson’s The Little Mermaid garnered praise from all circles, even if not quite living up to his previous best.

Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs
Adapted from a children’s book with the same bizarre name this film is about honouring the strange and unique facets of humanity and how human ingenuity has the opportunity to solve seemingly impossible problems. At least that’s my take on it. Also a lot of big food falls from the sky. Highly regarded by most critics the film was produced by Sony Pictures Animation who have had previous nominees including Surf’s Up.

Coraline
Adapted from a book by Neil Gaiman this is a stop motion animated film produced by Laika films and directed by Henry Selick. Coraline is the story of a young girl who discovers an alternate reality where she finds another set of parents who at first seem to be everything she has ever wished for. As this is a rather gothic dark piece you can imagine things don’t stay that way. The film was highly regarded by critics not only for its story but the beauty of the animation technique.

Princess And The Frog
Surely this will be the academy’s sentimental favourite. Disney Animation Studio’s first 2D animated film in six years and their first since amalgamating with Pixar, garnered praise from critics worldwide. A twist on the traditional tale where a young princess kisses a frog who turns out to be a prince under a curse, this film is notable as its protagonist, Tiana, is Disney’s first African-American princess character. Given the studio’s salient place in animation they have never won the Oscar for best animated film.

It has been a rich year for animated feature films in 2009 and other possible films in contention include The Fantastic Mr Fox with outside chances from Astro Boy and Monsters vs. Aliens.

Motion control is considered a major task in animating objects. Interactive organization and animation sample are now allowed using worked out power which the past systems dont have. Animators before are not even artists but more of an expert when it comes to computers. Some systems used for scripting are created to be used as high level language of computers. In scripting systems, programs are written by the animator to manipulate the cartoon. By programming complex language, some high level data are determined like defining the unique rules for the animation of the model objects.

In todays systems, many different kinds of motion manipulation are now being permitted. A good way to determine the animation method used is by concept level in every manipulating motion done in the technique. A system is classified as low-level when the artist is obliged to accurately determine every movement detail, while a system is considered to be high-level when the animator is allowed to utilize ways that do not have any pictorial representations. One example is when moving a simple object like a cylinder; it has to have eight numbers for every frame. Having a more composite object will require having more numbers for every frame like a fish. An object like a fish would have more than twenty numbers per frame. So what more if you are going to animate a group of fish. In computer animation, Hierarchy Organization is needed to define high level manipulation structure and then made to be more exact manipulation structure. Just like in high level computer language, that has more complicated structure manipulation that are required to be made into low level structures.

There are two classifications of 3D packages. One is the non-commercial source or what is called an open-source. Open sources means that the sources can be downloaded for free. One commercial program under the non-commercial source is called Blender. It is a free program for cartooning, modeling, texture quality, and rendering. Blender offers features that are comparable to high-level and middle range 3D animation. Blender also has advanced features. It can export and import different file formats. Blender is the only 3D package that is known for its flexibility. It can scale upwards to be used for complex computer units but it can also be scaled down to be used for handheld computers. It has a unique border that is very difficult to study. It can be made more efficient once you get familiar with it and it also offers a smooth workflow.

Another classification of 3D package is the commercial source. These sources are sold depending on the quality and features of the package. The prices vary from the cheapest to the most expensive packages. One program under the commercial source is the 3D Max, also known as the 3D Studio Max. When it comes to the video game industry, this program is the most popular software available. 3D Max can be used for visualization of architectural designs since it is compatible with AutoCAD. Cinema 4D is another package that is cheaper than the other software because of the simplicity of its configuration. It is known to be an artist-friendly software. It avoids the complex nature of other technical packages. It also has a low cost because of the basic functions of its structure. Additionally, Form-Z is a three dimensional modeler. It is designed mainly for modeling but it can also perform some rendering features. Most of the users of form-Z are architects and interior designers.

There is a lot of software available now, but you should remember that software is only a temporary tool for learning and developing your skills for animation. Once you focus on one software program, you will be limited to that program. To be an effective animator, you should be skillful in designing and drawing. Thus, you should broaden your knowledge and learn about other programs which will be helpful for you.