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Comics & Animation
Drawn Worlds
Comics and animation across America, Europe and Japan.
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Superman first appeared in which comic publication?
Animation, Frame by Frame
Animation is twelve to twenty-four decisions per second. These are the techniques that make them manageable.
About this topic
Animation is a problem of arithmetic before it is anything else. Film runs at twenty-four frames a second, and drawing every one of them by hand is not affordable, so animators hold each drawing for two frames and get away with it for most kinds of movement. Backgrounds are painted once and reused, with the moving parts on transparent sheets laid over the top — the practice that gave cel animation its name. On top of that scaffolding sits a body of craft knowledge about how to make a drawing look alive. Squash and stretch conveys weight. A walk cycle loops. Rotoscoping traces filmed footage when realism matters more than invention. The Disney animators eventually wrote their working rules down as twelve principles, and studios from Bristol to Tokyo have been adapting or arguing with them ever since.
Questions & answers
Animation, Frame by Frame: all 10 questions and answers
Every question in this quiz is listed below with its correct answer and the reasoning behind it. Play first if you would rather not see the answers — or read through as a study sheet.
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1In traditional animation, what is a cel?
- A A test reel shot before colouring
- B A transparent sheet the drawing is painted on and laid over a background Correct
- C A single finished frame of film
- D A card in the storyboard
Answer: B. A transparent sheet the drawing is painted on and laid over a background
Why: Using clear sheets meant one painted background could serve an entire scene. Studios replaced the process with digital ink and paint during the 1990s.
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2Rotoscoping is the technique of doing what?
- A Tracing animation over filmed live-action footage Correct
- B Rotating a camera around a physical model
- C Painting directly onto the film stock
- D Shooting artwork on a turntable
Answer: A. Tracing animation over filmed live-action footage
Why: Max Fleischer patented it in 1917 and used it on his Koko the Clown shorts. Films as far apart as Gulliver's Travels and A Scanner Darkly have relied on it.
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3Which studio makes the Wallace and Gromit films?
- A Laika
- B Cartoon Saloon
- C Illumination
- D Aardman Correct
Answer: D. Aardman
Why: The Bristol studio works mainly in plasticine stop motion. Fingerprints left in the models are visible on close inspection and have become part of the house look.
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4Animating "on twos" means what?
- A Two characters move in each shot
- B Every scene is shot twice for safety
- C Each drawing is held for two frames of film Correct
- D Two animators share every scene
Answer: C. Each drawing is held for two frames of film
Why: At twenty-four frames a second that gives twelve drawings a second, which reads as smooth for most action. Fast movement is usually animated on ones instead, because holds start to strobe.
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5The principle of squash and stretch is used to convey what?
- A A change in lighting
- B Weight and flexibility in a moving object Correct
- C The passage of time between scenes
- D Distance from the camera
Answer: B. Weight and flexibility in a moving object
Why: It is one of the twelve principles the Disney animators published in 1981. A bouncing ball flattening on impact is the demonstration everyone learns first.
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6Which was the first feature film animated entirely by computer?
- A Toy Story Correct
- B Shrek
- C Antz
- D The Iron Giant
Answer: A. Toy Story
Why: Pixar released it in 1995 after a decade of shorts and commercials. Human characters were kept to a minimum because skin, hair and cloth were still extremely hard to render.
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7What is a storyboard?
- A A list of the scenes an animator has completed
- B The background art for an entire film
- C A chart tracking each character's dialogue
- D A sequence of drawings planning each shot before production begins Correct
Answer: D. A sequence of drawings planning each shot before production begins
Why: Disney's studio developed the practice during the 1930s to test a story cheaply. Live-action directors borrowed it afterwards and it is now standard across film and advertising.
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8Which Japanese director made My Neighbour Totoro and Princess Mononoke?
- A Satoshi Kon
- B Mamoru Hosoda
- C Hayao Miyazaki Correct
- D Isao Takahata
Answer: C. Hayao Miyazaki
Why: He co-founded his studio in 1985 and has drawn or corrected large amounts of the key animation himself. His co-founder, Isao Takahata, directed Grave of the Fireflies.
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9What does a walk cycle allow an animator to do?
- A Match the music to the action
- B Loop a short repeated sequence to keep a character walking Correct
- C Show a character ageing across a film
- D Change the camera angle in mid-shot
Answer: B. Loop a short repeated sequence to keep a character walking
Why: A cycle usually runs to somewhere between eight and twenty-four drawings. Matching its timing to the speed of the moving background is what stops the character appearing to skate.
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10The multiplane camera, used from the 1930s, was built to achieve what?
- A Depth, by filming layers of artwork set at different distances Correct
- B Colour separation for three-strip film
- C Faster shooting of long sequences
- D Sound recorded onto the same reel
Answer: A. Depth, by filming layers of artwork set at different distances
Why: Disney's version stacked several levels that could be moved independently beneath the lens. The forest sequences in Snow White were shot on it.
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