Frame-by-Frame Animation: Techniques and Examples

• Frame-by-frame animation draws each animation frame individually, creating the illusion of movement.
• Iconic Disney films like Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, The Lion King and Aladdin use frame-by-frame animation.
• Frame-by-frame animation is also known as traditional 2D animation.
• The style is inherently difficult and time-consuming to create.
• Frame-by-frame animation isn't used widely for feature films anymore, but is still used for animation projects with shorter length.

Frame-by-frame animation Creation

• Creating frame-by-frame animation is labor-intensive and time-consuming.
• A character movement in one second of time is broken down into 24 small segments.
• Segments are drawn individually on each page of a flipbook to create the illusion of movement.
• One second of animation is usually divided into 24 frames/images.
• Animators do not always draw 24 individual images for one second (12 drawings is usually enough)
• The more drawings there are in one second of animation, the smoother the final animation becomes.

Traditional vs. Digital Frame-by-Frame Animation

• Frame-by-frame animation was traditionally created using physical material.
• It was usually made either using pen and paper, or drawn on transparent celluloid sheets.
• Cel animation refers to the technique that animation production companies like Walt Disney used to produce frame-by-frame animations.
• Static images used on transparent sheets are stacked.
• They're stacked on top of each other to create complex scenes and new movements.
• Drawings are colored by ink meticulously.
• Drawings are photographed by cameras to produce films.
• Digital revolution and the advent of computers and graphics tablets ushered in a new age of animation.
• Physical materials and photographs are no longer used in creating frame-by-frame animation.
• Pen and pencils are replaced with graphics tablets.
• Animation software has replaced papers and celluloid sheets with drawing canvases and techniques such as onion skinning.
• Ink has been replaced by coloring software, and films are substituted with digital files.

Frame-by-Frame Animation Use

• Frame-by-frame animation is a popular choice in many other areas such as advertisement, short films and video games.
• It is known for its unique aesthetics, detailed characters with dynamic and stunning animations and nostalgic cartoony design.
• Frame-by-frame animation design is perfect to capture audience attention for a 30-second advertisement video.
• Short films are also a great use case for employing frame-by-frame animation with the potential to achieve stunning visuals for 6-7 minutes.

Frame-by-frame Animation in Game Art

• Another area where frame-by-frame animation is used extensively is video game art, mainly in 2D games.
• 2D games usually have a main character that moves around the environment.
• These characters have a range of limited animated movements that require fluid and eye-catching animations.
• These movements demonstrate the characters' physical mastery.
• Character turnarounds, run cycles, punches, and kicks are more likely to create a pleasant, interactive experience.
• The animated experiences must be dynamic compared to other types of animation.

Frame-By-Frame Animation Software

• Digital frame-by-frame animation is facilitated by various animation software today.
• Adobe Animate and Toon Boom Harmony are the industry-standard software to create 2D animation.
• Other options include Krita, Adobe After Effects and Blender (Grease Pencil) for frame-by-frame animation.
• Graphics tablets connected to computers allow animators to draw and paint key poses on the selected frames.
• They can use timelines to animate them.
• Frame-by-Frame animation can be made on tablets with a drawing pen.
• Tools like ToonSquid and Procreate create animations on portable devices such as IPads or android devices.

Labor-Intensive Animation

• Lead animators used to draw key poses for an animated video.
• Other animators would draw on the frames between them.
• This process was called in-betweening or tweening.
• The process required many skilled animators spending a lot of time drawing each character from new angles
• Each frame required new movements
• Style consistency was very difficult.
• Computers have facilitated parts of this process including tweening and coloring, but the time-consuming task still remains the same

Frame-by-Frame Animation Steps

• Every animation project usually starts with pre-production steps, based on the script.
• Steps include:
• Scripts
• Concept Art
• Storyboarding
• Animation
• Voiceovers
• Video Editing and Visual Effects

Script

• Scripts are probably the most pivotal element in an animation project.
• Scripts decide how characters and environments should be designed.
• They also inform how lengthy a project should be and even what art style the directors should aim for.
• Directors even decide to opt for a frame-by-frame 2D animation style, cut-out animation, or some other style based on the script.

Concept Art

• Concept art is a visual artwork that develops ideas for characters, environments, creatures, etc.
• Artists use concept art to guide the creation of the project based on the script and directors' guidelines.
• Detailed concept art helps push the project forward by defining a clear art style.

Storyboarding

• Storyboards are visual organizers that help lay out the sequence of shots in a video.
• They're crucial in determining how each drawing in a frame-by-frame animation project should look.
• They specify the angle from which characters should be displayed, the environment, and the interactions.
• A proper storyboard minimizes production costs by pinpointing exactly what should be created.
• After these steps, frame-by-frame animation moves to the production stage.

Animation

• Character and environmental drawings occur at this stage.
• Animating shots on individual frames leverages animation software to render videos.
• According to the scale of the project, one or more animators spend a lot of time drawing characters in different poses.
• These poses are put together to make the final animation.

Voiceovers

• Voiceovers are part of the production stage in an animation project also.
• Dialogues between characters and sound effects are recorded.
• Dialogues are meticulously synced with characters' facial and lip movements.
• The syncing process is also a time-consuming task in a frame-by-frame animation pipeline, since drawing different mouth shapes for each distinct sound takes a lot of time.

Video Editing and Visual Effects

• Animated clips and their corresponding sound are imported into video editing software like Adobe Premiere to create the movie sequence.
• Editing is where directors are the most active.
• Not as time-consuming as the animation step.
• Deciding on shot sequence and transition speed is crucial.
• Adjusting lighting, compositing, and rotoscoping are vital post-processing steps.

Conclusion

• Frame-by-frame animation, also known as traditional animation, combines unique art style with artistic freedom.
• Animations create eye-catching movements that are really hard to achieve with other types of 2D animation.
• Due to its complexity and labor-intensive nature, animation production houses might not approach as widely.
• Art directors are encouraged by the stunning visual and handcrafted feel, to choose this form of animation.
• The genuine look and feel of frame-by-frame animation appeals to businesses who prefer art style.
• Modern 2D digital animation methods, such as cutout animation, do not fully address business requirements.