THE ANIMATED CARTOON
WRITERS :
As long as anyonr can remember, people have been fascinated by pictures that move. The process animation begins with the writers. They dream up wacky situations for the cartoon character to play out. In brainstorming sessions or ' story conferences ' the writer gather to pool their ideas. Often they post ideas on a wall using index cards or coloured paper for a virtual reference. The basic story is developed in these sessions and them put into the form of a script.
STORYBOARD :
Once the sript is complete, it is handed over
to the storyboard artist. The storyboard is the next basic step in the
creation of a cartoon. It represents the first rough visualization at the
script. In the storyboard from ' Steven Spielberg Presents FREAKAZOID '
a close up of Freakazoid shows his expressions in a particular scene, This
leads us in the next step in the animation process -
the layout artist.
LAYOUT ARTIST :
The layout artist is a cartoonist who draws poses to define and broaden the action only hinted in the storyboard. The job of the layout artist is to guide the animators in a terms of the key poses of the characters and the way the character will move within the scene. The layout artist also focuses on the expressions of the character ' faces '. The layout artist completed key poses will be used by animators later in the process.
BACKGROUND ARTIST :
The background artist study both the storyboard and the script to get ideas for a cartoon setting. A background is a stage for the character to act in and the background artist is very much like a set designer on a movie or play.
VOICE ARTIST :
While the artist developed the character images
the script is being recorded by talented voice artist. The voice artist
are guided in their work by voice directer who sits outside the recording
boath near the sound technicians.
ANIMATORS :
Many times the animators use their own focus
for inspiration on facial expressions. A mirror near their drafting tables
help with this aspect of animation. There are 24 frames to every second
to film. Therefore, the smoothest is drawn on ' ones ' meaning every single
frame has a different drawing of the character in a different position.
PENCIL TEST :
With additional drawings done by assistant animators, finished animation looks like this. It's called a 'Pencil Test '. The way animators run preliminary test on the character's motion is by flipping through their figures. Once the rough animation is done on pajer, animators do a pencil test . This pinpoints what areas in the film are working and what areas may need some new animation. This is very helpfull in maintaining quality control.
CEL PAINTING :
Next, all these animation drawings get traced
onto clear plastic sheets called cels and then ready for painting. Both
frames or individual picture in a finished cartoon, is made up of several
layers of characters and various other moving elements that are photographed
in front of a background. All the final drawings and painting of these
moving elements have to be done on cels, clear plastic sheets so that we
can see through all the layers to the background.
MUSIC :
One of the things that fills our shows with energy in the music that accompanies the action. Many cartoon series are done from library where there's perhaps an hour or two of music recorded then replayed throughout the show.
SOUND EFFECTS :
People called Foley artists provided all those cool sound effects you hear like foot steps, rain, brooms etc. These sounds effects are created while the artist watch the action on large scrin. Sometimes several ' takes ' or recordings are made to get the timing just right. A sound technicians sits at a mixing board like this while the Foley artist work in the adjoining glass recording studio. Using high-tech sound equipment like mixers, equalizers and computers, sounds effect artists combined the recorded sounds to match the action of the pictures the final product is then copied to video and distributed to the tv stations who will air the final product you view on Saturday morning.
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