CGI Computer Animation BLOG

3D Computer Animation: The Skills and Training You Need

noreply@blogger.com (Rosema) — Sat, 21 May 2011 15:44:00 +0000

3d animation or graphics make use of a 3 dimensional depiction of content that is in geometric form for the reason of rendering images that are in two dimensional forms. The usage of 3d animation may be immense. It may be used in computer graphic applications, making 3d animation games and even cartoon films for the kids. 3d animation may also be used in corporate reports and in websites and consequently because of their three dimensional nature make a better impact and sound understanding.

Similarity and difference between 3d animation and 2d animation

Although there is an entire dimension addition in 3d animation when compared to 2d, yet the basic algorithm on which 3d animation rely upon is the same in both the case. This simailarity is apparent in the wire frame format mainly.

The difference between the 2d and 3d animation is not enough. They both use each other to get the desired effects. For example 2d animation uses 3d effects like lighting and at the same time, the 3d animation uses rendering techniques that are taught in 2d. although there are differences like a 3d animation is technically not a graphic till the time it is rendered in such a way that visually it attains the stature of 3d. Thus, in order to be trained in 3d animation, one needs to be skilled in 2d graphics as well.

3d animation training

Bringing characters to life is not as easy as it appears. It needs a lot of practice and hard work. Although with a proper training in visual effects and an in-depth knowledge of 2d graphics and 3d animation, one can easily create, out of the world website, design products, make games that truly belong to the next generation and much more.

The answer such high goals and aspirations is a thorough and strong knowledge of Graphics and the various packages that may help you to render a sketch into life. Some of the packages that may make you a skilled in 3d animation are flash, macromedia etc. But before you know such 3d animation packages, it’s always advised to have an idea and perfection in packages like Photoshop that forms the basis of any graphic activity.

The 3d animation is taught in various schools and institutes focused in animation and communication design. Different institutes have different curriculum to offer its students in order to train them into skilled animators. Usually, computer animation courses include 2d and 3d animation, digital arts, digital animation course, editing and visual effect course etc.

The best part about 3d animation is that even professionals can excel the art by doing some online courses in the same field that enriches their art further and make them further skilled and expertise animators.

The Basic 3d animation knowledge

·Developing primary characters by using bouncing ball principle.
·Understanding the anatomy of the character and setting models with the help of knowledge in proportions.
·Colour theory knowledge.
·Bone structure and skin textures.
·Colour rendering.

The Intermediate 3d animation skills
·Modeling the character and understanding mesh tool.
·Shading skills
·Sketching and rigging skills.
·Software knowledge and making their use.

Advanced 3d animation training
·Conceptualizing an animation along with facial features and creating full fleshed characters.
·Making short animation movie.
·Shading, lighting and rendering using layers.
·Giving the final fluid effect. Practically using all the packages together along with sketching to get the perfection in 3d animation.

If you are looking more information about 3d animation courses please CLICK HERE

3D Animation; What Does It Take To Become An Animator

noreply@blogger.com (Rosema) — Sat, 21 May 2011 15:40:00 +0000

There is a high demand for creative 3D animators. They are needed in the video industry, advertisement, gaming and even website industries. With 3D animation, the animator uses traditional and new animation methods to produce real life computer generated animated imagery to visually interpret and convey information or messages.The 3D animator has to keep up to date with constantly emerging new techniques, tools, software, methodology, production techniques and a lot more. Many people with interest in the field would wonder want it takes to be a 3D animator. 3D animation comprises of various aspects so the demand and requirement might be a bit varied. While a lot of the skills of a 3D animator are learned it is important that the animator already has some qualities. The needed characteristics include being creative both artistically and technically. What this requires is more than an understanding and mastery of the technical aspects of computer animation and illustration but also a high ability to be creative artistically. It is also important to be innovative and intelligent. A good animator would be one who not only loves new technologies but learns to use them well and effectively.

Apart from the personal qualities also referred to as soft skills, as they can not be measured, one may also need some form of formal education to become a 3D animator able to command a decent income. Some institutions offer relative short courses on 3D animation. It would be helpful to have a bachelor’s degree in any art related discipline especially if it has some courses on art history, English, social science, natural science, studio art with some emphasis on animation.

Next it is important to train and practice a lot. Your choice of education must involve a lot of studio work where you can train and practice. You should take the time to learn how to use latest technology that keeps updating almost everyday. Some programs that are necessary to master include Flash, Adobe Photoshop, 3D Studio Max, Adobe Illustrator, CAD, Adobe After Effects, Light wave, Rhino, Swish and many more. Ability to use these programs increases your value and proficiency.

As you begin on the road to becoming a creative and talented 3D animator it is also advised to build a portfolio of your work. The portfolio would serve as a credible evidence of your abilities and skills as a 3D animator in your chosen industry. A lot of the programs being used make 3D animation a lot easier and productive. You would however still need to put in a fair amount of hard word and dedication to become a proficient 3D animator.

Top 5 3D Animated Films And Characters Of All Time

noreply@blogger.com (Rosema) — Sat, 21 May 2011 15:33:00 +0000

The magical spells that animated cartoon characters cast, are eternal and never cease to leave the audience spellbound. From tiny tots to their beloved grandparents, none can deny that these animated cartoons have those splendid, special secrets about them that make them leave an everlasting impression on the minds of the spectators.

So what is it about them that are so stunning? Is it the magnificence of the technology combined with art that astonishes the audience? Or is it their ability to transform us into an entirely different world that captivates the minds of million? Whatever be it, the few hours of immense cheerfulness that they bring into our lives is unmatched and leaves us only asking for more.

The world has watched the performances of plenty such fun filled movies yet there are a select few which have become legends in the world of animated pictures. So what are the top 5 all time favorite animated cartoons? And what makes them more special than the others?

1) The Lion King:

The life of Simba is beautifully portrayed in the movie starting from its childhood and the years that followed leading to a mature king who efficiently saves the land of pride from wrong hands and rules over it successfully. The assortments of emotions displayed by the Lion and all the other characters are enthralling!!!

2) Finding Nemo

No body needs to be reminded of this movie which was the only one to top the Lion King at the box office. The adventurous pursuit of Marlin in finding Nemo in conjunction with Dory is considered one of the most enjoyable escapades ever in the history of animated cartoons.

3) Ratatouille

An impossible dream of a rat aspiring to become a chef was an entirely novel concept that was greeted well by the audience. Remy’s role as a secret chef in a French restaurant is an excellent recipe for laughter. The culinary world of Paris becoming topsy-turvy because of a rat race is perfectly depicted in the film.

4) Shrek

An attempt to regain his swamp from a King, leads the green ogre, Shrek in a path of love that he has never tread before. The movie takes us into a fun filled journey, led by Shrek his pal donkey and his new found love Princess Fiona. The tag line that quotes ‘The greatest fairy tale never told’ is just a fitting description to the movie.

5 Ice Age:
When the whole animal kingdom was frightened by the upcoming Ice Age, four animals Sid (sloth), Diego (tiger) Scrat (Squirrel) and Manny (mammoth) are united in a mission of returning a human infant to his father. The obstacles faced by this unusual group of heroes simply during their mission left the audience simply astound.

Though each and every animated cartoon is unique in its own way, they are all united by one universal theme of love. They convey to us the message that life in any form deserves respect.

How to design your own 3D Animation easily

noreply@blogger.com (Rosema) — Sat, 21 May 2011 15:29:00 +0000

Designing an own 3D Animation is good to develop personal skills. Now these days people are very much interested to develop their own skills on 3D Animation designing. Now We will see how to design a 3D Animation for personal interest.

Easy 3D Objects is intended for creation of 3D animations and illustrations. Areas where you can apply Easy 3D Objects: -making 3D GIF- animations for the Web; -making 3D banners; -making 3D illustrations; -presentation materials; --development of creative imagination. ... Program features: -adds to 3D scene the following types of objects: dummy cube, sprite, plane, disk, cube, frustum, sphere, cone, cylinder, annulus, torus, arrow line, space text, mirror; -edits parameters of objects; -rotates and moves objects and groups of objects; -fills objects by color or texture from BMP, JPEG.

SWiSHmax has everything you need to create stunning fully interactive Flash animations. You can create shapes, text, buttons, sprites, and motion paths. You can also include more than 230 ready-to-use animated effects including explode, vortex, 3D spin, and wave. ... You can preview your animation inside SWiSHmax without launching a browser or external player, and live editing lets you make changes while the animation is playing. ... You can create your own effects or make an interactive movie by adding actions to objects.

SWiSHmax has everything you need to create stunning fully interactive Flash animations. You can create shapes, text, buttons, sprites, and motion paths. You can also include more than 230 ready-to-use animated effects including explode, vortex, 3D spin, and wave. ... You can preview your animation inside SWiSHmax without launching a browser or external player, and live editing lets you make changes while the animation is playing. ... You can create your own effects or make an interactive movie by adding actions to objects.

Feature wise, Realsoft 3D introduces global illumination, multi-wavelength ray-traycing for accurate spectral caustics and other optical effects, sub-surface scattering for realistic human skin shading. Don´t rush to the plugin shop every time you need to create something new - get Realsoft 3D.

3DMagix is an advanced animation software and is a full featured modelling, rendering, animation and simulation package. It matches up to the level of features that Maya and 3D Max offers but at a lower cost. On the animation front a full range of tools - from easy keyframing to event driven nonlinear animation- is supported. ... 3DMagix is a complete solution for high end 3D-production at an unprecedented price

Effect3D is a powerful editing tool that lets you create professional looking 3D objects, add animation, and use a wide range of 3D effects. Effect3D's Power Wizard does the work for you, so whether you're a novice or a Webmaster you'll be producing stunning artwork in minutes. ... Effect3D can also create dynamic 3D models by RTS animation so models can move back-and-forth, float, or rotate. ... Over 500 models are cleverly categorized for easy browsing and with over 70 behavioral Bio-Morph animation's to choose from; Effect3D gives you the freedom to create uncompromising images limited

3D GIF Designer produces animated high-quality 3D pictures, titles, banner ads and buttons for your Web page or for a presentation. You can create animations from your own pictures (JPG, GIF, BMP, AVI) and easily add 3D text and shapes. The sprites technology enables to control over ... For quickly getting started, design your own animation from over 30 professional templates (banners, buttons, logos), and then save as animated GIF or AVI movies, or as set of JPEG or BMP files. ... In addition, 3D GIF Designer allows you to animate sprites with several effects such as Swing, Rotate.

Stereogram Explorer is user-friendly design software for creating high-quality hidden 3D graphics, also known as Single Image Random Dot Stereograms (SIRDS) or Single Image Stereograms (SIS) known from the "Magic Eye" series. Stereogram Explorer uses advanced algorithms and can render... Main features: User-friendly interface Random dot stereograms (SIRDS) Pattern or textured stereograms (SIS) Support for many file types including GIFs, JPEGs, PICTs, and BMPs Import 3DS (3D Studio) models Export depthmaps from 3D scene Autocalculated depth coeficient for loaded 3D models .

Pro Motion is a bitmap editor and animation package, ideal for creating pixel precise animations, images or icons used in games or Flash applications especially for handheld systems like mobile phones,gameboy,PDA,Pocket PC and similar. It has a huge number of functions ranging from simple... copied to all equal tiles within the image) - tons of tools including color cycling, onion skinning, masking, symmetry paint, magic wand, tile painting for "infinite" textures-bitmaps and "standard" functions like line, curve, box, circle, fill (pattern, gradients) - lots of helpful animation.