Relevant Content Standards – Students will learn to do the following as they complete this activity: create and reproduce representational works of art from direct observation and apply drawing and painting techniques with a variety of media (e.g. pencil, crayon, markers, watercolor).
Animated characters and images are the result of work that is done by many people. Character and storyboard designers create and draw characters, backgrounds, landscapes, and objects that are then copied and painted by other artists. An animated film is a finished product of all of this work that is done by these creative individuals to enlighten and entertain viewers with the magic of the illusion of life.
The animation process has improved a lot since the first commercially successful animated film was completed in 1914. New technology, and specifically the use of computers in animation. has made it easier, more efficient, and less time consuming to make an animated film. However, it is important for aspiring animators to learn the basics with regards to animation. This includes learning about inking and painting.
Inking and painting for animation is a traditional production process where animators paint frames by inking drawings and coloring them with black ink. The drawings are “inked” on celluloid sheets (called cels for short) that are then painted. Cels are transparent sheets on which images can be drawn and overlaid with drawings on additional sheets to view a complete scene in filmmaking. Look at the photos below to understand this. The first photo shows drawings on two separate sheets – the bottom sheet could be paper. It has a drawing of the silhouette of a man running. The top drawing of the man and a small dog in black and white appears to be on a cel.
In this second photo, notice that we see the same two sheets with the same drawings. However, what looks to be a sheet of paper on the bottom has been colored with the ink that is also shown in the photo. The inside of the circle is colored yellow with the yellow ink.
In this third photo, we now see that artist has colored the man in the drawing with what appears to be a mixture of the paint colors used on different parts of the image.
This technique used by animators is called Cel Animation. It was invented by Earl Hurd and John Bray in 1915. Cel Animation is a traditional form of 2D animation that involves creating images on transparent sheets called cels. Each frame is hand-drawn or painted on these cels, which are then layered over a background. When making a film, the cels are photographed one at a time to create a series of static frames, which when played back at a certain speed, create the illusion of movement. It is an important innovation to traditional animation, as it allows some parts of each frame to be repeated from frame to frame, thus saving labor.
Inking and painting is used within the cel animation process. Drawings are inked and painted on cels that are then photographed one by one and then played in rapid succession to create the illusion of movement on screen. Watch the video below to see how animators at Walt Disney Studios have added the finishing touches to some of the most popular animated characters in history.
Have fun learning!
(Sources – Color Me Ren, Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia)