Japanese Animation

Usually, we look for various things to get us out of our bored state. One of the best things to do is to watch cartoons, but ordinary cartoons have lost their taste and we are now turning to new forms of animated cartoons which are drawing more people all the time. Japanese Animations are these kinds of cartoons that are getting great interest.

Though most of these Japanese Animation are hand drawn you will find that nowadays they are more of computer generated or animated as well. Most of these animations are a mixture of fantasy, fiction and some facts. You will find that they can involve characters like those of old stories, such as fairies and elves but they are more in the modern times with cars being involved as well as cellular phones.

You will find that Japanese Animation include several historical backgrounds of the Japanese with samurai's being headline features in many of the cartoons that are featured on the internet or on television. The storyline will probably not be dated such as the cartoon Naruto, which is not dated but the setting is clearly of olden times in Japan, however they use modern instruments sometimes and most of the characters do not look like Japanese at all.

Many of these Japanese animations are really cool to watch because even though they are not all in English but in Japanese, they captivate us with ever series and episode that you do not want to stop watching. Though when the anime is in English, it kinda spoils the plot of the show because it loses its originality and plot.

All About Anime, Manga, And Western Animation

The word anime is almost synonymous with Japanese culture, where it is as much a part of society as the newspaper or magazine. Most anime are actually derived from their manga (comic) counterparts, and the word is basically an abbreviation of animation, but specifically cartoon or comic animation. In fact, manga is a very popular form of literature in Asian countries, and a lof of manga titles are actually have a historical or contemporary flavour to it.

However, it might surprise many to know that there is not a lot of differences between Western and Eastern animation. Both share many common techniques and approaches, but perhaps Western animations have been trending towards using more sophisticated technology. Many of the most famous creators of anime still prefer to do things using the traditional methods, and are less reliant on computers and technology.

The biggest difference between the two styles of anime are probably the types of genres explored in the animation, and some of the peculiar features that are only found in Eastern animation.

Since anime and manga is such a big part of Eastern culture (you can find manga book shops everywhere in countries such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan), it tends to be more broad in the topics covered. Themes such as sports, relationships, history, military, political, humour and medicine or science have all been the subject of anime. In fact, there is probably an anime or manga for just about anything that you can think of. However, Western culture seem to be very specific with its animations, and tend to focus on heroes and villians, actions and consequences.

Some of the most interesting features of Asian anime is the use of dialogues within the dialogues. That is, as a particular scene is unfolding, there will be commentary from the characters within the animation providing a third person perspective from people involved in the plot. Also, the interplay between imaginary and real-life is often strong, with characters able to take words out of their speech bubble, or pull out various instruments from empty space.

To give you a taste of Japanese anime, and understand soem of the things we've been talking about, have a look at some of the most popular Japanese: Naruto, Blackjac, Eyeshield 21, Slam Dunk. If there is something you are interested in, you will almost certainly find an anime or manga that covers the topic. So why not take a look in your favourite bookstore today, you never know just what you'll discover.

Animation Challenges in Drawing People Walking - Sequence Sketching

Drawing people is something that every animator better know how to do and not just stick figures either. Animators must be able to draw people doing all kinds of things such as riding a bike, playing a sport, driving a car, or even walking or jogging. In fact, nearly every animation that has people in it will have the characters walking. Before you can set this into the computer to get the animation working, you'll need to have drawings to put that into the CADCAM software to help you grid it out.

This means you will have to sketch your character, in different positions while they are walking. You'll need a new sketch for each point of contact such as a foot touching the ground as your anchor sketches and then a few sketches in between. Once you do this you can set the parameters, and the computer will do the rest. If you've ever studied people walking or just sat in a coffee shop and watched people walk by out the window, you will notice quite a few interesting things.

People will swing their arms a certain way, and then move laterally to go around an object, thus, drawing a couple holding hands, or someone walking a dog adds more complications to your animation. However, if you will keep in mind the need to draw your anchor sketches each time a foot hits the ground, or in the case of walking the dog a paw, you'll be able to make all this happen.

Remember when you have a dog walking with a human you now have six legs and six points of contact. A small dog will touch the ground many more times between each step of the human, sometimes at the same time and sometimes not. And you cannot cut corners by having them walking in lock step, it will not look real.

Drawing sequential sketches is a necessity of a good animator, and until you can do that it really doesn't matter how well you can run the software, because you can never make it in the business until you can do both. Please think of all this.

References:

"The Animator's Survival Kit; a Manual of Methods, Principles, and Formulas for Classical, Computer, Games, Stop Motion and Internet Animators" by Richard Williams (director of animation "Who Framed Roger Rabbit"), Published by Faber and Faber, New York; 2001. ISBN: 0-571-21268-9

And

"3D Graphics & Animation; from Starting Up to Standing Out," by Mark Giambruno; New Riders Publishing; Indianapolis, IN; 1997. ISBN: 1-56205-698-0

The Crazy World of Animation

Animation is an interesting and a challenging field that deals with virtual reality. It is a field that gives hyper real experience of day to day objects. It involves constant innovations and cutting edge technologies to show virtual characters real. It is a medium through which you can convert your ideas and imagination into virtual reality. It makes the text interactive, attractive and appealing to the eye by highlighting the message. It casts an ever lasting impression on viewer's mind and they will remember it for a long time to come.

Animation is based on the phenomenon of persistence of vision to create an illusion of the movement by the rapid display of sequence of images in 2D or 3D artworks. In simple terms, it creates a false conception of things though technological tricks. This illusion is created by replacing the series of old images with new one that are identical to previous one. 3D artwork is more dynamic and vibrant as compared to 2D artwork because it has an extra dimension. In other words, if you draw character on paper then it will show only front part of the character not its back but in 3D animation you can see your object or character from all directions. Nowadays lots of animation tools and techniques are available that can help you in understanding the concepts of this field. You can find them easily on the Internet.

It has applications in every field like entertainment industry is greatly benefited by it. It is a cost effective tool for them. They can create mind boggling scenes with ease and without loosing big bucks. Even in pilot training institutes, trainees can test their skills on simulators that were developed by the principles of animation. It can also be used in educating small kids in schools as they easily associate with their cartoon characters. Animation can be used in making network sites more beautiful and interactive. It can also be used effectively in online business. Entrepreneurs use animation for their websites, blogs and other such networking sites to promote their businesses. Animation has its great future ahead as this field is yet to tap its true potential with the development in technology.

After Effects - Logo Animation - Part 1

Using After effects text animation is one of the basic tools in logo animation. When it comes to media animation one of the first design decisions and which tool is best for the job depends on if your logo is primarily text and can be represented using a text tool the animations that are available for text.

Let's first look at how you would go about animating your logo if it is primarily a text logo with some graphic highlights. One of the most powerful set of presets in the Adobe After Effects arsenal is the text animations. Just about everything you can imagine, everything you have seen from text tumbling out of the sky, to sliding in from one side or another, to changing colors and glowing is available as a text preset.

For a simple experiment, use the text tool to create your logo text, choosing your characteristic font. Create a simple backdrop that contrasts with your text. Directly across from the text 'twirl down' arrow is the 'Animate' feature with it's twirl down set of animate features. Choose 'position' under animate. You will immediately see a new component under your text, 'Animator 1' with it's own position component and a 'Range Selector'. Twirl open the range selector to see 'start', 'end', and 'offset' options, each with it's own stopwatch indicating that each property can be animated.

We know about 'a picture says a thousand words'. For a quick illustration to see how simple it is to set up an animation using these basic settings, set the range selector to it's default values of 0% for Start, 100% for End, and 0% for Offset. Set the range selector position 0,-200 (0 for x offset, -200 for y offset). This setting for y will position your text above your stage.

Click on the stopwatch at time '0', move your timeline to 3 seconds and move the Start value to 100%. Scrub the timeline then preview your animation. You will see your text falling 'out of the sky'. For one simple setting that will add another touch of diversity with a single switch, look under the 'Advanced' section of your Range Selector for 'Randomized Order' and click this from off to on. Now when your characters animate onto the stage, they appear randomly. This is a very popular effect with movie and television introductions, commercials, and of course, web site logos.

Does The Animation Naruto Contain Life Lessons Beyond Entertainment?

There is no doubt that Naruto is one of the biggest anime that hit the US market today, but can Naruto be educational? From its origin from a more Eastern background, animation in general has come a long way since its first inception. Starting back in the old days with the original dragon ball series where it was first created all the way to Naruto today, there have definitely been a lot of changes that have been taken place in the animation world.

The population of kids attracted to Naruto is growing by the day and I believe there is a clear reason why it is the most popular anime or cartoon here in the US today besides its artistic values in comparison with numerous cartoons that are shown in our television screen on a day to day basis. Let's take a look our cartoon Batman for example. The plot or a single episode usually involves with a villain shown in the story and causes trouble with a certain amount of people through their special techniques. However, their evil deeds are eventually squashed toward the end of the episode as Batman saves the day. In the cartoon itself, there's nothing wrong with it. The good prevails over evil, and the single episode is ended with a happy ending.

What the problem with these cartoons however is that they are very interpersonal and kids and teens cannot relate themselves to them. Kids nowadays are more intrigued with interactions then ever before. This is shown through the popularity of the internet and social sites such as Myspace, Facebook, Blogger. They have grown tremendously due to its fundamental pitch to allow kids to relate and connect with each another.

What has made Naruto so powerful is as an anime is that they have developed their characters so well that their ability to relate to kids is tremendous. Similar to a soap opera, we are able to see each and every single character develop in their own way. We see that the animation characters often time interact with the kids through numerous contests and promotions related to interact with the kids. This type of close and very personalized interaction, you can think of it similar to the strategy that McDonald uses to make kids feel like at home. It is no wonder that kids love McDonalds and the same way goes with Naruto.

The adult humor aside, Naruto is also very educational in my opinion. The focal point of the animation itself remains between the fight of good and evil. However it becomes educational throughout various episodes when we are provided the background of various characters. For example when we examine the life of just the main character Naruto; not only is he a below average kid, he is always the underdog in terms of his studies beside the fact that he's also unpopular with others. The crucial point that the animators have it a success is how Naruto reacts to these oppositions. He tries even harder! Similar in our society unlike the baby boomers who in majority have worked with the corporate world for many years and an overwhelmingly amount of them have pensions and benefits to assist them after retirement, the people from Generation X are faced with even greater challenges. Besides massive layoffs and work sent overseas, the problems just keep stacking up. Along with kids that grow up nowadays, the piles of stress have pushed them toward the edge in many ways. That's why we see kids running into the malls and shooting others all the time in our news today.

Not only does Naruto try hard in his daily training to overcome others that are smarter or have talents, the greatest success that animators have by developing Naruto is depicting how normal he really is. It implies in many ways that hardships will always come in our way and hard work will always payoff in the end. This is something that is lacking in today's society where the richer gets richer and the poorer gets poorer. Doesn't matter if you're poor or rich, one must always work hard to achieve success. Obviously a little bit of luck would always help too. This is one of the only small lessons that I've observed in the anime Naruto, if you haven't watched Naruto yet, you should definitely either Watch Naruto by yourself or with others. Who knows, you might learn something from it as well!

Animation Films - Unparalleled Entertainment Option

The world of technology has taken rapid strides and this has impacted almost every facet of our lives. The domain of entertainment is not an exception and each and every day new technologies are being used to enhance our entertainment quotient. Animation film is one such step in this direction.

Animation, as we all know, is a process of making movies, computer or video games, etc in which models or drawings of animals and people seem to move. It is one of the interesting arts of film making. The static elements are presented in such a way that they appear moving. The art of displaying the static images is great and exciting. There are many animation companies that create animation films and videos.

Animation is an art that is popular across globe. Europe is not an exception. There are several popular animation studios churning out quality films. Like every other place animation in Europe too has a distinctive character and it revolves more around artistic visions rather then theatrical releases. England especially is extremely renowned clay stop motion animations. These include popular animation film such as "Wallace and Gromit", "Chicken Run" and "Creature Comforts". There are many unforgettable animation characters that have created an indelible mark in the history of animation. One such character is Billy which is created by UK based Animation Film company that specializes in creating full length films that charm audience. Wonderful CG imagery with breath taking story narration technique sets the films of this company apart and makes this London based company a star player in animation industry. Wonderful and creative script writers along with the latest use in technology makes this company a star player.

In case of the traditional form of animation video and film production , that is mainly popular in Europe, each frame of a movie or a film is produced individually. There are different types of methods through which these frames can be generated. The generation is done through computer. It can be done by photographing a painted or drawn image or picture, or by making some changes in the model unit. Then the results are viewed with a special and good quality animation camera. The illusion is created by attaching the strings together. It is really a great thing to watch. Old as well as young people love to watch animation films and videos. Many films are being made with the help of animation technology so that it attracts the attention of the people, especially the children.

Generating an animation film may be tedious and labor intensive. This process however becomes easier if it is done through computer. There are many other advantages of computer animation. It helps to avert mistakes. Animation is mainly used for entertainment purposes. But with its increasing popularity, it is also used for instructional and educational purposes. It is considered as one of the best methods for teaching. Apart from that, it is considered as one of the best method of entertainment for the kids. They are quite interested to watch animated videos. This helps them to learn many things easily.

Cartoons are hot favorites among the children and the European kids are not an exception. It was first developed in the 20th Century by Walt Disney. For 1 second of animation, twenty four distinct drawings or pictures are required. Animated films are much in demand and also occupy a prominent place in award ceremonies. Even in the Oscars, animation films got a place. Many animated films are made based on the historical stories

Creating an animation film or video is not so easy. It requires great expertise and skills. It is quite an expensive process. Most of the animation for movies and TV is done in studios that deal with professional animation. In the past, many individual animators used to create unique animated work of art. But with the advancement of science and technology, there is a noticeable improvement in the art of animation. Independent animation producers are now working in the professional animation industry. They are creating some great animation films and videos. The interactive 3d animation films are also being appreciated.

3D Animation Jobs - Is Animation a Right Career Choice For You?

If one is going to enter into a career then it is a wise move to learn everything about the industry they are about to enter. All too often individuals will sign into an extensive training program and two things end up happening. The first is half way through the training they decide they do not like it or two they break into the job market and find out they are not doing what they were actually trained to do. Both of these disappointments may have been avoided with the proper research.

Apparently this is something that happens quite often in the animation industry. Aspiring animators have a love for doing animation and proceed to do in depth studies of 3D animation figuring it is the ultimate of the industry. They envision themselves developing such renowned characters like those that took place in Finding Nemo or Shrek 2. After becoming well exposed to the industry they soon find out that they are spending every hour of their working moments on animating characters yet this is what drew them to the industry. Therefore, in summary if this was or is your ultimate goal of getting into this line of work then you needs to determine what a career in 3D animation is.

What you soon will discover is that being as you have chosen 3D you are going to be technically a computer graphics artist. This means you may end up spending more time on lighting, modeling, texturing or perhaps rendering rather than developing characters. So in reality what should be your real job title should you be designated to one of these categories? Let us say you become one of the following...

1. You predominantly set up lighting that pertains to a particular scene for a 3D piece. It will be your job to ensure it is the way it is suppose to look and has the right feel about it. You are then technically a lighting artist.

2. Your job is to make the 3D models that are going to be in the 3D scene. This is a technical assignment where you will have to first design the character in mesh then it proceeds through stages to end up as the finished character. You have now become a 3D Modeler.

3. You spend your days painting and creating the textures that are going to be encasement for the characters. In essence, you are creating the skin so it ends up looking as it was designed to look. You new position is now that of texturing artist.

4. Here is one you may find interesting. You are going to be the person looking after creating the bone system. This is what the animator will use to make the model work as it was meant to. Therefore, you have now become a rigger.

5. You may find being in charge of a rendering farm a little more enlightening as here you will have the responsibility of ensuring each 3D frame image is produced properly by the

6. Last but not least how about the duties of the animator. Do not think that it is going to be a cartoon character. In reality, you may be animating anything that moves like a mechanical action of a motor for example or some movement in the human body such as the heart beating.

So now you know all of the different aspects of the 3D animation industry, is it for you?

Anime - Japan's Animation

Different videos online and in malls currently catch the eyes of various buyers. The more children/teenage oriented videos would be cartoons. There are various animations that can intrigue people, but considering on their tastes can determine which one they will buy. Anime (Japanese animation) is widely bought around the nation and in international areas. A wide variety and selection of cartoons is known to be sold in various places. 

When selecting an animation media to purchase the buyer can look on the reverse of the case to read a small summary of the said animation. The reverse of film cases usually contain the summary of the film and a small amount of pictures displaying select scenes. Most cartoons films or episodes contain extra material that may show other cartoons to interest the shopper to buy more or upcoming segments of the cartoon that was just enjoyed. 

The animation that contains sections usually will have 5 sections per film and can give you the choice of purchasing the others if you wish to continue the animation. Anime productions do not contain episodes instead they have a well rounded story taken from the segments and made into its own small script. Most shoppers tend to view the episodes before taking on the task of watching the film so they have an idea of what is to come. 

To the sci fi anime lover or just the down to earth cartoon lover you can have a wide range of movies to choose from in some stores that carry a variety of productions to suit your tastes.

Anime Streaming Is Taking The Animation Community By Storm

Japanese anime has long been around for a very long time here in the US, but it is not until recently through the introduction of major hits such as Naruto and Bleach has it really opened the eyes of the US general public. From the spread of television also came websites related to them accessible over the web. If you were to type in the keywords Anime, Naruto, and Bleach on any major search engine chances are that you will hit a resource site which is filled with content.

While, there is nothing wrong with them in nature there seems to be a new breed of animation websites that utilizes live streams of anime over the web which has quickly gained much popularities amongst its viewers. With the biggest sites such as Videobleach for Bleach and Tailedfox for Naruto it has definitely caught the attention of many anime enthusiast. Unlike other traditional sites which requires you to login to enable to access their information, you can now watch the videos live over the internet. The biggest advantages that these sites bring besides live streaming is that it enables you to watch these videos whenever you want instead of tieing yourself to eh scheduled show time through the course of the week. These sites provides an alternative for anime enthusiast to watch the same episodes at their own convenience.

Another advantage for these sites such as is that it also relieves the users from having to download the whole video offered by traditional sites which can be a time consuming and grinding process. Anime enthusiast will no longer be required to wait for 30 minutes or more to watch a certain type of anime to be downloaded not mentioning that the actual video will most likely be watched once or twice, these streaming sites provides them instant solution to watch them over the web. With better designs and shying away from the traditional look of other anime sites, I believe streaming sites such as Videobleach for Bleach and Tailedfox for Naruto is the future for anime sites.

Instead of offering just a source of information, anime related sites should also build up their communities to open discussions for an enthusiast as these big streaming sites are doing. With a world that is more and more reliant on communication as a source of interaction, these anime sites are definitely heading toward the right track. If you are an enthusiast yourself and your not sure which sites to really check out, these are definitely sites that I recommend are sites that you definitely do not want to miss. I personally have found them very enjoyable and more interactive and frankly that's what's needed for most sites these days. Check them out, I am sure you won't be disappointed.

Stop Motion Animation - Nine Creative and Easy Techniques

If you want to draw some stop motion animation but don't know what to do this article will help. Often times people think you have to spend endless hours drawing the same figures over and over with just a slight change between each drawing. And while this is true there are lots of creative techniques you can use to draw fun and interesting animations without the endless repetition. This article shows you nine techniques.

You can do all of these techniques with very little tools. Apart from the necessary things for any stop motion animation like a camera, computer and some free software you will be able to do these things with a paper, pencil and eraser or my preferred method of a dry erase board. I prefer the dry erase board because it is very easy to draw on and erase things as you go.

1 - Text and words The point about an animation is to communicate a message or a story and text is a great tool for doing this. You can write words and sentences directly on your work area. And you can do it in an animation style by adding the letters or words one at a time.

2 - Draw a background This is often overlooked in animation but a good background or even a simple background adds a level of depth to the story you are telling. You can animate it or simply leave it as it is with no motion at all.

3 - Simple motion This is the technique of drawing an object on the work area, taking a picture then erasing it and redrawing it in a new location. This motion of the object simulates movement and is very effective and easy to do. It can be as simple as rain drops progressing down the work surface or a ball bouncing across the screen.

4 - Growth - add lines and features Think of this as something growing right before your eyes. Trees and plants make good subjects for this. You draw a line, take a picture, extend the line, take another picture, etc until full growth is achieved. You can also reverse this technique and have objects that shrink in size. You erase and take pictures in small increments.

5 - Anthropomorphism: taking the human shape to express things You can draw simple human shapes that are very expressive. They don't have to be complex and even simple stick figures will do. But they will give you a very wide range of expression from shock to excitement, happiness and well the whole range of human emotion.

6 - Vary the speed of what is happening This is an important tool. You have to remember that things don't all happen at the same rate of speed so you should vary your drawings to reflect this. Characters can run or walk and items can move slow or fast. A flower grows slowly and a rock falls from the sky quickly. Space your drawings to reflect these differences in speed.

7 - Vary the camera angle by panning or zooming You can pan or zoom in the animation without moving the camera or the workspace. This is a really neat technique that will make your video more interesting and more attractive. To zoom in on an object you simply draw it in steps that are larger and larger, and while you are doing this you are also bringing it toward the center of your workspace. If you have drawn a background you can move it to the left or right to simulate panning.

8 - Have multiple events going on Often times, when drawing an animation, it is easy to get fixed on one central character but if you want to make your animation more interesting you should remember that more than one thing can be moving at any given moment, even if it is just because of wind blowing.

9 - Tell a story This is the most important technique and you should give it a lot of thought. It is the hinge that the whole animation rests on. This is the reason for what is happening in the animation and it gives the viewer a good reason to continue watching. If the viewer perceives a story is unfolding he is more prone to stick with the video to see how it turns out.

Stop Motion animation is a wonderful creative pursuit and you don't need a lot of materials and tools to make some great animations. And you don't need to draw hundreds of pictures that are just a repetition with slight changes. With a little thought an creativity you can make some that are easy and fun.

TV Tokyo Online - The Japanese Culture and Animation

Television Tokyo online is one of the global Japanese based broadcasting where you can view news, movies, comedies, adventure shows, nature, cartoons and even sports. Its contents are practically broadcasted using the Japanese language. There may be a little English content but it depends on the websites providing these services. Like any other TV channel specific to its country of origin, this too tends to describe more about the Japanese culture and their environment. Tourists are favored by this service because they can easily access the internet. Moreover, they are now well-informed about important weather changes that are happening day to day in the country.

Japan is well known for its quick inventions and the big role that it is playing in modernizing man's technologies. Thus, it is because of this leadership that the Japanese media industry is among the best in animation. Using advanced cinematographic tools and animation programs, the Japanese can now showcase high-end animation series termed anime on the standard TV sets and even online. It is this trend of the Japanese culture in animation that made Japanese media companies a very innovative media firm. Shows like Slayer, Saiyuki, Naruto and many other anime are offered in Japanese online televisions.

These are all top caliber shows that are franchised and broadcasted throughout the world for millions of the anime lovers to enjoy. Other similar Japanese television channels viewable online include Fukuoka Broadcasting, Chukyo, CBC, Kansai, Metele, Hiroshima Home and Ishikawa, but nothing comes near the standards of TV Tokyo online.

All About Anime, Manga, And Western Animation

The word anime is almost synonymous with Japanese culture, where it is as much a part of society as the newspaper or magazine. Most anime are actually derived from their manga (comic) counterparts, and the word is basically an abbreviation of animation, but specifically cartoon or comic animation. In fact, manga is a very popular form of literature in Asian countries, and a lof of manga titles are actually have a historical or contemporary flavour to it.

However, it might surprise many to know that there is not a lot of differences between Western and Eastern animation. Both share many common techniques and approaches, but perhaps Western animations have been trending towards using more sophisticated technology. Many of the most famous creators of anime still prefer to do things using the traditional methods, and are less reliant on computers and technology.

The biggest difference between the two styles of anime are probably the types of genres explored in the animation, and some of the peculiar features that are only found in Eastern animation.

Since anime and manga is such a big part of Eastern culture (you can find manga book shops everywhere in countries such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan), it tends to be more broad in the topics covered. Themes such as sports, relationships, history, military, political, humour and medicine or science have all been the subject of anime. In fact, there is probably an anime or manga for just about anything that you can think of. However, Western culture seem to be very specific with its animations, and tend to focus on heroes and villians, actions and consequences.

Some of the most interesting features of Asian anime is the use of dialogues within the dialogues. That is, as a particular scene is unfolding, there will be commentary from the characters within the animation providing a third person perspective from people involved in the plot. Also, the interplay between imaginary and real-life is often strong, with characters able to take words out of their speech bubble, or pull out various instruments from empty space.

To give you a taste of Japanese anime, and understand soem of the things we've been talking about, have a look at some of the most popular Japanese: Naruto, Blackjac, Eyeshield 21, Slam Dunk. If there is something you are interested in, you will almost certainly find an anime or manga that covers the topic. So why not take a look in your favourite bookstore today, you never know just what you'll discover.

The History of Animation

Animation, contrary to what many people think, has a long and illustrious history of its own. Ancient Egyptian excavations reveal that the Egyptians did extensive wall decoration way back in 2000 B.C. Even the Greek, in their ancient paintings and drawings reveal a fascinating sense of imagination. Leonardo Da Vinci has used some form of animation in his famous illustrations. The Japanese have used scrolls to tell stories from ancient times. The ideas behind animation are not a recent phenomenon and have existed for centuries now. With the increasing impact of technology, the face of animation has been revolutionized.

It has been mankind's quest from the beginning of time to capture the sense of motion in art. This gave rise to ancient paintings which could be found in caves. One has heard of such drawings associated with several civilizations of the past. A Frenchman named Paul Roget invented something known as the thaumatrope, which was a disc with a string attached to both sides. One side of the disc had the drawing of a bird and the other side an empty cage. When the disc was twirled using the strings, the bird appeared as if it was inside the cage. Such early inventions were forerunners to the present day animation.

Later, an instrument called the henakristoscope was invented by Joseph Plateau, which was a circular card with slits around the edge. The viewer had to hold the card up to a mirror and peer through the slits as the cards whirled. A series of drawings would be present around the circumference of the card. What the viewer would see was the optical illusion of a moving picture. Plateu introduced this to the US in 1826. Decades later, the advent of computers and software literally changed the way animation was done. Now literally nothing is impossible as far as animation goes. Using current animation software, one can create mind boggling animation. Hollywood is full of animation pioneers. In fact, who can forget Walt Disney's innumerable animated characters, which have become American icons. Animations have become more realistic in the sense that one can virtually duplicate real life situations using state-of-the-art animation software.

Animation Character Bible - What Goes Into It

A character bible is the heart and soul of a cartoon series. Without a proper character bible you cannot even get started on talking to anyone about your concept. I have seen many character bibles from producers around the world in the past few years asking for co-production collaborations. I've seen really good ones and absolutely dreadful ones. Having received several questions asked regarding what goes into a character bible, I've written this entry to give some insight on this topic. Below are the various ingredients that should make up a good character bible.

It is absolutely important to have a synopsis in your character bible. This is the foundation which you build your entire story upon and it should be concise, but not verbose enough such that it can't be read or explained in 3 minutes or less. Try to make this a one-pager if possible. The shorter you can make this and still keep it interesting, the better.

Include the designs of the most important characters in your character bible. Be sure to spend considerable time to make them look good and ensure that they do justice to your concept. A character bible should be more visual than wordy, showcasing the character designs to its fullest - with various poses and expressions of the main characters. Props - if any - should also be showcased. These are very important to show the potential of the characters should they become animated or licensed for various reasons. People reading the character bible need to be able to feel the characters for who they are and get an idea of the show through these character designs.

Ideally text descriptions of the characters should not be verbose, because not many people would really read through all that text. The character descriptions should outline only the most important characteristics of the characters to keep things short and quick to read. The visuals should pre-sell, and the text do the selling.

It would be good to showcase certain key locations and also provide illustrations or storyboards of how the world of the property looks like.

Fundamentally, it would be good to leave as little guess-work to the perspective partners as possible, so that the brand identity and values of the property is not compromised.

Lastly - for a property that is being primed for animation - you may want to include something called an 'episodic synopsis' - which outlines the stories which could happen in an animated series. These are usually done by a 'script doctor' - who can also help out in refurbishing the whole story background and character descriptions.