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Animation facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Animhorse
An animated horse.

Animation is a way of making a movie from many still images. The images are put together one after another, and then played at a fast speed to give the illusion of movement.

Animation is a relatively new art form, and though the concept of moving images has been a theme throughout ancient civilizations, it was not until late into the 19th century that experimental animation truly began. Today, the industry of animation is booming, making up a huge commercial enterprise.

A person who makes animations is called an animator.

There are three ways to animate:

  1. Draw each frame
  2. Use stop-motion: make a model scene and change it to create a new image (frame)
  3. Make computer graphics
    Blender3D CircularWaveAnim
    This is a computer animation of circular waves made by an underwater explosion.

Overview

Because it is expensive to make, most animation comes from professional companies. However, independent animators have existed since the 1950s in America, with many of those people entering the professional industry. In Europe, the independent movement has existed since the 1910s, with animators like pre-revolutionary Russia's Ladislas Starevich and Germany's Lotte Reiniger.

Many people use a computer animation program called Adobe Flash to create animations. Flash uses a combination of drawing and computer graphics to make animations. Many animations on the internet are made in Flash. Most animators on the internet do not work for professional companies.

Many television shows, especially those made for children, use limited animation. Companies such as UPA and Hanna-Barbera Productions do this. Simple, limited movement makes the images easier to draw, which allows quicker and cheaper production of animation.

Many people consider animation to be childish and unsophisticated. However, animation has changed the course of art history by giving artists possibilities, not just normal, stationary art. Many animated movies have been made, and some have made a big profit.

Famous names in the business

Famous animation studios

United States

Canada

Europe

Asia

Japan

  • Bandai Visual
  • BONES
  • GAINAX
  • Gonzo
  • Kyoto Animation
  • Madhouse Studios
  • Production I.G.
  • Pierrot
  • Studio Ghibli
  • Sunrise
  • Tatsunoko Productions
  • Toei

China

  • Beijing Xie Art (mainland)
  • Colorland (Hong Kong)
  • Wang Film Productions (Taiwan)

Philippines

  • Toon City

Australia

Related pages

Images for kids

  • Prof. Stampfer's Stroboscopische Scheibe No. X

    Nr. 10 in the reworked second series of Stampfer's stroboscopic discs published by Trentsensky & Vieweg in 1833.

  • Lanature1882 praxinoscope projection reynaud

    A projecting praxinoscope, from 1882, here shown superimposing an animated figure on a separately projected background scene

  • Fantasmagorie (Cohl)

    Fantasmagorie (1908) by Émile Cohl

  • Quirino Cristiani con una figura

    Italian-Argentine cartoonist Quirino Cristiani showing the cut and articulated figure of his satirical character El Peludo (based on President Yrigoyen) patented in 1916 for the realization of his films, including the world's first animated feature film El Apóstol.

  • Claychick

    A clay animation scene from a Finnish television commercial

  • Catenary animation

    A 2D animation of two circles joined by a chain

  • World of Color overview

    World of Color hydrotechnics at Disney California Adventure creates the illusion of motion using 1,200 fountains with high-definition projections on mist screens.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Animación para niños

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