3D Animation Studio
Although animation has been with us for as long as a few decades now, the concept of animation still seem pretty much magical to the layman. 'How do you make drawings come alive on screen?' is what they usually ask.
With the invention of 3D animation technology, the concept of animation becomes even more hazy and mystical to the layman. They still refer to 3D animation as 'drawing' and know not a thing about the process that goes on behind 3D animation.
As the owner of a 3D animation studio, I feel that it is very important to educate my clients on what goes on behind 3D animation production.
The knowledge does not just help them appreciate the service better, but also helps to facilitate the process and manage their expectations.
This is important because it helps our clients achieve what they want and allows us to communicate effectively with them.
This lens hopes to demystify the process of a 3D animation production and unveil what goes on behind the closed doors of a 3D animation studio.
Get prepared for an educational journey!
Dimeji Ajibola runs Flipsyde studios Limited - a production house focused on producing high-end film and animation works for cinemas, documentary producers, advertising houses and cartoon animated series - with projects ranging from the animation and documentary of NB Eagle projects to the visualization of Fourscore homes and various advertising works.
So what is 3D Animation?
So what is 3D animation ... really???
Do not be fooled by the seemingly simplicity of this question.
I was actually quite tempted not to write this article because it's such a difficult topic to write on. It can be answered as complicated as you want it to be or as short as you desire. The thing is, I need to let clients know how complicated the process is, but not to let them walk away confused. Saying that, I will try my best to answer this question in the most concise but uncomplicated way possible.
In a nutshell, computer 3D animation refers to the work of creating moving pictures in a digital environment that is three-dimensional. Through the careful manipulation of objects (3D models) within the 3D software, we can then export picture sequences which will give the illusion of movement (animation) based on how we manipulate the objects.
What happens in animation is that motion is simulated in a way that the eyes tend to believe that actual motion has taken place while the fact is the perceived sense of motion is only because of the consecutive images that are passed through very fast.
This theory is inherent be it for 3D, 2D or stop motion animation.
In traditional 2D animation, pictures are hand-drawn and every one showing subtle changes from the previous. When played back sequentially, it creates the illusion of motion. In stop motion animation, real life models are moved slightly and filmed. Again, the pictures will create the illusion of motion when played back. In3D animation, everything is done within the computer and exported from the computer.
The process of creating 3D animation can be sequentially divided into three phases: modeling - which describes the process of creating the 3D objects within a scene, layout and animation - which describes how objects are positioned and animated within a scene, and rendering - which describes the final output of the completed computer graphics. Through the combination of the above phases and a few other sub-phases, this completes the process of a3D animation production.
There are many softwares in the market for creating 3D animation, ranging from the cheaper lower-end ones to the professional high-end versions. If you are curious to see how a 3D software works, you can download a free one called Blender. Just Google it and you will be able to find its official website.
It is beyond the scope of this lens to discuss animation software in depth. However, if you are interested to find out more, head on over to this article I wrote on 3d animation software.
2D Cel animation involves illustrating many pictures of a scene in various phases of movement and flipping through them quickly digitally to create the illusion of movement or animation.
3D computer animation is a costlier and time-consuming process compared to 2D animation as it involves many more steps.
Stop motion animation is a painfully tedious process and involves tweaking the models bit by bit!
What's the Difference between 2D and 3D anyway?
Isn't it obvious? Errr...not quite...read on to find out why.
The first concept you must grasp is that 3D means 3 dimensional and 2D means 2 dimensional. Now before you think I'm stating the obvious, let me go on to say that the 3D and 2D in animation refer to the dimension in which the animation was created. Ahhhh. The plot thickens eh?
For 2D animation, everything happens on a 2 dimensional platform. Pictures are flat, without depth and offer only one pespective. Objects and characters are usually drawn without the subtle soft shadows we see in real life and colours have few varying shades. In3D animation , everything happens on a 3 dimensional platform. Pictures have depth and offer multiple pespectives just like in real life and have soft subtle shadows casted on the objects and characters within.
In 2D, characters look cartoonish and unrealisitc. In 3D, characters can look cartoonish but realistic at the same time.
Super Mario in 2D and 3D, Copyright(C) Nintendo. See the difference?
Another way to think of this is to think in terms of a painting and a sculpture. 2D is a painting, and 3D is a sculpture. 3D introduces "depth perspective," so we not only see a rectangle (2D) but a CUBE (3D). You may also want to think of it like being the difference between a photograph of a glass of water (2D) and being able to reach out and actually pick up the glass of water (3D).
You could start training yourself by comparing a cartoon like Bugs Bunny, Aladdin, Lion King (2D) to "Toy Story 1,2 & 3, "Finding Nemo" and "Incredibles" (3D). If you have not watched any of these great cartoons, you should grab one right away or be branded a neantherdal forever!
Typically, 2D involves "drawing," or movement on, say, a flat surface (sketch pad, etc.) or in the vertical and horizontal planes. 3D involves "modeling," i.e., creating objects in 3-dimensions using a computer software, residing in an expansive virtual environment, complete with lights, reflections, other objects, shadows, etc.
Is 3D Animation an Offspring of 2D Animation?
Somebody told me 3D was 'born' from 2D ...
Many people have the idea that 3D animation stemmed as a progression from 2D animation. While not entirely untrue, this is definitely not the whole truth as well.
If we have to make some form of link, then I would say that 3D animation has more of its roots in stop motion animation than in traditional hand drawn 2d animation. The stop motion film techniques were used very well in the 1963 film Jason and the Argonauts by Ray Harryhausen, although they have actually been around since the very early days of film in the late 19th century. But it was Ray Harryhausen who really brought the technique to life.
You might want to know also that the original King Kong movie produced in 1933, also used stop motion techniques extensively.
Comparing 3D animation and stop motion, we can actually see where the similarities are.
For stop motion, it involves taking a model and filming one frame at a time. Slight changes are made to the model and then filmed again. This is to simulate movement. By building up frame after frame and playing it back at between 12 and 70 frames per second, the model looks like it is moving. This is a very painstaking process and by no means a walk in the park!
3D animation uses a similar method but it is created using computers. Everything is controlled within the computer and the output is automated by the computer after you key in the instructions. It is decidedly less tedious physically compared to stop motion animation, but the fundamentals are similiar in nature.
Even the lighting, texturing and camera aspects of both animation methods share the same fundamentals, with the exception that one happens in reality, and the other in the computer.
I would think that for a stop motion artist to transit over to 3D animation and vice versa, it would be a lot easier and faster, as opposed to a 2D artist. And having said that, I would end this section by saying again that 3D animation smells more like an offspring of stop motion animation than 2D animation.
The Process of 3D Animation
There's probably more steps to 3D animation than you think there are!
The process of a 3D animation pipeline is complex and can be a lot more complicated than any other forms of animation.
Depending on what project and which 3D animation studio is involved, the number of steps may vary.
In this lens, I've identified and illustrated the 11 most common steps involved in producing a 3D animation project.
They are namely :
1. Concept and Storyboards
2. 3D Modeling
3. Texturing
4. Rigging
5. Animation
6. Lighting
7. Camera Setting
8. Rendering
9. Compositing and Special VFX
10. Music and Foley
11. Editing and Final Output
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