Naruto Hokage

Naruto Hokage Animation

8 Steps to Getting a Cartoon Animation Series Produced - 3D Animation

If you are involved in the world of animation as an upcoming animator then more than likely, one of your major aspirations is to getting a cartoon animation series produced.

If you of a realistic nature you also realize that it is not going to be very easy but it is possible.

Step 1:
Let your imagination kick in. You need to come up an idea for your series. Being as it is a series you need an ongoing theme. Probably if you look back at your old sketchings, you will see where you drew perhaps an action figure doing several different things. The theme is what your action figure does. Now you will need to build your theme and once you do this, it becomes your foundation.

Step 2:
Naturally, there are going to have to be various characters in your series. You are going to need to think about each of them and what roll will they play. This does not mean you are designing the plot of the story, it means you are assigning traits to your characters.

Step 3:
Most cartoon animators do not consider themselves adept at script writing. This is where they will rely on an expert in that field. Your job will be to present him with your theme and your ideas regarding that theme. Your scriptwriter is the one who brings your characters to life. He will do this by utilizing the traits you have provided him. Make sure your choice of scriptwriter is one that is well versed in this type of writing.

Step 4:
One of the key factors of your success is making your characters remarkable. You can enlist the services of a good design company for this segment of your project. They almost have to become household names. Hopefully to the point where various products will be designed after them. Imagine a super hero you have erected becoming the hottest action figure on the market. I would class that as the ultimate success.

Step 5:
You are very close to the point of now compiling your character bible. This is where you start to put things into action. This book, which has now become a very valuable commodity of yours, will contain all of the information you have gathered so far from the different venues you hired. You will take your character bible to an animation house in the hopes of having a pilot episode produced.

Step 6:
Now you will have reached a decision-making period. You can approach a distribution company with your pilot to see how marketable the finished version would be.

Step 7:
The other alternative to a distribution company would be to approach the television media to see if there would be any interest by them to produce your show. Here is the step where you have to be confident in your work. You know it is good and now you have to sell others on that very fact.

Understanding the Difference Between 2D and 3D Animations

3D Animations

You have no doubt heard the term "animation" and the technical definition is the filming of a sequence of positions or drawings to create an illusion of motion. With the advent of computers, animation evolved from hand drawings to perhaps the most recognized forms of computer 2D animations and 3D computer animation. While the entertainment industry continues to create amazing computer generated 3D animations, what used to take a great deal of manpower, not to mention pencils, cels, etc. can now be accomplished by a single individual.

The most familiar form of 2D animations can be found by watching Saturday morning cartoons with your kids, or even simpler animations every day when you surf the web. It takes on the forms of advertisements, e-cards, etc. The basic starting point for all animations is a storyboard that lays out the basic script in a visual format, much like an extra large comic strip.

From that point a rough audio track of the script is created to give animators something to sync with their drawings. This form of animation uses "vector graphics," meaning that the images are based upon mathematical equations, rather than by an array of pixels, such as in "raster graphics."

Although similar in some ways to 2D animations, 3D computer animation is a different process, as a scene being done in 3D is created long before any actual animation begins. Even in general terms, most people automatically think 3D when they are speaking or reading about computer animation, partly due to its flexibility.

What many people do not realize is that the entertainment industry and specifically motion picture applications, while possibly being the forerunners in advancing technologies, only account for a fraction of the 3D animations market. Actually, there is very little difference between computer animation and what is called traditional animation.

The main difference is the tools that are used to create animations, the effort and the price. Traditional 3D animation was more like claymations, and was done by using stop-motion filming techniques. Essentially, the true concept of 3D animations did not really catch on until the use of computers for animation became more cost effective and practical.

Although the entertainment industry is largely responsible for the advances in 3D computer animation, they make up only a small part of the market that uses 3D animations. Animation designs sell products; it is also used as a teaching aide because it presents information in a more understandable way.

Many animations can be created completely on a computer, but depending on the type of animation desired, such as cartoon animations, there may be the need for some hand-penciling work to be done.