3D Animation – Are You Up To The Challenge?

3D animation can be described as an art form in this high tech information age that has been marked by numerous advances. Technological advancement is a major catalyst for the ideology of art for upliftment. 3D animation is the perfect amalgamation of art for upliftment and art for arts sake.

3D animation, using 3D animation software, encapsulates the essence of art, its dynamic and ever evolving nature makes it an incredible combination of drawing, paintings and sculptures. As an art form, animation can constantly challenge the creative and intellectual nature of the artist, as animators are indeed artists. With computer animation, an artist now has access to traditional and technological means to produce some stunning work.

To produce their work, the computer animator/artist will draw, paint and model their designs using 3D animation techniques that include lighting, colour schemes, cinematography, texture, sound, contrasts and shading. Apart from the entertainment value of using 3D animation, it is now used widely in education and business. Therefore, an animator who is gifted can command a very high salary and will frequently be ‘head-hunted’.

To be a 3D animator one needs to understand that to make a realistic animation you need to literally sculpt a model using the best 3D animation software technology available to them in order to produce strokes that will bring the inanimate object to life. By withdrawing and adding new elements from the model the artist needs to be able to look at their work from different vantage points. 3D animation usually begins with the use of 2D photographs that will enable the animator to see the model from different angles.

To produce a sequence of realistic animations you need to create a detailed view of the model in sketch, script and transitions formats. Needless to say, tools play a major role in this creative process but it does not remove the creative element from the work of art, for the dedicated and determined, nothing can take away the quality of the 3D creation.

3D animation techniques involve the creation of a backdrop, the design of the set, the character modelling, the animation, cameras, recording, music compositions and special effects. To study 3D animation you should be looking at modules involving 3D modelling, 3D prototypes, special effects, character animation, architectural improvisations and engineering technicalities. You will also need to understand about workflow, timelines, research, detailing and structuring.

To be truly creative with 3D animation software, you also need to be well versed in the tricks you need using JPEG, GIF, TIFF, TGA and PNG file formats. Holistically, 3D animation requires the creator to have an aesthetic taste for the placement of the model. 3D animation brings to life all static images and can be the foundation of a brand image of a business or institution. If overdone, 3D animation can be tedious for the viewer and professional 3D animators need to understand this and when they should not over-work an animation. At best, animation can simplify even the most complex subjects bringing them to life using visualisations in an easy to understand way. To be good at this, you obviously need to understand the subject matter first!

My Top Six 3D Animated Films Of All Time -Thanks To Computer Animation!

Animated cartoon characters can cast a magical spell over the viewer and it is the skill of the computer animation expert to create that spell. The feelings that they can make in a person will endure and create a smile for a very long time. From tiny tots to their beloved grandparents, none can deny that these animated cartoons have those splendid, special secrets about them that make them leave an everlasting impression on the minds of the spectators.

So what is it about them that are so stunning? Is it the magnificence of the technology combined with art that astonishes the audience? Or is it their ability to transform us into an entirely different world that captivates the minds of million? Whatever it is, the few hours of immense cheerfulness that they bring into our lives is unmatched and leaves us only asking for more.

The world has watched the performances of plenty such fun filled movies yet there are a select few which have become legends in the world of animated pictures. So what are the top 5 all time favorite animated cartoons? And what makes them more special than the others?

1) The Lion King:

The life of Simba is beautifully portrayed in this computer animation movie starting from its childhood and the years that followed leading to a mature king who efficiently saves the land of pride from wrong hands and rules over it successfully. The assortments of emotions displayed by the Lion and all the other characters are enthralling!!!

2)  Finding Nemo

No body needs to be reminded of this movie which was the only one to top the Lion King at the box office. The adventurous pursuit of Marlin in finding Nemo in conjunction with Dory is considered one of the most enjoyable escapades ever in the history of animated cartoons.

3) Ratatouille

An impossible dream of a rat aspiring to become a chef was an entirely novel concept that was greeted well by the audience. Remy’s role as a secret chef in a French restaurant is an excellent recipe for laughter. The culinary world of Paris becoming topsy-turvy because of a rat race is perfectly depicted in the film. A great example of computer animation.

4) Shrek

An attempt to regain his swamp from a King, leads the green ogre, Shrek in a path of love that he has never tread before. The movie takes us into a fun filled journey, led by Shrek his pal donkey and his new found love Princess Fiona. The tag line that quotes ‘The greatest fairy tale never told’ is just a fitting description to the movie.

5) Ice Age

When the whole animal kingdom was frightened by the upcoming Ice Age, four animals Sid (sloth), Diego (tiger) Scrat (Squirrel) and Manny (mammoth) are united in a mission of returning a human infant to his father. The obstacles faced by this unusual group of heroes simply during their mission left the audience simply astound.

6) Cars

The story of a racing car (Lightning McQueen) who wanted more; companionship, freedom and a feeling of belonging.  During the journey, Lightning finds love with Sally Carrera and meets some unique characters along the way. My favourites were Doc and Mater. With such legends as Paul Newman, Michael Keaton and Owen Wilson involved in the voice overs, that these characters seem to have real personalities is a credit to the animation team.

Though each and every animated cartoon is unique in its own way, they are all united by one universal theme of love. They convey to us the message that life in any form deserves some respect. It takes real skill to produce these characters that can do that and it is no wonder that computer animators are so much in demand and that computer animation and the software to make it happen are so popular.

Visit the Official Illusion Mage website by CLICKING HERE now and find out what this great program can really do!

Best 3D Animation Software Reviews

Even the best 3D animation software can seem difficult at times, so let’s take a look at a few of them. Firstly, you should check out the level of tutorials for the software. If you choose wisely, you may not need to read this!

“SWiSHmax” has everything you need to create stunning interactive Flash animations. You can create shapes, text, buttons, sprites, and motion paths. You can also include more than 230 ready-to-use animated effects including explode, vortex, 3D spin, and wave. When you are done, preview your animation inside SWiSHmax without launching a browser, and live editing lets you make changes while the animation is playing. You can create your own effects or make an interactive movie by adding actions to objects.

“Easy 3D Objects” is intended for creation of 3D animations and illustrations. Areas where you can apply Easy 3D Objects include: making 3D GIF-animations; making 3D banners; making 3D illustrations; presentation materials; in the development of creative imagination. The program features include adding to 3D scenes by the following types of objects; dummy cube, sprite, plane, disk, cube, frustum, sphere, cone, cylinder, annulus, torus, arrow line, space text, mirror; you can edit the parameters of objects; rotate and move objects and groups of objects; fill objects by color or texture from BMP, JPEG files.

“Realsoft 3D” is a fully featured modelling, rendering, animation and simulation package. It introduces global illumination, multi-wavelength ray-tracing for accurate spectral caustics and other optical effects and sub-surface scattering for realistic human skin shading. On the animation front there is a full range of tools available from easy keyframing to event driven nonlinear animation support. Realsoft 3D is a complete solution for high end 3D-production at a low price.

“Effect3D” is a powerful editing tool that lets you create professional looking 3D objects, add animation and use a wide range of 3D effects. Effect3D’s Power Wizard does the work for you. Effect3D can also create dynamic 3D models by RTS animation so models can move back-and-forth, float, or rotate. There are over 500 models that are cleverly categorized for easy browsing and with over 70 behavioral Bio-Morph animation’s to choose from.

“3D GIF” Designer produces animated high-quality 3D pictures, titles, banner ads and buttons for your Web page or for a presentation. You can create animations from your own pictures (JPG, GIF, BMP, AVI) and easily add 3D text and shapes. The sprites technology enables total control. For quickly getting started, design your own animation from over 30 professional templates (banners, buttons, logos), and then save as animated GIF or AVI movies, or as set of JPEG or BMP files. In addition, 3D GIF Designer allows you to animate sprites with several effects such as Swing and Rotate.

“Stereogram Explorer” is software designed for creating high-quality hidden 3D graphics, also known as Single Image Random Dot Stereograms (SIRDS) or Single Image Stereograms (SIS) known from the “Magic Eye” series. Stereogram Explorer uses advanced algorithms and can also perform rendering. The main features include a user-friendly interface, support for many file types including GIFs, JPEGs, PICTs, and BMPs Import 3DS (3D Studio) models.

“Pro Motion” is a bitmap editor and animation package, ideal for creating pixel precise animations, images or icons used in games or Flash applications especially for handheld systems like mobile phones, gameboy, PDA, Pocket PC and similar. It has a huge number of functions, tons of tools including color cycling, onion skinning, masking, symmetry paint, magic wand, tile painting for “infinite” textures-bitmaps and “standard” functions like line, curve, box, circle and fill (pattern, gradients).

MotionStudio 3D from Coral – Get all the 3D text, graphics and animation tools you need to make your movie epic. Generate 3D graphics, titles and animated text using hundreds of presets make it fast and easy. Use high-end particle effects, add realistic motion blur to moving objects and make or import 3D models to embellish or animate–all in real time. When you’re ready, export to Corel VideoStudio Pro X4 or your favorite video-editing software for further web or video production.

This is available as a download which cuts the costs considerably. The main features include 3D titling, motion graphics and effects, easy-to-use 3D titling and text animation, the ability to create high-end effects by adding fire, snow, smoke, starfields, explosions and other phenomena with MotionStudio 3D particle effects. There is also a high-speed preview option, realistic motion blur as well as 3D effects that include particles, video textures, fire and more.

Anime Studio Pro 8 is a well respective piece of animation software that has gained quite a bit of respect. It is listed currently at just under $200 but you can get it for half that if you look. You will find it an ideal tool for professional artists and animators looking for an alternative to tedious frame-by-frame editing. You can make your own characters, objects and scenes using powerful vector-based drawing tools; instantly convert existing drawings to vector art using Automatic Image Tracing; point-and-click to attach bones to your characters for easy manipulation; speed up workflow using simulated physics; formats including NTSC/PAL D1/DV Standard and Widescreen; HDV and HDTV 780p and 1080p; AVI, MOV, Flash, and more.

Poser Pro 2012 allows a fast start-off the blocks with its drag and drop characters to help you create 3D scenes with lights and cameras. You can customize characters, photos or use the face shaping morphs to produce unique characters quickly. Poser uses the FirePly rendering engine and a flexible Node based material system to transform 3D scenes, cartoons or sketch style images and animations. You can make your character walk or talk, throw a ball or dance. There seems to be a lot of thought gone into this latest edition of Poser Pro so it is also worth a look, but at around $500 you would expect a great deal of features.

Moving forward to the more expensive packages, such as Maya and 3D Max…

Autodesk Maya 2012 animation software (link includes — Includes one year Autodesk Subscription) has comprehensive tools for animation, modeling, simulation, visual effects, rendering, matchmoving, and compositing on a highly extensible production platform. Suitable for films, games, television, advertising, publishing, or graphic design, Maya offers state-of-the-art toolsets, combined into a single affordable offering designed to help meet today’s demanding production requirements. Although it’s certainly good, the fact that you can get a video tutorial at an additional cost of $99 when Maya itself costs $3495, certainly indicates it’s a serious piece of software with that hefty price tag for the home user. So be sure this is what you need before you buy.

Personally, I think I’ve saved the best until last… Illusion Mage. This software pretty much does what the $3000+ packages do but at just $47! Read an independent full review of IllusionMage by visiting www.illusionmagespecial.com or simple go to the official web page by CLICKING HERE.