Animation Technology

Online Greeting Card

2008-05-07T11:08:00.001-07:00

I had always thought that online greeting cards were kind of stupid until I got one myself. I couldn't really stand the thought of an online greeting card, in fact. As much as traditional birthday cards, get well soon cards, and other mass manufactured Hallmark greetings seemed insincere, online greeting cards seemed like the worst. Instead of sending greeting cards online, why not just send out a quick e-mail saying hello to someone and asking them out for drinks after work? It seemed much more sincere than an online greeting card, and it didn't take any more time. After all, online animated greeting cards are not all that clever – they are just an excuse to not have to say anything real.

When one of my friends sent me an online birthday greeting card, however, it really cheered me up. It wasn't just because it was an online greeting card. It was just that I really needed a personal message from a friend. It was about par for online greeting cards – it had a cute, smiley-face-type animation, some cute little pun, and a space where you could write your own personal message. There was nothing out of the ordinary about it, but nonetheless it was touching. I guess it meant a lot to me to be remembered that year. A few of my friends had forgotten to even call me, and I had received no other cards.

Getting that online greeting card really made me feel a little bit better about the birthday. It made me stop thinking about how much older I was getting and start thinking about how lucky I was to have so many friends who cared about me. I suppose that online greeting cards are like any other means of expressing human affection. It isn't so much what they say or how they are delivered as that they are given out. Online greeting cards show someone that you are thinking about them, that they matter to you, and that they are worth the effort.

Ever since that day, I have been sending online greeting cards out to people. I admit that sometimes I do a little bit too much, but I think my friends know where my heart lies. It is better to come across as a little cliché and show people that you love them then to neglect people who might be looking for a little bit of attention to cheer them up.

Walt Disney Cartoons

2008-05-07T11:06:00.000-07:00

I basically grew up with Walt Disney cartoons. I have been watching them since I was four or five. They are one of the best parts of my childhood. Everyone knows and loves those wonderful Disney characters. There's Goofy, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and all the rest! They've been around forever, and will probably continue to be around for much longer. Let's face it – the Walt Disney cartoon is as American as apple pie.

When I was a kid, I always wanted to go to Disney World. I thought it was a magical place filled with living Disney cartoon characters. What I found wasn't quite that fantastic, but nevertheless I was not disappointed. There are many displays about the history of Walt Disney animation, as well as mascots of all of the Disney characters. There are rides, games, and even parades and fireworks displays. It got me more interested in Walt Disney cartoon animation than I had been before. I even thought about being an animator for a while.

Although Disney still makes good stuff, what I really like is the Walt Disney classic cartoons. Disney pioneered some amazing techniques in animation. I'll never forget the way that the demons looked in Night On bald Mountain, from the movie Fantasia. To this day, I have never seen anything like that Walt Disney cartoon! Not only were there demons, ghouls, and ghosts, but there were hippos dancing with alligators, as well as Mickey Mouse as a sorcerer's apprentice. It really was a fantastic Walt Disney cartoon. I don't think there is anyone from my generation who did not see it as a child.

My love of Disney is so transcendent that I tried to incorporate their animation into my everyday life. I have Walt Disney clip art on my computer, and a giant poster of Mickey Mouse on my wall. It may seem silly to you, but whenever I'm in a bad mood I look at the poster and it always cheers me up right away. It makes me think of childhood, and everyone loves to think of childhood. In fact, just writing this makes me want to go watch a Walt Disney cartoon. I would love to just take off the rest of the day and lose myself in the world of fantasy and imagination! I guess that's the best part of being a kid. You can sit down and watch a Walt Disney cartoon whenever you want to.

Disney Pictures

2008-03-31T11:28:00.000-07:00

Disney Pictures

The Walt Disney Studios have been responsible for some of the most enduring classics from the world of animation. Disney pictures were the first to release a full-length animated movie with Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. They raised the bar on quality and dominated the genre. With the invention of video and DVD, subsequent generations can watch their favorite Disney movies over and over.

The attention to detail and color made the animation stand out but the studio realized that a good story is important too. We cry at Bambi and laugh at the antics in Jungle Book. Disney pictures ventured into live action films too but it's the animation we fondly remember. So many characters have entertained us, such as Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy. We love to hate the villains too, as in Cruella da Ville, the dog-chasing monster from 101 Dalmatians.

Fairy stories have played a large part, lifted from the old storybooks and brought to vivid life. Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella have both been given the Disney treatment. Animals too, have been a constant feature. Jungle Book had a whole jungle full of them and then there was the Lady and the Tramp, Dumbo and The Aristocats. Artists working on Disney pictures would go out to the zoo to sketch animals and study the way they moved.

A typical Disney movie would involve a good versus evil theme, a hero or heroine and some catchy songs. The studio took a courageous step when they produced Fantasia and Uncle Walt was advised against it. It features a sequence of animation matched with classical music. Mickey Mouse got a part as the Sorcerer's Apprentice. Disney proved the doubters wrong, audiences loved it and it was a success. Nothing quite like it has been attempted before or since.

Times move on and the method of producing animation has improved. Today, there is very little hand drawn frames and most animators use a computer. Disney pictures have been shrewd in protecting their business by joining them instead of trying to beat them. They did a distribution deal with Pixar, the studio that produced a string of hits with Toy Story, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. The graphics and effects produced by Pixar and others are truly impressive but there is nostalgia for the rich tones and storybook feel of the early Disney films. Uncle Walt never talked down to his audience and that's why fans were loyal as they grew into adults.

Animation Character

2008-03-31T11:27:00.000-07:00

Animation Character

Cartoons and animated films are my favorite means of entertainment. I grew up watching Disney movies and I'd rush home from school to see my favorite animation character on TV. Animation is much more sophisticated now of course, and painstaking hand drawing has given way to computer aided images. I like everything, from the lush colors of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves to the latest state of the art Pixar creation. The important thing for me is the creative invention of the animation character. It has to be presented well but with good characterization and story.

The shows that gripped my imagination when I was young were Top Cat, Yogi Bear, Popeye and Tom and Jerry. I especially liked the animation character of Top Cat, or TC, as he was known to his friends. He ruled over his alleyway, was the king of his gang and rang rings round the local cops. He was my introduction to anarchy! My mother hoped that my devotion to Popeye would lead to a love of spinach, but it never happened. Tom and Jerry still plays today and is probably the most enduring of the old cartoons. The slapstick translates into any language and adults seem to like this sort of animation character as much as the kids do.

I also loved the Pink Panther series. He was such a cool dude, and I liked the jazz score that played. I guess I warmed to the type of animation character that went against authority, the rebel or anti-hero. They were a contrast to the goody two shoes that usually filled a Disney film. Of course, Disney had great villains too, such as the wonderful Cruella da Ville from 101 Dalmatians. She has got to be the greatest baddie animation character of all time and was really scary for small children.

Today, there are some great TV animated series around. The Simpsons is an amazing success story, remarkable for its high standard maintained over many years. I like it for its cultural and political references and I think adults get more out of it than kids. Some animation character shows are openly aimed at an adult audience, such as Family Guy and King of the Hill. All these shows have a lot to say about American society. You can do a lot of satire with an animation character and make them say things that real people wouldn't dare to.

Technological And Artictic Aspects In Animation

2008-03-14T23:37:00.000-07:00

Websites of today have improved immensely regarding technological and artistic aspects. Websites are no longer limited to text and pictures. Cutting edge websites of today provide an effective mix of audio and visual information. Websites can also pull in resources from other programs such as spreadsheets, charts, and Power Point presentations.

Power Point presentations have been used as the main method of presentation for many offices for the past several years. Power Point presentations are easy to create, are portable, and the Power Point program is affordable. Why not take your Power Point presentation to the next level by turning it into a web presentation?

How do you turn your Power Point presentation into a web presentation? The answer to this question may be different then what you have done in the past. In the past you may have provided a link on your website to your Power Point presentation. Users clicked on the link and watched the basic Power Point presentation. This method provided the information to the customer, but did not provide an “experience”.

You can convert your Power Point presentation to a Flash presentation in order to create an “experience” for your customer. “Flash” technology is accepted by 98% of the world which makes it a viable technological resource. Flash turns your basic Power Point presentation into a multimedia experience that you can share on the Internet.

A robust Flash program that you can use is “Articulate Presenter”. You can peruse their website at . Articulate presenter enables you to add audio and interactive video elements to your presentation. These features spice up your presentation and engage the customer more effectively.

It doesn't matter whether you have 10 or 110 slides because the Articulate Presenter will build a multimedia presentation for you. This program is designed so that anyone, no matter how technology savvy they are, can use it. This program will create multimedia presentations that work on any type of Internet connection speed from hi-speed internet to a dial-up connection. In addition, you can create CDs using this program.

The Articulate Presenter is often used in Internet commercials, seminars, and home study course creation. Another advantage is that after a customer views your multimedia web presentation you can automatically send them to your web page. Your customer will be more likely to purchase a product immediately after watching the web presentation so take advantage of this window of opportunity.

Use the power of Flash to add pizzazz to your web presentations. Flash enables you to reach your customers by stimulating their senses and tugging at their emotions. Show your passion and enthusiasm for your product through a multimedia presentation. Your customers may just jump on your bandwagon when they witness your dedication to the product, service, and customer satisfaction.

Animation Movies Made For Entertainment

2008-03-14T23:33:00.000-07:00

Cartoons and animated films are my favorite means of entertainment. I grew up watching Disney movies and I'd rush home from school to see my favorite animation character on TV. Animation is much more sophisticated now of course, and painstaking hand drawing has given way to computer aided images. I like everything, from the lush colors of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves to the latest state of the art Pixar creation. The important thing for me is the creative invention of the animation character. It has to be presented well but with good characterization and story.

The shows that gripped my imagination when I was young were Top Cat, Yogi Bear, Popeye and Tom and Jerry. I especially liked the animation character of Top Cat, or TC, as he was known to his friends. He ruled over his alleyway, was the king of his gang and rang rings round the local cops. He was my introduction to anarchy! My mother hoped that my devotion to Popeye would lead to a love of spinach, but it never happened. Tom and Jerry still plays today and is probably the most enduring of the old cartoons. The slapstick translates into any language and adults seem to like this sort of animation character as much as the kids do.

I also loved the Pink Panther series. He was such a cool dude, and I liked the jazz score that played. I guess I warmed to the type of animation character that went against authority, the rebel or anti-hero. They were a contrast to the goody two shoes that usually filled a Disney film. Of course, Disney had great villains too, such as the wonderful Cruella da Ville from 101 Dalmatians. She has got to be the greatest baddie animation character of all time and was really scary for small children.

Today, there are some great TV animated series around. The Simpsons is an amazing success story, remarkable for its high standard maintained over many years. I like it for its cultural and political references and I think adults get more out of it than kids. Some animation character shows are openly aimed at an adult audience, such as Family Guy and King of the Hill. All these shows have a lot to say about American society. You can do a lot of satire with an animation character and make them say things that real people wouldn't dare to.

List Of Animated Software Packages

2008-02-25T01:10:00.000-08:00

Scores of sites offer you thousands of free animations. You can use them on your web site or send them as digital postcards.

There are also many animation software packages available for download with no strings attached. Some of them are absolutely free, some are shareware and some are free with limited functions (with the option of more once you make the payment). There are some free trials that either expire after a certain period of time or are made available only with some critical options disabled.

Here is a list of some of them:

Adobe AfterEffects (Adobe). License: Free Trial. Motion graphics and visual effects for film and media.

Animator-9 3.6 (Key Technology). License: Free. Generate animated GIFs from your digital camera.

AniS 1.0 (Tom Whittaker). License: Free. Simple image manipulation for the web.

Jumpwel (Phildes0. License: Free. Basic object manipulator for use in HTML; uses Java applets.

Macromedia Flash (Macromedia). License: Free Trial. A leading player in 2D vector animation.

Macromedia Director (Macromedia). License: Free Trial. Create interactive ShockWave content.

Sqirlz Lite 1.1d (xiberpix0. License: Free. Animated image distorter that exports in AVI format.

Sqirlz Morph 1.2c (xiberpix). License: Free. Animated image morpher and blender.

3D Studio Max 7.0 (Discreet). License: Free Trial. Version 7.0 of the award-winning 3D modeling and animation software package. Also comes with trials of Character Studio and Mental Ray.

Cyberdelia (Askoh.com). License: Free. 3D Animation with support for exporting into Macromedia Shockwave.

FreeCAD 8.0 (Askoh.com). License: Free. A beginner’s 3D CAD and simulation program.

Gmax (Discreet). License: Free. A free 3D program that allows you to make your own modifications, customizations, and models required for Gmax-ready video games. Based on 3D Studio Max.

Maya 6.5 (Alias WaveFront). License: Free Trial. The latest version in 3D modeling and animation.

Serif 3D Plus (Serif). License: Free. Allows animated shapes and landscapes.

Special Effects 3.2 (Mathematically Beautiful ScreenSavers). License: Free. Limited range of pre-set animations based on user preferences.

Touch Art Sampler 017 (Derivative). License: Free. Allows you to play with animations, though more of a VJ/synthesizer studio than anything else.

TrueSpace 3.2 (Caligari). License: Free. Full 3D rendering and output. Apparently completely free. Still you need to register to get an unlock code on the website. Cross-compatible with many programs.

Animation Films - Means Of Entertainment

2008-02-25T01:06:00.000-08:00