CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 PROJECT BACKGROUND

Computer graphics and animation is a very broad and wide aspect of computer science, and has

effects on our everyday living. Dissemination of information with good graphical user interface

becomes very important when very important information have to be passed across.

This project would be split into the two aspects (graphics and animation) sometimes during the

course of discussion.

1.1.1 Computer Graphics

Computers have become a powerful tool for the rapid and economical production of pictures.

There is virtually no area in which graphical displays cannot be used to some advantage, and so

it is not surprising to find the use of computer graphics so widespread. Although early

applications in engineering and science had to rely on expensive and cumbersome equipment,

advances in computer technology have made interactive computer graphics a practical tool.

Today, we find computer graphics used routinely in such diverse areas as science, Engineering,

medicine, business, industry, government, art, entertainment, advertising, Education and training.

Before we get into the details of how to do computer graphics, we first take a short tour through

a gallery of graphics applications.

A major use of computer graphics is in design processes, particularly for engineering and

architectural systems, but almost all products are now computer designed. Generally referred to

as CAD, computer-aided design methods are now routinely used in the design of buildings,

automobiles, aircraft, watercraft, spacecraft, computers, textiles, and many, many other products.

For some design applications; object are first displayed in a wireframe outline form that shows

the overall sham and internal features of objects. Wireframe displays also allow designers to

quickly see the effects of interacting adjustments to design shapes. Software packages for CAD

applications typically provide the designer with a multi-window environment. The various

displayed windows can show enlarged sections or different views of objects. Circuits and

networks for communications, water supply, or other utilities are constructed with repeated

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placement of a few graphical shapes. The shapes used in a design represent the different network

or circuit components. Standard shapes for electrical, electronic, and logic circuits are often

supplied by the design package. For other applications, a designer can create personalized

symbols that are to be used to construct the network or circuit. The system is then designed by

successively placing components into the layout, with the graphics package automatically

providing the connections between components. This allows the designer to quickly try out

alternate circuit schematics for minimizing the number of components or the space required for

the system.

Because of the broadness of this topic, the major part to be discussed will be the effectiveness of

the graphical user interface to the everyday living.

The human computer interface for most systems involves extensive graphics, regardless of the

application. Typically, general systems now consist of windows, pull-down and pop-up menus,

icons, and pointing devices, such as a mouse or space ball, for positioning the screen cursor.

Popular graphical user interfaces include X Windows, Windows, Macintosh, Open Look, and

Motif. These interfaces are used in a variety of applications, including word processing,

Spreadsheets, databases and file-management systems, presentation systems, and Page-layout

systems. In graphics packages, specialized interactive dialogues are designed for individual

applications, such as engineering design, architectural design, data visualization, drafting,

business graphs, and artist's paintbrush programs. For general graphics packages, interfaces are

usually provided through a standard system. An example is the X Window System interface with

PHIGS. In further chapters, we will take a look at the basic software packages for computer

graphics, their functionalities, benefits, limitations, etc.

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1.1.2 Computer Animation

Some typical applications of computer-generated animation are entertainment (motion pictures

and cartoons), advertising, scientific and engineering studies, and training and education.

Although we tend to think of animation as implying object motions, the term computer

animation generally refers to any time sequence of visual changes in a scene. In addition to

changing object position with translations or rotations, a computer-generated animation could

display time variations in object size, color, transparency, or surface texture. Advertising

animations often transition one object shape into another: for example, transforming a can of

motor oil into an automobile engine. Computer animations can also be generated by changing

camera parameters, such as position, orientation, and focal length. And we can produce computer

animations by changing lighting effects or other parameters and procedures associated with

illumination and rendering. Many applications of computer animation require realistic displays.

An accurate representation of the shape of a thunderstorm or other natural phenomena described

with a numerical model is important for evaluating the reliability of the model. Also, simulators

for training aircraft pilots and heavy-equipment operators must produce reasonably accurate

representations of the environment. Entertainment and advertising applications, on the other

hand, are sometimes more interested in visual effects. Thus, scenes may be displayed with

exaggerated shapes and unrealistic motions and transformations. There are many entertainment

and advertising applications that do require accurate representations for computer-generated

scenes. And in some scientific and engineering studies, realism is not a goal. For example,

physical quantities are often displayed with pseudo-colors or abstract shapes that change over

time to help the researcher understand the nature of the physical process.

Animation is not just a series of funny drawings strung together in movement. At its most

creative, it is a truly beautiful art form. Yet the tradition of drawn animation is a relatively short

one compared with other visual arts. It has only been in this century that the technology to

produce any film-let alone animated film- has been available. Indeed, one has often thought that

many of the Old Masters, from Leonardo da Vinci to Rembrandt to Hokusai, might well have

committed themselves to animation, had the knowledge of film-making been available to them in

their time.

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Computer animation is also a very broad aspect of computer science, just like computer graphics.

One could call computer animation an advanced aspect of computer graphics. This is because,

unlike graphics, it has the ability of incorporating other things like motion, sound, effects, etc.

This is why, most times, computer animation is widely referred to as MOTION GRAPHICS.

Animated filmmaking, which will also be discussed in the course of this study, in its widest

expression, is not, however, traditionally an art form of individual genius. A large team of

dedicated, talented, and cooperative artists is required to complete a high quality animation film.

Successful animation demands a collective creative approach, within which each individual, no

matter how talented, must harmonize and communicate with others for his or her work to be

given its fullest expression on the screen. Problems can arise when the methods and

terminologies used by any one individual of the team are not compatible or familiar to the others.

No one person can have a perfect understanding of computer animation; this is because of its

broadness. This study tends to talk about the very obvious aspect of animation in our day to day

living, for example, filmmaking, digital art, flash animations for ATMs, Billboards, etc.

At its best, animation is a wonderful varied art form, which potentially has no limitations on

imagination or technique. Sadly, exciting ideas are often spoiled by inadequate animation ability

and fall into a pit of undisciplined sloppiness. In addition to being an art, animation is also a craft

and, as with any craft, it takes time for apprentices to master it. What are then needed are

patience, commitment, and effort, to make the basic principles come alive with new life and

fresh ideas. In the early days of animation, Walt Disney established a fine tradition of

craftsmanship, which we can only look up to, from our more humble position of expertise. What

has been achieved once however can theoretically be achieved again if the will, the financial

support, and the working knowledge are there.

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1.2 AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT:

AIM

To illustrate how computer graphics and animation can be used in cartooning.

OBJECTIVES

The major objective of this project is to give a comprehensive overview of computer graphics and animation especially in the areas of its application.

The project will also address the history (timeline), categories, functionalities, benefits and limitations, designs, and advancements of computer graphics and animation.

The uses of computer graphics and animation in our everyday lives would be emphasized. The major focus of this project would eventually be in the aspect of COMPUTER ART, which also happens to be an area of application. Cartoon animation would majorly be discussed with a brief prototype done on it.

Here are the objectives in summary:

To study the several advancements in computer graphics and animation. To study the application areas of computer graphics and animation To design and implement a prototype on cartoon animation

1.3 METHOD OF STUDY:

To effectively achieve the objectives of this project, considering its broadness and wideness, the following methods and procedures were adopted.

The rigorous use of the internet The use of computer-based libraries, both online and offline Installation of computer graphics and animation software packages and apt knowledge of

each one of them Information collection from other related departments, like fine and applied arts.

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1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY:

Computer graphics and animation is a very broad and wide aspect of computer science, and has effects on our everyday living. Dissemination of information with good graphical user interface becomes very important when very important information have to be passed across.

This study intends to illustrate how computer graphics and animation began, how well it has grown, the several functions that particular software packages perform, how these functions can be adopted into our everyday living, its advancements, and so on. Some of the most recent computer graphics and animation software packages would also be looked into, and some of the procedures for the design of the most recent animation works will also be checked.

In all, this study intends to contribute immensely to knowledge and erase the general impression people tend to have towards computer graphics and animation about it not being broad or relevant.

1.5 SCOPE OF STUDY:

This project majorly covers the areas of history (timeline), categories, functionalities, benefits and limitations, and application areas of computer graphics and animation with a major focus on cartooning.

1.6 ORGANIZATION OF DISSERTATION

This report describes the advancements of computer graphics and animation, and also discusses the several old and most recent software applications for computer graphics and animation. This report also gives room for further research.

The Bulk of this report is to be found in CHAPTERS TWO to FIVE. Chapter two represents an overview of computer graphics and animation, focusing majorly on history, timeline, categories, and the application areas.

Chapter three focuses on the methodology of design of CARTOON ANIMATION as it relates to computer animation.

Chapter four discusses design process and implementation.

Chapter five focuses on the summary as drawn from the whole write-up, conclusions drawn from the project, and opportunities for further work.

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CHAPTER TWO

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 HISTORICAL TIMELINE OF COMPUTER GRAPHICS AND ANIMATION

In 1945, (Dr. Vannevar Bush), Science Advisor to F.D. Roosevelt and designer of early

Calculators wrote an article describing his vision of a personal desktop computer for non-

numerical applications.

In 1950, Simple picture: SAGE was the first to command and control CRT display with the use

of light pen. Whirlwind used CRT for displaying the output.

Figure 2.1 – A cathode ray tube

In 1960, Douglas Engelbart invented the mouse.

In 1963, Sketchpad: Ivan E. Sutherland (Interactive graphics). He developed interactive

techniques for using light pen and keyboard for selecting, pointing, drawing and editing objects

on CRT.

In the Mid 60's, MIT, General Motors, Bell Labs, Lockheed, NASA developed multiple

timeshared graphics consoles for many phases of car design.

In the Late 60's, "Cheap" displays from Tektronics, Evans and Sutherland start a dynasty at

Utah

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In the Early 70's, Alan Kay at Xerox invented SmallTalk.

ADIS Graphics package was developed. It had the capability to read/write a single pixel, draw

line, add text to display, move existing portion of the display. The output was directed to

rectangular area of the screen called the window.

In 1974, Economic threshold crossed cheap memory and cheap displays become available in the

market.

In the Late 70's, Evans and Sutherland (Flight simulators), Economic raster graphics and

displays.

In 1979, Robert Sproull at Carnegie Mellon invented DLISP. He presented a design of raster

graphics package into programming environment.

In the Early 80's, Microprocessor graphics, VRAM (from Texas instruments)

Mid to Late 80's - Graphics workstations (Silicon Graphics, Ardent, Stellar), Photo realism (ray

tracing and radiosity)

In the Early 90's, Interactive 3D systems were designed.

In the New Millenium, More interactive 3D systems with animation abilities were designed and

are still in use

(graphics and animation department of ohio state university,ohio.edu.com, 2007)

SOFTWARES AND STANDARDS

1950's - Use of matrices and homogenous coordinates

1960's - Interactive techniques for wire frame images

1965 - Bresenham's line and circle algorithms

Late 60's and early 70's - Hidden object removal and rendering algorithms

1974 - Call for a portable, device-independent graphics standard

1979 - Core finalized by SIGGRAPH - de facto 3D standard.

Early 80's - Ray Tracing algorithms

Mid 80's - Radiosity, other photorealistic techniques, animation

1986 - GKS Graphics Kernel System becomes first international standard, the X window system

1988 - PHIGS ( Programmer's Heirarchical Interactive Graphics System ) approved - 3D

structure hierarchy. Supports animation.

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Early 90's - PHIGS+ proposed - rendering, lighting models, advanced primitives, etc.

2.2 GRAPHICS PRIMITIVE

According to Donald Hearn and M. Pauline Baker. Computer graphics, Principles, and

Practice(2007). A primitive is a graphics object that is essential for the creation or construction of

complex images.

Fortunately, graphics is constructed from three basic elements, as opposed to the great variety of

graphics applications.

Pixel

Line

Polygon

2.2.1 PIXEL

I. A pixel is a point of light.

II. It is just one tiny dot on the raster displays.

III. Though it has no structure, it is definitely a building block and hence it can be considered

as the graphics primitive.

IV. The resolution of the CRT is defined as the number of pixels per unit length that can be

plotted horizontally or vertically.

V. As the resolution of the screen increased, a better quality graphics we can get.

2.2.2 LINE

I. Lines, especially straight lines, constitute an important building block of computer

images.

II. Line is the basic building block of Line graphs, like bar and pie charts, two and three-

dimensional graphs of mathematical functions, engineering drawings and architectural

plans.

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III. In computer graphics, straight line is so basic in creating images that we call it a graphics

primitive.

IV. Straight lines can be developed in two different ways.

A structural method determines which pixels should be set before drawing the line;

A conditional method tests certain conditions to find which pixel should be set next.

2.2.3 POLYGON

I. A polygon is a shape generally constructed from straight lines.

II. A polygon is a closed area of image bounded by straight or curved lines and filled with

one solid color. Since images are two dimensional, a polygon is a closed planar figure.

III. The polygon can be defined by an ordered sequence of vertices, the corners of the

polygon.

Figure 2.2 – A Polygon

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2.3 CATEGORIES OF COMPUTER GRAPHICS AND ANIMATION

The known categories that would be discussed are 2D and 3D graphics and animation. As earlier

discussed that computer animation is computer graphics in motion, so is it with 2D and 3D

graphics and animation. So, only graphics would majorly be referred to at most times.(Friedman,

1990)

2.3.1 2D Graphics

2D computer graphics is the computer-based generation of digital images—mostly from two-

dimensional models (such as 2D geometric models, text, and digital images) and by techniques

specific to them. The word may stand for the branch of computer science that comprises such

techniques, or for the models themselves. Microsoft Encarta, (2008).

2D computer graphics are mainly used in applications that were originally developed upon

traditional printing and drawing technologies, such as typography, cartography, technical

drawing, advertising, etc.. In those applications, the two-dimensional image is not just a

representation of a real-world object, but an independent artifact with added semantic value; two-

dimensional models are therefore preferred, because they give more direct control of the image

than 3D computer graphics (whose approach is more akin to photography than to typography).

In many domains, such as desktop publishing, engineering, and business, a description of a

document based on 2D computer graphics techniques can be much smaller than the

corresponding digital image—often by a factor of 1/1000 or more. This representation is also

more flexible since it can be rendered at different resolutions to suit different output devices. For

these reasons, documents and illustrations are often stored or transmitted as 2D graphic files.

2D computer graphics started in the 1950s, based on vector graphics devices. These were largely

supplanted by raster-based devices in the following decades. The PostScript language and the X

Window System protocol were landmark developments in the field.

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2.3.1.1 2D graphics techniques

According to Raymond Goertz (1990), 2D graphics models may combine geometric models

(also called vector graphics), digital images (also called raster graphics), text to be typeset

(defined by content, font style and size, color, position, and orientation), mathematical functions

and equations, and more. These components can be modified and manipulated by two-

dimensional geometric transformations such as translation, rotation, scaling. In object-oriented

graphics, the image is described indirectly by an object endowed with a self-rendering method—

a procedure which assigns colors to the image pixels by an arbitrary algorithm. Complex models

can be built by combining simpler objects, in the paradigms of object-oriented programming.

2.3.1.2 Direct painting

A convenient way to create a complex image is to start with a blank "canvas" raster map (an

array of pixels, also known as a bitmap) filled with some uniform background color and then

"draw", "paint" or "paste" simple patches of color onto it, in an appropriate order. In particular,

the canvas may be the frame buffer for a computer display.

Some programs will set the pixel colors directly, but most will rely on some 2D graphics library

and/or the machine's graphics card, which usually implement the following operations:

I. paste a given image at a specified offset onto the canvas;

II. write a string of characters with a specified font, at a given position and angle;

III. paint a simple geometric shape, such as a triangle defined by three corners, or a circle

with given center and radius;

IV. draw a line segment, arc, or simple curve with a virtual pen of given width.

2.3.1.3 Extended color models

Text, shapes and lines are rendered with a client-specified color. Many libraries and cards

provide color gradients, which are handy for the generation of smoothly-varying backgrounds,

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shadow effects, etc. The pixel colors can also be taken from a texture, e.g. a digital image (thus

emulating rub-on screen tones and the fabled "checker paint" which used to be available only in

cartoons).

Painting a pixel with a given color usually replaces its previous color. However, many systems

support painting with transparent and translucent colors, which only modify the previous pixel

values. The two colors may also be combined in fancier ways, e.g. by computing their bitwise

exclusive or. This technique is known as inverting color or color inversion, and is often used in

graphical user interfaces for highlighting, rubber-band drawing, and other volatile painting—

since re-painting the same shapes with the same color will restore the original pixel values.

2.3.1.4 Layers

The models used in 2D computer graphics usually do not provide for three-dimensional shapes,

or three-dimensional optical phenomena such as lighting, shadows, reflection, refraction, etc.

However, they usually can model multiple layers (conceptually of ink, paper, or film; opaque,

translucent, or transparent—stacked in a specific order. The ordering is usually defined by a

single number (the layer's depth, or distance from the viewer).

Layered models are sometimes called 2 1/2-D computer graphics. They make it possible to

mimic traditional drafting and printing techniques based on film and paper, such as cutting and

pasting; and allow the user to edit any layer without affecting the others. For these reasons, they

are used in most graphics editors. Layered models also allow better anti-aliasing of complex

drawings and provide a sound model for certain techniques such as mitered joints and the even-

odd rule.

Layered models are also used to allow the user to suppress unwanted information when viewing

or printing a document, e.g. roads and/or railways from a map, certain process layers from an

integrated circuit diagram, or hand annotations from a business letter.

In a layer-based model, the target image is produced by "painting" or "pasting" each layer, in

order of decreasing depth, on the virtual canvas. Conceptually, each layer is first rendered on its

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own, yielding a digital image with the desired resolution which is then painted over the canvas,

pixel by pixel. Fully transparent parts of a layer need not be rendered, of course. The rendering

and painting may be done in parallel, i.e. each layer pixel may be painted on the canvas as soon

as it is produced by the rendering procedure.

Layers that consist of complex geometric objects (such as text or polylines) may be broken down

into simpler elements (characters or line segments, respectively), which are then painted as

separate layers, in some order. However, this solution may create undesirable aliasing artifacts

wherever two elements overlap the same pixel.

2.3.1.5 2D graphics hardware

Modern computer graphics card displays almost overwhelmingly use raster techniques, dividing

the screen into a rectangular grid of pixels, due to the relatively low cost of raster-based video

hardware as compared with vector graphic hardware. Most graphic hardware has internal support

for blitting operations and sprite drawing. A co-processor dedicated to blitting is known as a

Blitter chip.

Classic 2D graphics chips of the late 1970s and early 80s, used in the 8-bit video game consoles

and home computers, include:

Atari's ANTIC (actually a 2D GPU), TIA, CTIA, and GTIA

Commodore/MOS Technology's VIC and VIC-II

2.3.1.6 2D graphics software

Many graphical user interfaces (GUIs), including Mac OS, Microsoft Windows, or the X

Window System, are primarily based on 2D graphical concepts. Such software provides a visual

environment for interacting with the computer, and commonly includes some form of window

manager to aid the user in conceptually distinguishing between different applications. The user

interface within individual software applications is typically 2D in nature as well, due in part to

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the fact that most common input devices, such as the mouse, are constrained to two dimensions

of movement.

2D graphics are very important in the control peripherals such as printers, plotters, sheet cutting

machines, etc.. They were also used in most early video and computer games; and are still used

for card and board games such as solitaire, chess, mahjongg, etc.

2D graphics editors or drawing programs are application-level software for the creation of

images, diagrams and illustrations by direct manipulation (through the mouse, graphics tablet, or

similar device) of 2D computer graphics primitives. These editors generally provide geometric

primitives as well as digital images; and some even support procedural models. The illustration

is usually represented internally as a layered model, often with a hierarchical structure to make

editing more convenient. These editors generally output graphics files where the layers and

primitives are separately preserved in their original form. MacDraw, introduced in 1984 with the

Macintosh line of computers, was an early example of this class; recent examples are the

commercial products Adobe Illustrator and CorelDRAW, and the free editors such as xfig or

Inkscape. There are also many 2D graphics editors specialized for certain types of drawings such

as electrical, electronic and VLSI diagrams, topographic maps, computer fonts, etc.

Image editors are specialized for the manipulation of digital images, mainly by means of free-

hand drawing/painting and signal processing operations. They typically use a direct-painting

paradigm, where the user controls virtual pens, brushes, and other free-hand artistic instruments

to apply paint to a virtual canvas. Some image editors support a multiple-layer model; however,

in order to support signal-processing operations like blurring each layer is normally represented

as a digital image. Therefore, any geometric primitives that are provided by the editor are

immediately converted to pixels and painted onto the canvas. The name raster graphics editor is

sometimes used to contrast this approach to that of general editors which also handle vector

graphics. One of the first popular image editors was Apple's MacPaint, companion to MacDraw.

Modern examples are the free GIMP editor, and the commercial products Photoshop and Paint

Shop Pro. This class too includes many specialized editors — for medicine, remote sensing,

digital photography, etc.Wikipedia (2008)

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2.3.1.7 2D animation

With the resurgence of 2D animation and its booming popularity, software like Toonz Harlequin,

CelAction, Anime Studio, Toon Boom Animation, Animaker and Adobe Flash have emerged as

the new tools of choice for both amateur and professional animators.

However, the principal issue with 2D animation is labor requirements. With advanced software

like RETAS and Adobe After Effects, coloring and compositing can be easily done with

significantly less time.

Additional software is being developed to aid and speed up the process of digital 2D animation,

specifically in the area of automatic coloring and in-betweening. One such example is Cacani.

2D animations allows you to create images, characters, and animals that are two dimensional.

You can use cell animation, which is more traditional, but these days companies are coming up

with a number of animation software choices that you'll want to consider as well.

You can use these programs and methods to create frames for the characters you have created, so

that you can fool the eye into thinking that the animation you've created is actually moving or

speaking.

2D animations work much the same way that 3D graphics do, but the process is a little simpler,

so you may want to try software that is created for 2D applications first before expanding your

portfolio.

2.3.2 3D GRAPHICS

According to Donald Hearn and M. Pauline (2008), 3D computer graphics (in contrast to 2D

computer graphics) are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data

(often Cartesian) that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and

rendering 2D images. Such images may be for later display or for real-time viewing.

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Despite these differences, 3D computer graphics rely on many of the same algorithms as 2D

computer vector graphics in the wire-frame model and 2D computer raster graphics in the final

rendered display. In computer graphics software, the distinction between 2D and 3D is

occasionally blurred; 2D applications may use 3D techniques to achieve effects such as lighting,

and primarily 3D may use 2D rendering techniques.

3D computer graphics are often referred to as 3D models. Apart from the rendered graphic, the

model is contained within the graphical data file. However, there are differences. A 3D model is

the mathematical representation of any three-dimensional object (either inanimate or living). A

model is not technically a graphic until it is visually displayed. Due to 3D printing, 3D models

are not confined to virtual space. A model can be displayed visually as a two-dimensional image

through a process called 3D rendering, or used in non-graphical computer simulations and

calculations.

2.3.2.1 History

William Fetter was credited with coining the term computer graphics in 1960, to describe his

work at Boeing. One of the first displays of computer animation was Futureworld (1976), which

included an animation of a human face and hand — produced by Ed Catmull and Fred Parke at

the University of Utah.

2.3.2.2 Overview

The process of creating 3D computer graphics can be sequentially divided into three basic

phases: 3D modeling which describes the process of forming the shape of an object, layout and

animation which describes the motion and placement of objects within a scene, and 3D rendering

which produces an image of an object.

Layout and animation

Before objects are rendered, they must be placed (laid out) within a scene. This is what defines

the spatial relationships between objects in a scene including location and size. Animation refers

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to the temporal description of an object, i.e., how it moves and deforms over time. Popular

methods include keyframing, inverse kinematics, and motion capture, though many of these

techniques are used in conjunction with each other. As with modeling, physical simulation is

another way of specifying motion.

Rendering

During the 3D rendering step, the number of reflections “light rays” can take, as well as various

other attributes, can be tailored to achieve a desired visual effect. Image created with Cobalt

Rendering converts a model into an image either by simulating light transport to get

photorealistic images, or by applying some kind of style as in non-photorealistic rendering. The

two basic operations in realistic rendering are transport (how much light gets from one place to

another) and scattering (how surfaces interact with light). This step is usually performed using

3D computer graphics software or a 3D graphics API. The process of altering the scene into a

suitable form for rendering also involves 3D projection which allows a three-dimensional image

to be viewed in two dimensions.

Distinction from photorealistic 2D graphics

Not all computer graphics that appear 3D are based on a wireframe model. 2D computer graphics

with 3D photorealistic effects are often achieved without wireframe modeling and are sometimes

indistinguishable in the final form. Some graphic art software includes filters that can be applied

to 2D vector graphics or 2D raster graphics on transparent layers. Visual artists may also copy or

visualize 3D effects and manually render photorealistic effects without the use of filters

2.4 APPLICATION AREAS OF COMPUTER GRAPHICS

Computer graphics has so many applications, some of which are discussed below.

Computer aided design

Computer art

Entertainment

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Data visualization

Graphs and charts

Graphical user interface

Image processing

Virtual reality environment

2.4.1 COMPUTER AIDED DESIGN

Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computer technology for the design of objects, real

or virtual. CAD often involves more than just shapes. As in the manual drafting of technical and

engineering drawings, the output of CAD often must convey also symbolic information such as

materials, processes, dimensions, and tolerances, according to application-specific conventions.

CAD may be used to design curves and figures in two-dimensional ("2D") space; or curves,

surfaces, and solids in three-dimensional ("3D") objects.

CAD is an important industrial art extensively used in many applications, including automotive,

shipbuilding, and aerospace industries, industrial and architectural design, prosthetics, and many

more. It is also widely used to produce computer animation for special effects in movies,

advertising and technical manuals. The modern ubiquity and power of computers means that

even perfume bottles and shampoo dispensers are designed using techniques unheard of by

engineers of the 1960s. Because of its enormous economic importance, CAD has been a major

driving force for research in computational geometry, computer graphics (both hardware and

software), and discrete differential geometry.

The design of geometric models for object shapes, in particular, is often called computer-aided

geometric design (CAGD).

Current Computer-Aided Design software packages range from 2D vector-based drafting

systems to 3D solid and surface modellers. Modern CAD packages can also frequently allow

rotations in three dimensions, allowing viewing of a designed object from any desired angle, 19

even from the inside looking out. Some CAD software is capable of dynamic mathematic

modeling, in which case it may be marketed as CADD — computer-aided design and drafting.

CAD is used in the design of tools and machinery and in the drafting and design of all types of

buildings, from small residential types (houses) to the largest commercial and industrial

structures (hospitals and factories).

CAD is mainly used for detailed engineering of 3D models and/or 2D drawings of physical

components, but it is also used throughout the engineering process from conceptual design and

layout of products, through strength and dynamic analysis of assemblies to definition of

manufacturing methods of components. It can also be used to design objects.

CAD has become an especially important technology within the scope of computer-aided

technologies, with benefits such as lower product development costs and a greatly shortened

design cycle. CAD enables designers to lay out and develop work on screen, print it out and save

it for future editing, saving time on their drawings. Occupations that use CAD include designers,

architects, and developers.

Originally software for Computer-Aided Design systems was developed with computer

languages such as Fortran, but with the advancement of object-oriented programming methods

this has radically changed. Typical modern parametric feature based modeler and freeform

surface systems are built around a number of key C (programming language) modules with their

own APIs. A CAD system can be seen as built up from the interaction of a graphical user

interface (GUI) with NURBS geometry and/or boundary representation (B-rep) data via a

geometric modeling kernel. A geometry constraint engine may also be employed to manage the

associative relationships between geometry, such as wireframe geometry in a sketch or

components in an assembly.

2.4.1.1 Hardware and OS technologies

Today, CAD systems exist for all the major platforms - CAD systems like QCad, NX provide

multiplatform support including Windows, Linux, UNIX and Mac OS X; ArchiCAD and

Vectorworks work on both Windows and Mac OS X, but not on Linux; and, for example, 20

AutoCAD works on Windows only. Right now, no special hardware is required for most CAD

software. However, some CAD systems can do graphically and computationally expensive tasks,

so good graphics card, high speed (and possibly multiple) CPUs and large amounts of RAM are

recommended.

The human-machine interface is generally via a computer mouse but can also be via a pen and

digitizing graphics tablet. Manipulation of the view of the model on the screen is also sometimes

done with the use of a spacemouse/SpaceBall. Some systems also support stereoscopic glasses

for viewing the 3D model.

Computer-Aided Design is one of the many tools used by engineers and designers and is used in

many ways depending on the profession of the user and the type of software in question. There

are several different types of CAD. Each of these different types of CAD systems require the

operator to think differently about how he or she will use them and he or she must design their

virtual components in a different manner for each.

There are many producers of the lower-end 2D systems, including a number of free and open

source programs. These provide an approach to the drawing process without all the fuss over

scale and placement on the drawing sheet that accompanied hand drafting, since these can be

adjusted as required during the creation of the final draft.

3D wireframe is basically an extension of 2D drafting. Each line has to be manually inserted into

the drawing. The final product has no mass properties associated with it and cannot have features

directly added to it, such as holes. The operator approaches these in a similar fashion to the 2D

systems, although many 3D systems allow using the wireframe model to make the final

engineering drawing views.

3D "dumb" solids (programs incorporating this technology include AutoCAD and Cadkey 19)

are created in a way analogous to manipulations of real world objects. Basic three-dimensional

geometric forms (prisms, cylinders, spheres, and so on) have solid volumes added or subtracted

from them, as if assembling or cutting real-world objects. Two-dimensional projected views can

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easily be generated from the models. Basic 3D solids don't usually include tools to easily allow

motion of components, set limits to their motion, or identify interference between components.

3D parametric solid modeling requires the operator to use what is referred to as "design intent".

The objects and features created are adjustable. Any future modifications will be simple,

difficult, or nearly impossible, depending on how the original part was created. One must think

of this as being a "perfect world" representation of the component. If a feature was intended to be

located from the center of the part, the operator needs to locate it from the center of the model,

not, perhaps, from a more convenient edge or an arbitrary point, as he could when using "dumb"

solids. Parametric solids require the operator to consider the consequences of his actions

carefully.

Some software packages provide the ability to edit parametric and non-parametric geometry

without the need to understand or undo the design intent history of the geometry by use of direct

modeling functionality. This ability may also include the additional ability to infer the correct

relationships between selected geometry (e.g., tangency, concentricity) which makes the editing

process less time and labor intensive while still freeing the engineer from the burden of

understanding the model’s design intent history. These kind of non history based systems are

called Explicit Modellers. The first Explicit Modeling system was introduced to the world at the

end of 80's by Hewlett-Packard under the name SolidDesigner. This CAD solution, which

released many later versions, is now sold by PTC as "CoCreate Modeling"

Draft views are able to be generated easily from the models. Assemblies usually incorporate

tools to represent the motions of components, set their limits, and identify interference. The tool

kits available for these systems are ever increasing; including 3D piping and injection mold

designing packages.

Mid range software are integrating parametric solids more easily to the end user: integrating

more intuitive functions (SketchUp), using the best of both 3D dumb solids and parametric

characteristics (VectorWorks), making very real-view scenes in relative few steps (Cinema4D)

or offering all-in-one (form•Z).

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Top end systems offer the capabilities to incorporate more organic, aesthetics and ergonomic

features into designs (Catia, GenerativeComponents). Freeform surface modelling is often

combined with solids to allow the designer to create products that fit the human form and visual

requirements as well as they interface with the machine.

2.4.1.2 The Effects of CAD

Started in the late 1980s, the development of readily affordable Computer-Aided Design

programs that could be run on personal computers began a trend of massive downsizing in

drafting departments in many small to mid-size companies. As a general rule, one CAD operator

could readily replace at least three to five drafters using traditional methods. Additionally, many

engineers began to do their own drafting work, further eliminating the need for traditional

drafting departments. This trend mirrored that of the elimination of many office jobs traditionally

performed by a secretary as word processors, spreadsheets, databases, etc. became standard

software packages that "everyone" was expected to learn.

Another consequence had been that since the latest advances were often quite expensive, small

and even mid-size firms often could not compete against large firms who could use their

computational edge for competitive purposes. Today, however, hardware and software costs

have come down. Even high-end packages work on less expensive platforms and some even

support multiple platforms. The costs associated with CAD implementation now are more

heavily weighted to the costs of training in the use of these high level tools, the cost of

integrating a CAD/CAM/CAE PLM using enterprise across multi-CAD and multi-platform

environments and the costs of modifying design work flows to exploit the full advantage of CAD

tools. CAD vendors have effectively lowered these training costs. These methods can be split

into three categories:

I. Improved and simplified user interfaces. This includes the availability of “role”

specific tailorable user interfaces through which commands are presented to users

in a form appropriate to their function and expertise.

23

II. Enhancements to application software. One such example is improved design-in-

context, through the ability to model/edit a design component from within the

context of a large, even multi-CAD, active digital mockup.

III. User oriented modeling options. This includes the ability to free the user from the

need to understand the design intent history of a complex intelligent model.

2.4.2 COMPUTER ART

Computer art is any art in which computers played a role in production or display of the

artwork. Such art can be an image, sound, animation, video, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM, videogame,

web site, algorithm, performance or gallery installation. Many traditional disciplines are now

integrating digital technologies and, as a result, the lines between traditional works of art and

new media works created using computers has been blurred. For instance, an artist may combine

traditional painting with algorithm art and other digital techniques. As a result, defining

computer art by its end product can thus be difficult. Computer art is by its nature evolutionary

since changes in technology and software directly affect what is possible. Notable artists in this

vein include James Faure Walker, Manfred Mohr, Ronald Davis, Joseph Nechvatal, Matthias

Groebel, George Grie, Olga Kisseleva, John Lansdown and Perry Welman.

By the mid-1960s, most individuals involved in the creation of computer art were in fact

engineers and scientists because they had access to the only computing resources available at

university scientific research labs. Many artists tentatively began to explore the emerging

computing technology for use as a creative tool. In the summer of 1962, Dr. A. Michael Noll

programmed a digital computer at Bell Telephone Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey to

generate visual patterns solely for artistic purposes .His later computer-generated patterns

simulated paintings by Piet Mondrian and Bridget Riley and become classics. Noll also used the

patterns to investigate aesthetic preferences in the mid 1960s.

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Computer art dates back to at least 1960, with the invention of the Henry Drawing Machine by

Desmond Paul Henry. His work was shown at the Reid Gallery in London in 1962, after his

machine-generated art won him the privilege of a one-man exhibition. In 1963 Joan Shogren of

San Jose State University wrote a computer program based on artistic principles, resulting in an

early public showing of computer art in San Jose, California on May 6, 1963.

The first two exhibitions of computer art were held in 1965- Computer-Generated Pictures, April

1965, at the Howard Wise Gallery in New York, and Generative Computergrafik, February

1965, at the Technische Hochschule in Stuttgart, Germany. The Stuttgart exhibit featured work

by Georg Nees; the New York exhibit featured work by Bela Julesz and A. Michael Noll. Note

the names of these expositions, not mentioning the word 'art', because these 'generated pictures'

were not yet seen as such. A third exhibition was put up in November 1965 at Galerie Wendelin

Niedlich in Stuttgart, Germany, showing works by Frieder Nake and Georg Nees.

In 1968, the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London hosted one of the most influential

early exhibitions of computer art- Cybernetic Serendipity. The exhibition included many of

whom often regarded as the first true digital artists, Nam June Paik, Frieder Nake, Leslie Mezei,

Georg Nees, A. Michael Noll, John Whitney, and Charles Csuri.One year later, the Computer

Arts Society was founded, also in London.[4]

At the time of the opening of Cybernetic Serendipity, in August 1968, a symposium was held in

Zagreb, Yugoslavia, under the title "Computers and visual research". It took up the European

artists movement of New Tendencies that had led to three exhibitions (in 1961, 63, and 65) in

Zagreb of concrete, kinetic, and constructive art as well as op art and conceptual art. New

Tendencies changed its name to "Tendencies" and continued with more symposia, exhibitions, a

competition, and an international journal (bit international) until 1973.

2.4.3 DATA VISUALIZATION

Data visualization is the study of the visual representation of data, meaning "information which

has been abstracted in some schematic form, including attributes or variables for the units of

information".

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According to Friedman (2008) the "main goal of data visualization is to communicate

information clearly and effectively through graphical means. It doesn’t mean that data

visualization needs to look boring to be functional or extremely sophisticated to look beautiful.

To convey ideas effectively, both aesthetic form and functionality need to go hand in hand,

providing insights into a rather sparse and complex data set by communicating its key-aspects in

a more intuitive way. Yet designers often fail to achieve a balance between design and function,

creating gorgeous data visualizations which fail to serve their main purpose — to communicate

information".

Data visualization is closely related to Information graphics, Information visualization, Scientific

visualization and Statistical graphics. In the new millennium data visualization has become

active area of research, teaching and development. According to Post et al (2002) it has united

the field of scientific and information visualization".

Data visualization scope

There are different approaches on the scope of data visualization. One common focus is on

information presentation such as Friedman (2008) presented it. On this way Friendly (2008)

presumes two main parts of data visualization: statistical graphics, and thematic cartography. In

this line the "Data Visualization: Modern Approaches" (2007) article gives an overview of seven

subjects of data visualization:

Mindmaps

Displaying news

Displaying data

Displaying connections

Displaying websites

Articles & resources

Tools and services

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All these subjects are all close related to graphic design and information representation.

On the other hand, from a computer science perspective, Frits H. Post (2002) categorized the

field into a number of sub-fields:

Visualization algorithms and techniques

Volume visualization

Information visualization

Multi resolution methods

Modeling techniques and

Interaction techniques and architectures

2.4.4 ENTERTAINMENT

Filmmaking (often referred to in academic contexts as film production) is the process of

making a film, from an initial story idea or commission, through scriptwriting, shooting, editing,

directing and distribution to an audience. Typically, it involves a large number of people, and

takes from a few months to several years to complete. Filmmaking takes place all over the world

in a huge range of economic, social, and political contexts, and using a variety of technologies

and techniques.

Stages

Film production occurs in five stages:

Development— The script is written and drafted into a workable blueprint for a film.

Pre-production—Preparations are made for the shoot, in which cast and crew are hired,

locations are selected, and sets are built.

Production— The raw elements for the finished film are recorded.27

Post-Production—The film is edited; production sound (dialogue) is concurrently (but

separately) edited, music tracks (and songs) are composed, performed and recorded;

sound effects are designed and recorded; and any other computer-graphic 'visual' effects

are digitally added, all sound elements are mixed into "stems" then the stems are mixed

then married to picture and the film is fully completed ("locked").

Sales and distribution—The film is screened for potential buyers (distributors), is

picked up by a distributor and reaches its cinema and/or home media audience.

2.4.5 GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE

A graphical user interface (GUI) (sometimes pronounced gooey) is a type of user interface

item that allows people to interact with programs in more ways than typing such as computers;

hand-held devices such as MP3 Players, Portable Media Players or Gaming devices; household

appliances and office equipment with images rather than text commands. A GUI offers graphical

icons, and visual indicators, as opposed to text-based interfaces, typed command labels or text

navigation to fully represent the information and actions available to a user. The actions are

usually performed through direct manipulation of the graphical elements.

The term GUI is historically restricted to the scope of two-dimensional display screens with

display resolutions capable of describing generic information, in the tradition of the computer

science research at Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). The term GUI earlier might have been

applicable to other high-resolution types of interfaces that are non-generic, such as videogames,

or not restricted to flat screens, like volumetric displays.

A GUI uses a combination of technologies and devices to provide a platform the user can interact

with, for the tasks of gathering and producing information.

A series of elements conforming a visual language have evolved to represent information stored

in computers. This makes it easier for people with few computer skills to work with and use

computer software. The most common combination of such elements in GUIs is the WIMP

("window, icon, menu, pointing device") paradigm, especially in personal computers.

28

Designing the visual composition and temporal behavior of GUI is an important part of software

application programming. Its goal is to enhance the efficiency and ease of use for the underlying

logical design of a stored program, a design discipline known as usability. Techniques of user-

centered design are used to ensure that the visual language introduced in the design is well

tailored to the tasks it must perform.

Typically, the user interacts with information by manipulating visual widgets that allow for

interactions appropriate to the kind of data they hold. The widgets of a well-designed interface

are selected to support the actions necessary to achieve the goals of the user. A Model-view-

controller allows for a flexible structure in which the interface is independent from and indirectly

linked to application functionality, so the GUI can be easily customized. This allows the user to

select or design a different skin at will, and eases the designer's work to change the interface as

the user needs evolve. Nevertheless, good user interface design relates to the user, not the system

architecture.

The visible graphical interface features of an application are sometimes referred to as "chrome".

Larger widgets, such as windows, usually provide a frame or container for the main presentation

content such as a web page, email message or drawing. Smaller ones usually act as a user-input

tool.

A GUI may be designed for the rigorous requirements of a vertical market. This is known as an

"application specific graphical user interface." Among early application specific GUIs was Gene

Mosher's 1986 Point of Sale touchscreen GUI. Other examples of an application specific GUIs

are:

Self-service checkouts used in a retail store

Automated teller machines (ATM)

Airline self-ticketing and check-in

Information kiosks in a public space, like a train station or a museum

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Monitors or control screens in an embedded industrial application which employ a real

time operating system (RTOS).

The latest cell phones and handheld game systems also employ application specific touchscreen

GUIs. Newer automobiles use GUIs in their navigation systems and touch screen multimedia

centers.

Xerox Corporation’s Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) designed the first Graphical User

Interface (GUI) in the 1970s. The first Macintosh computer is released in 1984, since then

the GUI became popular. Many graphic designers quickly accepted its capacity as a

creative tool.

2.4.6 IMAGE PROCESSING

Image processing is any form of signal processing for which the input is an image, such as

photographs or frames of video; the output of image processing can be either an image or a set of

characteristics or parameters related to the image. Most image-processing techniques involve

treating the image as a two-dimensional signal and applying standard signal-processing

techniques to it.

Image processing usually refers to digital image processing, but optical and analog image

processing are also possible. This article is about general techniques that apply to all of them.

The acquisition of images (producing the input image in the first place) is referred to as imaging.

2.4.7 VIRTUAL-REALITY ENVIRONMENT

Virtual Reality (VR), system that enables one or more users to move and react in a computer-

simulated environment. Various types of devices allow users to sense and manipulate virtual

objects much as they would real objects. This natural style of interaction gives participants the

feeling of being immersed in the simulated world. Virtual worlds are created by mathematical

models and computer programs.

30

INTERFACE DEVICES

Virtual reality simulations differ from other computer simulations in that they require special

interface devices that transmit the sights, sounds, and sensations of the simulated world to the

user. These devices also record and send the speech and movements of the participants to the

simulation program.

To see in the virtual world, the user wears a head-mounted display (HMD) with screens directed

at each eye. The HMD also contains a position tracker to monitor the location of the user's head

and the direction in which the user is looking. Using this information, a computer recalculates

images of the virtual world—a slightly different view for each eye—to match the direction in

which the user is looking, and displays these images on the HMD. The computer must generate

these new views at least ten times a second in order to prevent the user's view from appearing

halting and jerky and from lagging behind the user's movements. Virtual-world scenes must be

kept relatively simple so that the computer can update the visual imagery quickly enough.

Because of these simplifications and other shortcomings of current visual displays and computer

graphics, VR participants can easily distinguish a simulation from physical reality.

Users hear sounds in the virtual world through earphones in the HMD. The information reported

by the position tracker on the HMD can also be used to update audio signals. When a sound

source in virtual space is not directly in front of or behind the user, the computer transmits

sounds to arrive at one ear a little earlier or later than at the other and to be a little louder or

softer and slightly different in pitch. However, as with visual imagery, there are currently

scientific and engineering challenges that must be overcome in order to simulate accurately all

the sounds heard in the physical world.

The haptic interface, which relays the sense of touch and other physical sensations in the virtual

world, is the least developed and perhaps the most challenging to create. Currently, with the use

of a glove and position tracker, the computer locates the user's hand and measures finger

movements. The user can reach into the virtual world and handle objects but cannot actually feel

them. It is particularly difficult to generate the sensations that are felt when a person taps a hard

surface, picks up an object, or runs a finger across a textured surface. To simulate these 31

sensations, a set of computer-controlled motors faster and more accurate than any presently

available would have to generate force feedback by physically pushing against the user. Another

problem is determining how a user would wear these motors and the wiring needed to control

them. Touch sensations would also have to be synchronized with the sights and sounds users

experienced in their HMDs. A current solution to the haptics challenge is the use of desktop

devices that can apply small forces, through a mechanical linkage, to a stylus held in the user's

hand. Users can feel when the point of the stylus encounters a virtual object, and they can drag

the stylus across the surface to feel its texture and surface geometry.

DEVELOPMENT AND USES

Researchers have been working on virtual-reality devices for many years. In the 1960s Raymond

Goertz at Argonne National Laboratory in Argonne, Illinois, and Ivan Sutherland at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, demonstrated early

versions of HMDs. Goertz, and later Michael Noll of Bell Laboratories, also developed prototype

force-feedback devices. In recent years, virtual-reality devices have improved dramatically as the

result of various technological advances. Computers now are more powerful, have a higher

memory capacity, are smaller, and cost less than in the past. These developments, along with the

advent of small liquid-crystal displays (LCDs) that can be used in HMDs, have made it possible

for scientists to develop virtual-reality simulations.

Virtual reality is currently used to explore and manipulate experimental data in ways that were

not possible before. Therapists use VR to treat sufferers of child abuse and people who are afraid

of heights. Muscular dystrophy patients can learn to use a wheelchair through virtual reality.

In the future, surgeons may use VR to plan and practice an operation on a virtual patient rather

than a real person. Architects could take clients on a virtual tour of a new house before it was

built. VR could be used to train the operators of aircraft and other complicated machinery.

Network VR simulations could enable people in many different locations to participate together

in teleconferences, virtual surgical operations, or simulated military training exercises. Hasan

Fleyeh(2000).

32

CHAPTER THREE

3.O METHODOLOGY

3.1 CARTOON ANIMATION

Design and implementation would be carried out on one of the major aspects of computer

graphics. Computer art, as earlier discussed, comprises several other sub-divisions, one of which

is CARTOON ANIMATION.

Cartoon animation happens to be one of the major aspects of computer art as it involves a whole

lot of technicalities. It is quite a costly procedure, in both time and money, and anything that

eases its birth process should be ignored. If audiences only knew all it involved in any cartoon

animation production, their respect for what is called the most creative computer art forms would

increase. On a large scale production, it is important that the animation team function efficiently.

There are always a lot of personalities, and also gadgets required for a single production of an

animated cartoon. Considering all the personalities involved, it is often a miracle that any

animation film gets made at all. Whether the film being produced is a 30-second television

commercial or a full-length animated feature, the process of animation should follow certain

structured procedures. If these procedures are adhered to at the outset, then all will be well. But

failing to respect the laid down guidelines can prove extremely costly in time and money,

regardless of the individual skills of the personnel involved.

The following are the basic requirements for the design of a regular cartoon animated film.

I. A director

II. A producer

33

III. A number of animators and assistant animators

IV. Cleanup artists

V. Tracers, Painters, and Renderers

VI. Special effects artists, Editors, and Rostrum Cameramen (Where necessary).

The job of the computer scientist or, better still, the graphics artist, is to play the role of the

director, animator, editor, and the special effects artist. For this particular project, the use of

animation software known as ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS will be adopted.

ADOBE AFTER EFFECTS

Adobe After Effects is a digital motion graphics and compositing software published by Adobe

Systems. Its main purpose is for film and video post-production.

Adobe After Effects is primarily used for creating motion graphics and visual effects. After

Effects allows users to animate, alter, and composite media in 2D and 3D space with various

built-in tools and third party plug-ins, as well as individual attention to variables like parallax

and user-adjustable angle of observation.

Both After Effects and some non-linear editing systems (NLEs) are layer-oriented, meaning that

each individual media object (video clip, audio clip, still image, etc.) occupies its own track. In

contrast, other NLEs use a system where individual media objects can occupy the same track as

long as they do not overlap in time. This track-oriented system is more suited for editing and can

keep project files much more concise. The layer-oriented system that After Effects adopts is

suited for extensive effects work and keyframing. Although other compositing packages—

especially ones that employ tree or node workflows, such as Apple Shake—are better suited to

manage large volumes of objects within a composite, After Effects is able to somewhat counter

the clutter by selectively hiding layers (using the Shy switch) or by grouping them into pre-

compositions.

34

The main interface consists of several panels (windows in versions prior to After Effects 7.0).

Three of the most commonly used panels are the Project panel, the Composition panel, and the

Timeline panel. The Project panel acts as a bin to import stills, video, and audio footage items.

Footage items in the Project panel are used in the Timeline panel, where layer order and timing

can be adjusted. The items visible at the current time marker are displayed in the Composition

panel.

After Effects integrates with other Adobe software titles such as Illustrator, Photoshop, Premiere

Pro, Encore, Flash, and third-party 3D programs like Cinema 4D.

After Effects was originally created by the Company of Science and Art in Providence, RI, USA.

Version 1.0 was released in January 1993. Version 2.1 introduced PowerPC acceleration in 1994.

CoSA along with After Effects was then acquired by Aldus corporation in July 1993; this

company was then acquired by Adobe in 1994, and with it PageMaker and After Effects.

Adobe's first new release of After Effects was version 3.0.

35

Figure 3.1 – Adobe After Effects Environment.

3.2 DESIGN PROCESS

This design process combines both the old fashioned animation technology with the computer-

based animation technology. This is done because of flexibility in design as the designer might

want to draw out his own character as it soothes him. The design and implementation of this

project would be based on combined technologies.

The following are the tools to be considered in the design process:

36

I. SCRIPT: The first stage of any film production is the creation of the script, and, as for

any other production, the script for an animation film is extremely important. This film

script differs, however, from the live-action film script. With live action, dialogue is of

great importance to the actor’s performance. With the animation film script, on the other

hand, dialogue is less important, and, indeed, complicated dialogue should be avoided as

much as possible. It is the visual action in plot and performance that is paramount. The

best animation is achieved through a form of mimed action, where dialogue is

nonexistent and the visual invention captures the imagination. For the on-going project,

the script describes a man and a woman dressed in traditional attire, and reading the early

morning, or late night NEWS in a stationary position.

II. STORYBOARD: From the script, the director produces a storyboard, a series of

drawn images that graphically portray the action described in the script. Often, while

producing the storyboard, deficiencies in the structure and format of the script are

detected and corrected by the director. The storyboard, then, allows the writer, the

director, producer, and animation team to see and appreciate the content of the project. If

the project is more ambiguous than a 30-second television commercial, often a think

tank, comprised of all the contributors involved, is set up and the story, content, and ideas

are finely polished.

III. SOUNDTRACK: After the script and storyboard are completed, the recording of any

dialogue or key music is undertaken. Since animation relies totally on perfect

synchronization of the picture to the soundtrack, the animator must receive the final

recorded track before beginning to draw. Without it, the animator cannot time the action

accurately. When the action is in sync with music, it should be possible to record a simple

guide track, with a minimum of musicians, to indicate the essential beat and the basic

melodies. A click track - which has a predetermined click or beat, overlaid onto it - serves

this purpose.

IV. TRACK BREAKDOWN: When the soundtrack has been made, an editor assembles

it into the precise working length of the film and then breaks down the track. Basically,

the breakdown is a simple process of analyzing the dialogue phonetically – by sound 37

rather than by spelling – and documenting the precise position of each sound in relation

to the film frames. If, for instance, a character begins to cough after one second of film

time (35mm movie film is projected at 24 frames per second), the editor marks the

beginning of the cough on the 25th frame and then indicates the subsequent frames

through which the cough continues. The entire track breakdown is transferred to the bar

sheet, a pre-printed sheet designed to allow every frame of soundtrack and film to be

identified and analyzed visually.

V. DESIGNS: While the soundtrack is being broken down, the director selects one or

more film designers to produce visual interpretations of all the characters featured in the

film. When these interpretations are approved, each character is drawn from a multitude

of angles and placed on a single sheet of paper, called a model sheet, for all the animators

to use as a reference. In addition to the character designs, at this stage, ideally, the

background styling for all the principal sequences in the film is produced.

VI. CLEANUP: On a major production, it is ideal to have a team of cleanup artists on

staff. They take all the animation drawings and clean them up, to give them a consistent

visual style. This is important because, when many animators are working on the same

character, there is an inevitable variation in the look of the character. After the entire

cleanup is completed, it is best to line-test the drawings again, just to check that no

additional mistakes have slipped in.

VII. TRACE AND PAINT: When a cleaned-up line test is finally approved, each

drawing is transferred to a thin sheet of celluloid or acetate – a cel – and painted in the

colors of the original design. In the early days of animation, transferring the drawings to

cels involved large teams of trained artists, who carefully traced each drawing required in

a varied range of line techniques. Today, however, it is possible to quickly photocopy a

drawing on the cel or for the cleanup artists and animators to draw directly on the cel

itself, avoiding the pencil stage altogether. After the animated image is on cel, and in

preparation for the final shoot, a team of artists paints the cel in opaque colors on the

reverse side to the drawing, thus keeping the paint from going over the lines and

producing flatter, smoother colors.38

VIII. BACKGROUNDS: While the animation is being traced and painted, another team of

artists produces the background – everything behind or sometimes, in front of the moving

characters that do not move. Each background artist must achieve a continuity of style by

producing work identical to the original film design style.

IX. CHECKING: As the finished animation cels and backgrounds are completed scene by

scene, they are passed to the checker, who makes sure that everything is correctly drawn,

traced, painted, and prepared for the computer animator, who will finally animate it. It is

essential that the checker be efficient; incomplete or incorrect work discovered during the

final shoot results in wasted time and money.

X. FINAL ANIMATION: When the checker is satisfied that all the artwork for each

scene is right, the artwork is passed on to the computer animator, who does the animation

of the completed scene. The stage of the animation is sometimes referred to as the final

shoot. Just as the name implies, the final shoot is the final stage in the actual filming

procedure related to the artwork.

CHAPTER FOUR

4.0 DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION

Following the process of design as put down in the previous chapter, the design of the cartoon

animation prototyped will be explained in detail here, with inclusion of the voice over process,

the sketching and painting processes, and the animation process.

4.1 DESIGN

The first thing to be carried out, as specified in the previous chapter of this project work, is the

SCRIPTING, followed by the STORYBOARD. For this particular project work, the storyboard

had to determine the scripting, in other words, the storyboard was thought of before the scripting 39

was put down. The storyline worked on in this project work has to do with the media,

specifically a broadcasting scenario in Yoruba language.

Two newscasters are involved in this storyline, a male and a female, who happen to be the

project developers. The script was later developed after storyline had been thought of. Below, is

the breakdown of the eventual script used.

Male:E ku irole o, Oruko mi ni OLAOKE OLUSEGUN

Female:Oruko mi ni ADEAGBO ADEBOLA

Male: Eyi ni iroyin ni soki lori project tv. Won fi to wa leti wipe awon omo ile iwe giga ti

Ladoke Akintola ti n gradue nse igbekale ise ipari won, eyi ti oloyinbo npe ni project defence.

Female:Ipinle Oyo ati Osun nja lori tani ni ile iwe giga ti Ladoke Akintola tin be ni ilu

Ogbomoso

Male: Eyi ni iroyin ni soki. Ema ba wa kalo fun awon eto jankan jankan to ku lori project tv…

Eku irole

After the script is being written or better still, typed, the animator seeks the attention of the voice

over artists for the recording. After this is done, the breakdown is carried out, and from here, the

artists get the attention of the characters to be drawn, in order to get the movement of the mouth,

nose, eyes, head at the pronunciations of particular vowels like A,E,I,O, and U, for the process of

DESIGN. The artist also draws the background of the news room, and every other required

details for the process of design.

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Figure 4.1- Sketched parts at different vowel sounds

The artist is also responsible for, after drawing all the moving parts of the proposed animation,

the eventual drawing of the finished product in terms of drawing. This also would include the

eventual painting of the work that has been drawn. This is done under the TRACE AND PAINT

aspect of the work.

Figure 4.2 – Completely sketched diagram

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Figure 4.3- Completely painted diagram

4.2 IMPLEMENTATION

The final step, which happens to be the most important, is the eventual animation of all the

drawn works. All of the drawings are animated together with the soundtrack that had been earlier

recorded. As earlier mentioned, the animation software used is ADOBE AFTER EFFECT. To

make use of this software effectively, the computer system must meet the following

requirements.

i. 2 or more Gigabytes of RAM

ii. Great Processor speed

iii. Large harddisk size

iv. Full color Capability

Each drawn part is imported into the environment of the software, and animated using specific

tools in the software package.

A very important thing to note is that, each of the lines of animation blends with the exact parts

of the equivalent recorded voice over.

The main interface of After Effects consists of several panels. Three of the most commonly used

panels are the Project panel, the Composition panel, and the Timeline panel. The Project panel

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acts as a bin to import stills, video, and audio footage items. Footage items in the Project panel

are used in the Timeline panel, where layer order and timing can be adjusted. The items visible at

the current time marker are displayed in the Composition panel.

After the process of animation, which takes quite a time, a process known as RENDERING is

carried out. This allows the animated work to be viewed using one or more video players.

The completed work is placed in a compact disc or maintained in the system of design, as the

case may be.

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CHAPTER FIVE

5.0 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

5.1 SUMMARY

Some typical applications of computer-generated animation are entertainment (motion pictures

and cartoons), advertising, scientific and engineering studies, and training and education.

Although we tend to think of animation as implying object motions, the term computer

animation generally refers to any time sequence of visual changes in a scene. In addition to

changing object position with translations or rotations, a computer-generated animation could

display time variations in object size, color, transparency, or surface texture. Advertising

animations often transition one object shape into another: for example, transforming a can of

motor oil into an automobile engine. Computer animations can also be generated by changing

camera parameters, such as position, orientation, and focal length. And we can produce computer

animations by changing lighting effects or other parameters and procedures associated with

illumination and rendering. Many applications of computer animation require realistic displays.

5.2 CONCLUSION

No GUI (Graphical user Interface) building or development can be complete without a

knowledge of computer graphics, and animation, as the case may be. It is, therefore,

recommended that the practical applications of computer graphics and animation be inculcated

into the curriculum of the computer science students, so that students would be able to carry out

animation projects, such as building an animated departmental notice board, animated

information board, etc, and also be able to design very attractive GUIs for their software

developments.

No one person can have a perfect understanding of computer animation; this is because of its

broadness.

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