Published between 1982 and 1995
Chuck Jones reckons that Disney got the idea from Warner Brothers cartoons. I included a similar shot in a recent production, panning down a broken ladder to a figure at the base, figure 3. The point is that you don’t see the whole background at any one time, only part of it. It is all … Read more
So to construct drawings in cylindrical perspective we need what I would call sine curve graph paper. So far as I can establish such paper does not exist, though I am sure a computer could be persuaded to generate it. Figure 4 shows a series of sine curve segments which I plotted on ordinary graph … Read more
In Part Two Alan Kitching gives a detailed account of his own creation: Antics. In the last issue, I gave a general outline of the different types of computer graphics machines around today, and what relevance, if any, they might have for animators. The majority are “3-D” modelling systems, which aim to achieve a machine-made … Read more
Frame-grabbing is used to feed images direct into the machine with a video camera, scanner, or any similar gadget and there are facilities for retouching, tinting, colour balance, posterising, solarising, high-contrast, and enhancement. At present, this is used only for background images. Such backgrounds can also be full live-action, and perfectly matted to overlaying animation. … Read more
Camera FX are much the same as on a rostrum camera, but much more flexible, for example, drawings and cels can zoom independently of backgrounds and other drawings., so an “animated zoom” doesn’t need to be drawn, multi- plane effects are easy, and the zoom ratio can go to well over ten-thousand to one. Graphic … Read more
Cartoon production with Antics generally involves a blend of all these techniques. Some are extremely easy, others are quite difficult. Careful planning is essential, right from storyboard stage, to get the best balance of different techniques for the various different scenes. Basic decisions of style and story can make a great deal of difference to … Read more
In contrast, Antics began as a concept, a clear vision of an “ideal” animation machine, which grew out of my previous ten years experience in conventional animation, graphic design, and architecture. In effect, Antics has been a concept waiting for hardware to come along with sufficient power to handle it properly, and at an affordable … Read more