Introduction
Welcome to Web Animation. This tutorial is designed to guide you through the process of learning how to create animations. So first lets look at what animations are. By definition an animation is a the act, process, or result of imparting life, interest, spirit, motion, or activity. In other words it is bringing something to life. For example, nobody would be interested in watching TV cartoons if they were nothing more than motionless comic strips. When you add all those frames of pictures in between the comic strips it gives the cartoon life.
Animation Software
There are many ways that are used to animate. The most basic is even done without the use of a computer. A flipbook animation is made by using several (at least 30) small pieces of hard paper. On each page you draw a picture with the action changing from one page to the next. As you flip the small book you will see the animation.
Some animation software costs over $10,000 per copy. These are used for making animations look reality for movies. Maya and 3D Studio MAX are examples of these. We will be using some lower cost software which is used for animations on the web. We will be using Microsoft GIF Animator and Macromedia Flash to make animations that can be used on the web due to their relively smaller file sizes. We will also use Windows Movie Maker to make an animation that will not be for the web.
Examples of GIF Animations:
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Microsoft GIF Animatior
To use Microsoft GIF Animatior you need to:
- Insert .gif images into the frame slots on the screen.
- Set the Duration of each frame. 100 = 1 second
- Set the final frame to loop.
