Q: Anime Style

Anime itself is referred as a visual art style, that it is not distinguishing any nationality feature. Wide variety of styles can be portrayed in anime. These styles vary with studio and artist, e.g. anime could have a wild and exaggerating stylization to realistic , mature and advanced  approaches.

Also, designing the visual art and its complexity will vary depending on the genre and the target audience.
Anime styles are made to appeal to target audiences, each genre has a description and all in the industry would know immediately who that particular style would appeal too. So designing the character visual form will have a distinctive and different sense whether its targeted for young or adults.


For example, the character figures in adult anime are more detailed, mature-like, body parts defined or exposing, sexy or vague gesture, deep facial expressions and so on. The themes  sometimes have extreme violence or adult scenes. 

Examples:
Hell Girl: the genre is horror , so the style obviously will be mystery, harrowing tales of revenge, and a dash of modern technology, violence, creepy scenes etc.

The character and background designs are the perfect example of "beautiful but dead", the haunting glow of the underworld in hell girl's eyes, and the horror scenes that each victim experiences right before going to Hell.

But it's not all about the gloomy world, of course, the modern-day portions that added up to the majority of the series show strong attention to detail, from room interiors to city streets, and each episode comes with a fairly diagnostic cast of characters.

Hell Girl Trailer:

Ghost in the shell : the genre is science fiction, the style is more detailed, the character development is more advanced , it has complex plot and philosophical depth, used extreme violence, cyborg, electronic, action, futuristic, and adult themes
Ghost in The Shell Trailer:



While kids characters drawn in simple and basic form, with funny, cute gestures, characters usually wear school uniform or normal clothes, strange bright color hair or style etc.

Similar anime genre will likely have similar animation styles as the way characters are drawn; this definitely influences the tone and feel of the story.


The Artist Personal style:

The artist sometimes use the personal style to form the characteristic style, for example:

"Death Note" is a Japanese manga, anime, live-action movie series created by writer Tsugumi Ohba and manga artist Takeshi Obata. It has the gothic appeal, mature, dark, smart and realistic style. Even the characters have given them the psychological standpoint, that made the anime more serious and interesting to watch. The art attempts to be as “anime-like” as maintaining its realistic and mysterious quality.

Tsugumi Ohba  is the writer for Death Note and there is speculation that Tsugumi Ohba is a pen name. His real identity is a closely guarded secret. As stated by the profile placed at the beginning of each Death Note manga, Ohba collects teacups and develops manga plots while holding his knees on a chair, similar to a habit of "L", the main  character of the series.

Ohba gave some of his real identity style to his fictional character "L", and that personal touch made "L" very unique and incomparable. In the storyline, L is considered to be the world's greatest detective, who can control police forces worldwide and whose identity remains unknown because he has never revealed himself to the public. The most noticeable features is the shadow below each of his eyes, a result of sleep deprivation.

Here is what has been said when developing L style:

"Since Ohba believed the story would not hold much interest if L were significantly older than Light, the character was created as a young adult. Obata said that, during the development of the early manga chapters, he feared that L would appear "so suspicious that Light would know instantly it was L if they ever met". When Obata's editor told him that he wanted L to have a face "looking cool based on the angle", Obata added black bags under L's eyes. Obata cited Devilman's Akira Fudou when stating that he believed that black bags were appealing. In addition, Obata thought of a "dead eyes" concept, which involved L having "all-black eyes" and "mostly no eyebrows". Obata believes that black eyes usually makes a character goofier, but the bags "sharpen the character's gaze". Obata believes that the design evokes "a feeling of mystery" and that the reader cannot determine L's true thoughts. Obata also said that the bags under L's eyes were useful for inspiring speculation about his lifestyle and background. The outfit Obata designed for L was a "simple" white, long-sleeved shirt and jeans, to convey that L does not put thought into choosing his clothing."  

As as a result of developing "L" style in such detail, and considering the appearance; specially the eyes; facial expressions, and movements;  makes "L" character outstanding.
Publications from manga and anime have commented on L's character. Tom S. Pepirium of IGN describes L as "the coolest, most well developed character in anime today".

The artist employ the personal style to his own character to make it special and superior,and that what make each character style in anime different from another. .


The other example of artist conveying their own style when designing the characters in anime is "Nana". Nana is a Japanese shōjo manga and anime series written and illustrated by Ai Yazawa. Yazawa attended a fashion school after high school but did not complete her studies there.

So, most of her works are noticed to be popular among people who love fashion. The design of her characters are always very stylish, trendy so this kind of style can be easily known as hers in other anime or manga work.  Because of her hip sense of fashion, you can notice the similarity of character style in her other anime work titled " Paradise Kiss". 

The characters look like models with more attention given to appearance (body shape,clothes and hair style).


The fashion element represents the variety of youth subcultures and stereotypes (the academic students, musicians, art-school students, service workers, punks, goths, lolitas fashion, etc) and all can be seen on characters while they are in their job uniforms, dressed up for shows, on music posters, and etc. 

Indeed, her personal touch in anime characters make Ai Yazawa's style one of its kind in modern anime art. 

In conclusion, Anime art is a medium that expressed through the realism face, body proportions and hair. Anime focuses on clean, accentuated lines, which influenced by a painting brush than by a Japanese calligrapher’s pen. Sometimes, it doesn't focus so much on the realism, but the feeling the artist want the audience to feel for a certain character.


Eyes:

Anime characters have been largely influenced by the styles of Disney. Not all characters have the huge eyes and tiny noses and mouths that most people think of, sometimes characters are drawn to look more western (western, in the scope of the world). Eye shape and size can be exaggerated or changed altogether.
Facial Expressions:

The facial expressions, though many, follow a pre-determined facial expression that conveys clearly the moods and thoughts of al anime characters.
Body Proportions:

The interesting point in anime is that the height of head is usually considered as the base unit of proportion. Thus most of the anime characters are generally seven to eight heads tall. The extreme character may have nine heads tall.
Hair:

One of the more inspiring attribute of Anime and Manga is the varied and often unnatural hair styles and colors.  In many ways and in many different anime, the hairstyle of the character is used to define what type of person that character is. 


Sources:
http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Your-Own-Anime-or-Manga-Character
http://www.nz17.com/anifanatikku/articles/12.php
http://www.csua.berkeley.edu/~jleek/anime/culture.html
http://my.opera.com/josephnepomucin/blog/why-do-japanese-anime
http://talem.hubpages.com/hub/Anime-Japanese-Animation-Style
http://students.cis.uab.edu/archived/aka10/AnimeGenre.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Note#Anime
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L_(Death_Note)
http://www.animenewsnetwork.co.uk/encyclopedia/people.php?id=70249
http://deathnote.wikia.com/wiki/L_Lawliet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nana_(manga)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradise_Kiss
http://www.animevice.com/news/wtf-wednesday-facial-expression-training-charts/2379/
http://www.designyourway.net/blog/tutorials/photoshop-tutorials/drawing-anime-big-tutorial-collection/
http://mayshing.deviantart.com/art/Anime-art-lesson-Hair-1475745
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lolita_fashion
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art4260.asp
http://kksonakiya.hubpages.com/hub/Why-Anime-is-Not-For-Kids
http://lucasdurham.blogspot.com/2010/11/canons-of-proportion.html
http://moonbase.rydia.net/mental/writings/anime-hair-color

P: Anime Process

The Anime process is not different from the traditional 2D animation process that require hand drawing work and using computer software effects.
Here's a written documentary by Kristian Huitula when he was in Tokyo to get more information about Anime production process in Japan.
Page 1 
Page 2


How Anime is made behind the scenes:

part2, part3, part4, part5, part6 , part 7, part 8

This is part 2 of a panel at Anime Central 2011 called "That Scene was Awesome: Japan's Iron Animators (Sakuga Anime)". Presenter: Colin Groesbeck 

(Sakuga refers anime which have scenes with a great level of animation. Sakuga scenes have lots of detail, flow and movement with dynamic camera angles and such. )

Part 2 that shows the process of animation (Sakuga pt.2 - The Japanese Animation Process in a Nutshell) If you're interested to see the rest of the videos see the links below:

Part 1 (Sakuga pt.1 - Intro, & Nakamura: Grandmaster Fight Animator)
Part 3 (Sakuga pt.3 - Japanese Animation History, from Mori to Otsuka to Kanada)
Part 4 (Sakuga pt.4 - Hiroyuki Imaishi: Kanada to the Extreme)
Part 5 (Sakuga pt.5 - Ichiro Itano and the Missile Circus Revolution)
Part 6 (Sakuga pt.6 - Shinya Ohira's Surrealist Animation)
Part 7 (Sakuga pt.7 - Mitsuo Iso and New Realism)
Part 8 (Sakuga pt.8 - Web Generation Animators)
Part 9 (Sakuga pt.9 - Why Animation Matters in Anime)




Another example: Princess Mononoke
(Backstage of Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke)

You can watch the rest of the parts and full episodes in youtube (click here)


Sources:
http://www.kamerabooks.co.uk/studioghibli/index.php?title_isbn=9781842432792
http://www.cjas.org/~leng/computeranime.htm
http://www.ex.org/4.3/04-feature_digital1.html
http://www.ex.org/4.2/09-column_bts1.html
http://www.ehow.com/how-does_5388016_anime-production-process.html

O: History of Anime

Anime began in the early 20th century when Japanese graphic artists influenced by the two very powerful Western inventions: the newspaper comic strip and the motion picture.

The comic strip provided Japanese story-tellers with a structure that was readily accessible to the masses. Soon, popular cartoonists like Rakiten Kitazawa and Ippei Okamoto were producing their own serialized newspaper prints. These would eventually contribute to the development of the modern Japanese comic book or "manga".

In 1914, cartoonists were among the first Japanese artists to experiment with animated motion pictures. Japan's first world-wide success was Kitayama Seitaro's short film Momotaro (1918).

Although the Japanese animation industry continued to grow slowly, its one, last pre-war milestone was Chikara To Onna No Yononaka. Appearing in 1932, the short film was the first animated "talkie" in Japanese.

But the great influence to anime was the development of an american movie that constituted a shock to many people in the industry at the time. Few would imagine upon it's release that Walt Disney could produce a full-length animated movie of such high quality as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, that was a tremendous hit among the public back in 1937.

This work set a milestone to all the animation artists and shaped the future of anime. You see, animation was a viable alternative in japan, that always struggled back then to produce real-life movies and series due to budget and logistical deficits. They didn't have the machine of Hollywood and the sponsoring costs to take so many people to shoot in different parts of the world were severe, considering the historical moment - two great wars took a large toll to the country. But with anime they could create the characters, landscapes and story's they wanted with less trouble involved!
History Of Anime:

part 2, Part3 , Part 4

Osamu Tezuka:

One person is responsible for the flourishing of both manga and anime in Japan: Osamu Tezuka. Originally an aspiring animator, Tezuka became a cartoonist after World War II. He was only 20 years old when his first significant work, the novel-length Shintakarajima or "New Treasure Island", appeared in 1947. In just a few years, he became Japan's most popular manga artist, eventually earning the title "God of Manga."

Successive generations of manga and anime artists discovered the flexibility of Tezuka's character designs and adapted them into their own diverse works. This, in turn, led to today's "manga-style" character with his or her simplified facial features and Frisbee-sized eyeballs. Sailor Moon, Speed Racer, and even Ash Ketchumcan all thank Tezuka for their dashing good looks. Eventually, Tezuka's great success as a manga artist led to a more direct impact on the post-war animation industry.

Hayao Miyazaki:

Hayao Miyazaki is one of Japan's greatest animation directors. The entertaining plots, compelling characters, and breathtaking animation in his films have earned him international renown from critics as well as public recognition within Japan. The Walt Disney Company's commitment to introduce the films to the rest of the world will let more people appreciate the high-quality works he has given the movie-going public. Through a career that has spanned nearly fifty years, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a maker of animated feature films and, along with Isao Takahata, co-founded Studio Ghibli, an animation studio and production company. The success of Miyazaki's films has invited comparisons with American animator Walt Disney, British animator Nick Park and Robert Zemeckis, and he has been named one of the most influential people by Time magazine.

The interview here is a report of the debate / press conference Miyazaki gave in Paris in late December 2001

Studio Ghibli:

Famous Japanese animation studio founded by Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata. Ghibli (pronounced jiburi or jee blee) is famous for creating the highest quality Anime, both animation wise and plot wise.

Ghibli means "hot wind blowing through the Sahara Desert". The name was used for Italian scouting airplanes during World War II. Miyazaki, who loves airplanes (and Italy), named his studio after it.

Ghibli films are so popular in Japan that they regularly out-perform Disney films at the Japanese box office. Recently Disney signed a deal with Ghibli's Parent company, Tokuma Shoten, for exclusive worldwide distribution rights to many Ghibli films. For more details on Ghibli and the Disney-Tokuma deal, nausicaa.net is the place to look.
Studio Ghibli Museum:

Interview to Hayao Miyazaki (with English title):

part 1

part2

another documentary in bbc interview

The History of Anime part 1 [1rst & 2nd Genrations of Japanese Animators]:

part2 , part3 , part4 , part5

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_anime
http://www.animesekai.net/everythinganime.html
http://www.japaneselifestyle.com.au/culture/anime_history.html
http://www.animemetro.com/control.cfm?ID=232
http://anime.about.com/od/animeprimer/a/Brief-History-Of-Anime.htmhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osamu_Tezuka
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayao_Miyazaki
http://researchinglna.blogspot.com/2011/02/hayao-miyazakis-movies-pacifism.html
http://anime-nanet.hubpages.com/hub/The-Anime-Phenom---Why-do-I-love-it-so-much
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studio_Ghibli
http://www.animenewsnetwork.co.uk/encyclopedia/company.php?id=60

N: Japanese Animation (Anime)

Definition: 

Anime (ah-NEE-may)(/ˈanəˌmā/), more commonly referred to Japanese animation, often having a science fiction theme and sometimes including violent or explicitly sexual material. It has its roots in manga (MAHN-ga), or Japanese comics. 

In Japan, anime is a rather popular form of entertainment. It comes in the form of tv shows, movies at the cinema as well as direct to video releases. Unlike in the west, anime has a huge variety of genres - it is not only for children. Nor, on the other hand, is it just sex and violence for adults! Anime is for everybody!

Manga developed over hundreds of years, starting as pictures drawn on temple walls, then on wooden blocks, and finally as woodblock prints with captions collected in books.  In time, the captions became stories and the art became sequential. By the early 20th century, manga had become the main form of literature for most of Japanese society.

For decades, anime was produced by and for Japan -- a local product, with a distinct look-and-feel to not just the artwork but the storytelling, the themes, and the concepts. Over the last forty years, though, it's become an international phenomenon, attracting millions of fans and being translated into many languages. A whole generation of viewers in the West have grown up with it and are now passing it on to their own children.

Anime is traditionally hand-drawn, but like in most animation computer assisted animation techniques have become quite common in recent years. The story-lines of anime represent most major genres of fiction and most motion-picture media – such as television broadcast, DVD and VHS distribution, and full length motion pictures.

In Japan, anime appears in three media: 

• TV series (often running several years, and accumulating several dozen episodes)
• Original Animation Video (OAVs, also spelled OVA)
• Full length feature films. The first Japanese anime TV show, "Tetsuawan Atom" ("The Mighty Atom"), debuted in 1963 and ran for 10 years.

Anime Genres:

• Action (the action/fighting is the dominant element)
• Adventure  (lots of traveling around, going to new places)
• Comedy (lots of laughs, or attempts at it anyway, and never gets too serious)
• Drama (lots of shocks, suspense, and emotions)
• Romance (romantic relationships are the dominant element)
• Shonen (all of these also include Action and/or Adventure, target audience of adolescent boys)
• Shojo (all of these also include Romance and/or Drama, target audience of adolescent girls)
• Mecha (giant anthropomorphic robots are integral to the plot)
• Hentai (Contains detailed and adult sexual content. This is often pornographic material)
• Ecchi (Will have mature subject matter, but falls short of being called hentai)
• Psychological
• Gender Bender ( Will include the main character dressing up as the opposite gender or otherwise switching to the other gender)
• School Life  (Stories following the life of a character who is in school)
• Shotacon (Involves sexual relations with young, under-aged males)
• Smut (these manga contain sexually graphic love relationships, though less extreme than what can be seen in hentai)
• Yaoi  (Involves homosexual male relationships, can often times portray graphic sexual scenes)
• Yuri (Involves homosexual female relationships, can often times portray graphic sexual scenes)
• Shojo Ai  (literally 'girls' love', is about homosexual female relationships, but is portrayed less graphically than in yuri)  
• Historical Mecha - Involving and often centralized around large machines (such as gundams)
• Lolicon (Involves sexual relations with young, under-aged females)
• Maho Shojo– 'Magical Girl',  revolving around a female character(s) who have magical powers
• Sci-fi (advanced technology, aliens and/or outer space, futuristic worlds)
• Fantasy (magic worlds, monsters, magical powers)
• Supernatural (ghosts and poltergeist, demons, spirits and gods)
• Mystery  (characters spend the majority of the series trying to solve one or more mysteries or other “unknowns”)
• Horror (lots of gore, blood baths, and nightmarish stuff)
• Parody (almost always a Comedy too, much of the humor is derived from gags and parody)
• Sports/Tournament (the main plot involves the characters competing in games and tournaments)
• Frenetic (hyperbolic and gags, comedy/parody, or just plain wild and weird)
• Romedy (romance comedy)
• Dramance (romance drama) 
• Epic (dynamic stories, action/adventure)
• Slice-of-Life (more realistic stories of a character(s) trials and tribulations)
• Slice-of-Un-Life (almost slice-of-life, but fantastical genres are present)
• Puzzles (involves mysteries, strange occurrences, unexplainable phenomena)

The Governments and the Anime or manga with sexual content: 




Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anime
http://www.amazines.com/Art_and_Culture/article_detail.cfm/129460?articleid=129460
http://www.thekeep.org/~kunoichi/kunoichi/themestream/anime.html
http://altair-roxas.suite101.com/anime-genres-for-beginners-a257723
http://animeyume.com/blog/2010/05/03/what-are-the-genres-of-anime/
http://www.radford.edu/~lcubbiso/personal/artform.htm
http://www.animenewsnetwork.co.uk/encyclopedia/anime.php?list=A
http://www.jappleng.com/articles/view/manga/6/genres_of_manga_and_anime

M: Differences between 2D & 3D Animation

Compost Creative:
http://www.compostcreative.com/

L: Animation Principles

The principles are:

1. Timing

2. Ease In and Out (or Slow In and Out)

3. Arcs

4. Anticipation

5. Exaggeration

6. Squash and Stretch

7. Secondary Action

8. Follow Through and Overlapping Action

9. Straight Ahead Action and Pose-To-Pose Action

10. Staging

11. Appeal

12. Personality

The principles can be viewed in Google Docs (click here).


Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/12_basic_principles_of_animation
http://www.cgsociety.org/index.php/CGSFeatures/CGSFeatureSpecial/applying_the_12_principles_to_3d_computer_animation_by_disneys_isaac_kerlow
http://www.animationarena.com/principles-of-animation.html
http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/prin_trad_anim.htm

k: 3D Animation Production Process

The process of creating 3D computer graphics can be sequentially divided into 5 basic phases:



1/ Modeling:

With an approved storyboard, the project enters the production phase. Our current workflow for 3d animation and modeling is based on Autodesk Maya and 3ds Max, the most powerful tools used in visual effects companies worldwide. During the modeling phase, assets for the animation are drawn or modeled in two or three dimensions. Some pre-built models may be purchased for a project, but most models are created from scratch. We can generate 3d models from existing 2d or 3d engineering CAD data, which can speed up the modeling process, but some CAD models may need rework if they are not detailed or

contain surfacing flaws. In the end, 3d models define the topology of the objects that will eventually be animated. The level of detail required for a given model is driven by the resolution of the final

image as well as how close the camera gets to a model in the final animation.

2/ Texture mapping:

3D models must have materials applied to define their surface appearance. Materials specify properties like shininess, transparency, translucency, reflectivity, texture, and of course, color. High quality texture maps add details to the surface and can deliver very high levels of realism in the final animation. These high quality maps may be created from digital photographs or created by hand, but will likely be manipulated using Adobe Photoshop.

3/ Lighting:

Lighting is important for creating realism and an appealing image. Lighting allows us to control the appearance of shadows and highlights. We place a number of lights around the scenes using proven Hollywood lighting techniques. Since correct color of real-life objects is often critical to our clients, we will ask for approval on lighting for key still frame shots. Also note that additional lighting adjustments will be done in POST, so this is an interim progress toward the final look of the animation; and we generally are asking for approval of object textures to ensure we are progressing in the right direction.

4/ Animation & Simulation:

At this point in the process we will ask the client to approve the shots and scenes with the completed animation, so that we can move in to the final phases of the project where the finished look will start to take effect.

5/ Rendering:

Rendering takes all of our work thus far and calculates the individual pixels for each frame, based on models, materials, lighting, and effects. Different rendering algorithms can create different results, ranging from photorealistic results to even a cartoon illustrated look. Rendering is very CPU intensive and complex animations can take days to render, even when spreading the work over multiple computers. Consider a 60 second DVD animation where each frame takes 15 seconds to render:A 60 second animation for DVD (at 30 frames per second) requires 1,800 frames, which will take over 7 hours to render! The rendering process can become a bottleneck and requires the use of the latest computer hardware, with fast dual-core processors and large amounts of memory..

The importance of the experience before making the animation:
Kelly is studying in Paris. She writes about animating from your experiences after talking with Pixar animator Bolhem Bouchiba:
"But it made me realize something about good animation. It dosen't come from studying other films. Or live action. Or acting. It comes, first and formost, from living life. From being hurt, being ecstatic, being bored, being in love, suffering, moments joyful and rich, things you can't describe. It comes from experiencing them, and shoving them onto the paper. I don't think you can animate something truthful if you've never felt it yourself." (the source link)



Professional 3D Production:
Here are a series of videos showing how Pixar go through their animation production
part1:

Part2:

Part3:



Sources:
http://ezinearticles.com/?Introduction-to-the-3D-Animation-Process&id=2586619
http://www.manton.org/2005/05/experience.html
http://www.anitime.nl/main.php?taal=UK&pagina=methode&subitem=methode_over3d
http://www.indianic.com/3d-animation-production-process.html
http://www.interactmedical.com/3d-animation-process.html

J: 3D Animation Software

Industry Standard 3d animation software (high-end animation software) :

• Autodesk 3ds Max : 

The most popular 3d software on Windows platform. Character Studio being a great character animation tool often used for animating computer games characters. 

• Autodesk Maya : 

The most used 3d software in Film industry.

• Autodesk Softimage : 

By many users considered to have the best 3d animation tools. The latest version is famous for its ICE environment.

• Autodesk Motion Builder : 

Started as a motion capture data editor and now is an application dedicated to 3d character animation.

• NewTek LightWave 3d : 

A mature and less expensive 3d animation software.

• Cinema 4D : 

User friendly 3d animation software by Maxon.

• SideFX Houdini : 

An advanced procedural 3d animation system renown for it's dynamics and particle effects.

• Messiah Studio : 

Or Project Messiah is a new 3d program with advanced animation tools used in Television, Feature Film and Game development.

• Blender 3d : 

The most popular free and open source 3d animation software

Sources:
http://www.squidoo.com/3DAnimationsoftware
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_computer_graphics_software
http://www.thepixelart.com/10-best-real-time-animation-tools/
http://www.insightempire.com/3d-animation-tools/

I: Digital Animation Types

Digital 3D Animation types:


Cel Shaded:

Cel-shaded animation (also known as Cel shading or Toon shading) is a type of non-photorealistic rendering designed to make computer graphics appear to be hand-drawn. Cel-shading is often used to mimic the style of a comic book or cartoon. It is a somewhat recent addition to computer graphics, most commonly turning up in video games. However, the end result of cel-shading has a very simplistic feel like that of hand-drawn animation. The name comes from the clear sheets of acetate, called cels, which are painted on for use in traditional 2D animation.
example:

MoCap (Motion Capture):

Motion Capture also known as Motion Tracking or ‘Mocap’ for short is basically 3D Animation. It’s a process in which recordings of human movement are translated into a digital form by filming sensors on every pivot point on the actor/actresses body. Once this footage is recorded it is then translated onto a 3D Model.

Virtual Models:

In 3D computer graphics, 3D modeling (also known as meshing) is the process of developing a mathematical representation of any three-dimensional surface of object (either inanimate or living) via specialized software. The product is called a 3D model. It can be displayed as a two-dimensional image through a process called 3D rendering or used in a computer simulation of physical phenomena. The model can also be physically created using 3D Printing devices.

Models may be created automatically or manually. The manual modeling process of preparing geometric data for 3D computer graphics is similar to plastic arts such as sculpting.

example:



Visual Effects:

Visual effects (commonly shortened to Visual F/X or VFX) are the various processes by which imagery is created and/or manipulated outside the context of a live action shoot. Visual effects involve the integration of live-action footage and generated imagery to create environments which look realistic, but would be dangerous, costly, or simply impossible to capture on film. Visual effects using computer generated imagery (CGI) have become increasingly common in big-budget films, and have also recently become accessible to the amateur filmmaker with the introduction of affordable animation and compositing software.

example:

Sources:
http://www.the-flying-animator.com/types-of-animation.html
http://blog.media-freaks.com/cel-shaded-animation-in-a-nutshell/
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-different-types-of-3d-animation.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cel-shaded_animation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_capture
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_modeling
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_effects
http://www.3dfaq.com/?p=49