How 3D Computer Animation Works

character development in 3D

The world around us is a 3D one. However, the development of multimedia has brought us an incredible number of circumstances that unravel in 2D. Every time we watch TV, surf the web or watch a movie at the cinema, we look at images that solely have two dimensions: height and width. The technological development of the last decade has brought to the movie industry the magic of 3D, however. It is no longer unusual to sit in the theater, put on a special pair of glasses and see the third dimension reveal itself, in the most common way, now. Animation movies widely use such technologies, to give a new and fresh perspective to the entertainment industry.

But how does these images trick our eyes into thinking that the screen manages to extend way deep into a series dimensions? How do programmers that create games manage to persuade us that we’re seeing characters that move around like real creatures in a real landscape? Some of the visual tricks 3-D graphic designers use, and the way hardware designers make the tricks happen so fast involve a great amount of technology and imagination at the same time. It is both artistically and scientifically skills that make this possible.

3D animation

3D animation

Firstly, we need to understand that the animator uses a computer instead of the traditional pen, ink and paper combination. In order to generate a still image that repeats itself in a time sequence, as to give the illusion of motion, several images are created using computer software of the latest generation. The final result makes the images look as if they were three dimensional, when you play them. The 3D animation software used, such as 3DMax or Maya, requires plenty of knowledge, patience and a good computer.

Drawing every detail in each frame by hand is no longer a practice. Instead, the animator draws every frame using the computer. The software is given a set of parameters that describes how the elements must look and move, in order to obtain the visual effect of animation. The task is not one done by the computer, as this is only a tool the animator uses in order to get extra help in filling in the in-bet weens, handling multiple characters and crowd scenes, simulating materials or complicated lighting setups, integrating live action with virtual images in order to create the perfect 3D illusion.

3D computer generated sequences for game animation

3D computer generated sequences for game animation

The amount of work that is put in an animated movie nowadays is, therefore, huge. Just like the old days, when frames were drawn by hand. The result however is a whole different thing. Going to the movies is now just like being inside the screen and taking part in the action. The virtual tour that you take, simply by sitting in your chair, with the glasses on, meets the real experience.

 

Sustainability
Go virtual for a sustainable future

Caring about a sustainable future The future of our planet is a serious matter that more and more businesses have started to consider. The environment must become an economic priority for many companies, as the discussion around sustainability is more alive than ever. Despite the possibility of slower growth when it comes to sales, having a more eco-friendly approach for

Read More »
E-commerce
The future of museums

As technology evolves in front of our eyes, it’s obvious that more and more of the classics are being brought to the current times. That applies to museums as well. Usually seen as tourist attractions, museums provide us with history and representations of the past and are fine examples of how people perceive these places: a must when you go

Read More »
panorender virtual environment
Virtual Reality
PanoRender: working with the future in mind

A few years ago, someone had an idea. He started working towards having that idea come to life. Then someone else came along and helped. Then someone else and so on and so forth. A business was born. This sounds like every other generic story of how things appear in this world. But that’s just the way things work; the

Read More »
online configurator
E-commerce
The usefulness of online configurators

In this day and age, pretty much everybody is using the internet and staying online for at least one hour daily. We are connected with the world in a never seen way, up to date with news from even the smallest cities (one search is enough to find out what’s happening anywhere). A rising trend has been consumers searching for

Read More »
virtual events
E-commerce
The rise of virtual events

The premise of virtual events We’ve all dealt with the consequences of the pandemic: from staying indoors to wearing a mask almost everywhere. Businesses were impacted but PanoRender quickly understood the assignment and transformed something unexpected into something to work on, thus our entrance into the virtual events game. Let’s talk for example about how Microsoft’s annual Ignite 1-week conference

Read More »
Future
The future of Real Estate Development and Architecture

Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are two markets with high growth in the past few years and have even bigger growth potential for the future of Real Estate, Architecture, and not only. Especially when taking into consideration how the COVID pandemic has accelerated this movement. Great products have been developed such as Oculus Quest 2 that allowed for the VR

Read More »
Future
A novel way to interact with digital environments

Over the past decades, the Internet has elevated the way people live. It revolutionized how we communicate, research, think, do business, and basically everything else. In the beginning, it was all ugly and slow. Most of us remember. However, it has evolved beautifully. Now we usually are not at the mercy of internet speed. Unless you’re in an isolated place,

Read More »
Future
How will people interact with the web in 2025?

The internet has become more than just a nice perk, it became woven into our everyday life. We use it for payments, work, entertainment, communication, and everything else. Now even cars are using it for various features. Nonetheless, the Internet has been one of the defining factors of our society and it helped in booming our economy over the past

Read More »
/* ]]> */