Animation And Television: How Animators Create A New TV Show

Animation has been used in film almost since the very beginning. Nowadays, it has extended to many other fields, including advertising, video games, corporate presentations, and television shows. Animation works well for some TV shows because it allows the creators to portray worlds, people, and characters that would be difficult or impossible to portray through other means. Animators use a variety of techniques to bring a new television show from concept to finished product.

Concept Design Concept design is the first step in producing an animated TV show. It is the process by which the animator takes general ideas for the show and fleshes them out into a tangible, specific, and unified style. The animator does so by working closely with the television show's creators to develop drawings that exemplify the kind of scenes that will populate the television show. This process is especially valuable for show creators who have a general idea of what they want to accomplish with the TV show but who have not yet developed well-rounded characters and details about the world in which those characters live. Through the work of a skilled animator, a show creator can leave the process with a plan for a show that is unique, winsome, and consistent throughout every episode.

Character Design Once the concept for the television show is solidified, the animator focuses specifically on developing the characters that will be a part of the show. This process is called character design and is used not only in television but also in any other context in which unique and engaging characters are needed, such as in advertising animation or video games. When used during process of creating an animated

television show, the goal is to visually depict the personality that the show creators have envisioned. In the skilled hands of the animator, the characters' quirks, flaws, and charms come through in the drawings that they produce. The end result is a cast of characters that will stand out on the screen.

Storyboards and Animatics Each episode of an animated television show is put together through the use of storyboards. These sets of drawings depict moment by moment how each scene unfolds. By sketching out the positions of each character and item throughout each scene, the animator allows the creators to get an idea of how the episode should best be put together. Storyboards are useful for determining which compositions will produce quality images within the constraints of the budget. They also allow the animator to provide a glimpse of what the final episode will look like. To get an even better idea of what each scene will look like, the animator may choose to use animatics instead, which are storyboads combined with audio.

Animation The final step in producing an animated television show is to conduct the actual animation. The animation is what creates the finished product. Once the animation is complete, the characters, worlds, and scenes carefully developed and sketched out take shape on the screen, ready to woo audiences and draw them into the imaginary world envisioned by the show's creators. Successful animation will take into account the concept design, character design, and storyboarding that has preceded it, and puts the conclusions drawn from those process into a living, breathing project.

There are many types of animation that the animation studio can use, depending upon the goals of the project:

Traditional animation is the process of drawing the scenes by hand. This type of animation appears in anime, feature animation, and cartoon animation and is present in famous productions such as Mickey Mouse. Because of its versatility, it gives the animator the option of creating a show in whatever style is preferred.

Motion comics are best suited for translating the look and feel of comics to the television screen. This type of animation uses layers and thoughtful movement to bring the comic book stories to the screen. As a result, it allows the animator to bring comics to life in a television show while remaining faithful to the original comic that inspired the show.

Education animation is animation that is designed to target specific audiences, such as viewers of a certain age. For instance, its style, colors, characters, and overall design may be intended to appeal to preschoolers or junior high and high school children. This type of animation is typically used in shows whose goal it is to educate and enlighten the viewer about whatever topic is being discussed. The result is a television show that will capture the attention of the intended audience while expanding their knowledge and conveying the material the creators have envisioned.

Flash animation is often used to produce material for television and film. It utilizes Adobe Flash to create memorable shows that will appeal to the intended audiences.

A skilled animation partner can use the process of concept design, character design, and animation to bring an idea for a television show from the first vague notions to a sophisticated and finished product. Along the way, they work side by side with the show's creators and visionaries to ensure that they capture the full depth and breadth of their ideas in a form that will draw in the intended audiences. By the end of the project, the result will be a television show that will create a winsome world and characters to populate the television screen. Powerhouse Animation is a traditional 2D animation studio based in Austin, Texas with offices in Burbank, California. Since 2001, Powerhouse has been making ideas come to life through animation, illustration, and motion graphics. With a staff of 35 in-house artists, animators, videographers and designers, Powerhouse works on a wide variety of projects and has created animation for companies including Disney, Sony, Marvel, DC, Old Spice, Coca Cola, Miramax, the USO and more. To learn more about some of these projects visit PowerhouseAnimation.com.