Intro to animation

CEBU, Philippines - Illustration. Design. Art. Text. Animation. Masterpiece!

All those gifted with the creation of visual arts have even brighter prospects at the University of Cebu with its new course offering – the Animation Program at P465 per unit payable in four installments – that seeks to tap local artists to fill in the vacuum for both unfilled and expanding job slots in the growing, demanding yet promising animation industry both here and abroad.

Under the tutelage of animation program instructor Patricia Kyle Mendoza and animation head Mamerto Escaño, UC students enrolled in the said program are currently moving into the completion of a two-year certificate course.

According to Mendoza, first-year students would delve into 2D animation for a better grasp on how to present characters and surroundings “created on a flat plane of two dimensions, unlike the three dimensions of computer animation common today.” This can be as “simple as a flipbook or as sophisticated as one of the Disney hand-drawn animated classics.”

In the next level, 3D animation would be tackled. At this stage, modules would give students the idea as to how the whole 3D animation process itself “takes a number of stages and appears to be very complex”, but with the reality that despite its complexities, it does carry with it a lot of advantages. “With the aid of 3D modeling, the 3D software allows very flexible control over the scene and animation. Models can be rotated in any angles possible (unlike 2D).”

According to Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas in “The Illusion of Life,” animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2D or 3D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. So, what makes this field interesting? Ermm, very interesting, enticing and so much relevant?

Mendoza said that with the advances of technology, animation today has “reached beyond the bounds of the entertainment industry.”

“Moving images is a more effective way of communicating an idea. Thus, animation is no longer limited to entertainment,” she pointed out.

In product visualization, for example, it is now possible to see how products look like even before they are manufactured. With computer graphics now getting closer towards photorealism, animating images would help the artist see how these products work and how these are used.

As for architectural visualization, computer graphics help in visualizing buildings even before they are built. By animating these images, architects and their clients see these buildings in their environment and allows for further modifications.

Other uses are strongly felt in the interactive media and in computer games. Since computers can be programmed, moving images can now be done so, as well. This means that animation has even metamorphosed into a more effective means of communication. “We can see related developments among Web sites, computer games, e-learning, etcetera. We can see that moving images are now incorporated into Web pages. Moving images are used in e-learning as it is an effective way of showing an idea,” this was further stressed.

Animation finds a niche in computer games which has grown into a big industry (say, empire!). As a form of entertainment, video games bring more to the audience especially that this medium is interactive. Microsoft’s Halo 3, for example, chalked up $170 million in sales on its first day of availability, making it the hottest-selling title in video game history. In setting the record, the Xbox 360 exclusive title not only passed the $151 million brought in by the movie Spiderman 3 in its first day in theaters, but also surpassed the launch of the novel Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Further, film and television are always entwined with animation. Even the word movies mean “moving pictures.” So, in essence, it is a form of animation. Often referred to in this area is the CGI (computer-generated imagery) or special effects. In fact, in a jest, Gollum or Smeagol, remembered for his “my precioussss” hiss in the Lord of the Rings trilogy would win as Best Computer-Generated Character had there been a category for such in the Oscars.

Television animation is also often used in commercials or advertisements to wow audiences which make it easier to catch their attention.

For more information about the courses, please call 2318621.