Introduction to animation in

photoshop

Presented by: Mr. Paolo M. Rodriguez, MIT

Animation in photoshop

• Animation in Photoshop allows you to create dynamic

visual content by bringing still images and graphics to
life. This introduction will cover the essential tools and
processes needed to get started with basic animation.
What is
Animation?
• Animation is the technique of creating the
illusion of motion by displaying a series of
individual frames or images in rapid succession.
In Photoshop, you can create both simple
animations (like GIFs) and more complex
animated sequences using layers and the
timeline.
Key tools in photoshop for animation
Layers
Layers are essential for organizing different elements of your animation.
Each object or character should be on its own layer, allowing you to animate them
independently.

Timeline Panel
The Timeline panel is where you manage your animation frames.
You can create frame animations or video timelines, set the duration of each frame, and
control playback settings.

Brush Tool and Shape Tool

These tools are used to create and edit the visuals you’ll animate.
The Brush Tool is great for freehand drawing, while the Shape Tool allows for precise
geometric shapes.
Key tools in photoshop for animation

•Selection Tools
Use selection tools (like the Marquee Tool or Lasso Tool) to isolate parts of your image
or layer for movement or transformation.

•Transform Tool (Ctrl+T)

This tool allows you to resize, rotate, and reposition elements in your animation.

•Opacity and Fill Options

Adjusting the opacity of layers can create fade-in or fade-out effects,
enhancing the visual appeal of your animation.
 Basic animation process in photoshop

1. Create a New Document

Set up a canvas with the desired dimensions for your animation.
2. Design Your Elements
Use the Brush Tool, Shape Tool, and other drawing tools to
create the graphics you want to animate. Place each graphic on a
separate layer.
3. Open the Timeline Panel
Go to Window > Timeline to access the animation tools.
Choose to create a Frame Animation or a Video Timeline.
 Basic animation process in photoshop

4. Create Frames
Duplicate frames in the timeline for each stage of your animation.
Make changes to the corresponding layers for each frame.
5. Set Frame Durations
Adjust how long each frame is displayed. This timing affects the speed of your animation.
6. Preview Your Animation
Use the play button in the Timeline panel to preview how your animation looks.
Make adjustments as needed.
7.Export Your Animation
Save your work as an animated GIF or video file. Use File > Export > Save for
Web (Legacy) for GIFs, ensuring to set looping options if desired.
EXPLORING ANIMATION
COMPUTER GRAPHICS
STEREOSCOPE 10

▪ Invented by Sir Charles Wheatstone on 1838

▪ Can view a 3D picture

EXPLORING ANIMATION
COMPUTER GRAPHICS
35,000 YEARS AGO 12

▪ People have tried capturing a sense of motion

in their art like painting animals on wall
▪ Paleolithic Caves
▪ Cave of Lascaux
1600 B.C 13

▪ Egyptian Pharaoh
Rameses II built a
temple for the
Goddess Isis with
110 columns.
▪ Each column had
a painted figure of
the goddess in a
progressively
changed position
 1
1640 4

▪ Magic Lantern
▪ By Athonasius Kircher
▪ First attempt to project
drawings on the wall
▪ “Early Slide Projector”
1824 15

▪ Peter Mark Roget

▪ “Persistence of Vision”
▪ Ability of the eyes to temporarily retain the
image of anything just seen
EXPLORING ANIMATION
COMPUTER GRAPHICS
1825 17

▪ Thaumatrope
▪ By John Ayerton Paris
▪ “Turning Marvel” or
“Wonder Turner”
▪ A disc with a string or peg
attached to both sides
1832 18

▪ Phenakistoscope
▪ By Belgian Physicist
Joseph Plateau Simon
Stampfer in Austria
1867 19

▪ Zoetrope
▪ By William George Horner
▪ “Wheel of Life”
 2
THOMAS EDISON 0

▪ Invented a mechanized form

of flip book

▪ Mutoscope – mounted the

pages on a central rotating
cylinder rather than binding
them in a book
Kinetoscope 21

▪ Kinetoscope, forerunner of the

motion-picture film projector,
invented by Thomas A. Edison and
William Dickson of the United States
in 1891. In it, a strip of film was
passed rapidly between a lens and an
electric light bulb while the viewer
peered through a peephole. while the
viewer peered through a peephole.
EXPLORING ANIMATION
COMPUTER GRAPHICS
 2
J. STUART BLACKTON 3

▪ Fore-Father of Animation
▪ 1896:“Rapid-drawing
Cartoonist” for a series of
Edison shorts.
▪ Photographed drawings
▪ The Enchanted Drawing
(1900)
 2
J. STUART BLACKTON 4

▪ “Humorous Phases of Funny

Faces” (1906)
▪ Stop-Motion technique
▪ Animation drawn in
blackboard
▪ 3000 drawings
 2
WINSOR McCAY 5

▪ Father of character
animation

▪ Well-known for his

newspaper comics

▪ “Little Nemo in
Slumberland” (1905
– 1914)
 2
WINSOR McCAY 6

▪ McCay appeared on
stage with his
animated dinosaur,
Gertie. (1914)
WINSOR McCAY 27

▪ “The Sinking of the

Lusitania” (1918)
▪ The first
propaganda
animation
▪ 2 years to
create
▪ 25,000 drawing
 2
JOHN BRAY 8

▪ Founder of the first

animation studio

▪ Use of grayscale

▪ “Colonel Heeza
Liar’s” (1913)
FLEISCHER BROTHERS 29

▪ Max Fleischer invented the

“rotoscope technique”
▪ A rotoscope is a device that
originally used a movie
projector to project a live-
action image onto the back of a
frosted glass pane, which
allowed an animator to trace
over it for more realistic
animation
FLEISCHER BROTHERS 30

▪ Rotoscope animation
describes the process of creating
animated sequences by tracing
over live-action footage frame by
frame. Though it can be time-
consuming, rotoscoping allows
animators to create lifelike
characters who move just like
people in the real world.
FLEISCHER BROTHERS 31

▪ Fleischer Studios
✓ Betty Boop
✓ Popeye
✓ Superman
OTTO MESSMER 32

▪ Felix the Cat

▪ First animated character
with personality
WALT DISNEY 33

▪ Producer, director,
screenwriter, voice-
actor, and animator

▪ “Steamboat Willie”
(1928)
▪ First cartoon with
sound
WALT DISNEY: MICKEY MOUSE 34

▪ “Mortimer”

▪ Based on a mouse Walt

Disney had adopted as a
pet while working in
Kansas City Studio..

▪ Steamboat Willie: First

cartoon with sound
SILLY SYMPHONIES (1929) 35

▪ Skeleton Dance

▪ Musical Score

▪ Ub lwerks
▪ chief animator
THREE LITTLE PIGS 36

▪ Fully developed
“personality”
animation

▪ Separate
personalities
SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS 37

▪ First fully animated

featured-length film

▪ 83 minutes

▪ Gave birth to the

golden age of
animation
RECAP 3

▪ GRAPHICS HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE

ENVIRONMENTS
▪ GPU PIPELINE
▪ DIFFERENT IDE IN COMPUTER GRAPHICS
 2
▪ Squash and Stretch
▪ Anticipation
▪ Arcs
▪ Ease In and Out
PRINCIPLES
OF ANIMATION
SQUASH AND STRETCH 41

▪ A traditional animation technique that

animators commonly use to give
animated objects more realism and
weight.

▪ When an object moves, its movement

indicates the rigidity of the object.
 4
SQUASH AND STRETCH 2
 4
ANTICIPATION 3

▪ Cues or prepares the audience for a

major action the characters is about to
perform.

▪ Example of Anticipation
▪ Starting to run
▪ About to jump
 4
ANTICIPATION 4
 4
ARCS 5

▪ The visual path of an object or action is

called an “arc”. This could be the
projectile of a bouncing ball, the path of
a moving arm, and even the movements
of mouth corners during a dialogue
scene.
 4
ARCS 6
 4
EASE IN AND OUT 7

▪ Object do not move in constant speed.

▪ Moving objects end gradually not

abruptly.

▪ Acceleration (Ease In)

▪ Deceleration (Ease Out)

PRINCIPLES OF ANIMATION
COMPUTER GRAPHICS
6 MAJOR STEPS

CONCEPT

STORYLINE

CHARACTERS

STORYBOARD

VOICE OVER

ANIMATION
 5
STEP 1: CONCEPT 0

▪ Original idea about any of these three elements

that will make the animation memorable.

new learning for

MESSAGE
the audience

new character that

has never been new setting and
CHARACTER PLOT
seen before build up events
 WHAT IS A STORY?

▪ Any sequence of events with a beginning,

middle, and an end makes up a story.

▪ Story is the most important part of any

animation.

▪ Make up the flow of the animation

sequence.
 WHAT IS A STORY?

▪ Stories fall into two main categories:

▪ FACT – What actually happened (real

events).

▪ FICTION – Events that are imagined to

have happened.
 5
STEP 2: STORY LINE 3

▪ 4 ways of writing stories:

1. Something that happened to you. (fact)
2. Something that happened to someone you know.
(fact)
3. Something imaginary based on a factual
situations. (fiction/reality)
4. Something totally imaginary. (fiction/fantasy)

▪ Dramatic Twist
▪ Unexpected turn.
 5
STEP 3: CHARACTERS 4

▪ In designing a character, we look at two aspects:

 5
STEP 3: CHARACTERS 5
STEP 3: CHARACTERS 56

▪ Our minds remember the form rather than the

details.
 5
STEP 3: CHARACTERS 7

▪ PROPORTION
▪ A physical characteristic
of form of a character.
▪ In animated characters,
height is measured in
“heads”.
 5
STEP 3: CHARACTERS 8

▪ VIEWS

FRONT SIDE BACK

 5
STEP 3: CHARACTERS 9

▪ FACES
▪ The face of the character
shows:
✓ Expression
✓ Personality
✓ Feelings
STEP 3: CHARACTERS 60

▪ FORM + FACE
▪ Putting the form and face together leads to
an exponential number of character design
combinations.
STEP 4: STORYBOARD 61

▪ Visual script for your project.

▪ Panel-like drawings of key scenes and events.

▪ A visualization of how animation will look and how

the animation is sequenced.

▪ A step by step guide to creating the actual

animation.
STEP 4: STORYBOARD 62
STEP 4: STORYBOARD 63
STEP 4: STORYBOARD 64

▪ PARTS OF A STORYBOARD
2 3
1
4
5

7
STEP 5: VOICE OVER 65

▪ Voice Acting
▪ The art of providing voices for animated characters.
▪ Performers are called voice actors, voice actresses,
or voice artist.

▪ Voice Recording
▪ A script is written by a scriptwriter for the character
dialogues.
▪ Voices for an animation is recorded before the actual
animation is created.
STEP 6: ANIMATION 66

▪ In the traditional animation process, animators

will begin by drawing sequences of animation on
sheets of paper, one picture or “frame” at a time.
▪ A key animator or lead animator will draw the key
drawings in a scene, using the character layouts
as a guide.
▪ Every second of finished film consists of 24
frames, requiring 12 to 24 drawings, depending
upon the speed of movement.
▪ The more frames in the animation, the smoother
the output.
STEP 6: ANIMATION 67

➢ DIGITAL ANIMATION
▪ Software Used
▪ Adobe Flash
▪ Toon Boom
▪ Toufee
▪ KoolMoves
▪ Express Animator
▪ Anime Studio

➢ SWF – animation file format

ANIMATION USES 68

▪ Animation traditionally comes in the form

of cartoons or movies. It is primarily
used for entertainment.

▪ Screen transitions (dissolve, fade out,

zooms, etc.) are not considered real
animation. These are merely visual
effects.
PRINCIPLES OF ANIMATION
COMPUTER GRAPHICS
Principles of Animation
& Evolution of Computer
Graphics Animation
Understanding the Foundations of Animation in the Digital Age
1825 71

▪ Thaumatrope
▪ By John Ayerton Paris
▪ “Turning Marvel” or
“Wonder Turner”
▪ A disc with a string or peg
attached to both sides
Introduction to Animation
in Computer Graphics

What is Animation?
•The illusion of motion through a series of still
images.
•Types of animation: 2D, 3D, Stop Motion,
Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI).
Why Study Animation?
•Animation in films, games, web, advertising,
VR/AR.
 The 12 Principles of Animation
(Overview)

Why are the 12 principles of animation

important? These principles of animation
are important because combining all 12
helps ground animation in the real world.
The sky is the limit when it comes to using
your imagination, but you also need to
consider gravity and other laws of physics
The 12
Principles of
Animation
(Overview)
 Description:

Squash
•Adds flexibility and weight to
objects/characters.
•Makes movement look more

and dynamic.
Example:

Stretch •A bouncing ball squashing when it

hits the ground and stretching when it
flies through the air.
 Description:
•Prepares the audience for a major
action.
•Builds tension, making the action
Anticipation feel more realistic.
Example:
•A character winding up before
jumping or punching.
Staging
Description:
•The presentation of an idea so
that it’s clear and easy to follow.
•Effective use of space,
composition, and camera angles.
Example:
•A character’s pose should
convey the emotion of the
moment clearly.
Straight
Straight Ahead Action:
•Drawing frame by frame, focusing

Ahead on fluidity (often used in action

scenes).

Action Pose to Pose:

and Pose
•Creating key poses first, and
filling in the frames (more

to Pose
controlled and used in character
animation).
Follow Through
and Overlapping
Action

Follow Through:
•The continuation of movement
after the main action (e.g.,
clothes or hair continuing to move
after a character stops).
Overlapping Action:
•The offsetting of actions (e.g., a
character's arm and body don’t
move at the same time, they
overlap).
Slow In and
Slow Out
Description:
•Objects or characters start
slow, speed up, and then
slow down again.
•Makes movements more
natural and less mechanical.
Example:
•A car accelerating and
decelerating.
Arcs
Description:
•Most natural movements
follow an arc (e.g., a thrown
object).
•Adds fluidity and grace to
animations.
Example:
•A swinging pendulum or a
character’s arm moving in a
circular arc
Secondary
Action
Description:
•Supporting actions that add
depth and complexity to the main
action.
•Enhances realism without
distracting from the main focus.
Example:
•A character’s hands moving
while speaking or a character’s
clothing fluttering as they run.
Timing
Description:
•How long an action
takes. Proper timing
communicates weight,
emotion, and realism.
Example:
•A heavy object falling
slowly versus a light
object falling quickly.
Exaggeration
Description:
•Enhancing movements or
actions to make them more
striking and emotional.
Example:
•A character’s expression or
a cartoonish action like
stretching out after waking
up.
Solid
Drawing
Description:
•Creating drawings that
appear three-dimensional
with proper volume and
weight.
Example:
•Using light and shadow
to create depth in a
character’s pose.
Appeal
Description:
•The character or scene
must be interesting,
engaging, and “appealing” to
the audience.
Example:
•A well-designed,
charismatic character or a
compelling action scene.
Evolution of Animation
in Computer Graphics

From Hand-Drawn to Digital:

•Early CGI in films like Tron (1982) and The Last
Starfighter (1984).
•The 1990s CGI boom with films like Toy Story
(1995) and Jurassic Park (1993).
Modern CGI:
•Realistic animation, motion capture, photorealistic
rendering (e.g., Avatar, The Lion King (2019)).
 Motion Capture (MoCap):

• Real-time capture of human motion, used for both character animation

and special effects.
CGI • Example: Lord of the Rings (Gollum).
Innovations
3D Modeling and Rigging:
&
Techniques • Creating 3D characters and objects, adding skeletons for animation.

Virtual Reality (VR) & Augmented Reality (AR):

• Emerging uses of CGI in immersive experiences.

Motion •Real-time capture of human motion,

Capture
used for both character animation and
special effects.
(MoCap): •Example: Lord of the Rings (Gollum).
3D Modeling
and Rigging:
• 3D Modeling.
Modeling in 3D is the
process of building
and shaping a
character or an object
in a 3D software, to
match the design.
Virtual Reality (VR) &
Augmented Reality
(AR)

• AR uses a real-world setting while VR

is completely virtual. AR users can
control their presence in the real
world; VR users are controlled by the
system. VR requires a headset device,
but AR can be accessed with a
smartphone. AR enhances both the
virtual and real world while VR only
enhances a fictional reality.
 AI and Animation:
• Automated in-betweening, character rigging, and procedural
animation.
The Future
of Real-Time Rendering and Virtual Production:
Animation • Unreal Engine and Unity in animation and filmmaking.

Interactive Animation in Games and VR:

• How animated characters react in real-time to player input.
Real-Time
Rendering
•Unreal Engine and Unity in
and
Virtual animation and filmmaking
Production
Interactive Animation
in Games and VR

• How animated characters react in

real-time to player input.