Portal:Animation
Main | Categories and topics | Tasks and projects |
Introduction
Animation is a filmmaking technique by which still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets (cels) to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animation has been recognized as an artistic medium, specifically within the entertainment industry. Many animations are computer animations made with computer-generated imagery (CGI). Stop motion animation, in particular claymation, has continued to exist alongside these other forms.
Animation is contrasted with live-action film, although the two do not exist in isolation. Many moviemakers have produced films that are a hybrid of the two. As CGI increasingly approximates photographic imagery, filmmakers can easily composite 3D animations into their film rather than using practical effects for showy visual effects (VFX). (Full article...)
Selected article
Stan Marsh is a fictional character in the animated television series South Park. He is voiced by and loosely based on series co-creator Trey Parker. (pictured in 2013) Stan is one of the show's four central characters, along with his friends Kyle Broflovski, Kenny McCormick, and Eric Cartman. He debuted on television when South Park first aired on August 13, 1997, after having first appeared in The Spirit of Christmas shorts created by Parker and long-time collaborator Matt Stone in 1992 (Jesus vs. Frosty) and 1995 (Jesus vs. Santa). Stan is a third- then fourth-grade student who commonly has extraordinary experiences not typical of conventional small-town life in his fictional hometown of South Park, Colorado. Stan is generally friendly, down-to-earth, knowledgeable, helpful, laid back, and often shares with Kyle a leadership role as the main protagonist of the show. Stan is unreserved in verbally expressing his distinct lack of esteem for adults and their influences, as adult South Park residents rarely make use of their critical faculties. Stan is animated by computer in a way to emulate the show's original method of cutout animation. He also appears in the 1999 full-length feature film South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, as well as South Park-related media and merchandise. While Parker and Stone portray Stan as having common childlike tendencies, his dialogue is often intended to reflect stances and views on more adult-oriented issues, and has been frequently cited in numerous publications by experts in the fields of politics, religion, popular culture and philosophy.
Selected image
Did you know (auto-generated) -
- ... that the French animated film The Summit of the Gods is based on a Japanese manga series?
- ... that the stylized animation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem was inspired by rough sketches in school notebooks?
- ... that although Blizzard's franchise Overwatch is centered around video games, its lore is mainly told through animated shorts, comics, and novels?
- ... that the 1937 Fleischer Studios strike in New York City was the first major labor strike in the animation industry?
- ... that according to an elaborate 1990s joke, Elmo Aardvark was history's first animated cartoon character?
- ... that Raoul Servais invented a new technique for combining animation and live action for his short film Harpya?
Selected quote
Selected biography
Mike Scully (born October 2, 1956) is an American television writer and producer. He is known for his work as executive producer and show runner of the Fox series The Simpsons from 1997 - 2001. Scully grew up in West Springfield, Massachusetts and long had an interest in writing. He was an underachiever at school and dropped out of college, going on to work in a series of jobs. Eventually, in 1986, he moved to Los Angeles, California where he worked as a stand-up comic and wrote for Yakov Smirnoff. He went on to write for several television sitcoms before in 1993 he was hired to write for The Simpsons. There, he wrote twelve episodes, including "Lisa on Ice" and "Team Homer". He became showrunner from season nine onwards; Scully won three Primetime Emmy Awards, but his tenure has been criticized as a period of decline in the show's quality. Scully still works on the show and also co-wrote 2007's The Simpsons Movie. He co-created The Pitts and Complete Savages as well as working on Everybody Loves Raymond and Parks and Recreation. He is married to fellow writer Julie Thacker.
Selected list
There have been 131 episodes of Ed, Edd n Eddy, an animated comedy television series created by Danny Antonucci and produced by Canada-based a.k.a. Cartoon. The series debuted on Cartoon Network in the United States on January 4, 1999, and ended on November 8, 2009, with the film Ed, Edd n Eddy's Big Picture Show. The series was originally planned to air for four seasons, but Cartoon Network ordered two additional seasons and three holiday-themed specials as a result of its popularity. Reruns continue to air on Cartoon Network, including airing as part of the revived block Cartoon Planet. The first two seasons were released on DVD in 2006 and 2007. Two DVD volumes were also released: Edifying Ed-Ventures in 2005 and Fools' Par-Ed-Ise in 2006. The series has also been digitally distributed. The award-winning series garnered generally positive reviews, and remains the longest running original Cartoon Network series and Canadian-made animated series to date.
More did you know...
- ...that Ancient Qumran: A Virtual Reality Tour is a computer-generated film that presents in 3-D a theoretical reconstruction of the ancient Khirbet Qumran site? (pictured)
- ...that Handling Ships, the first animated British Technicolor feature film, was never meant to be released to theatres but was an "Official Selection" at Cannes in 1946?
- ...that filmmaker Daniel St. Pierre led the team that developed the Deep Canvas system for the animated film Tarzan for enhancing the apparent depth of backgrounds?
Anniversaries for May 16
- Films released
- 1920 – Foxy Felix (United States)
- 1926 – A Tale of Two Kitties (United States)
- 1927 – Alice's Three Bad Eggs (United States)
- 1952 – Two-Gun Goofy (United States)
- 1964 – The Iceman Ducketh (United States)
- 1974 – Pink Aye (United States)
- Television series and specials
- 1997 – Todd McFarlane's Spawn, an American animated television series based on the Image Comics superhero Spawn begins airing on HBO
- Births
- 1990 – Thomas Brodie-Sangster, British actor
Subportals
Related portals
Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus