Methods of 2D Animation

Traditional

Traditional animation is an animation technique where each frame is drawn by hand. The technique was the dominant form of animation in cinema until the invention of computer animation.  Traditionally animated productions similar to now would start with a storyboard, which allows the animation team to plan the flow of the plot and the composition of the imagery. A soundtrack is then recorded featuring music, sound effects and dialogue performed by the voice actors. Often an animatic would then be created to give the animators and directors work out any timing and script issues. Model sheets of each character were made, to gives looks from a variety of angles and a variety of facial expressions. In the traditional animation process, animators will begin by drawing sequences of animation on sheets of transparent paper often using colour pencils.  The drawings are then transfrerred to a clear cel sheet and are inked & painted. Each of these cels is then stacked in sequencial order and photographed using a special animation camera. Then lastly the photographs sent in for development and the film is created.

An example of a classical film that uses the traditonal animation method is Walt Disney's "The Aristocats" (1970)-

URL- http://www.listal.com/viewimage/4351213

Traditionally the sets of these animations were painted by the background artists, and the character cells.  However nowadays, most films are purely created digitally. I am thinking of incorporating a similar method into my animation- where I digitally paint the set, and illustrate the character(s) over top. This method is similar to the Studio Ghibli films whom I have been inspired by! One example is Their film "Tales From Earthsea"-

URL- http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/tales-from-earthsea/images/5977704/title/tales-from-earthsea-dragon-photo

Rubber hose

In the early days of the hand drawn animation in the 1920s, animation was a new phenomenon and there weren't experienced animators.  However there were skilled artists working in newspapers and creating comic strips, and many of them saw a lot of new opportunities and challenges to use their skills on something exciting. This is why many of the first cartoons looked like moving comic strips. As animators gained experience through trial, the cartoons became more professional and dominated by specific rules to make them.  This style ecevtually faded as Walt Disney decided he wanted to make his cartoons more realistic.

An example of a Rubber hose short film is Walt Disney's "Steamboat Willie" (1928)-

URL- http://fogsmoviereviews.com/2012/09/10/movies-that-everyone-should-see-snow-white-and-the-seven-dwarfs/

I like the simplicity of the comic strip Illustration style, and could create my characters in this form.  I also like the traditional media used.

Digital 

Nowadays, most films and cartoons are created using a 100% computer animation process. Computer animation is the process used for generating animated images by using computer graphics. Computer generated animations are more controllable than other more physically based processes.  To create the illusion of movement, an image is displayed on the computer monitor and repeatedly replaced by a new image that is similar to it, but advanced slightly in time. For 2D vector animations, the rendering process is the key frame illustration process, while tweened frames are rendered as needed.

An example of a typical Digital animated television series is Pendleton Ward's "Adventure Time"-

URL- http://animatedtv.about.com/od/picturegallerie1/ig/-Adventure-Time--Pictures/Princesses.htm

I enjoy the illustration style of this cartoon, particularly the clarity and block colours. However, there are alot of modern childrens shows that incorporate different medias into their animations. I quite like this technique! As it gives depth and a somewhat sense of realism to them through 2D. An example I have seen, is Ben Bocquelet's "The Amazing World of Gumball"-

URL- http://animatedtv.about.com/od/picturegallerie1/ig/-Gumball--Pictures/School-Hallway.htm