Cartoon Production Technique

by Mary Hobson
mary.hobson@theanimationschooldirectory.com
Animation School Directory Columnist

Cartoons were an important part of the earlier cinema offerings, with Saturday matinee performances often including Disney cartoons such as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, and Warner Brothers Tom and Jerry being developed in the 1930s - amazing that they are in healthy existence today, albeit transformed into TV entertainment. In fact, many of the present day TV cartoon series started in movies.

Early cartoons were hand drawn, with 24 complete pictures to the second of the completed film. This degree of labor was cut down considerably with the advent of the animation cel, devised by Earl Hurd.

Early Cartoon Production Techniques

Later developments came when sound was added to cartoon production, making a more complex production process. Storyboards allowed cartoons to be produced by an assembly line of backgrounds, colors, characters, animation, and sound. Disney excelled at this compartmentalization, and the modern cartoon movie was in mass production. Graphic artists labored over full-length cartoon productions, but the end results became masterpieces.

Towards the end of the 1940s, cartoons migrated to television, and for the volume production of weekly editions, there was a need to shorten production processes. Drawings, movement, and form became cruder, with dialogue helping to fill in some of the visual gaps.

Today's Cartoons

Modern cartoon production is both faster and more naturalistic because of computer animation software. Graphic artists use software to produce characters, backgrounds, animation, and lighting as separate entities, then put the elements together. In order to be able to use the software well, animation training has become essential.

Today, a career in cartoon production starts off with education in both artistic production and in the technology that is essential to cartoon production. Many experienced artists have converted by becoming familiar with the new technology and seeing new opportunities for techniques that they could not have hoped to produce earlier. Online training helps animators to keep up to date with new development.

So today we see new episodes of The Simpsons weekly and new series fill the cable cartoon channels on a regular basis.

About the Author

Mary Hobson is a consultant for technology start-ups in Russia. She has also worked as an executive officer in a defense facility and as a university lecturer in computer science and management information. Mary earned her first degree in textile marketing and subsequently studied education and computer science at a Master's degree level.

Source

• http://www.museum.tv