Articles on Animation

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From ads to Oscar winners: a century of Australian animation

What exactly are our current global character designs communicating? Juliana Cuervo

21st-century character designs reflect our concerns, as always

Characters are designed to respond to specific concerns relative to time and context. But as we move deeper into the 21st century, what are those concerns, and how do they differ from those in the 20th century?

Living data: how art helps us all understand climate change


Celebrities are silencing career pros in animation voice-work


Norman McLaren: a late, great animator now drawing applause


Animating life: bringing science to the YouTube generation

Character drawings are encoded with cues to help animators understand how the character should move. Courtesy DreamWorks Animation SKG

Drawing inspiration from DreamWorks animation

When I first started working as an animator on the South Park (1999) feature film in California, I found it remarkable that every Tuesday evening the studio would hold life-drawing classes. It seemed odd…

Computer-generated images influence trial results

Improvements in technology have lead to a boom in animations, but not all are as effective as they could be. Marin Takahama/ Ars Electronica

Animation: explaining things better or just helping us miss the point?

We increasingly use animation to inform, explain and instruct. It is used to present evidence in courtrooms, teach about scientific phenomena and provide dynamic assembly or operation manuals. But do animations…

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