Creature animation is a specialised part of the animation process which involves bringing realistic animals and creatures to life. It is often distinguished from
character animation, which involves breathing life into animated characters and creating the illusion of thought, feeling and emotion.
Definition
Creature animators create highly realistic motion in animals or creatures; examples include the dinosaurs animated in the 1993
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...
film ''
Jurassic Park
''Jurassic Park'', later also referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton and centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of cloned dinosaurs. It began in 1990 when ...
''.
[Beane, pp.6-20](_blank)
Retrieved September 2012 Since dinosaurs cannot be filmed or observed in motion, the animators studied other living creatures such as birds and lizards in order to re-create how a dinosaur might move and behave.
Fours year earlier, in 1989, the pioneering digital animation studio
Industrial Light & Magic
Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is an American motion picture visual effects company that was founded on May 26, 1975 by George Lucas. It is a division of the film production company Lucasfilm, which Lucas founded, and was created when he began pro ...
created a water creature for the
James Cameron
James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker. A major figure in the post-New Hollywood era, he is considered one of the industry's most innovative filmmakers, regularly pushing the boundaries of cinematic capability w ...
film ''
The Abyss''. Again, not knowing how a water creature might move, considerable effort was required by the animators to imagine how such a creature might perform and behave.
References
Beane, Andy, pp.6-20, ''3D Animation Essentials''Retrieved September 2012
Notes
External links
Animation A Team - Creature Animation SchoolRetrieved September 2012
Online Character and Creature Animation SchoolRetrieved September 2012
Animation techniques
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