Editing Animation (section)

== General overview ==

[[Computer animation]] can be very detailed [[Computer animation#Animation methods|3D animation]], while 2D computer animation (which may have the look of traditional animation) can be used for stylistic reasons, low bandwidth, or faster [[real-time rendering]]s. Other common animation methods apply a [[stop motion]] technique to two- and three-dimensional objects like [[cutout animation|paper cutouts]], [[puppet]]s, or [[Claymation|clay figures]].

{{anchor|Cartoon}}An '''animated cartoon''', or simply a '''cartoon''', is an animated film, usually short, that features an exaggerated visual style. This style is often inspired by comic strips, gag cartoons, and other non-animated art forms. Cartoons frequently include anthropomorphic animals, superheroes, or the adventures of human protagonists. The action often revolves around exaggerated [[cartoon violence|physical humor]], particularly in predator/prey dynamics (e.g. cats and mices, coyotes and birds), where violent pratfalls such as falls, collisions, and explosions occur, often in ways that would be lethal in the real life.

During the 1980s, the term "cartoon" was shortened to '''''toon''''', referring to characters in animated productions, or more specifically, cartoonishly-drawn characters. This term gained popularity first in 1988 with the live-action/animated hybrid film ''[[Who Framed Roger Rabbit]]'', which introduced ToonTown, a world inhabited by various animated cartoon characters. In 1990, ''[[Tiny Toon Adventures]]'' embraced the classic cartoon spirit, introducing a new generation of cartoon characters. Then, in 1993, ''[[Animaniacs]]'' followed, featuring the rubber-hose-styled Warner siblings, Yakko Warner, Wakko Warner, and Dot Warner who are trapped in the 1930s, eventually escaped and found themselves in the Warner Bros. water tower in the 1990s.

The illusion of animation—as in motion pictures in general—has traditionally been attributed to the [[persistence of vision]] and later to the [[phi phenomenon]] and [[beta movement]], but the exact neurological causes are still uncertain. The illusion of motion caused by a rapid succession of images that minimally differ from each other, with unnoticeable interruptions, is a [[stroboscopic effect]]. While [[animator]]s traditionally used to draw each part of the movements and changes of figures on transparent cels that could be moved over a separate background, computer animation is usually based on programming paths between [[key frame]]s to maneuver digitally created figures throughout a digitally created environment.

[[Analog device|Analog]] mechanical animation media that rely on the rapid display of sequential images include the [[phenakistiscope]], [[zoetrope]], [[flip book]], [[praxinoscope]], and film. [[Television]] and [[video]] are popular electronic animation media that originally were analog and now operate [[digital media|digitally]]. For display on computers, technology such as the [[animated GIF]] and [[Flash animation]] were developed.

In addition to [[short film]]s, [[feature film]]s, [[Television show|television series]], animated GIFs, and other media dedicated to the display of moving images, animation is also prevalent in [[video game]]s, [[motion graphics]], [[user interface]]s, and [[visual effects]].{{sfn|Buchan|2013}}

The physical movement of image parts through simple mechanics—for instance, moving images in [[magic lantern]] shows—can also be considered animation. The mechanical manipulation of three-dimensional puppets and objects to emulate living beings has a very long history in [[automaton|automata]]. Electronic automata were popularized by [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]] as [[animatronics]].