Animation is a field of art or science that has the capability to impart life an

d zeal to non living characters. Basically it is based on the phenomenon of pers

istence of vision that allows the visual illusion of the objects. It is a phenom
enon of an eye in which an image continues to appear in one's vision after the e
xposure to the original image has ceased. This happens for about one twenty-fift
h of a second. In early days animation was restricted to only hand drawings. But
with the advent of technological knowhow animation has got a new face that is k
nown as two dimensional and three dimensional animations. A three dimensional an
imation is far better than two dimensional. It adds more vigor and vivacity to a
nimation.
Animation is simulation of movement created by a series of pictures or frames. I
t starts with drawing independent pictures and putting them together in a frame
to form the illusion of continuous motion. Two dimension means that the picture
is drawn with help of two coordinates of geometry. These are designated as x (ho
rizontal) coordinate and y (vertical) coordinate. 2D is flat which means that if
a picture is turned to the side then it becomes a line. Whereas 3D includes an
extra dimension known as z coordinate which stands for rotation and depth. The b
asic difference between 2d and 3d can be illustrated by drawing a rectangle and
a cube. Rectangle is a 2D

figure whereas cube is a 3D figure. 3D presents the object from every possible d
irection like in real life. 2D bitmap or vector graphics are used to create 2D a
nimation figures.
Various techniques that are used in creating 2D figures are morphing, twining, o
nion skinning and interpolated rotoscoping. Whereas 3D animation involves digita
l modeling of characters. Various steps that are involved in 3D animation are ch
aracter sketching, character modeling, scene building, texturing, lightening and
camera setup, rendering, lightening and camera setup, rendering, editing and mi
xing etc. Other techniques that can be applied are the use of mathematical funct
ions, simulated fur or hair and the use of motion capture. In this way we can ex
tract greater use of multimedia through 2D and 3D animation.