Understanding the Difference between 2D and 3D Animation

The world of animation is getting more advanced. Now, animated films that are shown on the big screen are all using 3D. Now, many people are interested in working as animators in various studios.

This animator is indeed a promising career prospect given the high interest and demand from the audience for new animated stories. Are you interested in working as an animator?

Let's dig deeper into the differences between 2D and 3D animation.

2D Animation

2D animation is a type of animation in two-dimensional form, meaning that 2D animators create images and characters in two-dimensional format and animate them with motion.

This type of animation is considered a traditional form of animation, characterized by plain characters, no volume, and only moving up, down, left and right.

Examples of 2D animation are in the cartoon series you watched as a child such as Tom & Jerry cartoons, Scooby Doo, or Spongebob Squarepants.

One of the newest 2D animations created by the nation's children is Si Juki The Movie which is inspired by a popular comic from Indonesia.

3D Animation

If you are a fan of Pixar films, such as Toy Story, Up, or Coco, it means that you are familiar with 3D animation works. 3D animation is the art of creating moving images in 3D digital space.

By manipulating objects or 3D models in software to process and create animations, animators sequence images that will give the illusion of movement.

The process of creating 3D animation can generally be divided into three stages, namely modeling, layout and animation, and rendering. Modeling is the process of creating 3D objects in a scene on a computer.

Layout and animation is the process of positioning objects and making 3D objects move. Then the next process is rendering, which is processing all the data in the previous process into a final result.

For 3D animation, all processes are carried out on a computer. Some well-known examples of 3D animation, as previously mentioned are Toy Story, Up, and Coco.

For 3D animation by the nation's children, you can see it in Adit Sopo Jarwo's children's series.

The Final Result

Characters and objects in 2D animation only consist of length or height and width, namely the X coordinates (horizontal dimensions) and Y (vertical dimensions).

That way, the resulting image is not too real or less realistic. Objects and characters are usually drawn without shadows. The color is also less varied.

While 3D animation has volume and shadows. 3D animation consists of X, Y, and Z coordinates so that the results look more real or realistic.

To be able to see the difference clearly and directly, you can start by comparing cartoons like Spongebob Squarepants or Tom & Jerry with Pixar films like Toy Story or Frozen. There, you can clearly see the difference between the two.

Production Process

Basically, objects or characters in 2D animation are made by being drawn on a flat surface. Each character movement must be made frame by hand by hand drawing.

Although technology is now highly developed and many 2D animators use software to create animation videos, the first scene in the animation must be created by hand and the software will generate the rest of the motion sequence automatically.

Meanwhile, all 3D animation is created using software on a computer. That is, 3D animators must be familiar with computer programs and every feature in the software.

So, 3D animators not only have to have drawing skills, but also have to master the technology of 3D animation creators.