Animation industry is undoubtedly one the fastest and prospering industries in the world. There have been lots if developments and advancements in the animation technology. With the increase of satellite channels and Internet, the animation industry is also booming rapidly. A large number of animation courses have been introduced in the market and animation institutes are also at large in every city and town of India.

Earlier animation movies and shows were aimed at children and were made in a moderate budget. The use of modern and advanced technology was limited. Animation industry was not quite a profit-making business and job opportunities were also lesser and unwelcoming.

However, in the last couple of years, animation industry has made a phenomenal progress. Today,animated movies are made with the latest technology and special effects. An entire team of animators looks after it and a big sum of money is spent on the production of the movies. These movies are not just limited to children only but even mature audience, youngsters and family also enjoy such an entertainment. The best example for the latest animated movie is “Avatar”, which is made on a very high budget and equipped with the latest technologies and software of animation and multimedia.

Animation industry has come a long way from traditional 2 Dimensional images to the 3 Dimensional. 3D animation software is one of the most advanced and latest trends in animation industry. It is appreciated world-wide. All the latest animated movies are made with this technology only. The 3D version brings life to the animated characters and connects them directly with the audience. People of all ages enjoy the experience of 3D version and this was also proved by the unusual success of Avatar not just in the USA but overseas. India has also produced 3D version movies like “hanuman” or “Bal Ganesh”. These movies have also earned a huge appreciation from the Indian masses and are still popular among kids. The success of animated movies in India has encouraged the development of some new advanced animation software.

Today,animation industry is not just restricted to movies but animators could find employment in other areas like TV soaps, News-papers, Magazines, advertisement agencies, websites, video games firms etc. Video game industry uses 3D technology and it is has one of the most thriving market in India and today game industry is thrice the size of Hollywood Industry. Therefore, people with a thorough knowledge of 3D animation technology can make a promising career in this domain. Animators working in a prestigious animated movie project earn a good sum of money. They need to work in a team with other animators.

Animation effects began long time ago and not some new invention of the movie world. In the cave paintings of the Old Stone Age the animals were having many legs on superimposed positions in an attempt to capture movement. In the 1800 flip books became popular when by rapidly thumbing through these special books the viewer got the impression of movement. However it was not until the debut of motion picture films that animation films really took off. No one person can be credited to be the creator of animation films. It involved several people in several projects.

Georges Melies was the first one to dabble with special effects in movies by using animation techniques. Accidentally he discovered it – the stop-motion animation, when his camera happened to break down. He was shooting a bus. But when he fixed the camera a horse came in the view and the net result was that the bus changed into a horse! J. Stuart Blackton came to combine the techniques of hand-drawn animation and stop-motion for the first time at the turn of the 20th century. Blackton is often referred to as the first successful animator.

French artist Emile Cohl made a film from hand painted cartoon strips name Fantasmagorie in 1908. The film depicted a stick moving and meeting other objects like a wine bottle that becomes changed into a flower. Sometimes the hands of the animator entered the scene. Each frame was drawn on paper and then each was shot on to a negative film that gave a blackboard effect. Thus it can be said that Fantasmagorie was the first animated film to make its debut.

Soon many other artists began to experiment. One was newspaper cartoonist Winsor McCay who began to work with a team. He came to produce some noted films like Little Nemo and Gertie the Dinosaur. In the 1910`s cartoon animated films began to rule the scene. The technique came to known as cel-animation.

Warner Bros and Walt Disney studio came to be legendary names associated with full animation industry in the film world. Limited animation uses less detail. Japan and United Productions of America produced animated films using this method. Another popular technique is rotoscoping. In 1917 Max Fleischer patented it. Here the animators copy frame-by-frame live actions.

The other methods are stop-motion-animation, clay-animation (using clay figures), cutout-animation (using paper and cloth), silhouette-animation, graphic-animation, model-animation, object-animation and puppet animation. In pixilation human beings are used in stop motion roles. This allows for surreal effects like disappearances and appearance. The latest technique of computer animation includes many kinds of techniques. These are made digitally on a computer machine.

Thus we find that in animated films drawings and or paintings are photographed individually by stop-frame cinematography. One frame is slightly different from the other thus giving the illusion of movement. These are moved in rapid succession – about 24 frames in each second. Animation can be regarded as a film technique and not a distinct category of film. These films were ideal for depicting fairy tales and captured the hearts of children for all times to come. It is difficult to find an adult who will not admit enjoying animation films.