Character animation is a special aspect of the animation process, in which life is breathed into an artificial character. One of the most difficult aspects of both the traditional animation process and the computer animation process, character animation involves creating the nuances, gestures, distinct movements, and patterns of speech that will make an audience believe that the character is actually alive. Animation is the technique in which each frame of a film or movie is produced individually, whether generated as a computer graphic, or by photographing a drawn image, or by repeatedly making small changes to a model unit (see claymation and stop motion), and then photographing the result with a... Traditional animation, sometimes also called cel animation or hand-drawn animation, is the oldest and historically the most popular form of animation. ... Computer animation is the art of creating moving images via the use of computers. ...

The first champion of character animation was Otto Messmer, who imbued his Felix the Cat with an instantly recognizable personality during the 1920s. The following decade, Walt Disney made character animation a particular focus of his animation studio, best showcased in productions such as Three Little Pigs, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, and Dumbo. Disney artists such as Bill Tytla, Fred Moore, Frank Thomas, and Ollie Johnston all became masters of the technique. Otto Messmer (August 16, 1892 - October 28, 1983) was an American animator, best known for his work on the Felix the Cat cartoons and comic strip produced by the Pat Sullivan studio. ... The famous Felix pace as seen in Oceantics (1930) Felix the Cat is a cartoon character. ... Sometimes referred to as the Jazz Age or primarily in North America as the Roaring Twenties. Events and trends Technology John T. Thompson invents Thompson submachine gun, also known as Tommy gun John Logie Baird invents the first working television system (1925) Charles Lindbergh becomes the first person to fly... Walt Disney Walter Elias Walt Disney (December 5, 1901 – December 15, 1966), was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, and animator. ... Three Little Pigs is a fairy tale featuring talking animals. ... Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is the first animated feature in the Disney animated features canon. ... Categories: Stub | 1940 films | Animated films | Disney films | Disney characters | Musical films | United States National Film Registry ... For the Brooklyn, New York City, neighborhood, see DUMBO. Dumbo statue at a Toronto Disney Store Dumbo is an animated feature, produced by Walt Disney and first released on October 23, 1941 by RKO Radio Pictures. ... Vladimir Peter Tytla (October 25, 1904–December 30, 1968) was one of the original Disney animators and is considered by many to be the best character animator working during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. ... Fred Moore was an American character animator for Walt Disney Productions, best known for being the resident specialist of the animation of Mickey Mouse. ... Franklin Thomas (September 5, 1913, Fresno, California - September 8, 2004, Flintridge, California) was one of Walt Disneys team of animators known as the Nine Old Men. ... Oliver Martin Johnston, Jr. ...

Other notable figures in character animation include the Termite Terrace/Warner Bros. staffers (Chuck Jones, Robert McKimson, Tex Avery, Friz Freleng), independent animator Richard Williams, John Lasseter at Pixar, and latter-day Disney animators Andreas Deja and Glen Keane. Termite Terrace is the nickname for the old building in Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA where Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies were first created. ... Warner Bros. ... Charles Martin Chuck Jones (September 21, 1912–February 22, 2002) was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Brothers cartoon studio. ... Robert Bob McKimson, Sr. ... Frederick Bean Tex Avery (February 26, 1908 – August 26, 1980) was an animator, cartoonist, and director, famous for producing animated cartoons during the Golden Age of Hollywood. ... Isadore Friz Freleng (August 21, 1905–May 26, 1995) was an animator, cartoonist, director, and producer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros. ... This article is about Richard Williams, the animator. ... John A. Lasseter (born January 12, 1957) is a founding member of Pixar, where he currently serves as Executive Vice President, Creative. ... Pixars logo and mascot Luxo Jr. ... Andreas Deja (born in 1957 in Gdansk, Poland) is a Polish-born American character animator for The Walt Disney Company. ... Glen Keane is perhaps the most famous traditional (2D) lead animator in recent history. ...

Character animation is augmented by special effects animation, which creates anything that is not a character; most commonly vehicles, machinery, and natural phenomena such as rain, snow, and water. Special effects animation (or simply effects animation) is a specialization of the traditional animation and computer animation processes. ... Vehicles are non-living means of transport. ... A machine is any mechanical or electrical device that transmits or modifies energy to perform or assist in the performance of tasks. ... Rain is a form of precipitation, other forms of which include snow, sleet, hail, and dew. ... This page is about the form of precipitation. ... Water (from the Old English word wæter) is a colorless, tasteless, and odorless substance that is essential to all known forms of life and is known also as the most universal solvent. ...