Identification

• According to "Science Daily", the roots of computer animation lie in both the animation and the computer graphics fields. Additionally, animation within the film and video industry has subfields. When an animator creates a whole story in animated format, it's called animation. When a filmmaker uses the same techniques, but applies them to a traditional film, it's called computer generated imaging or CGI. A famous example of CGI is the character Gollum from the "Lord of the Rings" films.
  
  

Effects

• Sometimes, an animator animates a sequence in a film that isn't a cartoon sequence but still relies on his skills as an animator nonetheless. This is true in computer generated special effects, according to "Micro Filmmaker". In fact, many of the programs used to create these effects are the same programs that are used to animate the characters in a film.
  
  

Preparation

• The process of creating a full-length film or animated feature requires a great deal of planning work ahead of time, including the making of storyboards and an animated clips called previsualization or previz. Filmmakers use this computer animation technique to work out shots, try out different angles and to work out the timing of a sequence. Films like "Lord of the Rings" and "King Kong" have used some sort of animated previsualization in the production process, according to Jenny Wake in "The Making of King Kong".
  
  

Short Cuts

• The process of creating the "inbetweens" in an animated piece is time consuming for animators. Inbetweening or tweening, is the process by which an animator draws the scenes between the key frames of an animated sequence. For example, if an animator is working on a walking sequence, the key frames for this sequence might be the character's foot leaving the ground and being placed in its new spot on the ground. The inbetween artist would draw the transition frames between the two shots so that the walking would look seamless. According to Steven Winthrow in "Secrets of Digital Animation" with the advances in computer animation, the animator can now make these inbetween shots on a computer in less time.
  
  

Character Creation

• While the early stages of animation still require the animator to possess drawing skills, the later stages of character creation use a computer to do 3-D character modeling. In this technique, the animator builds the character in the computer from the inside out. The animator builds on this basic computerized skeleton, adding muscles, skin and coloring to the character. This technique has largely replaced the need for artists to create 3-D models out of clay and has changed the way filmmakers make characters both animated and "real". For example, in 1933, characters like King Kong were created with stop motion. The same character was recreated in 2005 by use of computer generated imagery.