What is 2D Animation?
2D Animation is a series of images known as frames that loop in a predefined order. The number of frames determines the quality or realism of the animation.
What is the purpose of 2D animation? Our eyes are drawn to motion; so animated graphics naturally attract more attention than still images.
There are two ways to display 2D animations, animated GIF or Flash.
Animated GIF
Animated GIF utilize a web browser to loop through multiple images in a predefined order. Each movement is a separate image.
The problems with Animated GIF is the files sizes are very large, loading times are very slow, and files and images are limited to 256 colors.
Animated GIF can be created using various software programs. One of the more commonly used software program is Adobe Photoshop. Photoshop utilizes a set of tools in it animation window, combined with layers to create Animated GIF.
Adobe Flash
Flash, an Adobe product, is fully functional interactive 2D animation software.
The viewer of an animation can have total control of the animation.
Flash files load much faster than Animated GIF and can use more than 256 colors.
Flash files also allow for interactivity, with a coding structure known as Action Script.
Although, there is various software programs that will create a Flash animation. The most commonly used software program is Adobe Flash.
