Modern day animation

Spongebob Squarepants (Stephen Hillenburg)

Spongebob squarepants is an award winning animated television series created by stephen Hillenburg in 1996. the series started after the end 'rockos modern life' in 1996. Hillenburg teamed up with a group of writers and directors from 'nick' to product the spongebob series. By the year 2000 the show had gained massive popularity from various audiences. Like most animation in this time period it was seen as a cartoon with adult themes. Due to this a wide range of people from all ages appreciated the series. Initially the animation was done in traditional cell shade animation. However seeing the potential in computer animation they eventually moved on to using digital ink and paint.

The Simpsons (Matt Groening)

The Simpsons is a satirical cartoon comedy first aired in '1987' on the 'Tracey Ullmen Show.' The show began to gain popularity in the 90's due to it's appeal to a wide target audience. It proved the animated programmes could appeal to adults as well as children. This later beckoned in many other similar shows with similar themes. This was due to the fact many animators realised animation could be produced with adult themes in order to appeal to the older audience. The actual production of a Simpsons episode takes a lot of time (usually up to five months.) It will begin with the writing of the script and then all of the shows dialogue will be recorded. Seasons 1-14 were created using the traditional method of cell animation. This consist of drawing the scenes on cell papers and painting them manual  However, eventually technology progresses and digital ink and pain is used by digitalising the cell papers. Often certain aspects of animation will be done in 3-d such as objects rolling as it makes the movement much smoother.

Family Guy (Seth MacFarlane)

Family guy was an adult cartoon first aired in 1999. The writer, Seth MacFarlene, who had many inspirations (The Simpsons being one of them.) After the success of The Simpsons Macfarlane decided to create an animated show primarily for adults. This is seen through it's controversial jokes and adult content. It has proved very successful although received much criticise due to how much it resembles other shows such as 'The Simpsons.' This show, like most animation we see today is created using digital ink and paint.

Conclusion

Animation has came a long way since the early days of hand-drawing each frame. In this day in age the process is much quicker due to the increasingly development in technology and digital means of animating. Now animations are tailored for the needs of a range of target audience, not just children. This has changed the public's perception on animation and is a widely used and respected form of film making and television production.