“Animation has now moved into adult acceptance rather than just being ‘for kids’ primarily because of the quality of the screenplays being developed and written.” – Michael Cowan, Stealth Media Group

Technology in animated media has come a long way since the early days of hand-drawn cartoons. The rapid advancement of technology has made computer animation available to the masses and the animation industry has become one of the fastest growing industries. Now we will look through how technology is driving the next wave of film animation.

The techniques used by animators to bring characters to life have improved dramatically over the years, and unlike traditional animation, which made its debut in 1906 and created the illusion of movement through frame-by-frame manipulation of drawings and illustrations. Today most animators use computers to generate three-dimensional images. Creativity and expansion of the target market are the major reasons for the massive registration of patents for animation. The U.S. leads the market for animation patents, due to wide scope and demand for locally generated animation content, and the presence of top industry players such as Disney and DreamWorks.