Intelligence for Animation

Intelligent animation evolved from the traditional art of animation obsessed with the “illusion of life” (cf. Thomas and Johnston, 1984) via computer graphics. Indeed, as some of the most successful computer graphics animators stated, computer animation resulted from the application of traditional animation techniques to initially 2D and later 3D computer-supported animation (cf. Kitching, 1973; Burtnyk and Wein, 1977; Booth and MacKay, 1982; Sturman, 1984, Lassetter, 1987). For as long as the computer was used only as a tool, but not as a new medium for thinking or as a medium with its own characteristics, the issue was that of mimicking animation techniques.