Will AI Replace Animation?
I was recently asked why anyone would want to create their own animation when there are AI tools that can do it for you. That’s such a great question! With all the AI tools available, many for free, it’s natural to think of it as something that will replace animating as we currently know it.
I love animating! The process of creating any type of art can be as much or more about the process as the product. Think of a middle school biology teacher who likes to paint landscapes in their spare time. They may be a dedicated educator during the week, but on the weekends, they pull out their watercolors and paint. The act of painting is both relaxing and stimulating for them. Perhaps they create a frame worthy picture, but the product is not the driving force. They could easily go to Etsy and buy a beautiful art print. It’s the act of making something that brings them the most joy.
What one wants as an end product may be difficult to execute with an AI tool. For example, a motion designer may have a client whose vehicle brand wants to promote their car’s ability to stop on a dime and accelerate like a race car. The animated movement should convey the concept of both quick acceleration and a hard stop. The animation artist decides when and how the object moves across the screen. AI is not quite there yet. If there is a specific message to convey, by doing it yourself, you have a lot more control over that messaging.
This is not to say that there aren’t interesting AI animation programs out there. Some of them create motion using word prompts, drawings or photographs, for example MetaDemoLab’s Sketch. Others, such as Cascadeur, act as an animator’s assistant helping to create realistic poses* or generating in-betweens*. I enjoy playing with AI animation tools. It's really fun to experiment and get some funky moves out of it. Adding it to the animation tool box is exciting. It may help animators create more quickly and spur further creative innovation.
When media evolves, it doesn't necessarily replace what came before. Photography didn't replace painting. Film didn't replace photography. TV didn't replace film, and so on and so forth. AI can be a helpful tool but human created animation will certainly live in tandem with newly developed technologies.
Animation made with Sketch AI
Animation made by human using Rough Animator animation app
*Poses refer to the main position of the animated object or figure. They are also referred to as Keyframes
*In-betweens refer to the animation that occurs between main poses or keyframes.
