What is frame-by-frame animation?
It’s traditional idea of animation, where the technique is to have frames in which the next is just slightly different, creating the illusion of motion when viewing the frames in quick succession.
How was the animation process similar and/or different on paper vs. Adobe Animate?
Both were rather tedious, as frame-by-frame animation often is, requiring repeated drawing of the same object. Onion skinning in Adobe Animate replicated the light source under the paper layers well. Paper animation is more straightforward and simplistic in the process, however, I believe once you get the hang of Adobe Animate, you can snip a lot of those tedious corners.
Flipping through frames got confusing on paper. I also felt that Adobe Animate’s ability to click and drag and re-size objects was super helpful to making tweaks in the object’s speed. In addition, not having to draw the stationary objects each frame was a happy realization. Where Adobe Animate falls off the cliff for me is in the sharing process. There are quite a few details in the exporting of files that can get infuriating. Whereas for the flipbook, a camera and a friend is all you need.
What did I learn about animation?
I’ve learned how animation sets the stage for events. Perhaps some things are a little unrealistic or exaggerated, but that is needed to create a clear story and message.