Frame-Based Animation

Frame-based animation is the simpler of the animation techniques. It involves simulating movement by displaying a sequence of static frames. A movie is a perfect example of frame-based animation; each frame of the film is a frame of animation. When the frames are shown in rapid succession, they create the illusion of movement. In frame-based animation, there is no concept of an object distinguishable from the background; everything is reproduced on each frame. This is an important point, because it distinguishes frame-based animation from cast-based animation. The number of images used in the Count applets in the last chapter would make a good frame-based animation. By treating each image as an animation frame and displaying them all over time, you can create counting animations.