Animation is a type of optical illusion. It involves the appearance of motion caused by displaying still images one after another. Often, animation is used for entertainment purposes.

In addition to its use for entertainment, animation is considered a form of art. It is often displayed and celebrated in film festivals throughout the world. Also used for educational purposes, animation has a place in learning and instructional applications as well.

Cartoon animation is often considered to be animation in its classic form. The animated cartoon made its debut in the early part of the 20th century and calls for the use of 24 different drawings per second. In traditional animated cartoons, frames are hand drawn.

Animation is both time-consuming and costly to produce. For this reason, most of the animation made for television and film is produced by professorial studios. However, there are also many independent studios. In fact, there are many resources, such as lower-cost animation programs and distribution networks, that make the work of the independent animator much easier than it was in the past.

When animation is used for films or movies, each frame is produced on an individual basis. Frames can be produced using computers or photographs of images that are either drawn or painted. Frames can also be generated by altering a model unit in small ways and using a special camera to take pictures of the results. No matter what method is used, the film or movie that results fools the eye into seeing continuous movement.

Persistence of vision is often projected as the reason the eyes can be fooled into seeing continuous movement that isn't really happening. Basically, the brain and the eyes cooperate, storing images for a mere fraction of a second. Minor jumps or blips are automatically smoothed out by the brain. Since animation frames are shot at very fast rates, most individuals see the movement without stoppages.

Keep in mind that persistence of vision is a theory and not a proven concept. Many film academics and theorists accept its relevance to animation. However, there are some scientists that call the theory a complete myth.

Though the work of producing animated movies and cartoons can be intense and laborious, computer animation can make the process much faster. Computer technology is steadily improving, and professionals are able to create life-like characters using computers and special animation software. However, skilled animators are still necessary for producing quality animations. After all, computers are not yet capable of making artistic choices and bringing real passion to simple images.