Animation is acting. With the right animation, even a desk lamp can show you what is on its mind. An animator chooses exact poses, expressions and motions to convey what the character is doing or thinking or feeling. They study real-world behaviors, then add their own exaggerations for dramatic or comic effect. Animators create “key frames,” then math and technology help fill in the movement that happens in between them.

Photo (top): © Nicolaus Czarnecki