DEFINITION OF ANIMATION

Jan Gartenberg defines animation as "the arts, techniques and processes involved in giving apparent movement and life to inanimate objects by means of cinematography." The word also refers to the "sequence of drawings made to create the movement, and for the movement itself when seen on the screen."

Margery (2003) Animation is a dynamic medium in which images or objects are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film.

J. T Lumidy (2017) unpublished. Animation is the process of designing, drawing, making layouts and preparation of photographic sequences which are integrated in the multimedia and gaming products. Animation involves the exploitation and management of still images to generate the illusion of movement.

TYPES OF ANIMATION.

1. Traditional animation
2. 2D Vector-based animation
3. 3D computer animation
4. Motion graphics
5. Stop motion

TRADITIONAL ANIMATION 

Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation or hand-drawn animation) is an animation technique in which each frame is drawn by hand on a physical medium. The technique was the dominant form of animation in cinema until the advent of computer ananimation.

 2D VECTOR-BASED ANIMATION

2D animation focuses on creating characters, storyboards, and backgrounds in two-dimensional environments. Often thought of as traditional animation, the figures can move up and down, left, and right. They do not appear to move toward or away from the viewer, as they would in 3D animation. 2D animation uses bitmap and vector graphics to create and edit the animated images and is created using computers and software programs, such as Adobe Photoshop, Flash, After Effects, and Encore.

3D COMPUTER ANIMATION

Animating objects that appear in a three-dimensional space. They can be rotated and moved like real objects. 3D animation is at the heart of games and virtual reality, but it may also be used in presentation graphics to add flair to the visuals.
3D computer graphics or three-dimensional computer graphics (in contrast to 2D computer graphics), are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data (often Cartesian) that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images. Such images may be stored for viewing later or displayed in real-time.

MOTION GRAPHICS

Motion graphics are pieces of digital footage or animation which create the illusion of motion or rotation, and are usually combined with audio for use in multimedia projects. Motion graphics are usually displayed via electronic media technology, but may also be displayed via manual powered technology. While any form of experimental or abstract animation can be called motion graphics, the term typically more explicitly refers to the commercial application of animation and effects to video, film, TV, and interactive applications.

STOP MOTION

Stop Motion Animation is a technique used in animation to bring static objects to life on screen. This is done by moving the object in increments while filming a frame per increment. When all the frames are played in sequence it shows movement. Clay figures, puppets and miniatures are often used in stop motion animation as they can be handled and repositioned easily.
Stop motion animation is almost as old as film itself. Film makers needed a way to animate objects on screen and the technique was devised. The first instance of its usage is credited to J. Stuart Blackton and Albert E. Smith for bringing a toy circus to life in Humpty Dumpty Circus (1897).

REFERENCE 

Digital Tutors - school information (https://www.bloopanimation.com/types-of-animation/)

Carbone, Ken (February 24, 2010). "Stone-Age Animation in a Digital World: William Kentridge at MoMA". Fast Company. Retrieved 7 March 2016.

Brown, Margery (2003). "Experimental Animation Techniques" (PDF). Olympia, Washington: Evergreen State Collage. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 2005-11-11.

Laybourne, Kit (1998). The Animation Book : A Complete Guide to Animated Filmmaking—From Flip-Books to Sound Cartoons to 3-D Animation. New York: Three Rivers Press. ISBN 051-788602-2.

Michael Betancourt, Saul Bass – Animating Modernist Design, Cinegraphic, August 28, 2011