What is the original method of animation that is frame by frame, hand-drawn?

Traditional animation is the original method of animation that involves creating images frame by frame by hand-drawing each frame on paper. This technique is often associated with the classic animated films produced by studios such as Disney, where animators meticulously draw, ink, and color each frame to produce smooth, fluid motion.

In traditional animation, every movement and expression must be carefully crafted, resulting in a labor-intensive process that can be highly time-consuming but also allows for a unique artistic expression that is distinctly different from other animation forms. This method can produce a rich visual style and is essential to understanding the evolution of animation, as it laid the groundwork for subsequent techniques.

Other methods, such as 3D animation, vector animation, and stop-motion animation, differ significantly in their approaches. For example, 3D animation relies on digital modeling and provides the ability to manipulate objects in a three-dimensional space, while vector animation typically involves creating images using mathematical equations and can be scaled without loss of quality. Stop-motion animation, on the other hand, captures physical objects in a series of still photos to create the illusion of movement. Each of these methods presents its own set of techniques and artistic challenges, setting them apart from the traditional, hand-drawn approach.