3D Animation Design - How to Start Animating

With the recent rise in the popularity of 3D animation, many people have started to take interest with the topic. Some even want to try designing their own animations. The steps involved in designing animation shorts, whether it be cartoons or full on 3D, are nearly exactly the same as movie production.
The steps involved in creating an animation are as follows. First you need to sketch a storyline, then mold your characters, followed by sketching out the scenes and environment, and finally by actually doing the technical computer animation. In this article I will be talking about the first step in 3D animation, that is, creating a storyline.
Creating a storyline is without a doubt the funnest part of the whole 3D animation process. This is where you let your artistic side shine. There are a few things to remember though, in order to have a strong, co-coherent, and powerful storyline.
The Introduction:
The introduction is where you will introduce your characters and the setting. Introductions can take many forms but some examples would include: shocking the audience, grabbing their attention, setting the stage, establishing what normal life for the characters is, or finally, the introduction may include some vital piece of information that will be used later to unravel the whole story.
Rising Action
The rising action is where the conflict is presented. The tension will continue to build up surrounding this problem until the climax. There are many conflicts you could use such as man vs man, man vs animal, man vs element/wild, supernatural vs man etc. Whatever you chose, there must be a conflict that the main character must overcome or be defeated by, otherwise you would end with an extremely flat storyline.
Climax
This is where you get the audience on the edge of their seats. Will he survive? Will this overcome him? The rising action has been building up to this final showdown. The character will either succeed of fail. There is no "try". This scene should no doubt be the most exciting in the entire animation.
Falling Action
Many movies skip this part if they feel it doesn't fit in their plot. What this basically is, is just tying up some lose ends or finishing off some minor conflicts that the character may have been faced with. This often includes some of those side plots that occur along side of the main conflict that was overcome in the climax. Or it could include a final moment of suspense. An example would be something such as, a the hero and the villain clash, the villain clearly dies, but the hero is laying on the ground. Is he dead? Will he get up?
Conclusion/Denouement
A denouement is the french word meaning to untie. Some animations with complex story lines "untie" the knots left from the climax. In many cases used to explain what happened, why it happened, and/or how it happened. However, In the wonderful world of animation, the conclusion is usually cliche like "And they lived happily ever after." This is largely due to the fact that the plots are usually fairly straightforward and in no need of a denouement.