1. Introduction

As a unique form of artistic expression, animation has continuously absorbed and integrated new technologies since its inception, demonstrating boundless vitality and creative potential. With the rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI), the field of animation production is undergoing unprecedented opportunities for transformation. By leveraging powerful capabilities in data processing, learning, and creativity, AI technology has introduced entirely new tools and platforms for animation creation. This paper aims to re-examine and explore the ontology of animation within the context of artificial intelligence, offering an in-depth analysis of how AI technology influences the essential attributes, expressive forms, and the evolving relationship between animation, its audience, and society.

2. Overview of artificial intelligence and animation technology

2.1. Overview of artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence represents a driving force behind the new wave of technological revolution and industrial transformation. It is a new scientific and technological discipline focused on the study and development of theories, methods, technologies, and application systems that simulate, extend, and augment human intelligence. AI seeks to understand the essence of intelligence and to create intelligent machines capable of responding in ways similar to human cognition. The research scope of AI is extensive, encompassing fields such as robotics, speech recognition, image recognition, natural language processing, expert systems, machine learning, and computer vision.

One of the core concepts of AI is machine learning, which refers to a computer program’s ability to automatically learn from data. This ability allows machines to make decisions or predictions by analyzing and processing large volumes of data without being explicitly programmed.

2.2. Overview of animation technology

Animation technology refers to the technique of capturing images frame by frame and playing them in sequence to create the illusion of motion. Regardless of the subject being filmed, as long as it is captured frame-by-frame and played continuously, the resulting moving image is considered animation. Animation technology can be categorized by production method into traditional hand-drawn animation, stop-motion animation, live-action compositing animation, and computer-generated (CG) animation. By medium, it can be divided into theatrical animation, television animation, advertising animation, and educational/scientific animation.

Traditional hand-drawn animation utilizes the cinematic principle of persistence of vision, where a series of gradually changing still images are captured frame by frame and then played back via television systems to create the illusion of movement on screen. Stop-motion animation features characters made of clay, puppets, or mixed materials, and is known for its distinctive artistic appeal. With advancements in computer hardware and software, the integration of live-action and animation—also known as CG film—has emerged as a new technique.

2.3. The relationship between artificial intelligence and animation technology

Creative Generation: AI can assist animation creators in generating new story ideas, character designs, animation effects, and more, thereby enhancing creative productivity.

Automation of Animation Production: AI can automate many tasks involved in animation production, such as generating animated movements, constructing scenes, and animating objects, thus reducing labor costs.

Optimization of Visual Effects: AI can help optimize visual elements in animation, including lighting effects, shadows, and textures, thereby enhancing the overall visual experience.

User Interaction: AI can be used to create more intelligent animated characters capable of interacting with viewers, thereby improving audience engagement and user experience.

3. The impact of artificial intelligence on the ontology of animation

3.1. Innovation in the creative process

Automation and Intelligence: Through technologies such as machine learning and deep learning, artificial intelligence can automate many tedious tasks in animation production, including character modeling, scene rendering, and keyframe generation. This significantly enhances production efficiency and allows animators to focus more on creativity and artistic expression.

Creative Assistance: AI can analyze a vast amount of animation works and audience data to provide creative suggestions and inspiration. It helps animators discover new storylines, character settings, and visual styles, thereby promoting innovation and development in animation creation.

3.2. Diversification and refinement of content expression

Precise Expression of Emotion and Facial Expressions: By learning human expressions and emotions, AI enables more accurate depiction of emotional states in animated characters. This makes characters more vivid and realistic, enhancing audience immersion and emotional resonance.

Enhancement of Details and Visual Effects: AI can optimize animation details and special effects, such as lighting, textures, and motion fluidity. These improvements result in more visually compelling works and enrich the viewing experience.

3.3. Transformation of dissemination and interaction

Targeted Dissemination: By analyzing user data, AI can formulate more precise animation distribution strategies. It can push content to viewers most likely to be interested based on their preferences and behavior patterns, thereby improving communication effectiveness and audience satisfaction.

Interactive Experience: With the development of technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), AI offers more immersive interactive experiences in animation. Viewers can interact with characters through these technologies, gaining a more engaging and immersive experience.

3.4. Integration of art and technology

Creative Tools for Artistic Production: As an advanced technological tool, AI provides powerful support for animation art creation. It enables animators to more efficiently realize their ideas and imagination, thus driving the advancement and innovation of animation art.

Expansion of Artistic Expression: As AI technology continues to evolve, the forms and methods of artistic expression in animation are also expanding. AI brings greater creative potential and expressive diversity, allowing animation art to present more nuanced and sophisticated effects.

3.5. Profound and significant influence of AI on the animation production process

3.5.1. Pre-production and concept design

Scriptwriting: Based on a large database of story material and audience preference data, AI can assist or automatically generate scripts through natural language processing and machine learning algorithms. For example, certain AI tools can quickly generate multiple versions of a script from a storyline outline or set of keywords, offering creators a range of options for further refinement.

Character and Scene Design: AI can generate diverse character designs and scene sketches by analyzing large datasets of design layouts. These outputs not only boost creative efficiency but also provide creators with a wider array of inspirational choices.

3.5.2. Production

Model Building and Animation Generation: With the aid of deep learning and computer vision technologies, AI can automatically create and refine 3D models and generate smooth animation sequences. This reduces the manual workload involved in modeling and drawing, while enhancing realism and naturalness in the animation.

Rendering and Special Effects: AI can optimize rendering algorithms, improving both efficiency and quality. It can also generate various special effects—such as lighting and particle effects—making animations more visually impressive.

3.5.3. Post-production and sound design

Editing and Composition: AI can automatically complete editing and compositing tasks based on plot development and scene content. This reduces the complexity and time consumption of manual editing, improving overall post-production efficiency.

Voice and Sound Effects: Through voice synthesis and sound generation technologies, AI can produce voiceovers and sound effects for animated characters. These sound effects not only sound realistic but can also dynamically adjust to reflect characters’ personalities and emotional states, enhancing immersion and expressiveness.

3.5.4. Personalized customization and interactive experience

Personalized Customization: AI can tailor animation content to individual viewer preferences and needs, such as offering options for character selection, scene styles, or plot directions.

Interactive Experience: By leveraging VR and AR technologies, AI provides more diverse interactive experiences for animation works. Viewers can engage with the animated story and characters, resulting in a fully immersive viewing experience.

The impact of artificial intelligence on the ontology of animation is both comprehensive and profound. It not only reshapes the processes of creation, expression, and dissemination but also drives the integration and innovation of art and technology. As technology continues to advance, AI is expected to bring even more surprises and breakthroughs to the field of animation.

4. New connotations of animation ontology in the context of artificial intelligence

4.1. Understanding animation ontology

The term “ontology” refers to an ultimate existence, representing the fundamental attributes, qualitative determinacy, and origin of things. Ontology is the theoretical system that describes the essence of this ultimate existence [1]. Animation ontology, broadly speaking, explores the essence, characteristics, value, and mode of existence of animation as an art form. In traditional views, animation is created by capturing static images frame by frame and playing them in sequence to create dynamic images. Its ontology encompasses multiple aspects, such as images, sound, and narrative. As a unique art form, animation is highly hypothetical, exaggerated, and expressive, capable of transcending the constraints of the real world to create a virtual world filled with imagination and creativity. The essence of animation is the symbolic reproduction and symbolic transformation of the real or imagined world by humans [2].

4.2. New connotations of animation ontology in the context of artificial intelligence

4.2.1. Fusion of technology and art

The application of AI technology has brought technology and art in animation creation closer together. Artists can use AI technology as a creative aid, while AI can leverage its unique advantages under the guidance of the artist, collaboratively producing innovative and artistic animation works.

4.2.2. Enhanced audience participation

AI technology can also facilitate audience interaction and participation with animation works. AI-based augmented reality animation scene design and presentation methods can effectively generate augmented reality animation scenes that are both realistic and captivating [3].

4.3. Interdisciplinary integration

The ontology of animation in the context of artificial intelligence also reflects interdisciplinary integration. Animation creation is no longer confined to the traditional artistic domain but intersects and permeates with multiple disciplines such as computer science, psychology, and sociology, forming new creative concepts and forms of expression. Digital animation created with AI-assisted computer technology presents actions that have never been experienced by people, offering more freedom in spatial and temporal expression, thereby enhancing the artistic representation of time and space [4].

5. Case analysis

5.1. AI-Generated animation poems of timeless acclaim

With the rapid development of technology, the application of AI (artificial intelligence) in the film and entertainment industry has become increasingly widespread. Especially with the advent of AI creative technology, it has injected new vitality into the innovation of film and television arts. Poems of Timeless Acclaim is a series of animated films produced by CCTV, supported by China’s independent AIGC (AI-generated content) technology. It officially premiered on CCTV-1 channel on February 26, 2024. The film utilizes AI technology to transform poems from the national standardized Chinese language textbooks into beautiful traditional Chinese-style animations. This is the first domestic AI-generated animation film based on text-to-video technology, marking a new breakthrough for AI technology in the field of animation production. Poems of Timeless Acclaim used AIGC for assistance in everything from art design to motion effect generation, and even post-production.

Currently, AI technology in video generation is still limited by resources such as data and computational power, which causes Poems of Timeless Acclaim to have certain gaps in video generation capabilities, duration, and quality when compared to some advanced international technologies. As a preliminary attempt at applying AI technology in animation production, Poems of Timeless Acclaim still requires improvements in the maturity of its technical application. For example, there is significant room for improvement in the naturalness of character expressions and movements, as well as in the lighting and shadow effects of scenes. Throughout its development, the “poetry animation” genre has been heavily influenced by Soviet poetic cinema theory and has incorporated traditional Chinese ink animation techniques; with the iterative development of AIGC, “poetry animation” has continuously made groundbreaking advancements in creative efficiency, forms of expression, and emotional communication [5].

5.2. AI-Generated animation The Dog and the Boy

The Dog and the Boy is an animated short film jointly produced by Netflix Japan, WIT STUDIO Japan, and Microsoft’s Japanese division (Rinna). The film uses AIGC (artificial intelligence-generated content) technology, which greatly reduces production costs and time, while simultaneously improving the visual quality of the work. AIGC can save time in animation background creation, helping animators achieve their creative ideas more efficiently and accelerate the production of more refined and high-quality works [6].

The film employs a custom system called “Primitive AI” for background creation. By training on the background art dataset of Netflix’s original production company, Production I.G, animators provide prompts and layouts to the AI system, which generates the corresponding images. These are then adjusted by the animators and integrated with other elements. Although the main characters, such as the boy and the robotic dog, were hand-drawn, AI technology played a significant role in assisting character design, motion capture, and expression generation. In terms of background music, an AI code called “M” was used to generate multiple theme options by analyzing a large number of musical works. These options were then refined by human composers to create cohesive and compelling theme music.

The success of The Dog and the Boy demonstrates the potential of AIGC technology in animation production, particularly in background creation and music composition. This work, which combines AI with traditional animation production techniques, not only enhances production efficiency but also reduces costs, bringing a new creative model to the animation industry. In the future development of AIGC+ animation, it is important to clearly define the role of designers as the primary intelligent assistants while also considering deeper integration of AIGC technology with animation production processes [7].

6. Problems and solutions

6.1. Problems encountered

Although AI technology has brought many conveniences and innovations to animation creation, it also faces several challenges and issues. For example, how can the uniqueness and innovation of AI-generated animation works be ensured? How can the relationship between technology and art be balanced? How can the privacy and rights of the audience be protected? These questions require ongoing exploration and resolution in future research and practice. Meanwhile, the animation ontology in the context of artificial intelligence also presents unprecedented opportunities. With the continuous advancement of technology and the deepening of its application, it is reasonable to believe that future animation creation will become more diverse, innovative, and artistic.

6.2. Solutions

To ensure the uniqueness and innovation of AI-generated animation works, human creative guidance, diverse training data, and creative algorithm optimization can be introduced. AI technology should serve as an auxiliary tool rather than fully replacing human creativity. Artists can set the theme, emotion, and storyline, while AI focuses on refining, optimizing, and generating specific content such as scenes and character actions. Diverse training datasets can also be provided for the AI model, including animation works from different styles, genres, and periods, to inspire it to generate novel and unique creative ideas. In-depth development of algorithms that stimulate creativity and randomness, such as generative models based on genetic algorithms or reinforcement learning, will allow AI to produce unexpected new elements while adhering to certain rules.

To balance the relationship between technology and art, promoting interdisciplinary collaboration, enhancing aesthetic education, and continuing iterative optimization can be effective strategies. Interdisciplinary collaboration can facilitate cooperation between computer science, art, design, and other fields, ensuring close communication between technical and artistic teams to explore the best combination of technology and art. Enhancing aesthetic education will help artists better understand the essence of artistic creation and aesthetic standards. At the same time, artists should also understand technological principles to make more effective use of technical tools. Iterative optimization as a tool is necessary, through continuous trial and error, feedback, and iteration, gradually refining the combination of technology and art to find the best balance for specific projects. The new animation creation model will inevitably combine AI-generated content with traditional animation creation methods, leveraging the strengths of both to create stunning animations [8].

To protect the privacy and rights of the audience, strengthening data protection and ensuring transparency in the creation process are key. Strict adherence to data protection regulations is essential, ensuring that audience data is encrypted, securely stored, and safely transmitted to prevent data leakage and misuse. Transparency in processing involves clearly informing the audience about the purpose, storage method, and protective measures for their data when collecting and using it, thereby respecting their right to know and to choose.

In conclusion, in response to the challenges and opportunities presented by artificial intelligence in animation creation, a comprehensive strategy must be adopted. This strategy should fully leverage the conveniences and innovations brought by technology while ensuring the uniqueness and artistic quality of animation works, as well as protecting the privacy and rights of the audience. Through continuous technological innovation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and talent development, the progress of animation creation can be confidently advanced toward a more diverse, innovative, and artistic future.

7. Conclusion

The animation ontology in the context of artificial intelligence is undergoing profound changes. The involvement of AI technology has not only improved the efficiency and quality of animation creation but has also sparked deep reflections on creative agency, aesthetic values, and narrative structure. In the face of future challenges and opportunities, continuous exploration and innovation are essential to promote the prosperous development of the animation creation field and deliver a richer, more vibrant visual experience to the audience.