Adobe After Effects is primarily used for creating motion graphics and visual effects. It allows

 users to animate, alter and composite media in 2D and 3D space with various built-in tools and 

third party plug-ins, as well as individual attention to variables like parallax and user-adjustable

 angle of observation.

After Effects and some non-linear editing systems (NLEs) are layer-oriented, meaning that each individual media object (video clip, audio clip, still image, etc.) occupies its own track. In contrast,

 other NLEs use a system where individual media objects can occupy the same track as long as 

they do not overlap in time. This track-oriented system is more suited for editing and can keep

 project files much more concise. The layer-oriented system that After Effects adopts is suited for extensive effects work and keyframing. Although other compositing packages, especially ones that employ tree or node workflows, such asNuke and eyeon Fusion are better suited to manage large volumes of objects within a composite, After Effects is able to counter the clutter somewhat by selectively hiding layers (using the Shy switch) or by grouping them into pre-compositions.

The main interface consists of several panels (windows in versions prior to After Effects 7.0). 

Three of the most commonly used panels are the Project panel, the Composition panel, and the Timeline panel. The Project panel acts as a bin to import stills, video, and audio footage items. 

Footage items in the Project panel are used in the Timeline panel, where layer order and timing 

can be adjusted. The items visible at the current time marker are displayed in the Composition

 panel.

After Effects shares many features with other Adobe programs, such as creating circles, squares

 and free form shapes that are defined by bezier curves. Like Photoshop and Illustrator, 

After Effects can import and manipulate many image formats, and filters and adjustments can be

 added.

After Effects integrates with other Adobe software titles such as Illustrator, Photoshop, 

Premiere Pro, Encore, Flash, and third-party 3D programs like Cinema 4D, Lightwave 3D, and

 Autodesk 3ds Max.

ZBrush is a digital sculpting tool that combines 3D/2.5D modeling, texturing and painting. 

It uses a proprietary "pixol" technology (see below) which stores lighting, color, material, 

and depth information for all objects on the screen. The main difference between ZBrush 

and more traditional modeling packages is that it is more akin to sculpting.

ZBrush is used for creating high-resolution models (able to reach 40+ million polygons) for

 use in movies, games, and animations, by companies ranging from ILM to Electronic Arts.

 ZBrush uses dynamic levels of resolution to allow sculptors to make global or local changes

 to their models. ZBrush is most known for being able to sculpt medium to high frequency 

details that were traditionally painted in bump maps. The resulting mesh details can then be 

exported as normal maps to be used on a low poly version of that same model. They can also

 be exported as a displacement map, although in that case the lower poly version generally 

requires more resolution. Or, once completed, the 3D model can be projected to the background, becoming a 2.5D image (upon which further effects can be applied). Work can then begin on 

another 3D model which can be used in the same scene. This feature lets users work with

 complicated scenes without heavy processor overhead.

ZBrush was developed by the company Pixologic Inc, founded by Ofer Alon (also known by

 the alias "Pixolator") and Jack Rimokh. The software was presented in 1999 at SIGGRAPH. 

The demo version 1.55 was released in 2002, and the version 3.1 was released in 2007. 

ZBrush 4 for Windows and Mac systems was announced on April 21, 2009 for an August release,

 but was later postponed. Version 3.5 was made available in September the same year,

 and includes some of the newer features initially intended for ZBrush 4.^[1]

Through GoZ ("Go ZBrush"), available in Version 4, ZBrush offers integration with Autodesk Maya, Autodesk 3ds Max,Cinema4D, LightWave 3D, Poser Pro, Daz Studio, EIAS and Modo.^[2]

Animation is the process of creating motion and shape change^{[Note 1]} illusion by means of

 the rapid display of a sequence of static images that minimally differ from each other. The

 illusion—as in motion pictures in general—is thought to rely on the phi phenomenon.

 Animators are artists who specialize in the creation of animation.

Animations can be recorded on either analogue media, such as a flip book, motion picture film,

 video tape, or on digital media, including formats such as animated GIF, Flash animation or

 digital video. To display animation, a digital camera, computer, orprojector are used along

 with new technologies that are produced.

Animation creation methods include the traditional animation creation method and those

 involving stop motion animation of two and three-dimensional objects, such as paper cutouts, puppets and clay figures. Images are displayed in a rapid succession, 

usually 24, 25, 30, or 60 frames per second.

A Flash animation or Flash cartoon is an animated medium which is created by

 Adobe Flash or similar animation software and often distributed in the SWF file format. 

The term Flash animation not only refers to the file format but to a certain kind of movement 

and visual style. With dozens of Flash animated television series, countless more Flash animated television commercials, and award-winning online shorts in circulation, Flash animation is currently enjoying a renaissance.

In the late 1990s, when for most Internet users, bandwidth was still at 56 kbit/s, many Flash 

animation artists employedlimited animation or cutout animation when creating projects intended

 for web distribution. This allowed artists to release shorts and interactive experiences well under

 1 MB, which could stream both audio and high-end animation.

Flash is able to integrate bitmaps and other raster-based art, as well as video, though most 

Flash films are created using onlyvector-based drawings which often result in a somewhat clean 

graphic appearance. Some hallmarks of poorly produced Flash animation are jerky natural 

movements (seen in walk-cycles and gestures), auto-tweened character movements, lip-sync

 without interpolation, and abrupt changes from front to profile view.

Flash animations are typically distributed by way of the World Wide Web, in which case they 

are often referred to as Internet cartoons, online cartoons, or webtoons. Web Flash 

animations may be interactive and are often created in a series. A Flash animation is 

distinguished from a Webcomic, which is a comic strip distributed via the Web, rather than

 an animated cartoon. Flash animation is now taught in schools throughout the UK and can

 be taken as a GCSE and A-level.