What are the processes a scene goes through and what are they for? I know that there is a certain order like storyboards > animatics > pencil test > cleanup > but that's about the limits of my knowledge
As far as animation goes , yep ! although every studio has its own work flow. For example some will have FX animation after clean up , some will have color if the animation is not colored already. Compositing is also an important part of the polish. And of course we cant forget the designs that go into it in order to make the scene full of visuals.
There are more stages that a scene can go through depending on the departments basically. In some studios overseas the animator would do their pencil test/clean up/ bgs AND fx all at once. The process is still one by one but their responsibilities are larger.
The other day I came across this awesome program by accident
(I don’t even remember what I was actually searching for, but on the several
times I’ve looked for a program like this I’ve had no luck). It’s cool enough that I wanted to share it.
It’s called DesignDoll (website here) and it’s a program that lets you shape and pose a human figure pretty much however you want.
There’s a trial version with no expiration date that can be
downloaded for free, as well as the “pro license” version priced at $79.
I’ve only had the free version for two days so far, so I’m not an expert and I
haven’t figured out all of the features yet, but I’ve got the basics down. The
website’s tutorials are actually pretty helpful for the basics, as well.
Here’s the page for download, which has a list of the
features available in both versions.
There are three features the free version doesn’t have:
Can’t save OBJ files for export
Can’t download models and poses from Doll
Atelier (a sharing site for users; note that the site is in Japanese, though)
It can’t load saved files
The third one means that if you make a pose, save it, and
close the program, you can’t load that
pose/modified model later. You have to start with the default model. I
found that out when I tried to load a file from the day before (this is why
reading is important…). Whether saving your modifications (and downloading models and poses) is worth $80 is up to you.
But, the default
model is pretty nice and honestly if all you’re looking for is a basic pose reference
it should work fairly well as it is. Here’s what it looks like:
There’s a pose tag
that lets you drag each joint into place and rotate body parts. The torso and
waist can be twisted separately, and it seems like everything pretty much
follows the range of movement it would have on an actual human.
Even the entire shoulder area is actually movable along with the joint! See, like how the scapular area of the back raises with the arm:
The morphing tag
is one of the coolest features, in my opinion. It lets you pick and choose from
a library of pre-set forms for the head, chest, arms, legs, etc. It has some more realistic body shapes in addition to more anime-like ones. Don’t like the
options there? Mix a few to get what you want! Each option has a slider that
lets you blend as much or as little as you want into the design.
So you, too, can create beautiful things like kawaii
Muscle-chan!!
The scale tag
lets you mess with the proportions and connection points of different joints. This
feature combined with the morphing feature not only allows more body shape
variations, but it also means that you can do things like make a more digitigrade
model if you want. (The feet only have an ankle joint, but for regular human poses that’s all that you really need, so whatever.)
Or you can make a weird chubby alien-like thing with giant
hands and balloon tiddies if that’s more your thing.
The ability to pose
hands to the extent it allows is far more than I could have hoped for from
a free program. Seriously, you can change the position of each finger joint individually, as well as how spread out the fingers are from each other. Each crease on the diagram below is a point of movement, and the circles are for spread between fingers.
And to make it a bit more convenient, there’s a library of pre-set hand poses you can pick from as well, and then change the pose from that if you like.
In both versions, you can also import OBJ files from other places for the model to hold, like if you wanted to have them hold a sword or something.
Basically, this program is awesome and free and you should
totally check it out if you want a good program for creating pose references.
I just wanted to add a little more to this. If you have trouble figuring out how light sources work in your drawings this also allows you to choose where to have a light source.
That shaded ball on the left is your light source. You can see how moving the point changed the shadow cast.
Oh and all those other nifty looking things in that bottom bar there, yeah it’s what you think. You can change the model color to one of these presets or even customize your own palette.
Plus for all you lovely people who want something a little more simplified to use as a pose reference
You can turn your model into the classic wire frame.
Hey guys! So I recently finished up an inbetweening and timing charts demo and edited into an hour-ish video! A handful of folks asked me things like how to utilize a timing chart in your work, how to in between to those charts, and basic (I say basic because there are other more advanced ways - but thats another time) to keep your drawings consistent! I also talk about smears!
The program I’m using is TVPaint, but any program can do really.
The character I’m using is created by Patrick Stannard! He’s a kickass animator!
Shows like Steven Universe and Wander over Yonder are creator driven and given ample support from their parent studios to help them be as successful as they can be. While Steven Universe may seem trapped in an endless hiatus while Teen Titans Go airs non-stop, the Steven bombs are planned and promoted events that the studio counts on to be successful because they trust the show.
‘Adult’ animation has become the home for some of the best jokes with the age of Mcfarlen-style humor on the decline and the rise of great shows like Rick and Morty, Bob’s Burger and Archer. With “Sausage Party” we’re getting our first rated R mainstream feature animated film. Critique it all you want but this is opening the gates to more adult oriented animated content which is great because animation is not a genre, its a medium.
Established properties like Powerpuff Girls and Samurai Jack are being given a new treatment with a new generation of talented artists. People who love the old shows and are excited about continuing them and trying something new with them.
Shows like Spongebob and Fairly Odd Parents soldier on and continue to be popular well beyond their expected lifetime. Established long running properties bring home the bacon for a studio and help to pay for those shows that the studio is willing to take a chance risk like Avatar the last Airbender. There are shows that are made with an ending in mind like Gravity Falls that are given the creative freedom to tell the story they want to tell.
Storytelling is healthier now than it ever has been. It is becoming the selling point as series like Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead continue to out perform traditional television. New and exciting opportunities for cross platform storytelling are coming with shows like OK KO which started as a show and became an awesome game! The people making animated content now grew up with great shows like Batman, Gargoyles, X-Men, The Simpsons, the list goes on and on!
It feels like everyone is just sort of…getting started :)
I’m an animation professional and I get frustrated when I see stuff like this.
This. Good post. I got some bitter anonymous comments regarding my animation post indicating I’m not even trying or I’ve given up when it comes to fighting for progression in animation. It’s not true. Those who give up don’t do animation industry. There are so many fights on one field that are also visible to the audience, to name a few: gender equality and variety in both characters and creators, storytelling complexity/maturity, animation style and quality…it’s not like you can win at everything at once.
Imagine an industry full of talented people, each with their own passion trying to collaborate for the best within the limits of budget and time…most of the artists genuinely want to aim for the best, but everyone’s means are also bit different! Usually it’s very difficult to excel at everything in one project, but isn’t there value in seeing the progress even in one aspect? Like with the examples joethejohnston explained.
Theres something thats been bugging me and I really just want to get it off my chest a little.
There was a post going around that was re blogged by some mutuals and I didnt want to jump start my own opinions onto that post because honestly theres nothing wrong with liking the post and I dont want to tie anyone into a convo they’d rather not be in. The post in question was talking about a scenario of someone looking up to animation and being inspired..watching ghibli movies , creating their own characters..working hard to learn animation and - oh guess what they now animate on talking crude talking food movies. Thats so unfortunate.
The post could be meant as a just a joke but if it was sincere its one of the things that really bugs me sometimes about how people view this industry. this COMMERCIAL industry. This industry where guess what the projects are what you make of it , and the projects may not be something that inspires you but you may get some great experience out of it and some amazing people to learn from. There are lots of projects I’ve worked on personally that have been bashed , been called cash grabs , have been forgotten , and honestly as an animator i’ve always learned something and moved forward by it. Not every thing i’ve worked on has been something that I -personally- would watch but that doesnt mean it wasnt a good experience.
Am i saying there arent any people on this movie going ‘ oh man..wtf happened with my career path ‘ well no but .. you could say that for ANYTHING. You could have people saying that for television shows or for movies that arent as blockbuster hits. To me its the same argument of ‘ oh man you’re drawing fanart ? what are you doing with your skills ‘ . I know a lot of people who do art and animation thats personally not to my tastes , but that doesnt mean they cant love what they do. Not everyone has to be inspired by ghibli movies or glen keane….some people can like crude humor and have a blast.
Now im not saying people cant think the movie is dumb , but what im saying is dont weep over any possible wasted potential - because what does is it sums up potential by someones job and thats the one thing I always want to drive home about the animation industry. YOU.ARE.NOT.YOUR.JOB . Dont weigh someones worth or potential or artistic skills purely by the job that they have - you have no idea what they do in their off time. Not every project i’ve been on inspires me ..but thats ok , because its my job. I tell everyone to save some energy for themselves for their own projects , their own art , for this reason - to REMAIN inspired and create what they love from their own sources. That way it doesnt matter what you’re hired to do , wether its a pre-school show , a television show with crazy tight deadines that doesnt allow you to do your best work , or a crude comedy about talking food , you’re still doing something in your spare time that keeps your original love alive. Projects that you can get crazy passionate about that are in your wheelhouse and line up with your tastes are few and far between so lets not make people feel like they’re wasting their potential and their dreams if they happen to be on something thats not, geeze.
And i mean personally I saw the trailer and I laughed at all the swearing because dammit animation is a medium not a genre and it can be used for whatever.
In the light of releasing my short film, “ed”, and in the shame of my older blogs being re-surfaced to the public, I am compelled to finally face my artistic insecurities and set up an active tumblr page.
omg HOW DID I MISS YOUR TOON BOOM POST. i'm still messing with it atm and it's fun but ive still got a lot to learn! utilizing camera would probs be most helpful to me since that's sth new! also maybe symbols since im not sure how theyre different from flash's?
The symbols thing will be pretty much the first thing for the most part ! I use symbols in a sense with all of my animations , no hand drawn ness. So thatll be there. Camera moves are pretty easy and being able to whip up a quick tutorial on that wont be a problem ! Ill add it to the list.
I felt the need to save and share this comment which was made on this (quite honestly, in my opinion, completely ludicrous) discussion of whether the technical aspects of the 2015 Chinese animated Monkey King movie match up to films made by big hollywood studios such as Pixar and Dreamworks. I think it perfectly articulates why my own feelings towards the movie - and towards Little Door Gods - are so strong, both as an ethnically chinese person and as a professional animator.
tl;dr if you’re judging a movie primarily by its technical aspects, I heavily disagree with your life choices, cultural context matters/nothing was made in a vacuum, and americans don’t need to be the target audience of everything
Hi! Thank you for responding! They also said that I focus too much on making it look pretty and that its getting in the way of my mechanics? I'm not sure if they are just telling me to animate simpler looking characters? I was wondering if you had any advice or maybe something I should try?
Hey obsidianvsyurei I know exactly where you’re coming from - because I’ve heard that same criticism before. They aren’t saying that you should stick to simpler looking characters (because you can spend a lot of time making a simple character look good), but that your focusing too much on how the drawing looks over the performance itself. If you find yourself spending way too long on one drawing during the initial first pass, then that’s something you can change up. The first pass should be as loose as possible - this is so that you can focus on the overall performance. This is where your thirty second life drawing/observational gesture drawings come to play.
Since you only have a short amount of time to capture your subject, your drawings should be really loose and that you’re trying to capture the gesture and energy of your supposed model. Don Hahn’s drawing life books elaborate more on this!
So with that being said, your first pass should first focus on the overall performance other than how detailed the drawings look. This means, create a short hand of your character!
With simpler shapes and more gestural lines, you can focus on things like squash and stretch, its easier to exaggerate your drawings; making your drawings bolder. You’ll notice that you feel more confident in animating something like a stick man over something with a lot of design beauty. So the thing to be loose and simple in your first approach.
Once you feel that your performance is solid, then you can add another pass on top of those roughs where you can finally tie down your drawings with a bit more detailed.
I know these aren’t the best examples since they don’t really showcase an acting/performance choice - but its the only files I do have that still has a first pass laid out hahaha!
Another practice you can do is to thumbnail all of your acting before you even start laying all the initial drawings. That can help you find the statements you want.
ok so , tumblr .. I need your help. Well ill post this other places too because I really want to make this accessible but
one of my goals for this year is to film toonboom harmony tutorials - I’ve worked with the program for years and have taught it for a year in a college as well. There are tutorials out there but as an animator that likes more of a traditional look I find theyre a bit limiting in what you can do with the damn thing.
here are some examples of the stuff i’ve done on my own in harmony with rigs ive made myself
1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 and heres my resume - I’ve worked in animation for awhile and I love sharing tips and tricks and help people get past the technical parts so they can start experimenting and having fun.
THIS IS MY PROBLEM : where the HELL do I start….
Theres a lot to the program , and I could start at the very beginning and go through the different things and show how to do camera moves and..show what z’d depth is and how to use drawing mode and all of that. But then part of me goes - wait , well , I’m best at animation so maybe I should just skip that part and go to animation stuff. I’m not quite sure how long or short I should make them.
so this is where I need your help
What would - YOU - prefer ?
It would help me AMAZINGLY if I could get some feedback on what people would like. Wether they prefer long tutorials of me animating whole scenes, or shorter ones based on easier questions to answer like ( how do you handle doing head turns ) or something. OR BOTH. I want to know where I can be of the most help since I dont want to add to a whole sea of tutorials that may already be out there :) I want to fill in the gaps ! . Animation with rigs is mostly what I want to focus on though so ..if you ask me questions about composting and lighting I wont be able to provide that. But you can also suggest things about animation in general…thats always a possibility regardless if its toonboom or not !
I also would like to know if a monthly poll would be good - I want to do at least one tutorial a month ( although it will probably be more if they’re not long ) , if so everyone can vote on what idea they think is the most useful at the time. So my tutorials will always be driven by what most people would like to see. But thats just an idea ! ( if thats the case i would start a new toonboom specific tumblr as well )
If you could respond to this or send me a message with your thoughts It will help a lot. Its really something I want to do for 2016 and share my knowledge as much as I can :) !
Hey, I'm really interested in learning to animate, but I was wondering... Do I have to use a computer mouse to draw, or are there any affordable softwares out there that uses a stylus or something?
I cant think of a software that doesnt let you use a stylus ! You can draw with anything you’d like - if you cant find the right software then look into how to flip paper :) there are lots of options !
You can take a look at this post where I answer a similar question. hope it helps !
So I see a lot of negative stuff about animation and jobs floating around on tumblr lately and I was going to do a post outlining some of the things that can help you out when you’re just starting a job. So I thought I’d do a post of all I tell my students and crew members on a pretty regular basis.
KEEP IN MIND , THIS IS JUST MY OPINION AND MY EXPERIENCES THUS FAR IN THE INDUSTRY. People will disagree and thats fine , there is no 100% right way to do anything. Feel free to take it with a grain of salt.
just a reminder. At 7 EST ill be doing a livestream tutorial on animation.
It’ll be pretty casual - ill go over some principles , thought processes and how to approach animation to make it easier for people to start playing around on their own :) .
Its going to be fairly off the cuff though - ill probably swear a lot and go OH I FORGOT TO SAY THIS - WHOOPS WAIT MY PROGRAM CRASHED. ect.
hi wow ur animating pencil tests are so smooth & just wow I'm in awe, it's the very thing that draws me to animation, they feel so real! I was just wondering if u had advice, I've been interested in animation forever, but I've only recently started learning the technical stuff, I got Richard Williams book & it's handy & full of information. but I learn through doing & I've found myself getting clogged down with theory = struggling to implement it. I was wondering if u have any advice or tips?
Hey there. It would be useful to know what kinds of things you are attempting to animate. It may be that you need to develop a workflow or process that works for you on some simple stuff first. Animation requires that you think about many things at once as I’m sure you’ve discovered, and that’s still a challenge for folks like me who’ve been at it for thirty years. Some of these things are a little more second nature to me now, so that I can do them somewhat automatically and concentrate on the main ideas like the performance. But it took some time to get there.
Like a musician practising their scales so that playing becomes more automatic, animators can practice by doing little exercises. By practising on something like a walk cycle you can experiment with your process. You can set yourself a task and say, “Okay, this time, I’m not going to care about drawing an appealing character, I’m just going to do a circle for the head and sticks for arms and legs. I’m only going to practice how to structure this walk cycle, getting my up and down positions working and refining the spacing.”
Take half the challenges off the table and concentrate on just a couple of principles at any one time. You could try just animating a flag blowing in the wind, an eye blinking, even a good ol’ bouncing ball. Practice drawing characters from different angles without actually animating them, Practice communicating with your major poses by storyboarding. Try a fast head turn with lots of drag. Try a slow one to practice solid drawing.
It’s like barre work for a dancer, or batting practice for a ballplayer. If you can practice some of these skills in isolation until you don’t have to think so hard about them, putting them all together in a finished piece of work will become easier. It’s tempting to jump right in and start making an epic, and there’s some value in doing that too, but the act of animating will get much less confusing and intimidating after practising the basics. Hope this helps :)
““You know, if you’re going to work and survive in this business, you have to work it like a popularity contest. You can’t be difficult. You’ve got to be willing to work in anything and everything. Movies, T.V., documentaries, cartoons. EVERYTHING. Because you never know where the next job is coming from. Or if the next job will be your last.” - Vincent Price”—quote taken from Mouse in transition Article on cartoonbrew. Although he was talking about working in Hollywood I find the same goes for animation.
