Post by River on Jul 13, 2006 11:35:17 GMT -5
Figured this would be useful considering the project at hand...
You see this animation here?
Well, it's very basic and not very well done but it's enough to get the point across. You can see that the wolf is running in the 11 frames that I've drawn. But are you aware that in a regular animated cartoon/commercial/promo/whatever, even with eleven separate frames, this would only last half of a second? So prepare yourselves now... there is to be a lot of drawing....
Tools:
- Pencils
- Paper (tracing paper is perfect but even printer paper will do)
- A light (so you can see what you're doing)
- An eraser (so you can erase... dur)
- A ruler (so your character's actions are all on the same level and stuff)
- A scanner or digital camera
- An animation program like Jasc Animation Shop or ImageReady
The Breakdown:
I'm not going to sit here and tell you how to animate, more just give you the finer points using my own animation as reference and then set you on your way...
You should start by sketching out the action you want to animate as if you were simply about to paint it or something. Don't worry about start or stop points or anything like that, just draw. If you want to have your wolf character running, draw her running with all her details and from whatever angle you like. Right now, you're just letting the ideas flow...
Once you get this drawing the way you want it, use it as a guide and picture in your mind how she would look if she were really moving like that. Picture all the different stages of that motion, how her head would move and so on. Going online and studying other people's animations should help with this, not to mention watching tv and using live reference if you can find some...
Once you think you have the basic idea of how you want her to move, where she'll go, where she'll end up and all that fun stuff, get drawing.
You'll want to start with your key frames. This is the important stuff right here folks... Key frames are the extremes of your animation, where your character's position changes most drastically. In the case of my animation, key frames would be things like when the wolf it at full stride and when the wolf is at tucked stride.
Here and here
From there, you fill in the intermediate stages of motion, some frames that will bridge the gaps between the keys...
This and this here
Now you should be able to see the movement, see where everything needs to go and how it should get there. If you don't, try studying other animations around the net to get a good idea. Hyenaklown on Deviant art has a good canine run cycle if you need some reference. But now, you just fill in all the in betweens. Put something between all of these frames to bring it all together. It part is more trial and error than anything else. Draw some frames, put it together, see what you're missing and draw some more.
This, this, this, this, this, this, and this.
Be aware that animating involves some science and observation. During the course of an action, movement slows down and speeds up accordingly such as when the wolf pushes off(fast) compared to when he pulls his hind legs up again(slow). The more frames and the less the difference between them, the slower the action. The fewer frames and the bigger the differences between them, the faster the action...
And the finished product...
Be sure to note all movement, not just the main portion. During running, things like tails, heads and any dangling accessories would need to be taken into account. I focused only on the legs and tail here and the head came out disgusting. Don't make my mistake...
Also, be sure to take notice of where and when certain parts come in contact with the ground. In the case of a wolf running, the paws would squish to cushion the impact and return to dangling position as the wolf pushes off. Remember your anatomy, where joints are places and elbows bend and such. It may be beneficial to start out with a basic ball and stick figure first and, once all of your frames are mapped out, to flesh out the figure afterward...
[[This will be updated weekly as I attend more animation classes.]]
You see this animation here?
Well, it's very basic and not very well done but it's enough to get the point across. You can see that the wolf is running in the 11 frames that I've drawn. But are you aware that in a regular animated cartoon/commercial/promo/whatever, even with eleven separate frames, this would only last half of a second? So prepare yourselves now... there is to be a lot of drawing....
Tools:
- Pencils
- Paper (tracing paper is perfect but even printer paper will do)
- A light (so you can see what you're doing)
- An eraser (so you can erase... dur)
- A ruler (so your character's actions are all on the same level and stuff)
- A scanner or digital camera
- An animation program like Jasc Animation Shop or ImageReady
The Breakdown:
I'm not going to sit here and tell you how to animate, more just give you the finer points using my own animation as reference and then set you on your way...
You should start by sketching out the action you want to animate as if you were simply about to paint it or something. Don't worry about start or stop points or anything like that, just draw. If you want to have your wolf character running, draw her running with all her details and from whatever angle you like. Right now, you're just letting the ideas flow...
Once you get this drawing the way you want it, use it as a guide and picture in your mind how she would look if she were really moving like that. Picture all the different stages of that motion, how her head would move and so on. Going online and studying other people's animations should help with this, not to mention watching tv and using live reference if you can find some...
Once you think you have the basic idea of how you want her to move, where she'll go, where she'll end up and all that fun stuff, get drawing.
You'll want to start with your key frames. This is the important stuff right here folks... Key frames are the extremes of your animation, where your character's position changes most drastically. In the case of my animation, key frames would be things like when the wolf it at full stride and when the wolf is at tucked stride.
Here and here
From there, you fill in the intermediate stages of motion, some frames that will bridge the gaps between the keys...
This and this here
Now you should be able to see the movement, see where everything needs to go and how it should get there. If you don't, try studying other animations around the net to get a good idea. Hyenaklown on Deviant art has a good canine run cycle if you need some reference. But now, you just fill in all the in betweens. Put something between all of these frames to bring it all together. It part is more trial and error than anything else. Draw some frames, put it together, see what you're missing and draw some more.
This, this, this, this, this, this, and this.
Be aware that animating involves some science and observation. During the course of an action, movement slows down and speeds up accordingly such as when the wolf pushes off(fast) compared to when he pulls his hind legs up again(slow). The more frames and the less the difference between them, the slower the action. The fewer frames and the bigger the differences between them, the faster the action...
And the finished product...
Be sure to note all movement, not just the main portion. During running, things like tails, heads and any dangling accessories would need to be taken into account. I focused only on the legs and tail here and the head came out disgusting. Don't make my mistake...
Also, be sure to take notice of where and when certain parts come in contact with the ground. In the case of a wolf running, the paws would squish to cushion the impact and return to dangling position as the wolf pushes off. Remember your anatomy, where joints are places and elbows bend and such. It may be beneficial to start out with a basic ball and stick figure first and, once all of your frames are mapped out, to flesh out the figure afterward...
[[This will be updated weekly as I attend more animation classes.]]
