Hello,
I am currently constructing an animation desk for my girlfriend as a 21st birthday present. Having good quality timber and reasonable carpentry experience the actual desk is not a problem to make. My concern is with the animation disc itself. As I'm sure many of you are aware, professional discs are quite expensive, and they are not something I am willing to buy at this point in time. Instead my plan is to make the hole the standard 16 3/8 size, and build a custom animation disc for the time being. She is an accomplished artist, and if she works well with the custom disc then she could buy a more professional one later, and fit it right in. I haven't been able to find much information about building a custom disc, however, so I'm hoping someone here can give me insight on how to do it, or link me to a guide for it.
My basic Idea was to use a circle of white plexiglass with a fluro light for the back of it. (Where can I buy the plexiglass though?) But I don't know if this would work. Will the plexiglass be sturdy enough, what type of fluro lighting should I use? I was thinking building a small box with a circular one in it that would attach to the back of the board the disc is in, but will that be powerful enough? Also, I know that having the circle able to spin is very important, especially when using a peg bar. But I am having trouble coming up with a method of securing the disc to the frame in a way that is secure, lets it rotate, and can be detached later.
I am sorry if this post is a bit all over the place, I just hope it made some sense and one of you can be some help. Thanks for your time.
My thoughts about building your own disc:
1/4" plex should be sturdy enough, but if you want to be sure, go with 1/2".
It's unsightly (because it lets you see throught to the light), but I recommend using clear plex instead of opaque white. The goal is to let as much light through as possible, and opaque white cuts down on the light reaching the paper before a single sheet is laid down. If it proves to be too much light, your GF can keep a blank sheet of paper on the disc at all times as a diffuser.
Out here on the left coast, we have a company called Tap Plastics. They have every kind of plastic, and they're great to work with. At the very least, you can order your sheet plastic from them. http://www.tapplastics.com/
I've seen several different methods of keeping the disc in place. One is to cut a plex ring that fits in the 16 3/8" hole and is about 1/2" wide, and glue that to the back of the disc. Another way is to cut three small blocks of plex and glue those to the back of the disc to keep it in place. That's a bit trickier, as you have to get them in just the right place when you glue them down; I'd go with the ring. Or, if you went with 1/2" plex for the disc and are handy with a router, you could route out the edge of the disc so that it fits in the hole.
For the light container, I've previously used the plastic drip pans from really big indoor plant pots. They've got about a 17 1/2" diameter and come with a lip that's perfect to run a screw through to attach it to the back of the board. You can also cut out a notch for the electrical cable to run through quite easily.
For pegs, either route out a hole for a plastic pegbar or get her the thin metal tape-on pegs. The thin base on the metal pegs ensures that the drawings will stay in register; the thicker base of the plastic pegs could cause small vertical registration errors if they're taped down to the top of the disc.
Hope that helps. Let me know if anything needs clarifying.
Can't seem to edit my last post, so here's another thought:
Professional animation discs are very expensive, but here's a student disc you may not have seen:
http://www.lightfootltd.com/product_info.php/cPath/23/products_id/64
Certainly you'd spend this much in materials, time, and effort. These are very nice discs; we use them in my classroom, and the staff and students are very happy with them.
First let me say that is awesome that you are building a desk and disk to support your girlfriend.
Half inch plexi should work good. I had Tap Plastics make my home made disk too, and it worked great. Get a price from Tap Plastics, it could be that a student disk from Lightfoot might be cheaper. Check around and get prices.
When I built my disk I had Tap Plastics cut the disk and drill a finger hole at the top and bottom. I had some fine sand paper from a model kit to smooth all the edges. To set the disk in the desk hole, I bought 8 1 inch plastic disks. I doubled them up and glued them at four corners on the back of the disk. Cheap but effective.
Good luck.
Aloha,
the Ape
...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."
Thanks for the help guys. Well one problem I have is that I am in Australia, so American providers might not work. Though I suppose you do make a good point that with the cost of materials it might not be much more expensive than a student disc. I'll have a look around, but I don't know of any Australian providers for this sort of item. How much did the disc at TAP cost you guys? Just so I have an idea of the price difference. Also, from the methods described I am wondering if there is actually a physical restraint the keeps the disc in the hole. IE, if it was turned upsidedown, would the disc fall out? I just worry that would happen and damage the disc. Especially since my design is for a table top version she can sit on her desk, the kitchen table, etc. Basically wherever she feels like drawing. I just don't want the disk to fall out and break. Thanks again for all your help guys.
Oh, and one other question is with the fluro lighting. How powerful of a light source would you recommend, and what shape of bulb? (I'm guessing circular)
I have a pro disc, so I can't help here, other than to note that a 2' by 2' sheet of 1/2" plex goes for about $70 U.S. The disc I linked to is $90, so the question is - will you expend $20 in labor in building your own?
Ape can tell you what his cut disc cost, but I do know that there are labor charges on top of material costs.
Just gravity. :)
Standard fluorescent bulbs are fine. Most people prefer round, but I've used straight bulbs as well, and they work just fine.
I actually don't remember how much my disk cost. My friend and I built wedges, like it sounds like you're doing, so we split the cost. I want to say the whole thing, wood, disk, lights and stuff all cost around $140. You should be able to find a plastic store in your area in the phone book or online. Call them up and and ask for an estimate. The disk will most likely be the single most expensive thing to buy on this.
Also I'd prefer a circular light. Also try to find a double one. A larger bulb on the outside, and a second smaller one inside that one. Florescent bulbs pulse and can cause eye strain. Having two bulbs offsets this pulsing.
Aloha,
the Ape
...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."
Alright, well I'll have to look into finding a local company then to see what their prices are.
I looked into ordering that student disc, but the company wants to charge me well over a hundred bucks just for the shipping to send it to Australia. So I am wondering if anyone knows of any retailers in Australia that sell animation discs? I've done a fair bit of searching on the matter and unfortunately come up empty.
Yeah, the shipping costs are outrageous. Usually I'd say it's just easier and saves time to order a pre-cut white translucent plexiglass animation disc from ChromaColour or Lightfoot Animation Supplies , but in your case the advice that the other guys gave you is good: find a local plastics company that can cut the disc for you. As long as you're building your own custom animation desk I'd go for an oversize animation disc, so you can easily handle oversize paper as well as standard 16 field and 12 field paper. I had mine custom cut to be 22" inches diameter. Even if I'm only using standard 12 field it gives me lots of room on the disc to attach Post-It notes with written notes or thumbnail drawings . (see attached image of Dick Williams working on one of these oversize discs.)
Have you seen this page ? ---
Do it Yourself Animation Desk
You're in Australia, so do you know about ARC ? (the Animation Resource Center of the Southbank Institute of Technology in Brisbane .) Check out their webpage . They may have some leads on where to get animation supplies in Australia.
Take a look at my page showing a bunch of different types of animation desks and discs :
Animation Desks
Here's a good picture of how to glue pieces on the back of the disc to keep it in the hole:
http://animationdesks.com/images/9diskbottom.JPG
muurtikaar is an ingrate and clueless. muurtikaar will never get any questions answered on this forum ever again.
Thank you so much for all the ideas guys, you've certainly given me a lot of good options to consider. One thing I am still trying to figure out though. If I get a plastic disc made, what type of plastic should I choose? From browsing different company websites I've become a bit overwhelmed and confused by the sheer number of different types of plastic, scientific names for them, etc.
muurtikaar is an ingrate and clueless. muurtikaar will never get any questions answered on this forum ever again.