Hey guys i'm new here and i would like to say hey. I have a few question that i hope can be answered for me if ya'll don't mind. Ok to start off i'm fairly new to the 2D cartooning thing. I mean i've been drawing my characters for some time now and all they have been so far is random pictures that are funny but aren't really much more than that. I'm planning on creating little 15 minute cartoons of my characters and i have a fairly good writer on my side who is helping me script and come up with new ideas for my "cartoon". Well right now i'm trying to find the easiest way to recreate movement of my cartoon and the best programs and books to read and if anyone out here can help me i'd greatly appreciate it. Also what do ya'll use to color your cartoons because my coloring abilities are not that great i can just draw my pictures. Hope someone can help me.
Thanks,
Gone Greek?
It's an interesting coincidence that you created your first post 20 minutes after GonGoose created his first post, GonGreek.
You two should have a debate to decide which one of you is real.
In response to your subject, congratulations on being new, and hey, guy!
Random coinensadence i guess. I've been using the phrase Gone Greek? since high school.
Hello GoneGreek and welcome to the AWN Forums.
A fifteen minute short is pretty gutsy as your first animation project and I wish you good luck. First off I'd get and read cover to cover the animation books by either Preston Blair or Tony White. Both books the whole process of animation simply and completely.
As for computer animation programs, there are a ton. There's FlipBook, CelAction, Mirage, Flash, Moho, Toonboom, Monkey Jam, Plastic Animation Paper, Maya, 3D Studio Max, Hash, and the list goes on and on. You just have to research them on your own and find out which one suits your needs and your work flow.
Once again, good luck on your project.
Aloha,
the Ape
...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."
Awesome thank you so much for the information. I also want to know how do ya'll get ur art to come out so clean and clear on ur comps?
Shorter is better, especially for first efforts.
I recently went to a talk by New York animator Pes, and he strongly recommends keeping short films short - very short. Most of his work is under 30 seconds long, and every piece tells a story (however bizarre that story may be). Bill Plympton has also said personal films should be made "short, fast, and cheap".
Keeping it short keeps energy high as you work on it, as there's simply less to do to complete it. Obviously, this all happens in the story stage. Be ruthless, cut mercilessly. You can always put stuff back in if you cut too much.
You're welcome Gone. I'm not sure what you mean about "clean and clear on ur comps?" I animate with Flash which is a vector based program like Illustratoras opposed to bitmap based programs like Flipbook or Photoshop. So with vector programs you get a very hard edge, and bitmap you get a slightly softer edge.
Aloha,
the Ape
...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."