Hi, everyone. I'm a medical illustrator/animator for small patient education company. I mainly trace or freehand 2D graphics in Flash MX and sometimes develop these further into procedural or anatomical animations (i.e. an incision opening and tumor being removed, acid splashing in the stomach).
My company needs a 30-60 second ad for our education product, which is like a PowerPoint with narration and graphics/looping animation. I'm brainstorming based on the ad script and am about to storyboard. I envision it in a soft, playful 2D style similar to Charmin's bear family ads or Red Bull's cartoon ads with an elderly inpatient trying it on an iPad. It would likely incorporate some bullet point text transitions as well. But with strict production guidelines, my traditional animation experience is limited. My usual animations run just a few seconds. You can see some older examples on my Behance page, or watch a full surgery topic below (press Ctrl+right arrow to advance slides):
https://www.behance.net/gallery/17040815/Animation
http://onlinenc.x-plain.com/modules_v3/m3.asp?s=m&AI=ODk3ODAzMQ==&m=bmV1...
One big question I have is about software. On a daily basis, I use Flash MX (prehistoric, I know), but we also have Flash CS6 and Adobe After Effects at the office. Are these enough to accomplish what I want, or should my company invest in a particular software for 2D animation?
I've had difficulty adjusting to a Wacom tablet, so this whole time I've been drawing with a mouse. I have a feeling I'm going to need to get used to the tablet in order to tackle this project efficiently.
What would be a reasonable time estimate for a project like this, should my boss ask? I'm sure I could easily spend two 40-hour weeks on it; heck, it might take a whole month.
Like many of you, I've had a lifelong passion for traditional animation, and I'm thrilled at the opportunity to develop an animated work for my profession. But I am daunted by the task. I'm studying The Animator's Survival Kit and hopefully getting some good storyboards made will build some confidence. But I know I'm a novice in the big world of animation, and I very much want assistance from anyone willing to lend a hand, on any phase of this project.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
