Windows movie maker or iMovie, depending on if you have PC or Mac. Here is what I recommend to start animating:
Photoshop and FireAlpaca also have gif capabilities if you use the computer.
I use Toon Boom Studio version 6 (Meanwhile the most current is like 11) to make full animations, but I just use the app SketchClub and it's ability to export gifs to make little practice things. You don't need a program made for animation to learn, while having Flash/Adobe Animate or Toon Boom may seem necessary, they aren't. While Yzma and Cruella deVille have so much appeal- their designs are genius for reflecting their character, even though they are ugly it's nice to look at them.Ī lot of people are discouraged from animating because they don't think they have anywhere to do it. hes not good to look at- id argue even Minions have more appeal than him. For example, Olaf from Frozen is a really bad character design. Now, this doesnt mean your character has to look pretty and stuff- there are plenty of ugly characters with appeal. This is simply having a good pleasing character. You don't need to go crazy like with my silly example gif below, but just a little goes a long way on the finished product! Now, keep in mind, even if you're doing animation with realistic style you should always exaggerate just a little- or it's gonna end up kinda boring and may even look unnatural. Self explanatory, exaggeration is exaggerating a characters movements and emotions. Slow drawn out movements show a tired or old character or sad or calm song, while quick erratic movements show an energetic or young character in or intense or upbeat song.
Adding more or less reflects personality of the character and tone of what is going on. Timing is simply how many frames it takes for a movement to get done. If you character is singing along sadly, add a few limp tail movements, make the ears go back, have the pupils look down and paws drag against the dirt. Having the tail and ears behave a certain way while a cat talks or walks will help show their emotion and attitude, along with making it overall more fun to look at. These actions go along with the main action to give the character more life. There's a natural arc shape in walking if you follow the path the head takes. When you move your arms they arc up and down. If your character or object doesn't follow a movement arc, it's going to look erratic or mechanical. Think of just a basic bouncing ball animation- when the ball hits the ground it squashes, and when it goes up and falls down theres the stretch.Īrc is necessary to having natural and fluid movements. Without it your character would be stiff and robotic. This action gives the character and objects weight and flexibility. This is the most important, and even if you aren't animating in a super cartoony style, you will need to understand this. Some are definitely more important than others. These are the most important elements to keep in mind when starting out. :black_nib: :runner: ♀ :walking: ♀ :runner: :walking: ? But I wanted to share tips to get started and improve.ĪLSO UM HI THERE FEATURE :ok_hand: and a post feature #waquality absolutely incredible I didn't really get back into it until this year, and in no way am I amazing in any way. It was more like bare minimum of frames to make Firestar sing, though.
I started animating when I was 12 because of warrior cats. Oh yay! Another tutorial! So, today I'm going to be showing you all the basics of animation and some tips to making better and smoother work.