#animation advice

[calllynx]

Sorry I know you did it in 2023 but how did you calculate the proportions for the character turnaround in your pinned?

Ok yeah that’s a complex question. I started out by making a flat reference for the character which you can see here

And then I used this to make a reference for the top portion of the character, which looked like this.

You can use this technique to find any angle for anything, here’s an example using the top view of the mask + the side view to find the front view to demonstrate how dumb it looks.

And then I can use that top view and rotate it to find the precise locations of every body part (but keep in mind I did this in perspective so you have to project every flat part into perspective and then account for that distortion).

And then you do that like a bunch of times and then connect I all up and bada bing bada boom you have a mathematically accurate hand-calculated turnaround.

[mushroomsinmyeye]

First walk cycle with key framing RAHHHHH SOMETHING IS WRONG

Animators that are better at this than me I summon all of you please help

[purpl3dpotato1]

No art post today:

Hey peoples, no art post today sorry!! (It's 11:19 pm) I'll try posting tomorrow! Was wondering, should I teach myself how to animate? If so does anyone have some tips or advice on it :D? I'd love to hear about it so I can learn well :3

[edgelordhoard]

hey yall im currently trying to teach myself 2d animation and could use some help with finding resources to get me started

im using krita as of rn since i have a linux os and i know how to access the animation workspace, how to use the basics, and have made one small rough tween so far on it

i generally need sources or advice to learn basics for animation and my goal so far is to at least get to the point i could become a storyboard artist, make animatics, or even do rough animation.

[jinsoro]

Art is always that deep. You don't work on animation projects without being intentional. Even silly comical shows that seem like it didn't come from someone sober. Being funny can make people think your opinion is true. (Just look at how tikt0k works lol) so still a solid approach no different from action/drama. But no studio is willing to execute just anything, it'll require a lot of time, money and manpower to execute a project. So every series you see on tv or on netflx was from someone who put their heart and soul into it.

[queeryutbrb]

Hi, I saw you commented on a Sonic animation post and you said you were learning 2d animation. I wanted to know if you've progressed and if you could spare any helpful information I could use on my animation journey. Thanks

yo! sure, yeah, id love to help ^^

i have made some progress, yeah. there's a lot of stylistic variations, but here's what's been most helpful to me :)

0. a lot of these mention speed - if you get too caught on something, it's likely to sap your motivation. also, i use frame-by-frame, not rigging, so some of these might not be helpful if you use rigging.

1. learn to accept mistakes.

perfectionism will slow you down. it's a little each frame, but that *adds up*. in a few second long animation, it may be fine. but if you're going for 15+ seconds, even into minutes, that can cost you hours to days to even months of progress, depending on the length. learn to accept minor mistakes, if you haven't already. you can always fix them later.

2. you dont have to redraw every single frame.

first, you can cut up an individual frame and move the parts of it. i draw characters art, and i cut up different bits of the arm when i wanna move it. second, you can warp a frame - stretch it, slant it, squish it, lots of things. you can also slide them around on the screen. third, you can reuse a frame. that's one you have to experiment with a bit, seeing where it's helpful for you and where it isn't.

3. do one thing at a time.

if you've just sketched a frame, dont move onto lining it, sketch the next one. if you get bored with one step but still wanna work on the animation, that's when you switch to the next. getting into a rhythem can help you enjoy the work more and let it go by faster.

4. stretch!

if you wanna animate, you have to take care of your body. it's fairly easy to find stretches online, look up "stretches for artists/animators" or "stretches to avoid carpel tunnel", and walk around a couple minutes every hour you've been seated. if you don't, that strain will add up, and you can cause or worsen chronic pain in yourself.

5. check your progress every so often.

if you ever wanna see your current progress, go for it! it can help you stay motivated and show you want you like and dislike about your animation so far. to do this, put in a few frames of your animation and time them properly. put them together like they should be in the final piece. watch this back whenever you like :) it's a great way to give yourself a little reward for all your hard work!

6. watch videos on animation from other artists.

plenty of people share their tips. i've learned a lot by going on youtube and searching "animaton tips". you can also play this in the background while you animate, if you'd like. i always like having something to listen to, myself, and it can help me a lot to have it be related to the art i'm making.

i reccomend doodley and lavendertowne, personally :)

7. animate for you.

remember, if there's anything you don't wanna do, you don't have to. make what you enjoy making, not just what you think others would wanna see. if you end up sharing your animations, which you don't have to do, you will find your audience. do what you enjoy, skill will come to you along the way. :)

i hope these are helpful to you ^^ best of luck on your animation journey!

[carrotblanca1995]

Throwaway account bc I don’t want my bf to see!!! I am working on this little animation for a Christmas present and I am looking for critiques/advice etc anyone may have. Obviously still in the rough stages here but I’m having trouble with the timing…comments r appreciated 👍

[batbitesthebat]

Hi there! Question, what do you use to animate? I'm just wondering cuz I wanna animate on my phone but IBIS is a little, icky

I use FlipAclip on my Iphone. Its real easy once you get the hang of it. I also use CapCut and Alight Morion to edit the animations. I get that it can be limiting though, and I don't pay the monthly subscription for a premium because I got my flipaclip years ago. I haven't tried Ibispaint to animate yet bc I have beef with the fact they don't let you have a 9:16 aspect ratio... but it seems a lot less limiting in what u can do for free, lol. Also you don't need a stylus 4 this, I use my finger and it works fine. ISNT THAT RIGHT LIL FINGER?? MWAH!!

[chaos-smoothie]

Hey, quick question for the smaller scale animators out there. What is you go-to platform? Not like, toonboom and similar very expensive professional grade stuff. Just smaller animation things like flipaclip. I myself Use a mix of Procreate's animation function, which is exclusively for test animations, and Toonsquid. I just wanna see what's out there. (preferably 2d) I've tried using a few things, roughanimator was a bit too rough in terms of quality, and I have very strong opinions on procreate dream. I settled on toonsquid, but I haven't tried others.

[tootern2345]

One thing about “crazy” animators like Jim Tyer, Rod Scribner, and Manny Gould to name a few is that all of them drew solid at first, had their training, and (especially manny gould) advocated for artists to practice their drawing skills first. They didn’t just animate “crazy” from the beginning. As if they did, it wouldn’t be good at all! Timing also was important to the scene as a “crazy” animation with poor timing isn’t interesting as that with good timing. That’s all I have to say on the matter and I do advice ya’ll to practice and draw/animate solidly.

[spawnpr0tection]

I highly advise for the ppl who don't like animating but wants to make and animation:

Make sure to use 3 Fps or lower. That way, you have fewer frames to draw on. (But the animation won't come out smooth, if ykwim.)

Hope this helps 👍

[edgelordhoard]

*a long and exasperated sigh...*

im gonna try getting into 2d animation again.

i know some basics from self education but advice on where to start would be nice.

im currently stuck on my phone until further notice and i plan to get a linux ran laptoo in the future so i need a program with animation thatll run on that.

in the meantime, what good android animation or flionote type apps are there that yall would suggest.

[clairethecutepup]

YOU CAN ANIMATE IN GOOGLE SLIDES?!

... One reason I didn't like animating so much nowadays was the tricky aspect of Clip Studio and Krita's keyframe timelines... Maybe I can get back into animation after all-- still as that "choppy" style, though.

(Just remember to download "Creator Studio" from the "add-ons" list, it's free!)

[bubblesandpages]

Big fan of Sony Animation's plan for success involving producing love letters to various art forms

Spider-verse: comic books and superheroes, graffiti, rap, hip-hop, punk, watercolors, Saturday morning cartoons and monster of the week shows, film noir, Looney Tunes, all the cultures, ballet, anime

Kpop Demon Hunters: K-pop and fan culture, magical girl shows (particularly from the 2000s), K-dramas, ALSO Saturday morning cartoons and monster of the week shows, Korean mythology, anime

[batbitesthebat]

A struggle with smooth animation that people often have is with the pacing. The last animation is a good example for this.

Slow-in and slow-out is known as the most important principle of animation, because its what makes your animationed characters and objects look alive, or real. It is making sure that, in between your keyframes, you have some inbetweens that are close to each keyframe, and then a few that are far in between. Like this ball!

For the last example, the inbetween frames have no sense of "slow in" or "slow out". They go at the same pace, with the lines drawn exactly inbetween the frame before it and after it for each frame. It gives it this stiff, robotic look and makes us feel kind of uncanny. If he had stayed in his keyframed positions for half a second, and then quickly moved to the next position, using a few slow frames that are near each keyframe to ease us into it, the animation would vastly improve. He's animated more like this:

Even the second to last one practices slow-in and slow-out, it's just animated at a very high frame rate and there are so many unneccesary frames that you could cut half of them and get the same motion done.

Anyway I wanted to talk about this phenomenon because I like to animate smoothly and it can be easy to fall into this if you don't keep slow-in and slow-out in mind. Eventually, though, it will become force of habit.

(Me talking about this)

The next time you want to call a sequence “Well animated” do yourself a favour and rewatch it with the sound muted. Often times ir’s only after you remove sound from something that you can truly see if the animation underneath is actually good or not, or if the music/acting is manipulating you.

….but on that same note, “Well animated” does not mean “Fluidly animated”. Because something can be VERY well animated and have few frames if those frames are in the right place, or have a shit ton for frames and be badly animated because it’s over-animated and moves way too much.

[lieximhuman]

They kith :3

HOLD ME. CONSOLE ME.

(Inspo: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMS7Lk4as/)

Extra:

Is funnehhh