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[inspiringanimator]

Hey Ross, I'm currently 15, a Junior in high school, and love to animate. I don't think going to an art institute/university is the right move though when I get out of HS - financially or for many other reasons. Community College is a huge possibility though, as it's less expensive and would still teach me more things about animation all together. For the most part, I believe animation can be a self-taught experience, but I'd like to hear your thoughts on this.

That’s great dude.  Don’t feel like you HAVE to go get an education in animation to succeed.  I tried it, but it wasn’t for me.  I found I wasn’t really learning enough compared to what I learnt just fiddling and making mistakes by myself.  I mean look at Arin, he didn’t even finish high school yet he taught himself  to be an animator.  Some people learn better being pushed by an education system, some are better left to figure things out for themselves.  If think you’re better going it alone then GREAT!  You’re an autodidact!

Here’s some stuff I’d recommend you focus on while getting started: 

Learn Flash or Toon Boom.  

Maya/3DS Max/Zbrush if you’re interested in 3D (I have a minor background with it)

Study life drawing and human anatomy.  Try this if you’re at a loss for material: http://www.posemaniacs.com/

Keep an organized folder of art reference (find it by following art tutorial blogs or your favorite artists).  I have gigabytes of reference in my folders.

Get your head around cinematography.  Watch legendary films and figure out what makes the shots great.  One exercise is to take your favorite shots and make silhouette thumbnails of how things are placed, helps you  break it down in your head.

Composition!  It’s crazy and even those who get it sometimes don’t get it.. but just look it up online to get your head around it.  It’s all about placement and arrangement of shit.

MAKE FRIENDS!  Talk to other artists like yourself who are starting out.  I met Arin online through Newgrounds when I was 16/17 and we’ve been friends ever since.  It’s important to have like minded friends!

Keep a sketchbook, draw all the time.  If you prefer doing it digitally then that’s fine, but keeping a sketchbook is a magical thing.  Also helps with your line confidence, at least I think so.

If you want to develop your own stories to go along with your animations, consider the following books: Screenwriting 101 (I LOVE this book, really great read AND it’s written by someone pretending to be The Hulk), On Writing: A memoir of the Craft (Stephen King!  Haven’t read this one yet but friends recommend it) and also Save the Cat! (this one is more so about selling scripts and writing to a formula, don’t take it as gospel.. But it’s interesting).

Voice act! Shit man, just get a decent microphone when you can.  Make goofy voices, do imitations.  Get silly!  Lots of animators have at least some experience doing voice acting!

WATCH STUFF.  Seriously, I can not stress this enough.  Everything is derivative from other works and that’s okay.  Inspiration comes from everywhere and anything.  My late friend Monty also preached this, he even proudly told me some of his early influence for RWBY such as Black Rock Shooter.  Finding influence breeds passion.  You’re not slacking off watching cartoons, you’re researching.

ANIMATE! Do it however you can!  Stop motion lego, flipping paper.. I don’t care.  Just do it. Whatever you learn, It all translates across any version of the medium.

ANIMATORS SURVIVAL KIT.  This book is a must and most animation schools highly recommend it.  It was written by Richard Williams the director of Who Framed Roger Rabbit (among other things).  If you’re not big on reading, then you’re in luck because it’s MOSTLY pretty pictures.  http://www.amazon.com/The-Animators-Survival-Richard-Williams/dp/0571202284

Lastly but not least.. Just don’t stop.  The people you see online and on TV right now, they’re not kicking ass because of some god given talent.  They’re there because they didn’t stop.  They persevered through it all and kept going, no matter what anyone else told them. 

Good luck!

[inspiringanimator]

The goal here is to master the mechanics [of animation] in order to do new things. Get the mechanics into your bloodstream so they just become second nature and you don’t have to think about them and can concentrate on giving the performance.

Richard Williams, The Animator’s Survival Kit  (via animationdesk)

[inspiringanimator]

 A little advice for aspiring animation folks. I wrote this response to an email, but I thought I’d share here. Hopefully someone finds this helpful!

Absolutely focus on a specific area. Choose a MAIN skill, whether that’s storyboarding, animation, BG design, Vis Dev, etc. Having secondary and tertiary skills is a plus, but you should have a primary skill that is your most honed weapon. Being versed in other areas should inform your primary skill.

Make consistently good work, and post it everywhere online. Get visible. It’s hard because we live in a world saturated with creators of one kind or another, but you have to put your stuff out there. Also, when you’re ready, reach out to studios as well. Many of them have open submission periods now and again when they’re looking for new talent. Go to events and conventions to meet people in person if you can. Meeting someone in person always has greater impact than an email.

Personal projects are KEY. Working on something you’re invested in makes all the difference, because it will push you in the direction YOU want to go. Also, it will have your thumbprints all over it–personal projects are special because they show potential employers the unique perspective that you have to bring to the table. Lots of portfolios are full of school assignments, but a personal assignment will always stand out.

Keep an eye on your peers. Look at work that is aspirational to you–and measure your own work against it. Are you competing legitimately? Look at the work of others and get ideas about how you’d like to improve your own work. Be specific rather than general. Think “I’d like to make work with fantastic movement like (PICK AN ARTIST)” rather than “my work isn’t as good as (PICK AN ARTIST).” The more specific you are, the easier it is for you to blaze a path forward. The less specific you are, the easier it is to feel stuck and depressed.

Remember that you are not the work you create. You are a person with intrinsic value as a human. So often we get caught up in our work, and it becomes so preeminent in our minds that we begin to associate our own personal worth with what others think of the drawings we make. Being an artist is fun and rewarding, but don’t get so caught up in the pursuit of your goals that you forget everything else that’s wonderful about life.

Good luck as you move forward!!

[inspiringanimator]

Matt Williames: Spacing p.2

from Matt Williames’ blog post

- When your doing a head shake, say on 4's, make your inbetween favor the previous key as a 3rd. If you evenly inbetween, it will look mooshy and not have any punch or weight. The more physical explanation is that things need time to start moving and stop moving. Therefore, the excelleration is at it's height on frame 5 which is why the gap of space between3 and 5 is the largest.

- Now, if you want to put it onto 1's i've added another chart right below to show you how you could transfer that info into 1's while keeping the weight you need.

[inspiringanimator]

Matt Williames: Spacing

from Matt Wlliames’ blog post

- [T]oday [we’ll] talk about the technique behind spacing. This, [I] feel, is something few animators truly understand. There is always a balance between your concentration between technical stuff, and performance but i feel that without proper execution of technique your performance will not be as powerful as it could. [...] I personally take the view that if your technical stuff is off it could potentially ruin the performance because when that ear slides all over your characters head, or he just doesn't have the weight he needs it could pull you out of the moment.

- Here is a very simple trick that can really help you on your slow in's and slow out's in a shot:

- The reason for not putting it on an even is because the space between 1, 3, and 5 is even. Even spacing will KILL weight and give you a watery look.

- Now, this IS NOT a 100 percent "always use this chart" kind of a thing. Sometimes you want a watery look, in which case this would not be useful. Or, if your slow in is about 36 frms long you may not need to put your last inbetween on a 3rd because the spacing would be so tight that you wouldn't feel it.

- There are lotsa different scenarios about why it could not work but if you want something to be progressing or [digressing] in speed, this is the way to go!

[inspiringanimator]

Whether you are studying animation in school, or out of school on your own (and with a mentor if you choose to), studying the greats in animation will push your work to be greater. 

Even if it’s to just understand their methods and work ethic, you can take what you have learned, and become a master of this great medium. Just keep working hard at it. 

[inspiringanimator]

Wonderful advice from Disney animators Tom Bancroft, Eric Goldberg, and Aaron Blaise. 

[inspiringanimator]

To School or Not to School?

This is one of the top questions for all aspiring animators when it comes to learning animation: Should one go to school to learn? Or should they skip school and still learn the medium? 

There are pros and cons to both scenarios, and when it comes down to it, it really does depend on you, the individual. Are you dedicated, and I mean, super dedicated, to practice and try new things on your own? Are you able to be disciplined to push your skills further and to work on deadlines as a personal goal, and not a class assignment? 

If so, you can start learning to animate on your own by reading books (The Illusion of Life, Preston Blair - Animation, The Animator’s Survival Kit), watching videos on YouTube, or finding other resources from professional animators (like Animator Mentor, Studio Technique, or the animator him/herself like Aaron Blaise). What is great about learning on your own, you do get to focus the principles of animation at your own pace. It can also save you tons of money, and you can learn from many resources film wise. What is challenging to learn on your own is that you may not learn all that you need to, in case you would like to work for a studio. Networking can be challenging, jobs are word of mouth in the industry, as animators hire those that they know. 

If you were to go the school route for animation, you would be able to network even more with professionals and peers in the industry. Not to mention the equipment and software they will have to offer at your leisure. Of course, the negative of doing animation school is the tuition and other expenses. Also, the consistent pressures you will have to endure for each project and class. The other positives besides being able to network with your peers and professional teachers, is to be able to go to private screenings that your school might have, as well as participating in student competitions for filmmaking. 

Even if you do go to a state school, you can still learn certain skills used for animation (drawing and painting, film, sculpting, writing), if the school doesn’t provide an animation program. To end, whether you go to school for animation or not, you can still learn if you put your mind to it, and keep applying what you learn. There are many ways to enter into the animation industry if you desire, so keep pushing and don’t give up.

[inspiringanimator]

Q+A (Anita Gaughan) p.2

from Anita Gaughan’s ask.fm

Hey Anita, do you have any tips on fire? (BTW ur inking advice was helpful on soo many levels. my stuff looks so much better now)‎ 

Hi there! Glad I could be of help with inking! :) As for fire, I'm still trying to get to grips with FX animation. There's a book by Joseph Gilland "Elemental Magic" that may be of some use, it covers hand-drawn special effects animation. Also alongside looking at video ref, or ref from real life at how it moves - there has been some beautiful fire animation done already that give me an idea of how to handle it as a drawing "Flash FX Animation post up examples and have some fire fx from Avatar the animated series here http://flashfx.blogspot.ie/2011/06/avatar-effects-guide.html Playing around with blurs, glows and opacity in compositing afterwards help give a desired effect! Hope that helps! :)

hello im a casual painter i could say... and i love your animation, probably its gonna be impossible for me but i would love to try to learn so could i ask you which program do you use for your work?

Hello! Sorry for my late reply! That's great that you want to try your hand at animation :) And it's far from being impossible, just keep practising and have fun with it! I use TVPaint for animating, but there's countless other options. Animation Paper is a free program to download/use http://animationpaper.com/ I haven't tried it myself, but I've heard good reviews about it. Programs such as Flash and Toon Boom can also do hand drawn. All of the above have free trials to test out too. I'd recommend using a drawing tablet for animating on a computer (unless you're a mouse mastermind) If you'd rather go traditional and animate with a pencil and paper, there are sites such as "Chromacolour" that animation supplies.

There's a few books on animation that are great for learning animation "The Animator's Survival Kit" by Richard Williams and "Character Animation Crash Course" by Eric Goldberg.

Hope that helps? Let me know if I can help with anything else! :)

Your work is stunning. You're an inspiration to me! I'm graduating in illustration but I'm actually trying to turn into animation... I'd like to ask you some advice with timing, I really can't get it! Any tutorial or step guide? D: keep on the awesome work!‎ 

Hi there, thank you so much and so sorry for the late reply!

I don't have a guide done out, but if it'll help you, I'll be glad to do one up! :) (Hopefully we're talking about physical timing here and not comedic timing, which I'm terrible at! :P )Physics plays a lot into it, heavier characters move slower, given the amount of weight they've to lug around and lighter characters might have a more snappy "light" feel to how they move (Not sure this is a great example) But if you use your index and middle finger, use them as legs and "run" them on the spot as fast as you can. Now if you try that with your real legs, they'll move a lot slower. (Look at how a small sparrow moves as opposed to a larger bird such as a goose) These weights play into how fast or slow a character moves. If they jump, how long do they hang in the air before falling back down, what are they feeling? An angry character's walk would be different to a character who is lazy/sleepy. Playing the action out in your head can help you to visualise how a character will move. If you can, act it out. See how that action feels. I know for myself, if I imagine I'm an animal running - I start to get a feel of the movement.

I've heard timing being described as "A thing that suddenly just clicks" Animation is all about practice, and the more you do, you should begin to develop a sense for timing.

Hope that helps? :)

[inspiringanimator]

Radio interview with Animator/Illustrator LeSean Thomas 

[inspiringanimator]

Hey dude I've been following your blog for a while and you got some really cool animations. I myself am trying to learn how to animate but I don't know where to start. So my question to you is where do I start to learn how to animate? Like are there any books I should read or tutorials you would recommend. Thanks for your time man I really apreciate it.

First off, thanks for the compliment and thanks for following me!

I don’t really think there’s any one way, but…

As far as books go, I’d say Preston Blair’s Advanced Animation is probably the best place to start. The name’s pretty misleading- It atcually starts form the very basics. It’s where I started when I started getting more serious about animation, and I’d say it has probably been my biggest help. Learning good construction skills has helped me tremendously with my animation and art. You may have a lot of awesome ideas in your mind, but that won’t help much if you can’t translate them to paper (or tablet, or whatever you may use).  Learn about construction, how lines and features wrap around forms, clear and distinct poses, perspective, etc. Don’t trace the examples, but make your own copies of them step by step and compare them to the images given. Your copies don’t have to be perfect- what’s most important is that you’re learning how and why something looks the way it does.

When I first started copying I made the mistake of trying to make my drawings look exactly the same as in the book, causing frequent frustation. I’d spend forever on one drawing, not really absorbing and understanding what the goal was. Now, that doesn’t mean you should be careless about it… You do want them to look close. Just make sure to go step by step, checking your progress along the way. You’ll get better the farther you go.

You might have taken a look at those pages and thought “Well, that’s interesting and all, but I don’t exactly plan on drawing these old ‘40s Disney-style characters any time soon…”

That’s totally understandable and perfect because the next step is to use the tools you learned from copying those drawings and apply them to your own drawings. After all, what’s the point in copying and learning all those principles if you aren’t going to use ‘em? I’d also recommend some life drawing every once in a while. Draw people and objects and learn what things actually do look like and not just what you think they look like. Once again, apply these principles to your own drawings.

Like I said before, though, there’s no one way. That’s just the way I happened to learn. Some people can pull off amazing drawings and animation without a bit of construction!

As for learning actual animation… Watch and study the best! Take influence from both classic and modern animation. I love watching old Warner Brothers cartoons- especially those by Bob Clampett, Tex Avery, and Chuck Jones- and seeing how skillfully they move their characters. I also love anime, too. There are TONS of talented Japanese animators with unique styles and techniques. I have so many favorites I can’t even list them all, but SakugaBooru (occasional 18+ content there so beware) has a huge selection of awesome animation gifs and webms from just about everybody. Whenever you get a chance, browse around the site. Watch and analyze different animators’ works and study the underlying principles. Learn to recognize what’s great and what isn’t. Go frame by frame and see how things move, then try it out for yourself. If possible, check out rough animation too. Preston Blair also goes a little bit into animation (walk cycles, squash and stretch, etc.) later on in his book. I’ve also heard a lot of people recommend The Animator’s Survival Kit, but I haven’t really taken a look at it.

So, yeah, this is a big post coming from somebody who hasn’t had any type of formal training. Please don’t take my advice as the end-all be-all (���is that right?) Everything I’ve learned about animation so far has come from the internet, and I’m still just scratching the surface. There are still tons of things that I need learn and get better at (walk cycles still scare the heck out of me), but I’m going for it. Just look around and explore, both here on Tumblr and the rest of the internet. There’s quite a bit of treasure out there.

Some random tips and stuff:

-When animating, start with the basic forms first. Animating something that has a lot of details can be tricky and I find it easy to lose myself. Starting with the simple parts helps a bunch.

-This is probably just me, but I seem to have some sort of issue when it comes to erasing parts of a drawing. I tend to just draw over it, and over time that gets messy. Soo…. er, don’t be afraid to erase.

-If you’re making a project that’s a bit longer or more complicated than the usual gif or something, have a plan. Srsly. Storyboards help. I’ve learned that the hard way.

Miscellaneous recommendations:

-John K Stuff. Say what you will about him, but he gives solid drawing advice. Tons of information here that has also been a huge help in my learning. Also has some great animation lessons. I’d recommend it for those 16+, though.

-Animation Resources. They have the whole Preston Blair book uploaded.

I hope that wasn’t too long. If you or anybody else has any more questions please don’t hesitate to ask!

[inspiringanimator]

Hey there, blenderbeetle! Thanks so much for the mail. I can’t say that there’s any one perfect way to learn animation (if there is, I certainly haven’t found it), but I do have few personal tips that will hopefully help you as much as they’ve helped me. Some of these points are lifted from others posts I’ve made in the past, but fleshed out a bit more, along with a ton of new ideas as well.

First off, for anybody starting out, I highly recommend reading, studying, and copying from Preston Blair’s Advanced Animation. The name itself is pretty misleading- it actually starts from the very basics of construction, and continues from there into other important aspects, like strong lines of action and squash and stretch. It’s also where I started when I began getting more serious about animation, and I would absolutely say it has been my one of biggest helps. Start from the beginning, follow everything step-by-step as explained by the book, and check your work along the way. Having a good grasp on construction will help immensely with your endeavors (for it certainly did for me)

^One very important thing to keep in mind when you’re copying these drawings is that the goal isn’t necessarily to be able to draw those poses and examples perfectly, but to be able to take what you’ve learned from each example and apply it to your own drawings and animation. Your copies don’t have to be perfect, but you do want them to be very close to the examples, and follow logical construction progression. Because trust me, if you try to make them perfect (like I often tried to when I did them) you’ll end up driving yourself crazy over tiny details and forgetting what the whole point even is (like… me, when I did them). It’s pretty tedious and painful at the beginning, but the more you do it, the easier and faster it’ll become for you. I’m still not the best at it, but I can definitely say I’ve gotten much better over time.

Even if you think that you’ll never be drawing those types of “old-fashioned” characters, you can still use what you’ve learned in your own stuff. Seriously, these principles are pretty much universal, and can really help with art and animation!

Continuing on…

Study from the best! There are a ton of great artists and animators out there to study and learn from, in both the present and past. There are so many awesome animators even just here on Tumblr! Personally, I love to watch and analyze frames from 40s and 50s Warner Brothers and Disney cartoons (I’m very fond of WB directors Chuck Jones and Bob Clampett— their work is always on-point.) I still get amazed at how skillfully those animators could move those characters. Also, check out Sakugabooru. Tons of wonderful clips from both eastern and western animators are featured, and you can find almost anything you’re looking for, whether it’s character acting or lovely effects animation. While the focus is primarily on traditional 2D animation, you’ll also find some CGI in there too. (My personal favorites are the 2D/CGI blends!) There is some 18+ content there as well, so if you don’t want to see that, make sure you check the tags and rating before looking at a clip. They’re usually a good indicator. 

Yes, I realize the irony of me saying that last “18+ warning” part here on Tumblr of all places, but that’s how I roll.

Also, study from real life. Start to observe what objects (and people, and animals!) actually look like, rather than what you think they may look like. Once you do that, see if you can apply what you’ve observed into your own work!

If possible, find rough and unfinished versions of animated scenes, like these featured at penciltests​ . These are really cool because you can clearly see the general forms and construction lines, and get a feel for the process the animator used, all without anything else to distract (like final effects, coloring, etc.)

Along that vein, good ol’ model sheets are also great. In my opinion, the best model sheets to study are the ones that demonstrate some sort of progression in how the character is drawn:

On general animation:

When you start animating, start with the basic/general forms of your character/object and continue from there. Animating details and everything else all at once on a complicated character can get confusing, so I find that it tends to be easier to drop those details and get the general forms and motion down first.

Sometimes, I like try animating an action using the fewest frames possible. It can be fun to see what kind of impact you can achieve with just the bare necessities, and good for practice.

If you’re making a project that’s a bit longer or a bit more complicated than the usual gif, make some sort of plan. It could potentially save you a lot of time, especially if you end up forgetting something that you were supposed to put in. If you have a set structure and plan, it could also help you stay within your own guidelines. Because most of the animations I make are short and typically have next to no plot or narrative, I don’t really have a need for heavy planning or storyboarding. Still, a good plan could definitely help you in visualizing where you want to go, and can help you estimate how long something may take.

I just know, know, know you’ve heard this so much before, but truly, keep at it. Every step counts!

Like I said at the beginning of this post, I don’t think there’s any one perfect way to learn animation, but I sincerely hope you’ll find these tips helpful.  Being a self-taught animator as well, I can totally sympathize with you. But honestly, things will get better before you know it! 

Lookie:

Yep. Here are a couple of my ancient, all-out-wonky animations that I dug up, dated late 2010 through mid 2011. They were made in my very first animation software, Flipnote Studio for the Nintendo DS (even before I got into Inchworm Animation!)  That really puts some things in perspective! Really, I find it absolutely astounding to think that I would be putting out *anything* near what was in my last post. Practically everything I’ve learned so far about animation has come from what I’ve discovered on the internet…. And, well, watching a ton of movies and cartoons. I can’t tell you how how much the information that I’ve found (and am still finding!) and the friends I’ve met (and am still meeting!) have helped me.

Thanks again for the mail! If you or anybody else has anything to ask, please don’t hesitate.

[inspiringanimator]

All my life I’ve been extremely negative and mean, so I want to change that!!

I completely understand why a lot of us feel that we’re not good enough artists. Especially in animation, it’s a competitive field. And we’re constantly pressured to go to an art school, get a degree, get an internship, and work in an industry before we turn 30 and we’re “old”.

The anxiety and stress is unhealthy and just lowers our self-esteem dramatically. I personally blame the internet.

More tips:

It’s never too late! Who cares if you’re 15 or 40. Don’t feel inadequate if someone younger has accomplished more or if someone is more admired than you.

It’s okay to dream to work in certain studios, but your other big goal is to be the best artist you can be. I know that sounds cliche but it’s a good way to feel proud of yourself. That is still my biggest ambition and the amount of friends and contacts I’ve made over the past couple of years is a tremendous bonus.

Be nice to yourself!! I’m a self-critique but it’s okay to feel proud of your work. Accept every compliment you receive and be grateful. I’m a bit nervous towards any form of adulation but I’m thanking everyone regardless.

Sometimes it’s okay to whine. I used to be against that but that just bottles up your emotions until it explodes and you’re depressed for 3-4 whole months. Write it out in a journal or talk to someone. Then cheer yourself up because you deserve to be happy.

Yeesh I’m sorry for the all the blabbering. I hope this helps everyone. This is also for me too so I don’t always feel crummy. It stinks but we can pull through it!

Let’s get confident!!

[inspiringanimator]

Q+A (Anita Gaughan)

from Anita Gaughan’s ask.fm

Hello Anita! I am curious, what is your preferred way to animate 2D frame by frame? Straight ahead or key pose? How long do your animations take you to animate? We are big fans! Thank you! 幸運! 日本から���ありがとう

Hi there! It depends on what I'm doing - most action scenes I would go straight ahead with, so I'd keep everything flowing. I would use key poses for either dialogue pieces, some acting scenes and most studio work (eg:taken from a storyboard) If I had to choose though, I'd definitely prefer straight ahead! Thanks, and all the best from Ireland!! :)

[inspiringanimator]

Q+A (Sandra Rivas) p.3

from Sandra Rivas’ ask.fm

How do you maintain the proportions of a character when animating?

that's a great question! Look at this link and see how Nick Cross does it --> http://www.nick-cross.com/2010/03/animation-process-with-video.html 

it's not the ONLY way to do but it gives you an idea of the process.its basically setting up key poses and carefully inbetweening

I planned to go on a bachelor's course in graphics design. Because our country or here in the Philippines is limited when it comes to animation courses, what other courses would you recommend? and I really wanted to be as great as you when it comes to making animations! thanks in advance!

i recommend being open-minded on animation courses if you're already in the university. but also study outside on your own time. some courses may not be as fulfilling. don't rely on paid education to teach you EVERYTHING.i had great professors but they dealt with a shitty curriculum so they would give me great advice while i would learn on my own.

I've learned to draw all by myself. Just drawing random stuff for 5 years taught me everything i know. But recently I've tried to learn animation by myself and I am having such a hard time. You think with enough practice I can do some good-looking animation, or should i look for an animation school?

if you're passionate enough then I think you can learn and develop with or without school, it all comes down whether or not you think school would be a good investment

[inspiringanimator]

Q+A (Sandra Rivas) p.2

from Sandra Rivas’ ask.fm

How do you practice with colors for animation? I've been unsure how to give my animations a color pallet that has consistent harmony

That's color theory which I can't explain in words, since it's all visual, tricking the human eye, and sometimes personal taste. The way I learned how colors worked was by looking at Mary Blair, Bill Wray, Hanna-Barbara backgrounds, Frank Frazetta, and Walt Disney film era backgrounds.You can still learn a bunch by watching Steven Universe, the new Mickey shorts, and if you're into games look at Kirby and Rayman Origins/Legends. They all have different color theories and it's important to expand your mind and never settle with just one. Even Anime uses fantastic colors!!DO NOT JUST USE THE EXAMPLES I LISTED. FIND YOUR OWN DANG FAVORITES.Drag a couple examples to Photoshop (Manga Studio, Sai, whatever!!) and you'll be incredibly amazed at the color palettes they chose and experimented with. What you thought was "Red" might turn out to be a "Cold Gray", and "Neon Yellow" might be a "dirty Yellow" on a black background. Even that cute "Pink" might actually be a a grayish orange-red.The best colors you can steal from is nature. Take a bunch of pictures from outside your apartment/house, or even inside your house, and just drag them to your drawing program.It's mainly just figuring out how and why those colors work together. Never use the default palette from Photoshop and Flash, and never use the same colors (or at least try not to). And it's also personal taste. Maybe you like neutral colors or 80s neon colors! I dunno, figure it out!! I don't know your taste!!There's no easy answer, just try, fail, and learn from it. When I was making backgrounds for my animations, it was all trial and error but mostly just doing it; opening a new file in Photoshop and just goofing around. And on the side just looking at other artists and learning from them.Just do it already!!!! Good luck!

Do you work with a Cintiq?

No I use a Yiynova --> http://frenden.com/post/38693256477/yiynovamsp19u

So I wanted to know if the Yiynova MSP19U LCD tablet is p good since you have one. what r the pros n' cons? Also since it has a screen can i still use my monitor for something else while I draw on the screen of the tablet?

I love mah Yiynova and you totally dual screen. BUT some programs, like Toon Boom, only recognize wacom tablets so i recommend purchasing Lazy Nezumi Pro. It fixes the pen calibration you can use any program you want, at least from my experience. I love my tablet, a great investment compared to a big cintiqFor con, i guess it doesn't have the eraser tip but with key shortcuts and buttons you wont even tell the difference.

What advice would you give to some who is only started learning to animate?? :) I hope you'll answer my question! I love your works tho!

My advice is to just do it. I technically started off as a clean-up artist in my small internship but i didnt animate a single thing until i was doing freelance in 2013. It's literally a trial and error journey. I would finish a freelance animation and analyze the stuff that bothered me. Then i would look at cartoons i liked to study techniques to apply to and hopefully improve my work (ie StoryCorps, Popeye, Aladdin).If you're a single animator then be extremely wise with your time management. Clean-up is the most time-consuming process and you might need to consider limited animation (or even slight tweens) if you're tight on time.AND if you're just starting, do not spend a lot of money. You can find free tutorials online and dig up Macromedia Flash from a site. ToonBoom Animate 3 is around $300 but that's still too much for a beginner.in short: make shitty mistakes and learn from it, be smart with time, don't spend $$$

does animation come easier if you're already an adequate artist?

animation takes EXTREME patience regardless of what kind of artist you are