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I have been reading and practicing for the last 2 weeks. now i really want to help you improve. I'm not an expert. i think that i have some concepts that will help YOU.
about half of these concepts shared have been read out of a book or learned out of 4 years in animation. i have a great selection of books for you to read that will help you out a bunch! i will introduce them now:
THE ANIMATORS SURVIVAL KIT
-i STRONGLY recomend this book for EVERYONE you should really get this book!
- this must have been one of the most helpful books i have read on animation so far! it not only teaches you how animation works. but it also teaches you how to make it interesting but also how to make it look realistic.i have learned about many things from this book. just remember that the best way to get these books is to check them out from your local library! if you look around long enough you may find even more books on aniamtion/art! if you do find a good book you recomend to me i will read it and mabye put it here.
ANIMATION UNLEASHED
-100 principals Every animator,comic book writer,filmmaker,video artist and game developer should know
-this book helped ALOT it taught me about story telling elements, analogys,animation techniques,timing and special effects. you NEED to read this book if you are a beggining animator or even an expert.
"Make your animation say what you want it to say. Animation's potential as a powerful tool for communication is just beginning to be understood. This book reveals key principles, useful for both professionals and beginners, which will help you harness the full power of this exciting and ever expanding medium."
Animation: the whole story
-this book not only teaches you the whole story of animation but also tells you all about what is in the world of animation! a great guide for everyone.
-"Animation professor Beckerman shares his insights and legacy in ANIMATION: THE WHOLE STORY - a discussion of what makes good and bad animation. Beckerman worked as a classic animator for over forty years, hand-drawing thousands of characters: chapters discuss everything from story lines and action scenes to directing tips."
Macromedia Flash 8 For Dummies
-a great book if you want to learn how to use flash 8 (or higher) alot faster! even if you have used flash for a very, very long time you will learn alot of helpful things you probably dident know flash could do (like did you know if your gragging an object with a selection tool you can turn the object into a stamp? i dident!)
-there are also higher or lower versions of flash but flash 8 is the most common ;) try out: flash cs3 for dummies and Macromedia Flash MX 2004 for Dummies
more books to read
if you have read these books and think that you cant find anymore check your local library website.
if you have read a great book on this subject tell me about it! i would love to read it.
EVEN MORE BOOKS TO READ
here are some books for you to read that i dident want to bother reviewing.
-The animation book
-the animators workbook
-cartoon animation
-timing for animation
-The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation
-So You Want to Work in Animation & Special Effects?
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VIDEO TUTORIAL
i have also made a small video that shows you what i do when i animate a simple cartoon.
teaches you about:
-easing (gradual speeding up and slowing down)
-quick ways to make production go by faster( like instead of drawing things many times over just make it a symbol)
-and more little fun facts as the video goes along
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MORE TUTORIALS ONLINE
want to learn more stuff? check out these links:
-newgrounds tutorial collection
-actionscript main
-ABS tutorial section
-tutorialized.com (flash section)
-angry animator tutorials
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CONCEPT 1:learn to draw!
- im not the best artist ever. and thats what is holding me back the most! if you want to animate your little cartoon cvharecter you made. or you want to animate regular humans. or even stick men! you need to be able to draw them in every angle and in every pose! before you animate 1 frame i recomend you make a whole 2 pages of just drawings of your new charecter! its no goood just being able to draw it in profile.
-another thing is that if you ever want to work with disney you should be able to draw realistically. because everythign below that will be a peice of cake!
say you got hired to be an animator for king of the hill. would you be able to do it?
CONCEPT 2 :get the mirror out!
-if you want you try out a movement that you have never animated before get in front of a mirror (or even video camera if you want) and do the movement many times in front of it. if you have a video camera you can even play it in slow motion. but you can just act out the slow motion if you want.
-i remember when i was 10 years old and i wanted to learn how to do a walk cycle. (this was before i had internet!) i was the only person i knew who animated. i decided i would study how i walk. so i walked in front of my fairly big mirror in my bathroom over and over again until i was sure how to do it!
CONCEPT 3 :easing. speeding up and slowing down
-are you having the problem of your animation looking like this? it looks like hes not alive and is just a robot.here is the same movement but fixed with easing. want to know what was wrong? when the motion started it started at its highest speed. real things start slow then speed up. and the slows down when it gets near the destination. heres what i mean.in the wrong one the ball just starts moving. while in the right one the ball starts off slow then speeds up. both loops are the same length in the end though.
-there are SOME times where easing is not needed. like when the moving object is a robot. or when a crazy driver hits a wall with a car.
CONCEPT 4 :anticipation
-this is a tad hard to explain. so i will be a cheater and quote a bit from animation unleashed.
-"A main action always begins with a counter move in the opposite direction this preperatory movement is called anticipation"
-anticipation is like storing energy for a hard release. like how before someone punches they pull their fist back and then swing. the most important part of anticipation is that it is ALWAYS in the opposite direction of the action. and anticipation is always proportionate to the action. so if its a small action you will need almost no anticipation. but a bigger action needs a big anticipation .
CONCEPT 5 :practice makes perfect!
-i know, i know! everyone says it, but i want to enforce it!
-if you are discouraged because you arent as good as so and so or you stopped animating for a long time and now your rusty. you need to never give up! some people are fast learners, or some people have practiced longer than you, and some people are born with talent. if you arent THATS FINE! because as long as you are trying your hardest and you are determined to be the best. you will be the best you can be!
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ok, i have written for a long time. and done alot of research. i REALLY hope i have pointed you t oa good book or given you a good link or taught you something you dident know. but if you dissagree with ANY of this stuff please tell me imidiately.
-if you need any specific help please PM me or leave a comment or email me at farfenwafle@gmail.com
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please please PLEASE tell me any concepts you know. or tell me any helpful information.(it seems fair after all this work i have done)
