References, Guides, and Advice

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[animationhelp]

ANIMATION EXERCISES

Some of these exercises you may have done or seen before; some maybe not. Consider doing each of them, even if you did once previously, because returning to an old exercise to see how much you’ve progressed is a very valuable experience.

Level 1 Exercises

(Do not discount their simplicity! Here you have the principals of animation, which all other animation is built on. They are worth your time and effort.)

Ball Bouncing in place, no decay (loop)

Ball Bouncing across the screen

Brick falling from a shelf onto the ground

Simple character head turn

Character head turn with anticipation

Character blinking

Character thinking [tougher than it sounds!]

Flour Sack waving (loop)

Flour Sack jumping

Flour Sack falling (loop or hitting the ground)

Flour Sack kicking a ball

Level 2 Exercises

Change in Character emotion (happy to sad, sad to angry, etc.)

Character jumping over a gap

Standing up (from a chair)

Walk Cycle [oldie but goodie!]

Character on a pogo stick (loop)

Laughing

Sneezing

Reaching for an object on a shelf overhead

Quick motion smear/blur

Taking a deep breath [also tougher than it sounds!]

A tree falling

Character being hit by something simple (ball, brick, book)

Run Cycle

Level 3 Exercises

Close up of open hand closing into fist

Close up of hand picking up a small object

Character lifting a heavy object (with purpose!)

Overlapping action (puffy hair, floppy ears, tail)

Character painting

Hammering a nail

Stirring a soup pot and tasting from a spoon

Character blowing up a balloon

Character juggling (loop)

Scared character peering around a corner

Starting to say something but unsure of how[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HKUYxntqJo&feature=share&list=UU95Mk4lN3KRGNgorYg3G8_A[/youtube]

Zipping up a jacket

Licking and sealing an envelope

Standing up (from the ground)

Pressing an elevator button and waiting for it

Level 4 Exercises

Character eating a cupcake

Object falling into a body of water

Two characters playing tug-of-war

Character dealing a deck of cards out

The full process of brushing one’s teeth

A single piece of paper dropping through the air

Run across screen with change in direction

Sleeping character startled by alarm then returning to sleepy state

Opening a cupboard and removing something inside

Putting on a pair of pants

Opening the “world’s best gift” and reacting

Any of the above exercises using a very heavy character/object next to a very light character/object. Enhance the differences the weight change makes!

Things to keep in mind:

Reading these exercises will do as much for you as reading about push-ups would do for your physical muscles: NOTHING. If you want the benefit, you must animate them. Take a deep breath and just do it.

Do not forget the famous words of Ollie Johnston: “You’re not supposed to animate drawings [3D models]. You’re supposed to animate feelings.” If a character isn’t thinking, they aren’t alive, and the animation has failed.

Keep it simple! There is no reason to over complicate any of these exercises. Going back to push-ups, would push-ups be harder if while doing them you also recited the Gettysburg Address? Yes. Would they be any more beneficial? No. Keep things nice and simple and clear.

Do your best. There is no reason to do these exercises poorly. Give it your all. You don’t have to show anyone, these are for you. You owe it to yourself to try your very best. Something not quite right? Take the time to fix it.

As always, have fun. Push ups are not fun. Animation is supposed to be. Be joyful in your work!

[gingercatsneeze]

1. Ah Fai was a chief animator for McDull’s animated features. He’s super cool. Ultimate senpai. 

2. Previous post on breakdowns right here 

Some thoughts on acceleration and force

I presented this in the order of how I slowly understood the trick of delivering force - first an abstract concept of impact taught by Ah Fai, then a more complicated discovery on the acceleration pattern, last back to a more abstract concept of breakdowns. 

Like I’ve previously stressed, 2D animation is everything but one single approach. There’s no one rule that rules them all, but interchangeable ideas with math, or physics, or music, etc. There’s no “perfect” animation either, but what is perceived as organic and dynamic. E.g., using the Fibonacci numbers to animate didn’t bring me a perfect animation! On the other hand, a tiny change in the pattern could already make the feeling of force so much more powerful. 

Not so much of a tutorial than a personal experience. I hope you find this interesting hahaha 

[ichi-matsus]

20 things you can expect as a traditional (2D) animation student that they never tell you:

you will love your rough drawings more than your clean

if you don’t flip your drawings your teachers will know. oh they will know.

you will draw an insane amount of detail at first in hopes to impress your teachers. don’t. they’ll get you to inbetween that shit and it’s not fun. trust me, there’s a reason successful cartoon shows have nice, simple, clean designs.

line weight is hella important. as is colour theory.

storyboarding is not easy. it’s actually in demand rn because of how time consuming/difficult it is. lots of fun though especially if you’re a creative person.

the animator’s survival kit is your bible. doesn’t matter that thing weighs as much as a small child. take that shit with you everywhere. it is now your baby.

glen keane is considered a deity amongst animators.

your teachers will likely look hella young but irl be much much older. this seems to be a side effect of working in kid’s shows for over 10 years. it is a good thing.

every animator knows the impending dread of deadlines. yes, this includes your teachers. it is likely many of them will be working at studios/their own projects the same time as teaching. that is why they are immortal and their wisdom incomparable.

 speaking of deadlines, say goodbye to a regular sleeping pattern and balanced lifestyle

if your wrist starts to ache like a bitch then start drawing more with your shoulder. loosey goosey baby. loosey goosey.

life drawing is essential. don’t skip that shit. anatomy is important. even if your character has six arms and five eyes you still need to be able to make them move.

you are regarded as a dying breed amongst the 3d kids. that’s ok. give them a pencil and paper and ask them to animate a 4 legged walk cycle traditionally. see what happens.

however if you’re anything like me, maya will look like a foreign language to you.

srsly wtf is maya? what sacrifice to the animation gods must i make to understand this program?

watching your favourite cartoons and animated movies regularly is important not only to motivate but is essential bonding time with your classmates. only now everyone wants to talk about how beautiful the backgrounds in steven universe are as well as cry over the character designs.

perspective is hard. period.

there is always that one kid in class who’s already done their 10,000 drawings and are untouchable. those are the ones to sit near in the hopes you can try and get some of that raw talent to rub off onto you.

coffee/energy drinks/sugar will rise to the top of your already crumbling food pyramid.

you improve lots. and some days something will just click and all of a sudden you’re firing out 40 frames an hour. 

and finally no. 21 the most important thing of all: bring a blanket and something squishy to sleep on and leave them at school. there will be emergency nap times. sometimes weekly. sometimes daily.

[s0ffia]

websites:

Animation World Network

Animation Backgrounds

Animation Magazine

Animation & CGI

Animator Island

Anime News Network

Cartoon Brew

Character Design References

On Animation

Reference! Reference! (free database for animation)

11 Second Club (monthly character animation competition)

tumblr blogs:

animationart

animationforce

animationtidbits

aspiretoanimate

calartscharacteranimation

disney-moments-sketches (Allen Ostergar’s blog, animator at Walt Disney)

drawingforsuckas

fuckyeahconceptart

storyboardresources

theanimationarchive

theartofanimation

wannabeanimator

resources/tips:

Animation schools: 1 / 2 (Top 50 USA) / 3 (Top 100 international)

Which animation school is right for you? (Ringling vs. CalArts)

Don’t want to/ can’t afford art school? you’ve got other options.

Animation Mentor: The online animation school

Art school exercises!!

51 Great Animation exercises

20 things you can expect as a traditional (2D) animation student that they never tell you

A Survivor’s Guide to Life Inside an Animation Studio

Animation basics: The art of timing and spacing

Animation Notes From Ollie Johnston

Animated chart of the basic principles of animation

10 Second tip: Always Anticipate

book: Animation: Learn How to Draw Animated Cartoons by Preston Blair

book: A System for Planning and Timing Animation by Glen Keane

book: Timing for animation by Harold Whitaker and John Halas

book: Gesture Drawing for animation by Walt Stanchfield

Basic 3D Animation Terminology

Digital pencil test!!

Keys to Emotion in Animation

Lessons from Disney’s Zootopia

Model Sheets central

The importance of Acting in Animation by Segio Pablos

Printable exposure/dope sheet

Phoneme Chart

Recommended reading for animation students and enthusiasts

The 5 Types of Animation

The Know-How of Cartooning 

The Unofficial Truth about The Animation Industry

Why Disney Sends Its Animators To Life Drawing Classes

Walk/Run Cycles reference

What is Pixar looking for in Animators? (scroll down)

Portfolio Advice for The Disney Animation Internship

What is Rigging?

3D Rigging Terminology

3D Modeling Terminology

tutorials:

Animation for Beginners: Where do I start

Animation Physics (Video tutorials on physics for animation artists)

Animation tutorial part. 1 AKA “the secret of animation”

Appealing Poses in Animation

Background & Movement in TV

Blinking tips

Breakdown tutorial (middle frame between to keys)

Drawing & Composition for visual storytelling

Drawing for Animation

Drawing a Likeness

Animation fundamentals + tutorials

Filmmaking: Composition and Framing

Getting Shape Change

How to animate using photoshop

How to animate Characters in Perspective

How to Animate Head Turns

How to Draw Gesture

OpeenToonz tutorials masterpost

Overlapping Action and Drag

Portfolio tips / Making A Successful Portfolio

Lyp Sync tutorial

Line of action

Basics of good cartooning 1-12 by Sherm Cohen

Squash & Stretch tutorial

Squash and Stretch 2

Storyboarding tutorials by Sherm Cohen

The Illusion of Life: 12 Principles of Animation

Tilt, Flow & Rhythm

Underlying Structure When Animating Expressions

TVPaint tutorial: Uploading and Coloring Scanned Animation

supplies (traditional animation):

10 Essential Art Supplies for the Traditional Animator

How to Use a Light Table for Animation

Making a Simple Animation Lightbox

Peg bars, Animation Disk & Desk

softwares:

free

Blender (3D creation suite. It supports the entirety of the 3D pipeline: modeling, rigging, animation,etc)

Emofuri (animate using .psd files)

Google Sketchup (

Live2D ( animation/drawing software

OpenToonz (Studio Ghibli’s open source animation software)

Pencil2D (create traditional hand-drawn animation (cartoon) using both bitmap and vector graphics)

Renderman (Pixar’s free 3D rendering software)

Sculptris (Free digital sculpting tool by the makers of Zbrush

SculptGL (Online modelling program)

Synfig (2d animation using a vector and bitmap artwork)

paid

Zbrush (digital sculpting sw by Pixologic)

Mudbox (digital sculpting sw by Autodesk)

Cinema 4D (digital sculpting sw by Maxon)

TVPaint  (2d animation)

animation studios:

Aardman (Bristol, UK)

Blue Sky Studios (Greenwich, USA)

Dreamworks (Glendale, USA)

Fox Animation (USA)

Imagination Studios/CN (Burbank, USA)

Industrial Light & Magic (San Francisco, USA)

Laika (Hillsboro, USA)

Luma Pictures (USA / Melbourne, Australia)

Nickelodeon Animation (Burbank, USA)

Pixar (Emeryville, CA)

Rise FX (Berlin, Germany)

Studio Ghibli (Tokyo, Japan)

Sony Picture Imageworks (Vancouver, Canada)

Sony Pictures Animation (Culver City, CA)

Walt Disney Animation (Burbank, CA)

Weta Digital (Wellington, New Zealand)

inspiration: worth watching short films

Coda by and maps and plans

Contre Temps by the Contre Temps Team

Duet by Glen Keane

DOG ENVY by Olivia Huynh

Fallin Floyd by  il Luster

French Roast

Gravity by Ailin Liu

In Between by Gobelins

Jinxy Jenkins and Lucky Lou by Michael Bidinger and Michelle Kwon

My Big Brother by Jason Rayner

Night Light by Qing Han

Nephtali by Glen Keane

Nocturne by Kari Casady

Historia de un Oso by Gabriel Osorio

Home Sweet Home  by home sweet home the film

One Bright Dot by  Clément Morin

Stickboy by Giant Ant

SOAR by Alyce Tzue

Tsunami by The Animation Workshop

Thought of You by Ryan Woodward

Vagabond by  The Animation Workshop

5 Gobelins Shorts That Pay Tribute To Women Animation Pioneers