2D Animation tips and tricks

[stringbing-deactivated20210318]

Overshoots and Mini Anticipations lecture from my Complete Introduction to 2D animation package.

https://gumroad.com/l/Introto2DComplete or you can buy each chapters, or my other tutorials: https://gumroad.com/stringbing

[stringbing-deactivated20210318]

Animation smears lecture from Chapter 3 or FULL VERSION of my Complete Introduction to 2D Animation which you can find on https://gumroad.com/stringbing

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animation run cycle notes for my upcoming 2D animation video course package

[grizandnorm]

Tuesday Tips — “It’s An Eyebrow Thing” — A recurring note a story artist may get in the production of an animated feature is to tone down the angry eyes. We all try to draw fast and loose but, in the middle of it all, nuance may escape us for a brief moment. Arched eyebrows and a furrowed brow usually tend to read “angry”, even if we’re trying to express focus or determination. I would even say that, overall, it’s easy to overdo an expression. I’m not saying a pushed expression isn’t exactly what’s needed at the right moment. I’m just saying that the audience literally looks for the character’s expression first when looking at a sketch or panel. Keep that in mind and lure you audience in with slightly more nuanced expressions, until the right extreme expression calls for it. -Norm @grizandnorm #tuesdaytips #100tuesdaytipsbook #arttutorial #arttips #itsaneyebrowthing

[grizandnorm]

Tuesday Tips — Head Space — As an audience, our eyes are mostly tracking the head (and eyes) of the main characters on screen. As filmmakers, it would be a great disservice to not take that info into consideration. For clarity, try to make space around the head of characters on-screens. Too much visual noise around the face interferes with the message, unless that’s the point you’re trying to make make. Also, try your best to maintain the same head screen position when cutting to a new shot with the same characters, whatever type of shot it is. I know how simple this sounds but it’s very easy to forget if you’re not paying attention. -Norm @grizandnorm.com #tuesdaytips #100tuesdaytips #100tuesdaytipsbook #arttips #arttutorial #storyboard #grizandnorm

[grizandnorm]

Tuesday Tips - Embrace The Nose / It’s very easy to take shortcuts when drawing the nose, and honestly, it’s fine most of the time. The nose is right in the center of the face and can unintentionally draw a lot of attention if constructed poorly. But when it’s embraced, it can do wonders. It’s key to track the facial features at odd angles and can bring a ton a personality to a character design. Use it or lose it! -Norm @grizandnorm #100tuesdaytipsbook #100tuesdaytips #tuesdaytips #arttips #arttutorial #embracethenose

[chgreenblatt]

Hello, I was wondering if you have any advice on script writing and storyboarding for animation, I have recently got into script writing and storyboarding and I would really appreciate your advice, thank you.

Whenever you write and/or draw a scene, think about what you’re trying to communicate to the audience. Then after you write it, look at it critically and ask if all the choices help with that communication. Are they entertaining choices? Are they surprising choices? If you cut them out, does the scene work just as well or better? Essentially you have to go in with goals, and then you have to use those goals to critique your work.

That’s why planning helps. An outline, a scene breakdown, or a shot plan can help you not get lost in the minutia. A lot of times when I write, I start with an outline. I break down each scene into what needs to be accomplished. Where do the characters start emotionally and physically? Where do they need to end? What does the audience need to understand?  Then I start writing and drawing roughs. As i write I always ask myself, now how would a character actually react to what just happened or was said? Is there a more surprising reaction that still feels correct? I do different versions of the scene, trying to find the one I think works best. Then I cut it down. That’s basically my process.

[jollylines]

I have a question if you have time! :) how do you make, like, an appealing but "ugly" design? Like obviously there are rich characters to be had in the craggy villians, the misshapen anti-heros etc, but how do you make a crusty old monster appealing without turning them into a bunch of friendly round shapes and destroying their fear-factor? Thank you!!

So first of all - awesome Tangled/Varian art.  hahaha.  WOOHOO A VIEWER.

Secondly, great question.  Artistic appeal is a very different term than “cute” or “attractive.”  It doesn’t hold those connotations, but I think people get tripped up thinking it does because of how we usually use “appeal” colloquially.  Appeal in animation is this kind of nebulous term that essentially boils down to: a design you want to keep looking at.  

Because appeal isn’t synonymous with “cute” or “attractive”, an appealing design doesn’t have to consist of a bunch of friendly, round shapes.  Those shapes maybe make for an appealing sympathetic character, but likely won’t for your typical villain/crone/etc.  One of the key components to appealing design across the board is a mixture of curves and straights - rounds and sharps.  That mixture creates a rhythm and flow when you look at a design, telling the eye where to rest and where to speed up and where to focus.  To paint with a broad figurative brush here, your villainous characters would have a higher percentage of straights than your sweet, charming sidekick characters, BUT the villain wouldn’t be devoid of curves.  And because the villain would have some of those curves mixed in, she would likely have more visual appeal.  

If you look at my Mrs. Peacock design, she’s older, she’s kind of sinister, but she’s not un-viewable.  haha.  You still want to look at her (OR I HOPE SO).  Her basic facial construction consists of a flat jawline, flat sides of her hair, sharper cheekbones, eyelashes that are straight and then fork out.  BUT her lips have some curves, so does the top of her hair, so does her costume, and even where the flat planes of her face meet each other, they curve into each other versus just meet at a point.  Those secondary curves soften her just enough and give her enough visual interest that she still reads as not-nice AND holds onto appeal.  

It’s a BIG topic.  I could literally devote a whole class to it.  Actually, I have before.  HAHA.  But I hope that gives you some good direction to start out.  

[sketchbook-wizard]

UPDATED 1/25/18 - SEE BOTTOM FOR UPDATE

Hi! To begin, I want to make note that I’m not a recruiter nor am I familiar with what each department is looking for exactly, as each area is bound to be different and I’m located in Publishing.

What I can do however, is point you in the direction of some resources you might find helpful. I will also include things I learned/saw as I was going through school, and looking for work and what helped me get found as an artist.

To cut to the chase, here’s the application guidelines for Walt Disney Animation.  (Link Broken - See update 1/25/18 below)

Now, their submissions page is pretty awesome because it’s very clear and concise. They outline what they want, how they want to see it, and even suggest what you should be submitting based on several types of jobs you might be applying to.

For example, to quote their application guidelines page:

“Reel and Portfolio Formats

Your submission should represent your skill set and representative process samples such as sketches, gray scale models and/or works in progress.

 ·        Modelers should include wire frames and turnarounds.

 ·        Riggers should display tool sets.

 ·        Animators should include a variety of physical movements and actions, but must include facial animation.

·        Look Development should include texture paints, maps and the final look, if applicable.

 ·        Story and Visual Development Artists should present sketchbook samples as well as finished compositions.

 Life drawings are not required, but preferred for all submissions. We ask that you not show work currently in production and/or under confidential guidelines at other studios or companies. We understand that this may limit the showcase of your capabilities. If this is your situation, we recommend that your submission display only the work available to the public with an indication that a later submission will be provided once approved or released.”

I suggest heading over and reading the full page to get more info.

As for what to include in flat portfolios, that depends again on who you’re applying to, what job you’re applying for, and what they have asked to see.

Life drawings are common to include as they can show how you handle form and mass as well as weight and a line of motion/line of action. If you want to see some good examples of life drawing, a webpage called ‘The Unofficial Disney Animation Archive’ seems to have an older copy of the ‘Walt Disney Feature Animation Sample Portfolio for Animation Internships’ on their page.

I’ve been to two schools (One for a BFA in Animation and one for a MFA in Computer Animation), had different professors/instructors, and dealt with putting together portfolios (for job hunting) on many occasions. Different types of portfolios I’ve put together included flat work, character design, backgrounds, storyboards, and in some occasions demo reels for both animation, as well as modeling/texture work.

If you’re applying to a particular job, you should make the portfolio for that job posting (especially if they come right out and tell you what they are looking for).

Essentially and ultimately, you want a nice, professional portfolio. Something clean, easy to view, and showcases only your finest work. If you’re putting together your portfolio and you’re feeling iffy about a piece, ask for an opinion from another artist, or exclude the piece if you feel it’s not your best work. My best pal Kyle has seen my portfolio countless times over the years as I finished school and began applying for work. He never sugarcoated anything and readily told me when I should leave something out and what I might want to think about including. That was the most helpful for me, as it helped me make sure I was submitting only my best work. If you don’t think you know anyone who would be able to take a look at your portfolio, there are a lot of art forums, online clubs, and webpages where you can share your portfolio and get feedback. Excuses are for silly gooses and you rock, so go get em! :D

Here are some things I’ve found that have been excessively helpful in making a portfolio and applying:

Read the application requirements for requirements (both of the format for submission, and for any requests on the content). Often, a studio or company will outline specifically what they want for a portfolio submitted. It could be just a demo reel (no flatbook), just a flatbook, both a reel and flatbook, or it could even be just digital files in a specific format. If they ask for something particular, you should give them what they ask for. The same goes for schools. They will often tell you what kind of examples they want to see. Same goes for what they don’t want to see. If they come right out and tell you “No Sci-Fi” or “No Superheroes” then don’t include that. A lot of simple mistakes can be avoided by reading their requirements.

Make each page identifiable. Put your name and your contact email on it. You can do this and still keep your portfolio looking good. Plus, if something happens and pages are separated or someone takes a page to show someone else (you never know!) having your information on there ensures they know whose work they’re looking at.

I’ve gone down the road of having portfolios printed out and bound. I found that frankly to be the biggest waste of time ever. You’re an artist. You’re always creating new work, and you’re doing yourself a huge disservice by locking yourself in to a set portfolio. Besides not being able to include your newest (and better) work, you can’t really fit the portfolio to the application. My recommendation would be to first see what kind of presentation they’re looking for and then putting something together using a book you can slip pages into. Now, this won’t always work as some places I’ve applied to have specifically requested “no portfolios made with the plastic pages that you slip the work into”, or “no binders”, but in most instances, that’s not the case. First and foremost, send them what they ask for. Just make sure you have a way to keep your portfolio UPDATE AND CURRENT. Like I said—you’re always making stuff. Make sure you show off how good you’re getting!

  Proofread everything. Absolutely everything. Your resume, your portfolio (especially if you include descriptions on pages), your business card, and your portfolio webpage (if you have one). You would be surprised at how easy it is to make little mistakes and misspellings. You would also be surprised at how easy it is to avoid them. It never hurts to have a friend or relative read through it just to see what they think and to see if they catch any mistakes you might have missed.

Online portfolios. U GOT ONE? I hope so! I cannot stress enough how important it is to have an online portfolio especially in this day and age. There are so many wonderful freebies and low cost options out there, and you have a lot of resources to make a super excellent rad portfolio! There are a lot of pros to having an online portfolio:

It’s extremely easy to keep your work updated with your best material! Made something new? ROCK ON AND SHOW IT OFF!

It’s super fast and easy to submit work! Many companies now accept online portfolio links. It’s quick, and easy to send them your portfolio, and get the jump on a new job posting if they accept your work as a link (or even uploaded as a portfolio PDF and such).

You never know who might see your work. Omigosh! That’s a great thing because sometimes a job comes to you! How do I know? That’s how I got my dream job. My work was seen online, and I was hired as freelance. That led to my full time job with Disney. More of a reason to have yourself a nice portfolio online!

With online portfolios, if you’re into big fancy pages with special features and such (or that’s the job you’re angling to get work in!) then you can have that, but if you can’t make that—don’t worry!  A nice clean simple and concise portfolio can be just as powerful! Your work should do the talking. The same goes for an actual portfolio—don’t gotta go overboard with fancy frills to make a good impression :)

As for “How can one make their portfolio stand out?” That can depend. A fair bit of what I mentioned above is important. You will want to submit only your best work, and what you are most proud of. Your portfolio is a representation of what you do, and ultimately who you are. Are you serious about the work you do? Are you more lackadaisical about it? Your portfolio is a very important impression, both as an application sent off, as well as in person.

A lot can go into the production of portfolios and I’ve seen things all over the board concerning how they’re done. We would see portfolios all the time at school. Professors would show them to us as examples. We would see our classmates’ portfolios and we would see professional portfolios. All sorts of portfolios. I have also seen a lot of them when I visit conventions like Siggraph and CTNX. Walking around, I’d meet people and we would show each other our work. Walking around the job/talent fairs will also lead to you seeing a lot of different portfolios. They’re all different.

 Standing out can be a double-edged sword. If you’re not careful, it might backfire.

The Art Career Project has some great tips on ‘How To Create The Best Art Portfolio’ and include things you should look into doing, as well as things you should avoid.

They make note of how things can work against you if you try too hard to stand out. I’ve seen a fair share of portfolios where people try too hard and get gimmicky and it works against them. Read up on their great suggestions and keep them in mind as you start selecting pieces for your portfolio.

As for your own work, Brenda Chapman posted on her blog about how you can make your portfolio stand out. She elaborates on some things you can include in your portfolio for work as well as makes note of standing out by showing them who you are through your work.

Ultimately, there’s a lot you can do with your portfolio and plenty of room for you to make it your own. Your work, presented well, can go a long way to stand out. The rest is up to you as you create your art and build up a body of work to include in the portfolio.

I hope this helps! Feel free to ask me anything if I might have left something out :D

Update: It looks like Walt Disney Animation Studios updated their Application Guidelines page this week, and it looks like more information might have been added! Awesome!

UPDATE 1/25/18: The earlier link for Portfolio/Application guidelines seems to be broken as they’ve updated the page, so here’s some updated links that you will find helpful:

Walt Disney Animation Application Guidelines and Portfolio/Reel Tips

When you visit this page, scroll down to the Portfolio selection and click the list on the right hand side. You will see bubbles pop up with the various things they want to see in your portfolio based on what focus you are applying for. Here, I clicked on STORY and a helpful bubble popped up. Go check it out HERE and I hope this helps you out!

[sketchbook-wizard]

I have updated this with the new link to the Disney Animation Application Guidelines & Portfolio/Reel tips! I hope this helps!

[stringbing-deactivated20210318]

Head rotation tips - recorded a demo for my upcoming Intro to 2D Animation Tutorial Package. I talk about flipping, tracking techniques and utilizing arcs to maintain solid drawing.

[stringbing-deactivated20210318]

Pose to Pose and Straight Ahead explanation, along with combo. Material coming soon for my upcoming 2D animation tutorial package.

[danaterrace]

Hey Dana. I was wondering if you have any plans to develop and pitch a show of your own. If you do, what advice do you have for people who want to create their own show?

I did have plans to pitch a show. And I pitched it! And Disney bought it! And now I’m developing that show! It’s difficult and exciting ESPECIALLY because I’m doing all this for the first time. I hope I can show some images someday!

If I were to give one piece of advice to past me, it’d be to get comfortable writing entertaining scripts. As a showrunner the most important thing will be The Show, and 90% of The Show comes from The Writing. It’s difficult to find writers who will 100% understand your vision but if that’s an area you’re comfortable in you’ll never be an dire straits. I had never professionally written a script before my pilot. If I did maybe that part wouldn’t have been as stressful at the time haha. 

But let’s say you’re already good there. You’re good everywhere! 

How to pitch a thing! I used to love making “pitch books” as a kid, though I had no idea that’s what I was doing. It was just fun to develop worlds and characters! So even if you’re in HS or younger, making “pitch books” is a great way to spend your time and practice for the future. So get to it! Here’s just one format you can try: 

1. Cover page with short description of show and a fun image of your main character!

2. ½-1 full page describing your main character/s! (Don’t start with exhaustive explanations about the world, or any legends, or w/e, we’re here bc we want to connect with a character).

3. A couple pages with any other important characters you may have!

4. A page describing the most important relationships between your main character/s and others!

5. Simple 1 page description on how your world works! If it’s too complicated to get on one page, SIMPLIFY! Even the most complicated ideas can be pitched in 1-2 sentences. 

6. Important places! The main characters house? The bad guy’s castle? Stuff like that. 

7. Give em a couple episode examples! That’s where your show comes together, after all. 

And you’re done!

Fill your pitch book with fun images that show off your characters and your world! You don’t have to follow this format exactly, it’s your show, your pitch, do whatever you think will show off your ideas best. If you’re making an epic you might want to dedicate a page to where you want the show to go, and how the characters will evolve. Everything depends on what you want to make. But above all: Make it interesting to read!!! Make it fun to look at!!! Boredom is your enemy, fight against it!!!!

Are my exclamation points making this easier to understand? GREAT!!!!!

Now get out there and pitch some things cause I want new shows to watch.

[sketchbook-wizard]

Wisdom!

[animationtidbitz]

How We Crafted A Mythical World For Song Of The Sea

And 11 other creator stories. Be the first to know when the campaign for a brand new artbook launches and earn a free copy

This spring you’ll get a chance to explore 200 pages of artwork-filled stories in an innovative artbook format. January 6 Craft will launch a Kickstarter campaign to bring you and every other student, fan and professional, stories from awesome indie projects.

12 artists from award winning projects in animation, game design and illustration each share learnings from their process through 12 pages. Every story is told in a way, so that you can apply the learnings for your own projects. By signing up here you’ll be the first to know (so you can make sure to get the Early Fish price). In addition, by signing up now you get a chance of winning a free copy, shipping included. You’ll receive no other emails than absolutely necessary.

[grizandnorm]

Tuesday Tips - The Mask Helps to figure out the shape of eyes in perspective by thinking of its surrounding area instead of guessing it. -Norm #tuesdaytips #100tuesdaytips #grizandnorm #themask #drawingtutorial #drawingtips #arttutorial

[grizandnorm]

Tuesday Tips - With a Twist! Add some vitality to a pose by twisting parts of the body. A little or a lot. Give it a shot. #Norm #100tuesdaytips #WithATwist #grizandnorm #arttips #arttutorial

[animationtidbitz]

How We Crafted A Mythical World For Song Of The Sea

And 11 other creator stories. Be the first to know when the campaign for a brand new artbook launches and earn a free copy

This spring you’ll get a chance to explore 200 pages of artwork-filled stories in an innovative artbook format. January 6 Craft will launch a Kickstarter campaign to bring you and every other student, fan and professional, stories from awesome indie projects.

12 artists from award winning projects in animation, game design and illustration each share learnings from their process through 12 pages. Every story is told in a way, so that you can apply the learnings for your own projects. By signing up here you’ll be the first to know (so you can make sure to get the Early Fish price). In addition, by signing up now you get a chance of winning a free copy, shipping included. You’ll receive no other emails than absolutely necessary.

[animationtidbitz]

How We Crafted A Mythical World For Song Of The Sea

And 11 other creator stories. Be the first to know when the campaign for a brand new artbook launches and earn a free copy

This spring you'll get a chance to explore 200 pages of artwork-filled stories in an innovative artbook format. January 6 Craft will launch a Kickstarter campaign to bring you and every other student, fan and professional, stories from awesome indie projects.

12 artists from award winning projects in animation, game design and illustration each share learnings from their process through 12 pages. Every story is told in a way, so that you can apply the learnings for your own projects. By signing up here you'll be the first to know (so you can make sure to get the Early Fish price). In addition, by signing up now you get a chance of winning a free copy, shipping included. You'll receive no other emails than absolutely necessary.