"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore. It looks
like we're in Danimation Station!" Why, yes. Yes you are. Welcome to
Danimation Station, a place that has little to do with trains, sorry. In all seriousness, I have decided to introduce myself to the
world of animation, and you (and Toto) can come along for the ride! Over the
past few years, I have started to think about what I will do for the rest of my
life. I still haven't figured that out (and probably won't for another 3 or 4
years...), but I have recognized some of my interests, animation included. For
some reason, every time I go to the movies and watch the credits, I kind of
want to have my name on that list of people who helped make the movie possible.
I know it sounds kind of stupid that I would want to be one of the thousands of
people that create one product that lasts only a few hours. Technically I would
be responsible for approximately 3.6 seconds of the movie... But it still
sounds cool to me.
Over the next few weeks, I am going to (or attempt to) create a
short animated film. But before I can do anything, I have to learn HOW to
animate. I watched a youtube video (linked here) that pretty much crash courses through the
basics of Adobe Flash animation, the software I already have on my
computer and seems to be pretty user friendly. I learned how to draw basic lines and squiggles, played around with all the controls and figured out how to layer an image so I can move separate objects around on different paths. Pretty neat! But I also realized how hard this process is actually going to be. I practiced simple motions with my drawing tablet and pen in the picture below, and that's about the most I can do. Its going to be pretty difficult to draw characters over and over...
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Through the next two months, I want to experience everything that a professional goes through
in order to create a movie. I'm going to continue watching videos and reading to help make sure I am actually doing the right thing, technologically or artistically. Once I start actually animating (which will be at the end of next week) is when the problems are going to start. I am planning on finishing an average of 20 seconds every week, which will be difficult since that would actually add up to 480 frames. Next week I will finish my concept art, and my story boarding to get my short film on the road (back to Kansas, Toto?)
Weekly Comments:
Nicole
Catelyn
Jason
Weekly Comments:
Nicole
Catelyn
Jason
Wow, very cool! Do you have any ideas for your story line yet? Do you already have a concrete timeline of what you're going to accomplish each week? What software are you using?
ReplyDeleteThanks Alycia! I'm planning on brainstorming over the next week as I experiment with my tools and see what I am actually capable of. I have a basic outline of what I will achieve each week (will probably mention that in my next blog post), but I need to go full speed ahead right now because its going to be a lot more work than I thought. I think i mentioned it above but I'm going to be using Flash animation software. I have it downloaded onto my computer already from my graphic design class last semester.
DeleteIs it sad that only after reading your post I understand why you called your blog "Danimation"? (because Dani is your name).This topic is really fascinating, and I am soooooo excited to see your end result! Do you know, yet, what you are going to do for your film? I loved your Wizard of Oz references. Have you watched any short animation films as reference? Not educational ones, just ones that pique your interest? How will you measure your progress? Do you have any specific goals for the first week?
ReplyDeleteThanks Jason! As I replied to Alycia, I'm not quite sure what the plot will be for my film. I will have all my brainstorming and planning done in my next post! The one short film that I had in mind when I thought of this idea was Disney's "Paperman". I think I am going to go for that kind of animation style but a lot simpler and shorter.
DeleteOne thing you could start with is drawing short comics! If you start your animation with a comic, you can get used to your characters and how to draw them, as well as being able to lay out your entire story, without having to draw each individual frame, kind of like a rough draft! Of course, once you feel good with that you can take it directly into animation. Out of curiosity, do you have a specific person that you're inspired by? There are some seriously impressive people out there, such as Miyazaki and Walt Disney himself. Who knows, maybe one day you'll find yourself among them!
ReplyDeleteThat is a really good idea! I am sort of doing that in a more simple way through story boarding (I'm going to talk about that in my next post). It basically is like a comic, except each box is the basic angle of where the "camera" will be and where each character is for a few seconds. I don't think I really have one inspiration, I have been fascinated with Disney animation for a long time and now I a really interested in all different types of animated movies!
DeleteAnimating is a very interesting project! I can't wait to see the final product. I am glad that you already have everything set up - the software and your tablet and pen. You mention at the end how long this is going to take, and I think it's great that you already calculated how many frames must be completed per week. You also mention that you want to see yourself in the movie credits, I think it would be pretty cool to see your name in the credits, too!
ReplyDeleteThanks Sam! I am really excited about this project even though it is proving to be very difficult. I've come across a lot more problems than I predicted, but I think I can make it work.
DeleteThis sounds so awesome! Are you going to create a story line and edit it and whatnot as well as creating the animation? Best of luck!
ReplyDeleteAlso, I'm sure your 3.6 seconds would be awesome. 10/10 would watch a 2-hour movie for those 3.6 seconds.
Aww Thanks Catelyn! I am planning on doing everything that goes into creating a movie on a simpler scale (except for sound and dialogue).
DeleteAnimation is really cool! I can't wait to watch the final product! I think this is a really cool way for you to apply your art skills in a new way! Now, I know that you've been saying that you would be brainstorming this week - but do you have any ideas at least of maybe the genre of the story you plan on animating?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Josh! I'm really excited about this! So far I have simplified my technique so I feel like there isn't much art in it... but its okay because I'm focusing on the technical skill/ the basic of making animation, not an award winning short film.
DeleteYour URL/title made me laugh - I love the creativity. I don't think this desire is stupid at all, being an animator(?) is a great dream. Your project sounds a little bit tedious, though. I don't know how fast you can draw 480 images. I loved all the Wizard of Oz references. I bet your end result will be great, and I can't wait to see it.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Yeah, this project is actually starting to stress me out because I am not sure how I am going to get it all done. But I tell myself that I want to experience animation, so it is worth the time investment.
DeleteThis blog is really Dani... I like it!
ReplyDelete