Animation Instructor

A Personal Animation: The Story of a Nice Girl

2011-12-05T15:40:00.000-08:00

A great example of a personal story in animation. Done as a senior thesis and submitted to Cartoon Brew's Student Animation Contest. Read the animator's comments about making this at Carton Brew.

Inside look at Pixar Studio - Video

2011-03-29T07:43:00.000-07:00

The New York Times presents an inside look at Pixar Studios.

Ghost Whisperer claymation demo

2011-03-28T08:33:00.000-07:00

Miles Kalbach explains the process he used on claymation promo for the television show Ghost Whisperer. Check out his website for more examples of his work. He created the stop-motion music videos for Trapt and Coldplay.

Don Bluth Animation Academy

2011-02-07T15:36:00.000-08:00

Don Bluth Animation Academy has a very nice (but not well designed) web site that features the animation process used by Bluth.

Stop-Motion Short Films

2010-11-16T10:23:00.000-08:00

The following short films are listed in Google Creative Labs 106 Creative Things on the Internet.

Nokia Dot

The Making of Nokia Dot

Cal Arts Lecture Notes

2010-11-01T09:17:00.000-07:00

See the lecture notes of a presentation made by storyboard artist Mark Kennedy for a talk at CalArts. Kennedy has an interesting blog that is worth following.

Carrara 7 Manual

2010-07-31T18:26:00.000-07:00

Because the Carrara 8 manual is not yet released as of this writing. You can find the version 7 manual here.

Animation Playhouse - Carrara Tutorials

2010-07-30T18:17:00.000-07:00

The Animation Playhouse is a website for those interested in character animation using Carrara and Daz Studio. It is a place to find tutorials for Carrara.

They also occasionally post contests with links to the winners.

Daz 3D Studio - Free figure animation software

2010-01-26T10:47:00.000-08:00

Daz 3D Studio is a free, feature rich 3D figure design and 3D animation tool that enables anyone to create stunning digital imagery. This is the perfect tool to design unique digital art and animation using virtual people, animals, props, vehicles, accessories, environments and more. Simply select your subject and/or setting, arrange accessories, setup lighting, and begin creating beautiful artwork. This company makes their money by selling 3D models that others design. It has limitations in that it is designed primarily for characters, but is one of the easiest to learn.

The company that makes DAZ Studio also makes a relatively inexpensive and easy to learn 3-D application Carrara. The Carrara 3D Express version can be purchased at a student discount for $34.95 – this is an excellent choice for someone willing to spend a little money.

Posemaniacs - Figure drawing website

2010-01-13T15:45:00.000-08:00

Can't attend a figure drawing class? Posemaniacs is a website designed to aid in figure drawing. The models are presented without skin, to show musculature. It has a nice feature called 30 second drawing, which changes the pose every 30 seconds. They also offer a free iPhone App with a similar features.

Audacity - Free audio editing and recording software

2009-12-26T21:43:00.000-08:00

Audacity is free open source software for recording and editing sounds on both the Mac and PC. (Mac users can also use GarageBand, which comes on their computer for free. Audacity has more features, including multiple tracks, but requires more time to learn.) The Audacity website has a good tutorial page.

Celtx - Free scriptwriting software

2009-12-24T09:04:00.000-08:00

Celtx is free scriptwriting software for both the Mac and PC. This software formats your script following the industry guidelines. The general rule is that one page of script equals about one minute of screen time if you follow the proper format.

Planning your animation project

2009-12-23T11:38:00.000-08:00

Understand that a successful animation project requires a lot of advance planning. Creating an animation is a commitment to many hours of labor. The work can be an individual effort, but there are benefits to making it a team effort. See if you can work with others to create a winning entry.

The steps to making an animated short film:

Brainstorm different story ideas

Ask yourself, “Is this entertaining?”
Does it have “a moral to the story?”

Draw out rough sketches of characters and backgrounds. If you are doing a 3D project, do a search for pre-made models and backgrounds you can use.

Write a script

Make sure it has a beginning, middle and end.
Create characters that are interesting
Keep your story short. Three minutes or less is best.

Storyboard

Either sketch out each scene or use a software program like MovieStorm.
Make sure you use Long Shots, Medium Shots and Close-Ups. Beginners often frame everything as a Long Shot.

Record audio tracks

Cast actors to create character voices (if needed).

Compose or select music

Music adds an important emotional dimension, make sure it fits and doesn’t distract.

Create or find the right sound effects

Sound effects include things like the sound of a ringing phone.
Ambient noise from the environment, such as the sound of the room is very important.
Foley is the sound made by the characters. This includes footsteps, objects being handled and the rustling of clothing.

Mix all the audio tracks

The audio track is typically completed first and then the animation is timed to fit it.

Time out the action and the number of frames needed for each shot

In video there are 30 frames a second.
For claymation your should shoot 10 frames a second. One minute will equal 600 photos.

Animate

Edit

Promote your work

Submit it to a youth film festival.
Upload it to YouTube.