tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-319852092026-04-10T22:23:06.754+09:30South Australian Artist, Writer, Video Producer and Animator, David Arandle working under the pseudonym 'The Extraordinary Tourist' or 'TET' for short blogs about his own animation projects as well as animation and video resources, reviews, how to's, tips, and advice for independent/hobby animators on a budget, focusing on low cost and free tools.TET (David Arandle)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10017963548130964043noreply@blogger.comBlogger484125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31985209.post-55278544572410384902026-03-20T18:00:00.001+10:302026-03-20T18:00:40.102+10:30

An unlikely pair of Space Cargo Pilots.Animation, specifically 2D animation using generative AI has really started to evolve into a more useful tool for creators however, character consistency across camera shots, within the same scene, is still an issue.As well, another issue I've bumped up against, as someone who makes very dialogue heavy animations, is having more than one character talk

TET (David Arandle)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10017963548130964043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31985209.post-82856462361353255132026-03-07T10:30:00.001+10:302026-03-07T10:30:00.112+10:30

From this one AI generated image I created a talking head scene with two additional camera angles using OpenArt.AI. As a solo creator, I didn't get into animation and making 2D animated cartoons because I just love the craft of animating. I got into it because I am a cartoonist who wanted to see my characters come alive as animated cartoons. I've always loved animated cartoons and I wanted to see

TET (David Arandle)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10017963548130964043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31985209.post-34285274863364274172025-12-17T10:30:00.030+10:302025-12-17T10:30:00.121+10:30

Back in December of 2023 I created a video showing you how to quickly Make a Festive Animated YouTube/TikTok Short!, about 18 seconds in length, using Cartoon Animator and ElevenLabs for a pretty good, AI generated Santa voice.The resulting Christmas message actually took me a couple of hours to create despite the tutorial video only being around 30 minutes.Create Comparable Animations

TET (David Arandle)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10017963548130964043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31985209.post-11270267064227962932025-11-19T10:30:00.304+10:302025-11-19T10:30:00.114+10:30

One of the biggest lies in skateboarding is saying you'll give a trick attempt 'one more try.' Inevitably it never is just 'one more try' and thus the Halloween skateboarders curse was born... this spooky story tells why you should never skateboard on Halloween!Obviously this animated short was created for Halloween, based on an original script by me, and once again featuring the characters,

TET (David Arandle)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10017963548130964043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31985209.post-89636764733185702242025-10-08T10:30:00.002+10:302025-10-08T10:30:00.116+10:30

What happens when an apartment-living city girl, Sarah, befriends a raccoon named Jake and starts a YouTube channel called Pets in the City? Let’s ask her across-the-street neighbor, Bob - definitely not their biggest fan!Trash Panda – Pets in the City is my first character-driven animated short in years, based on my original script and featuring artwork from various Cartoon Animator developers

TET (David Arandle)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10017963548130964043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31985209.post-75271318944140028212025-08-13T10:30:00.009+09:302025-08-13T10:30:00.126+09:30

Eleven Labs launches their AI Music Generator. Sound effects, music, and in particular getting voice actors can be tricky to source as a solo creator, or even as part of a small team, but Eleven Labs, the gold standard in AI voice generation, can now be your go to tool for all three.AI VoicesYou probably already knew that Eleven Labs is arguably the best generative AI site for realistic,

TET (David Arandle)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10017963548130964043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31985209.post-61458420994828719632025-07-30T10:30:00.010+09:302025-07-30T10:30:00.117+09:30

Characters From an Animated Short, featured in a two part behind the scenes video by Latent Space.Recently, I've been exploring how to create a 2D animation workflow that allows me to animate with my own art and characters, while incorporating generative AI into the process to do the 'heavy lifting' (basically all the traditionally time consuming stuff like the animation itself).If you've seen my

TET (David Arandle)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10017963548130964043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31985209.post-90472731326579608802025-07-16T10:30:00.002+09:302025-07-16T21:39:13.118+09:30

TET2d Avatar Image created with Dzine.Regular readers of Animation and Video Life will be familiar with my alter ego, 2D avatar character, TET, who is both the face of The Lazy Animator Cartoon Animator Tutorials, and is currently part of my Resident Dragon joke cartoon series.It is my goal to use him as an animated avatar for both my Lazy Animator video courses and my Cartoon Animator tutorials

TET (David Arandle)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10017963548130964043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31985209.post-5068317802103373442025-06-19T10:30:00.013+09:302025-06-19T10:30:00.116+09:30

Aaron Blaise.Aaron Blaise, acclaimed animator and director of Brother Bear, released a video on his Art of Aaron Blaise YouTube channel sharing his thoughts on AI generative art and animation and why AI can't actually compete with lived, human experience. Specifically why it can't compete with YOUR lived human experience.I think he makes some really great points that echo my own thinking and

TET (David Arandle)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10017963548130964043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31985209.post-71199464021504015642025-04-02T10:30:00.027+10:302025-04-02T10:30:00.253+10:30

360 Microwave Meme Stills from PixVerse. The center images are the originalcharacter images used to generate the turnarounds. TikTok art drama, where wannabe artists, who have no clue about professional art practices, but are still happy to gatekeep their idea of how professional artists work, is reason enough to stay off the platform. I have no doubt there are a few insufferable professionals on

TET (David Arandle)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10017963548130964043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31985209.post-54990914031912726092025-03-18T10:30:00.040+10:302025-03-18T10:30:00.125+10:30

Animation software is already capable of auto generating tweens but will AI take it to the next level and tween entire sequences of motion?My earlier article, Reallusion's Cartoon Animator Versus PixVerse Image to Video and Lip Sync AI - Battle of the Talking Head Avatars, got me thinking about using generative AI for creating the 'tween' animation in between key poses.This isn't a new idea,

TET (David Arandle)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10017963548130964043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31985209.post-11101579826925299222025-03-05T10:30:00.116+10:302025-03-05T10:30:00.239+10:30

Anime Amee Avatar in Cartoon Animator 5 is available for free in the Reallusion Marketplace.About a year and a half ago I started exploring VTuber software to see if I could turn my 2D, TET avatar into a live performance character that I could use when I record my Cartoon Animator tutorial videos.I explored quite a number of applications but I couldn't really find one that I was able to adapt my

TET (David Arandle)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10017963548130964043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31985209.post-59135607537958568842025-02-12T10:30:00.039+10:302025-02-12T10:30:00.229+10:30

PixVerse's Show Muscle Effect is a real flex forother AI generative video sites.AI generated digital avatars have improved greatly over the last 12 months, to the point where you can replace yourself with a digital, talking head, clone avatar that can say anything using your AI generated voice clone, and casual viewers wouldn't even notice.I tried cloning myself back in July of 2024 in my

TET (David Arandle)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10017963548130964043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31985209.post-10134514914055282482025-01-15T10:30:00.038+10:302025-01-15T16:55:45.892+10:30

I don't believe for a second that this guy is a writer. He's actually a man of few words if that blank page in front of him is anything to go by!Image by Copilot and TET.Two and a half years ago I wrote an article, Is Your Next Design or Writing Partner an AI? A Look at Artificial Intelligence and the Creative Arts with DALL-E 2, Jasper, and Rytr. It's worth a read just to see how far and

TET (David Arandle)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10017963548130964043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31985209.post-40821074344231903142024-12-18T10:30:00.006+10:302024-12-18T10:30:00.237+10:30

Do you get the feeling Red knows he's on the naughty list?The last minute Christmas rush is pretty much upon us but it's not too late to create completely custom Christmas Cards to send to family and friends. Send them by email or take them to your local department store print on demand service if actual, physical Christmas cards is more your style.Reallusion's Cartoon Animator 5 is perfect for

TET (David Arandle)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10017963548130964043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31985209.post-77128315180066463342024-12-04T10:30:00.017+10:302024-12-04T10:30:00.228+10:30

Younger artists, who enjoy drawing characters and telling stories, may find themselves gravitating towards animated cartoons. While hand-drawn animation was traditionally done with pencil and paper, nowadays it is more commonly created on electronic devices like iPads and pen display monitors. This shift to digital platforms has made animation more accessible to young artists, allowing them to

TET (David Arandle)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10017963548130964043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31985209.post-51869108150765712322024-11-13T10:30:00.006+10:302024-11-13T10:30:00.114+10:30

Have you ever wanted to send your friends and family fun, 2D animated, holiday messages, or just create 2D animated characters that you can make move and talk without learning difficult to master animation skills or spending hours drawing frame by frame?Reallusion's Cartoon Animator 5 is a professional quality, 2D animation studio software that is also very easy to produce impressive results with

TET (David Arandle)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10017963548130964043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31985209.post-73105007759556384672024-10-16T13:42:00.000+10:302024-10-16T13:42:09.319+10:30

Zack in Time is an independent, 2D animated series about a biracial 13-year-old  teen, who has trouble fitting in at his new school, until he finds a time-traveling watch developed by a secret government agency. Created by Christian Haynes, who I featured in December of 2021, and produced by Imhapie, the production has now launched a Kickstarter (which runs until October 25th,

TET (David Arandle)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10017963548130964043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31985209.post-17209876470704785132024-10-02T10:30:00.010+09:302024-10-02T10:30:00.125+09:30

I first heard about Glif through a YouTube video that mentioned you could get access to Flux Pro (the latest 'game changer AI' generative image model) through the site for free.While I had a vague notion from the video of what Glif was, I wasn't expecting it to be so easy to get started with, and so good with my very first results.Glif is an easy to use, low-code platform for creating tiny

TET (David Arandle)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10017963548130964043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31985209.post-15571921569981253902024-09-11T10:30:00.012+09:302024-09-11T10:30:00.118+09:30

LTX Studio can generate consistent characters across storyboard panels - even if one character is a dragon!While text to image, and text to video (and image to video) AI tend to be getting a lot of the press, the real exciting aspect of generative AI implementation is how it can be used to speed up creator workflow.Being able to realize your creative vision in a shorter length of time can lead to

TET (David Arandle)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10017963548130964043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31985209.post-89411282336140641372024-08-28T10:30:00.004+09:302024-08-28T10:30:00.228+09:30

Mobile productivity apps have become so capable that they can be great alternatives to their PC/MAC equivalents or serve as great tools in their own right when you're away from your desk.While some apps simply mimic their desktop counterparts, others offer well thought out, touch-friendly interfaces that are easier and more fun to use.Every so often I check out what's available for 2D animation

TET (David Arandle)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10017963548130964043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31985209.post-3194868173539123162024-08-14T10:30:00.065+09:302024-08-14T10:30:00.231+09:30

Generative AI sequence of a woman in a business suit. From sketch to refined image using Krita AI Diffusion - by TET Generative image AI, where you describe an image with a text prompt to an Artificial Intelligence model and it produces a new image based on your prompt, is gaining a strong hold as a tool for many artists.Krita AI Diffusion brings generative AI image tools right into your

TET (David Arandle)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10017963548130964043noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31985209.post-20241274420748749162024-07-31T10:30:00.023+09:302024-07-31T10:30:00.121+09:30

I'm not a big fan of Adobe because of their overpriced subscription only model for their Creative Cloud Suite of applications, but that doesn't mean I don't like their software. Adobe Express is a free Canva alternative with cloud based art and design tools for creating graphics, videos and more, for all kinds of projects and social media (they even have a free AI prompt to image generator).

TET (David Arandle)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10017963548130964043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31985209.post-91967667840244514702024-07-10T10:30:00.013+09:302025-08-08T17:33:06.013+09:30

Over the years I've looked at various ways of creating and animating a digital avatar, from simply creating a character for Cartoon Animator and voicing and animating it myself, to creating a live motion capture ready Vtuber avatar puppeted and voiced by me in real-time.In the last year or so, making photographic images talk, using AI and AI voice cloning has really progressed. To the point

TET (David Arandle)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10017963548130964043noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31985209.post-53168168758627081582024-06-26T10:30:00.132+09:302024-06-26T22:10:27.250+09:30

The Emo Girl Character created by Start Animating. AI generative video isn't new but it is the next big thing in the visual imaging space as various development teams work to perfect the generated output. Just like generating still images AI video sometimes struggles with physics, arm and hand movement, and the general structure of things.However it is getting better and, as is the catch cry

TET (David Arandle)http://www.blogger.com/profile/10017963548130964043noreply@blogger.com0