₦airaland Forum

Below are scanned copies of the famous "Comic Strip Artist's Kit" handout by Carson Van Osten, the renowned Disney artist who made many Disney Comic Books. It was created to help beginning comic artists deal with perspective problems and other drawing difficulties. It's definitely one of the best material I've ever seen that teaches about practical staging and drawing for storyboards or comic books.

Here's the history of the handout, in Carson's own words:

I wrote and drew those sketches around 1975 and I'm so tickled to know that people still find them helpful today. It started as a slide presentation for my boss to show at the Disney meeting in Frankfurt. It went over so well that he asked me to expand on it when he returned. They printed 2000 copies and mailed it to all the Disney offices. My friend John Pomeroy asked for some to give to the animators at the studio. that was the time when the animation training program was going on. Frank Thomas saw it and used it for an animation class he was teaching at the Screen Cartoonists Guild. That's how some sketches wound up in the book that he and Ollie wrote, "the Illusion of Life".

Page 1:

One more model sheet:

Another model sheet from the same era as the above:

Model Sheet of a character from a 'Golden Age' cartoon:

More Mulan storyboard panels:

Storyboard panels from the Disney animated feature, Mulan:

grafikdon:
This is the part that completely turned me off at Joe Kubert (Cel Painting). Though it was nice to get a feel of how it was done (Tracing the drawings, painting on transparent acetate and filming with oxeberry camera) I felt they wasted so much time by focusing on archaic and outdated methods when they should have laid a lot more emphasis on digital ink and paint. Not sure if anybody does cel painting at this age. It was a good experience nevertheless . . . no regrets here.

Nice thread Lafem, keep 'em coming.

@GraphikDon: I share your view on the archaic practice of Cel Painting, especially considering the ease with which the same, if not better, look can be achieved digitally. I understand that the practice is graduallly being rendered obsolete thanx to the advent and proliferation of photoshop and other digital painting softwares. That said, a few studios in America and Japan still paint their backgrounds on cels.

I came across some rave reviews of a Japanese animated feature titled Mind Game -- I think it was released last year -- I then jumped on YouTube and did a search on it to see if I'd get lucky enoff to find clips of the movie, and voila! I did!! Watching the clip only reminded me about the sorry state of hand-drawn feature length animation in the US.

Stylistically, Mind game differs from other animated film productions in that it is like a pastiche of styles, with no particular genre in graphical realisation. Director Masaaki Yuasa commented about the film, saying, "Instead of telling it serious and straight, I went for a look that was a bit wild and patchy. I think that Japanese animation fans today don’t necessarily demand something that’s so polished. You can throw different styles at them and they can still usually enjoy it."

The Japanese continue to advance the possibilities of 2D animation in the feature film arena. They seem undisturbed by the CG/Mo-Cap blockbuster-mentality that Hollywood has embraced. The highest grossing film in Japan last year was Studio Ghibli’s traditionally animated Gedo Senki (Tales From Earthsea) by Goro Miyazaki.

Click on the following youtube link to watch clips of the flick:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=komogmVEez8

or watch it here by clicking below:

[flash=425,350]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=komogmVEez8[/flash]

Some 2D related blogs you might want to check out:

http://theartofglenkeane..com/
http://characterdesign..com/
http://mayersononanimation..com/
http://handdrawnnomadzone..com/
http://johnkstuff..com/
http://sevencamels..com/
http://blackwingdiaries..com/

Tutorial on a simple method for animating walk cycles: http://www.anticz.com/Walks.htm

The following are excerpts from my copy of Mark Simon's wonderful book titled "PRODUCING INDEPENDENT 2D CHARACTER ANIMATION: MAKING AND SELLING A SHORT FILM", of his interview with Academy Award-Nominated Independent Animator, Bill Plympton. Herein, I'll only be presenting snippets of the interview that I deem most beneficial. You can read it in its entirety by purchasing your copy of the book on Amazon.com. I'm taking the pains to type it out 'because I strongly believe it contains a lot of indepth knowledge of the animation business and process, coming from one of the most prolific independent animators out there -- you can visit his website at: http://www.plymptoons.com/gallery/gallery.html


BILL PLYMPTON was nominated for an Academy Award and is one of the most prolific independent animators working today. His style is unique and has garnered him a large following.Bill was born in 1946 in Portland, Oregon. He credits Oregon's rainy climate for nurturing his drawing skills and imagination. His first attempt at animation in high school was accidentally shot upside-down, rendering it totally useless.

In 1968 he moved to New York City and began a year of study at the School of Visual Arts. He began illustrating for The New York Times, Vogue, House Beautiful, The Village Voice, Screw, and Vanity Fair, and cartooning for Viva, Penthouse, Rolling Stone, and National Lampoon. In 1975 he began a political strip, [i]Plympton, in The Soho Weekly News,, which by 1981 was syndicated by Universal Press to over 20 papers. His first independent short in 1988, The Face, garnered him an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Short Film. His first feature in 1992, The Tune, was the first animated feature drawn by one person. He has since animated over 26 short films and 4 animated features, written 2 live-action features and 5 books.

Mark Simon (MS): How did you get started in animation?

Bill Plympton (BP): It's an art form I loved immediately. I saw it at about 3 or 4 years old. I had always been drawing, and I always made plans to be an animator. However, technically, I found it very daunting to do exposure sheets, sounds, and camera. It was very difficult for me. Consequently, I became an illustrator. I got into animation late.

I got into animation by doing a film called Boomtown (1983) that was written by JOel Spiffer. He knew I was an animator, and we were buddies. He asked if I wanted to animate and I said yeah. So I did the animation. Even though I didn't get paid, I got a lot of experience on how to make an animated film. I took the experience of making the film and later made my own film called Your Face. That film went on to win a lot of prizes and an Oscar nomination. And when it was showed in Annecy [the Annecy Animation Festival in Annecy, France], that's where it got picked up by MTV, Tourne' of Animation, Spike & Mike, and all that stuff.

MS: How long was Boomtown?

BP: It was about 7 minutes long.

MS: And how long was Your Face?

BP: It was 3 minutes.

MS: I remember that -- it's a great piece. How do you get people to work with you, especially since you were doing a lot of these before you had the money to put into it? How were you getting people to assist you?

BP: I pay them. I don't pay them a lot of money, but fairly well. Most of them are students, art students and such, and not only do they get money, they get experience. They can put it on their resumes, and they learn a lot about how to do films. So it works out well for the students. I actually have a lot of people that call me up and say, "I'll work on your film for free," or "I'll PAY YOU to work on your film.". Its not a problem getting people to work for me, it's a problem getting the right people who are really committed, who really love animation and who want to work on the film.

MS: How do you fund your films now? Obviously some of your past projects have been selling and should be paying for part of it.

BP: A lot of things. My short films do well overseas.

MS: In what way are they doing well?

BP: At the BBC, Canal Plus, and a lot of TV stations. The shorts play in theatres, and they win prizes and film festivals. Video and DVD, nontheatrical -- there are many markets for these films overseas. And there are similar markets here, too, like video, DVD, cable TV, sometimes regular TV, like on The Edge, MTV, something like that. The money is very good simply because the cost of my films are so low. Your Face cost $3000 to make, and it's made over $30,000 now. The shorts do very well, but my features don't do as well. I don't know why that is. I thought they'd make a lot of money. The cost is very low, at about $200,000 for a feature film. It's just whoever distributes the film, generally speaking; it's hard to get them to pay me the money that comes in. So I guess it's that there's more distance between me and the distribution, and it's hard to get that money back. But there are other avenues. I sell the originals. I bring out my own videos. I do merchandising, posters, books, e.t.c.

MS: Why haven't you gone over to any digital work?

BP: Four reasons. One is that it's too expensive. I'd have to hire a bunch of technicians. I'd have to buy a bunch of machinery. Two, it's too slow. I can draw a minute of animation in one day. If I do it on the computer it would really slow me down. I can do a short film in a month. I did Eat in a month. So if I did it on a computer, it would take 6 months to get done, and I'd have to hire a bunch of people and work them overtime. Three, it's really expensive to transfer digital to film. If I want to show it at a movie theater, I have to show it on film, and just the transfer fees alone are more than my budget allows. Four, I don't like the look of digital ink and paint and computer animation. I like the look of hand-drawn. It's warmer and feels nicer. It's just a better image on the screen.

MS: Do you try to keep your shorts to a certain length, or do they come out however they come out.

BP: Generally speaking, I like to keep them under 10minutes. I've never done a short over 10minutes. I think the proper length is 3 to 7 minutes if you want to sell it. IT's easier  to program a film of that length.

MS: What recommendations do you have for independent producers and up-and-comers who want to do their own pieces?

BP: A couple of things: One is, do the films for the festival circuits, something for Annecy. Keep it 3 to 5 minutes long. Keep it short. Make it cheap. Try to do it for $1,000 to $2,000 a minute. Make it funny. People want to see funny films. Go to the festival circuits and make a deal. Also I recommend for young students, who are just out of art schools, to go to a big studio and work there as whatever -- as an inbetweener, as a clean-up artist. Work there for 5 or 6 years. Get some money in the bank, and get some work experience. Make some contacts. Make a good portfolio. And then if you really have that itch to be independent, you can leave. You should have enough money to work for a year. That gives you time enough, hopefully to make some money from your work.

Continuation,,,,


This [location or background designers] department in most cases will have a resource library with books on numerous subjects ranging from furniture design to nature books. Some studios have a staff librarian to find and categorize this information taken from amazines such as National Geograpic and TIME.

Thus, if a location design of a Central American Aztec village is required, the designer need only request all reference material on this subject for a more accurate artistic interpretation.

While location and character designs are being created, props used by the characters may also be required such as a wooden mallet. Again a certain amount of research to create an authentic looking piece.

Next, all these designs come together in the Storyboard Department. Here they use these to create a visual version of the script in what looks like a very long comic strip.

The Storyboard shows the camera angles, character action and background elements in a fairly rough form. This depends on the type of production again. A Saturday morning cartoon show might have a very rough sketch, or something much more accurate to a full color version more for a feature length film or commercial.

Once the storyboard has been approved by the director, it is then sent to 3 different departments (1) sound recording, (2) art direction and, (3) layout.

Sound recording covers voices, sound effects and music. These are each recorded individually then edited together to produce the final sound mix. Once the voices and sound effects are edited, they are "broken down" by an editor who listens to the sound track and writes down each sound that is made on each of the individual frames. This information is written on what is called a "bar sheet". This is used by the animator to match the sounds to the drawings so that it looks like the characters are actually talking. This is called "lip-sync" (sychronization).

The layout department uses the storyboard along with the character, location and prop designs to develop the working size artwork used by the animators and background artists which will finally be photographed under the animation camera. In a lot of cases today, these packages are sent overseas to other animation studios, (mainly in Taiwan, Korea, China or Japan), where the work force is greater and production costs are lower. Proper communication of ideas is of prime importance in this case, since long distance calls can waste needless time and money.

The layout package goes to two departments from (1) animation, and (2)background painting.

The animators use the layout animation poses as a guide for the character placement within the camera field as well as action. Sometimes the animator will use the poses as "keys" for their animation. A copy of the background is also included for environment placement.

The animators give life to the characters by creating a series of drawings that when photographed individually, will produce "the illusion of life". They also transfer the information on the bar sheets to exposure sheets which are used by the camera person as a guide to indicate which order the drawings are to be exposed in and for how long.

The background layout is used in the background department as a guide for the final rendered background. The painters use the color sketches by the art director for mood. In some cases, the layout artist may provide a black and white rendering as well.

The medium used by the background painter depends on what the style of the film is. It could be pencil crayon, markers, pastel, watercolor, gouache or airbrush. Oil paints are rarely used simply because of the long drying time.

Once the animation has been completed, it moves into the cel painting stage. This labourious and time consuming process requires the transfer of each individual animation drawing onto a sheet of clear acetate or a "cel". The transfer is done either mechanically by photocopying the image or by hand tracing with a grease pencil or pen. The cels are then painted on the reverse side using a special cel paint or just plain water based latex paint applied with a small paint brush.

With the growing advent of computer technology, it is becoming the trend to scan the animation drawings into the computer, then apply the colors electronically. The colored images are then projected, with the background image, directly onto the film or video tape. This saves an enormous amount of time and money. The work of 20 people done within 1 week of time can now be done by one person on a single day.

Once the cels have been cleaned of dust and excess paint, they and the painted background and any other elements required are sent to the camera department to be photographed under camera. The camera person follows the instructions given on the exposure sheets.The film is then processed and an editor splices all the scenes together in their proper order. The visual film is synchronized to the audio track, sound effects track and music tracks. These are then mixed together and transferred to video tape (usually at a post-production studio).

The final video tape is then shipped to the television network or station and is shown on the air during its time slot. Yay!

Feature films can cost up to 5 or 6 million and production last 3 years. Half hour specials and Saturday morning shows run between $250,000 to $500,000 and production lasts 6 months a year. Commercials, depending on the style and complexity can cost anywhere from $50,000 to $150,000 and last 1 month to half a year.

The following are excerpts from my copy of Brian Lemay's "LAYOUT AND DESIGN MADE AMAZINGLY SIMPLE". The following ain't no 'copy-and-paste' o, na me take the pains to type am out myself (letter for letter, word for word, ), which as you know is time-consuming, so bear with me as I won't be able to present the whole text in one fell swoop, but rather in two parts. Enjoy!

HOW ANIMATION IS PRODUCED

Watch any animated cartoon on T.V today and at the end when the closing credits come on the screen, you're bombarded with what seems to be a million named grouped into different departments. Don't bother trying to read them all because they usually flash on for about 3 seconds per 20 names.

It takes a lot of people to create a half hour cartoon, roughly about 230 in all different areas.

It breaks down as follows:

   Production (non-artistic) ----- 25
   Executives                      ----- 10
   Designers                       -----   8
   Storyboard                     ----- 10
   Layout                            ----- 40
   Animation                       ----- 70
   Cel Painting                    ----- 52
   Post Production              ----- 15


With this many people it stands to reason that a great deal of organization and planning goes into the production of a cartoon.

Each department has it's own area of expertise and employs people who specialize in that specific area. The hierarchy is quite simple:


                                                         PRODUCER
                                                                |
                                                                |
                                                         DIRECTOR
                                                                |
                                                                |
                                    (non-artistic)                   (artistic)
                             Production Co-ordinator       Department Supervisors
                                             |                                              |
                                             |                                              |
                             Production Assistants           Individual Artists & Technicians
                               (quota / time sheets)           


The producer is usually the owner or head of the studio and answers to the investors. The producer may be an investor as well.

The director overseas and directs all aspects of the production, making all the major artistic and technical decisions. The director answers to the producer.

The production co-ordinator is responsible for the physical production of the show. Paper flow and deadlines are controleed through this office. Also, time sheets, quota and payment are dealt with here.

The department supervisors are the specialists that make sure the director's ideas are carried out. They regulate the artistic quality of the production within their individual departments.

The individual artists and technicians create the artwork that is used in the final production whether it's a character design or a sound effect. These people are under the control of the department supervisors.

Production assistants help to keep the flow of work moving by taking care of non-artistic/technical aspects within the production such as organizing storyboards for each department, delivery of layouts to the animation and background departments. Collection of time sheets as well as many other time saving services. These people allow the artists to spend all their time creating the art for the cartoon.



THE PROCESS

THE actual physical production of an animated cartoon always begins with "an idea" or "concept". This is then passed on to two different departments, (1) the writers, and (2) character designers.

The writers develop the idea into a story and create an outline that describes the function and mental characteristics of the various characters. This is called "the bible".

The character designers will use these outlines to create a structured series of drawings for each of the characters, showing physical characteristics and capabilities from various angles (full front, 3/4, side and rear) as well as different facial expressions. These are known as "character model sheets".

Location or background designers (sometimes layout artists) create the environments that the characters move around in. Similar to a theatrical set designer, these people draw 3/4 downshots of the various locations. A great deal of research goes into the production of the location designs.


To be continued,,,

Principles of Animation: Notes from Ollie Johnston (co-author of "Illusion of Life"

culled from: http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/principles/ollie_johnston.htm


Animation Notes from Ollie Johnston

Reference: These notes come from Course 1 at SIGGRAPH 94, "Animation Tricks".

When I was an animator at the Disney Studios, I had a xeroxed list of simple notes from one of the great Disney animators, Ollie Johnston, pinned to my drawing table. The list was originally written down by another great Disney animator, Glen Keane, after working as Ollie’s assistant for a few years.

These notes have been an inspiration to me for years. Even though they were meant for hand-drawn animation, I believe that they still apply to computer animation.

1. Don’t illustrate words or mechanical movements. Illustrate ideas or thoughts, with the attitudes and actions.

2. Squash and stretch entire body for attitudes.

3. If possible, make definite changes from one attitude to another in timing and expression.

4. What is the character thinking?

5. It is the thought and circumstances behind the action that will make the action interesting.

Example: A man walks up to a mailbox, drops in his letter and walks away.

OR

A man desperately in love with a girl far away carefully mails a letter in which he has poured his heart out.

6. When drawing dialogue, go for phrasing. (Simplify the dialogue into pictures of the dominating vowel and consonant sounds, especially in fast dialogue.

7. Lift the body attitude 4 frames before dialogue modulation (but use identical timing on mouth as on X sheet).

8. Change of expression and major dialogue sounds are a point of interest. Do them, if at all possible, within a pose. If the head moves too much you won’t see the changes.

9. Don’t move anything unless it’s for a purpose.

10. Concentrate on drawing clear, not clean.

11. Don’t be careless.

12. Everything has a function. Don’t draw without knowing why.

13. Let the body attitude echo the facial.

14. Get the best picture in your drawing by thumbnails and exploring all avenues.

15. Analyze a character in a specific pose for the best areas to show stretch and squash. Keep these areas simple.

16. Picture in your head what it is you’re drawing.

17. Think in terms of drawing the whole character, not just the head or eyes, etc. Keep a balanced relation of one part of the drawing to the other.

18. Stage for most effective drawing.

19. Draw a profile of the drawing you’re working on every once in a while. A profile is easier on which to show the proper proportions of the face.

20. Usually the break in the eyebrow relates to the highpoint of the eye.

21. The eye is pulled by the eyebrow muscles.

22. Get a plastic quality in face — cheeks, mouth and eyes.

23. Attain a flow through the body rhythm in your drawing.

24. Simple animated shapes.

25. The audience has a difficult time reading the first 6-8 frames in a scene.

26. Does the added action in a scene contribute to the main idea in that scene? Will it help sell it or confuse it?

27. Don’t animate for the sake of animation but think what the character is thinking and what the scene needs to fit into the sequence.

28. Actions can be eliminated and staging "cheated" if it simplifies the picture you are trying to show and is not disturbing to the audience.

29. Spend half your time planning your scene and the other half animating.

30. How to animate a scene of a four-legged character acting and walking: Work out the acting patterns first with the stretch and squash in the body, neck and head; then go back in and animate the legs. Finally, adjust the up and down motion on the body according to the legs.

Click on the following link for a tutorial on LEARNING HOW TO DRAW for Classical Animation -- this tutorial really helped me nail down some of the basics of constructing proportional 3-dimensional drawings using basic shapes. I bet you'd find it very very informative and educative:

http://www.karmatoons.com/drawing/drawing.htm

Below are notes taken during one of the popular Richard Williams Master Class lectures by an aspring animator -- Richard/Dick Williams is the famous director of the Oscar winning movie, "Who framed Roger Rabit", and author of "Animator's Survival Kit". It discusses/covers some of the Principles of animation. Enjoy!

SIDE NOTE: Most of the principles discussed below are covered in more detail in Williams' "Animator's Survival Kit" -- A MUST-HAVE for every animator, whether professional or amateur.


Richard Williams Animation Master Class Notes
Taken by Dave Bailey


The Richard Williams Animation Master Class was an incredible experience. Mr. Williams is a very personable, entertaining and competent teacher. The three days were crammed full of theories, examples and entertaining stories. This gray haired balding gentleman would race across the stage, jump about or crawl on all fours in the effort of getting the concepts across. I made over 40 pages of notes and sketches. Although the class is geared toward traditional cell animation most of what is discussed is applicable to CG.

Just a small disclaimer, most of these notes are my interpretation of what Mr. Williams said. Also most of my notes are in the form of crude quickly drawn examples. Without the sketches some of what is noted below is not as easily understood. If there is something that is not clear or you just don't agree with let me know and I will try to clarify as best I can. Dbailey@pixinc.com

Note: any reference to timing is based on 24 fps

"Sophisticated Use of the Basics" -- Animation Master Class by Richard Williams

What is animation?

Change is the basis of all animation
There are two types of animation; Morphing and the type that gives the illusion of life.
Animation is all in the timing and spacing
You must show where the weight is, where it is coming from and where the weight is going to.

KEY FRAMES - are the story telling frames (The story board drawings)
Frames where the character makes contact (heel strike pose, touching an object, etc.)

EXTREMES - are the where there is a change of direction. They are NOT Key Frames.

BREAKDOWNS are the middle or passing position.
On breakdowns always add an extra bit of movement -- almost anything will work.
Don't go from A to B. Go from A to Z to B

Methods of Working:
1) Straight-Ahead - Just start and see what happens. (Creative but lacks control)
2) Pose to Pose - (Lots of control but restricts creativity)
3) The "Best" Method - A combination of "Pose to Pose" and "Straight Ahead".

Steps to take before animating:
1) Before working turn off all other stimulus --"UNPLUG"
2) Write down what you want to do
3) Act it out
4) Work out the timing
5) Then animate

The "Best" animating method
Step 1 - Do the KEY frames (the story telling poses)
Step 2 - Do the frames that have to be there (the contact frames)
Step 3 - Do the breakdown poses (passing/middle poses) Don't forget to add that extra bit of action.
Step 4 - Do Straight Ahead Runs of different parts in hierarchical order
Testing along the way.
(Hips first followed by legs then arms then head. Drapery is always last)

GENERAL GUIDES & TIPS

The human eye can not see (comprehend) an action done in less then 5 frames, for an action to be readable it must be done in 5 or more frames.

The way I under stood this to mean was that the 5 frames could include the anticipation of the movement. For example a character could be held in a 5 frame anticipation and be off the screen in the 6th. The use of ease-in or ease-out would also be included in those 5 frames.

Mr. Williams also stressed that all the things he was teaching were general guidelines and theories and one should always have the courage to break the rules. Experiment and test often, the only thing that matters is if the final animation works!

Never exit the frame in less than 5 frames.

On in-betweens don't animate in a straight-line use curved paths

For fast/hard impacts, skip the actual impact frame. Go immediately from action to reaction.

A character should never take off or land on both feet at the same time.

Blinks frequently happen on a passing pose.
There are generally two frames between the open and closed positions of an eye during a blink.

WALKS & RUNS

On a walk only one foot leaves the ground at a time
On a run both feet leave the ground for at least 1 frame and the character is always down on the passing pose.

Always create your heel strike poses first.

A normal walk is on march-time - a heel strikes the ground every 12 frames
A Hollywood cartoon walk heel-strike is every 8 frames
A stroll heel-strike is every 16 frames
A normal run heel-strike is every 8 frames
Heel-strikes on the fastest run possible occurs every 4 frames (this only works for small characters)

OVERLAPPING ACTION
Overlapping action is action that does not happen all at once.

I changed the word "breaking" to "bending" in the line below while taking my notes. It helped me differentiate between "A successive breaking of joints" - (breaking up the movement of an articulated object) and "breaking a joint" - (unnatural bending) Both concepts are used for the same purpose of getting smooth curvaceous movement. The whole idea of the broken joint is that it is unnoticeable to the eye, so, yes it can be used for realistic animation.

A successive bending of joints limber up movement -- It's an unfolding action. If twinning is happening, think about what parts can be delayed.

Another example of overlapping action is delaying the movement of loose fatty tissue (Jowls) behind the quicker moving muscle and bone (skull).

COUNTER ACTION
A counter action is where one part moves in the opposite direction to counter the weight and thrust of another part.

BREAKING JOINTS
The unnatural bending of joints to obtain curvaceous movement with straight line segments.

If the successive frames with broken joints are less than five and less then the number of frames with non-broken joints the distortion will not be noticed.

To really add SNAP to a movement put one "crazy" position the frame before the extreme position.

The word "crazy" was Mr. Williams' but I think it's a bit misleading. It is not an extreme. It is a slightly out of joint position a frame before the Extreme. After the extreme you would ease into a held position.

He gave the following example: (Please pardon my crude diagrams)

The example he gave was an arm making a pointing motion. Starting with the arm bent at the elbow (V), hand pointing up. On the end frame 7 the arm is straight out (---), hand pointing forward. On frame 6 the hand is close to its final position but the elbow is broken in a reverse bend upward about 20 degrees (^-). I would not really call frame 6 an extreme more like a semi out of place in-between.

DIALOGUE


Consonants must have 2 frames to read - steal from the preceding sound if needed.
Hit the mouth accent on the vowel.
Vowels need 2 poses an accent pose and a cushion pose.
Pop the mouth open on vowels with an accent pose and immediately ease into a cushion pose
"Boil it down" - Keep the mouth movement simple.
Form the words (watch singers)
Lift the head 3-4 frames in advance of the modulation.
Upper teeth are anchored to the skull.
Women usually show upper teeth only.
Men (50/50) show upper or lower teeth only a rare few show both.
The tongue is hooked at the back of the lower jaw, not stuck in the throat
Never in-between the tongue, always snap it from one position to the next.
When giving dialogue a character should be progressing (or regressing) somewhere.
Get the body action right then add the mouth.

Break up the action and the dialog - do one thing at a time! For example talk then point or point then talk

Animate dialogue on level sync, then in post, test delaying the voice audio by approximately 2 frames to see what works best.

This thread is purposed to highlight the finer points that make 2D -- which is still the world's most done, bought, and watched animation -- a special medium/Genre of mainstream entertainment. It'll feature interviews, tutorials, articles from and by 2D animators, character designers, students, producer/directors, background artists, layout artists, storyboard arstists, as well as other professionals [from the major studios in especially America and Japan -- the world's two leading and prolific 2D production hubs] involved in the different stages of animation production. Other 2D animators/students/enthusiasts are free to chip in their contribution as well.

Omo Eko:
@lafem

I Second your comment and ignore people like informer that thinks God will protect you every sec.

You dey mind the guy/babe? E forget say, God fit protect pesin through Police sef. Abi Him [God] go come down from Heaven ni? No be humans im dey work through?

@informer: "Police is your friend".  

Informer sounds like one of those EXTREME pacifists who, wittingly or unwittingly, end up aiding and abetting crime/criminals/evil/abusers. To them, the victims are always at fault. They never mention the devil as a culprit, or the perpetrators of evil. No, it's always the victim's fault. It's their fault for getting attacked, getting beaten, getting rap*ed, getting robbed, e.t.c. They reason that if only the victim was closer to God, evil wouldn't befall him/her. But in their conversations, you will be hard-pressed to hear them rebuke the perpetrators of evil/abuse. NO! Their 'god' doesn't allow that. They'll even go as far as twisting the Holy scriptures, take certain verses out of context, in an attempt to foist their warped logic on others, and hoodwink them into capitulation. Such are the ways and words of COWARDS and the spiritually TIMID. E forget say DAVID exhibited EXCEPTIONAL COURAGE and FAITH when he confronted GOLIATH. WHy im no sit back timidly like the other soldiers and Saul? Rather, he took the battle to the enemy, and triumped! Babygirl, pray for the COURAGE of DAVID AGAINST GOLIATH, from the REAL GOD of the BIBLE who eschews EVIL and INJUSTICE in every form. God go show you favour with the cops, so that them go fit beat the bobo senseless, sotay e go relocate because of you. Dat na REAL TALK.

dakmanzero:
@gdon

Not many 2d features can match up to lionking, so I wouldnt be so quick to say I'd take 2d over 3d any day.

With all due respect, is the above quote a statement of fact or a personal opinion, because if it's the latter, as I suspect, then you haven't seen enough 2D animated films to make such a spurious judgement. I think Graphikdon is free to say he'd take 2D over 3D anyday, as that comment is clearly subjective and based on his personal taste and preference as an animator himself and as an enthusiast. And I for one share his view in that respect. Like him, I also have more 2D flicks than 3D, and that's by conscious choice, perhaps because of my 2D background. I don't just watch animation merely for entertainment, but rather as a professional animator myself and as a film-maker with an eye for technical and esoteric detail that may be lost to the casual viewer. You mentioned how you thot Shrek 2 and the Incredibles were 'mind-blowing', fine, but you failed to contextualize that statement, relative to the subject matter. I mean, in what sense and by what standard or benchmark did you arrive at that judgement? Is it in terms of the story/plot/screenplay, or the animation? I can tell you why I think Lion King is superb, though other fans may have entirely different reasons for appreciating the movie; a la plot, characters, music, e.t.c. For me it's definitely because of its brilliant animation. As for the plot, I personally thot it was pedestrian/prosaic and , well, just o.k. But clearly the movie had enoff meat and broad appeal to make it a huge success. In the case of Shrek, I personally thot the animation wasn't anything special, compared to the Incredibles for example. IMO, the strenght of Shrek was in its well-developed characters, kapish. The Incredibles also had well-developed characters, but even better animation than Shrek, IMO. And THAT is what I find 'mind-blowing' about it -- if I can borrow that expression.

In the future however tools will emerge which will see the computer interpreting an artists 2d-vision into a 3d world. THEN 2d will be out of date. However that day is still very very far away and until then we will still need 2d for animation where a glorified puppet show does not suffice.

Bro, 2D will never go out-of-date, atleast for some of us. First of all, those tools you alluded to in the above quote already exist. YES! Most of the major studios [e.g. Disney, DreamWorks, and Warner Bros.] all have WELL-PAID IN-HOUSE software engineers/developers who design their animation softwares to incorporate and blend 2D and 3D, and I can even refer you to a couple of 2D animated features that [sometimes almost seamlessly] blended 2D and 3D/CGI. The practise's been going on for decades sef, bro. 2D flicks like the Hunchback of Notre Dame, which was released in the late '90s, Tarzan, Prince of Egypt, The Road to El Dorado, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, e.t.c all have this feature. Infact, most, if not all of the Disney and Dreamworks studios 2D flicks released in the past decade and a half [atleast], all have sequences that blended 2D and 3D; either in the context of a 2D foreground over a 3D background, or vice-versa, and especially in the areas of special effects. Not to mention Japanese animation examples, a la Ghost in the Shell, Blood: the Last Vampire and many others.

While you're entitled to your opinion, that opinion remains just that, an opinion, and not a statement of fact. And here's an even more compelling reason why. 2D traditional animation is a DISTINCT STYLE, as is 3D, as is CLAYMATION, as is STOP-MOTION, as is CUT-OUT style, e.t.c. There will always be 2D artists and fans who, for whatever reason -- be it sentimental or artistic -- will always revere the genre and keep it true to its form. When the camera was introduced did we stop painting? No. To say that CGI will ever replace "old school" animation is a short sighted statement, IMO. Listen, if tomorrow the major studios executives decide to dump 3D for some other animation genre [as they did in the case of 2D], will that be the end of 3D? No, it won't.

Have you seen Tim Burton's "The Corpse Bride"? If you haven't, please I beg of you to go and see that movie, and more importantly, SEE THE MAKING OF THE MOVIE, THEN YOU WILL COME TO UNDERSTAND WHY THAT STATEMENT YOU MADE ABOUT 2D animation going 'out-of-date' will never materliaze! You see, it took the makers of the Corpse Bride MANY years to make that movie, and you could easily tell/see that the whole movie-making process of the feature was a LABOUR OF LOVE of sorts for them. The movie's done in the STOP-MOTION animation style, which in my opinion is one of the most labourious animation styles out there. It's a pain-stakingly SLOW process, YET the FINISHED PRODUCT makes it all worth it! The makers of the movie, from the producer/director to the artists involved, all knew how difficult it would be to make the movie, they could've easily went the easier route of 3D or even live-action to bring their vision to life, but they still CHOSE stop-motion, because for them it's not just another means of 'interpreting their 2d vision into a 3D world', but about consciously projecting their vision via an artform that they respect and are TRUE to, and KNOW was the BEST platform for bringing their vision/screenplay to life. NOT EVERY ANIMATOR WANTS TO PROJECT HIS/HER VISION IN 3D. I know I don't. Before the advent of 3D, folks enjoyed 2D animation without any complaints, knowing fully well its difference and uniqueness relative to live-action, and that it's merely a HAND-DRAWN 'illusion of life' that's meant to caricature reality. 

I've read of several Japanese animators who still hand-draw and animate 90% of their films, and animate them the old-fashioned way -- drawing on celluloid acetate as was done before the advent of computers and scanners. And believe it or not, THEY HAVE NICHE fans who still appreciate their work, be it for the art or nostalgic reasons. Some of these animators have chose to do all their work in 2D, even though they may utilize pencil-test softwares, and paint their backgrounds and foregrounds ditigally, they still remain in the 2D realm, and none of that alters the spirit of their artistic expression, and I'm yet to hear any complaints from their fans -- nor have I heard of anime fans who wish their characters were in a more 3D environment.

Have you ever heard of the award-winning animator Bill Plympton? Click on the following link to view some of his works: http://www.plymptoons.com/gallery/gallery.html . He's one 2D animator with a DISTINCT 2D/hand-drawn style, whom you can be SURE will never go 3D! He's got a niche of core fans [myself included] who will always appreciate that style for it's originality.

@funmeme: Babygirl, you gotta be bold and firm, aiight? The bobo is merely using 'bully tactics' on you, and bullies are really COWARDS and prey on WEAKNESS. You gotta throw down the gauntlet and let him know in no uncertain terms that his behaviour is unacceptable. DO NOT BECOME OVERWHELMED BY FEAR! YOU are the victim here, not him. There are countless victims of abuse out there who are afraid to go forward and report their abusers/perpetrators to the authorities simply out of fear of what their victims will do next. That FEAR doesn't justify letting the victim off the hook, else you might as well resign yourself to a lifetime of intimidation and harrassment.

@informer: I'm sorry but your argument is baseless and sucks a$$. That's just like saying , "You can pray your way through everything, without involving the police, infact, if you catch a case, don't get a lawyer, don't defend yourself, just pray and get closer to God and he'll come through for you". Such an argument is UNBiblical. You might as well just say it out loud that the Police are unnecessary. Yes, you can pray, but bear in mind that God has instituted Human Authority [in this case, via Police Law Enforcement], to help regulate human excesses, mitigate crime, and execute punishments and judgements passed by the courts. The Bible clearly states that atleast for now, human governments [and by extension, the police] are necessary and are acting in God's place [in this dispensation] as checks and balances against human lawlessness. Every position of government has divine approval and sanction and God himself will hold whoever occupies any position of authority accountable for their actions/judgements, so ain't nothing wrong with seeking recourse through the courts or law enforcement, infact in certain instances you're OBLIGATED to -- e.g. if you're a witness to or victim of a crime, you're duty-bound to report it, that way the authorities can arrest the situation and perhaps even prevent further crimes. So abeg put things in perspective!

bump.

The punk of a guy lucky say you no be my sister! Kai! I woulda funked him up real bad for physically assaulting/beating you in the first place. I think your best bet'll be to call the 'po-po' [Olopa] on him, make dem use 'kondo' knock some sense into his seemingly numb skull, lock him up for a day or two, and threaten to deal with him some more if he dare come an inch near you henceforth. The guy don mental.

moondust:
@grafikdon
Lionking only downside is its 2dimensional and that is slowly gettin phased out. so i doubt if its leadin the pack like u said

In response to the above quote, I'll allow the figures to speak for themselves (which I believe should be a fair indicator of popularity):

Culled from: http://www.digitalmediafx.com/specialreports/animatedfilms.html

Top 10 Animated Movies of All Time (Actual Figures)

The following is a list of the top 10 highest grossing animated movies of all time (based on actual final figures - scroll down further or click here for inflation-adjusted figures).

Animated Movie Company Total

(1) The Lion King Walt Disney  $312.8 Million 
2) Shrek  PDI / DreamWorks $267.6 Million 
3) Monsters, Inc.  Pixar $255.3 Million 
4) Toy Story 2 Pixar $245.8 Million 
5) Aladdin Walt Disney  $217.3 Million 
6) Toy Story Pixar $191.8 Million 
7) Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs Walt Disney $178.0 Million 
8 ) Ice Age Fox $176.2 Million
9) Tarzan Walt Disney $171.1 Million 
10) A Bug's Life Pixar $162.8 Million 

Note: The above list is only for fully animated movies. In 1988, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, which mixes live action and animation, made $154.1 million at the US. Box Office. Results are based on how much money the movie made in the US./Canada Domestic box office and may include money made in rereleases (depending on circumstances). This list does not calculate for inflation or higher ticket prices.

Milestones:

- PDI/DreamWorks is the first company to break into the Disney/Pixar stronghold of top highest grossing animated films and it looks like it will go quite higher on the list before it is done. Shrek easily climbed the list of the Top 10 Animated Movies of All Time to settle into the number 2 spot.

- Monsters, Inc. became the fastest animated movie ever to enter the Top 10 Animated Movies of All Time list.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Top 10 Animated Movies of All Time (Adjusted for Inflation)
The following is a list of the top 10 highest grossing animated movies of all time is based on figures adjusted for inflation and will thus show higher figures than the movie's final figures (last adjustement made on May 31, 2001).

Animated Movie Company Total

1) The Jungle Book (1967) Walt Disney  $598.5 Million 
2) Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (1937) Walt Disney  $587.5 Million 
3) 101 Dalmations (1961) Walt Disney  $567.0 Million 
4) Fantasia (1940)* Walt Disney  $447.6 Million 
5) The Lion King (1994) Walt Disney  $403.4 Million 
6) Sleeping Beauty (1959) Walt Disney  $391.7 Million 
7) Bambi (1942) Walt Disney  $379.5 Million 
8 ) Pinocchio (1940)* Walt Disney  $363.3 Million 
9) Lady and the Tramp (1955) Walt Disney  $300.4 Million 
10) Aladdin (1992)  Walt Disney  $282.3 Million 

Note: While there are many fundamental problems with these numbers (i.e. would Fantasia really make $447.6 million if the year 2001 was its first release?) it is based purely on adjustments for inflation. As more time passes, the above numbers become more inflated.


So there you have it bro, THE HIGHEST GROSSING animated movie of ALL TIME, is , you guessed it, a 2D feature, THE LION KING.

As the above article points out, the big studios choice between 2D and 3D isn't based on the false premise that either is better than the other [notwithstanding their respective strenghts and weaknesses], nor is it based on the cost of production -- as, according to the article, "the general consensus held that there are very little cost differences between producing 3D and 2D on the film side". In my experience, animation affords the artist a medium to express his creativity without bounds, and without the limits/constraints that are extant in live-action. As an animator, you're limited only by your imagination; you can think up and animate anything imaginable, even unrealistic gestures and movements can be brought to life. And as a 2D animator, I can relate to the comment made by the Dreamworks studio rep., Mark Swift, about 2D "line mileage", which he felt was a benefit of Computer Generated (CG) 3D over hand-drawn 2D. In truth, it does take longer to draw those lines over and over, especially if the animation is in FULL [SMOOTH/FLUID] ANIMATION STYLE (mainly used in 2D features -- usually at the frame rate of 24 frames per second). It's the reason why Japs. mostly use extremely LIMITED ANIMATION style in most of their animes [in low frame rates], as it's cheaper that way and less time-consuming to produce/animate. BUT, that said, ANYTHING CAN BE ANIMATED IN 2D just as in 3D, GIVEN ENOUGH TIME. I know this because I've animated some very difficult characters that took longer mainly because they had more lines/detail that had to drawn repeatedly to depict the action, especially when done in full animation.

Below's an educative article about the 2D vs. 3D debate, that will help put things in perspective. The conclusions drawn about the subject in the article come from the "horses' mouth" -- the 'horses' here being Animation Producers from the biggest animation studios in America about both mediums/genres. (Special emphasis on the bolded/colored portions of the article)

Toon Producers Talk Shop

Friday, November 18, 2005
By: Ryan Ball
The Producers’ Guild of America’s New Media Council assembled an impressive roster of producers and production execs from leading studios for Thursday night’s panel discussion titled “Animation Producers: New Skill to Draw From.” Held at the Sony Imageworks Theater in Culver City, Calif., this latest in a series of informative and entertaining PGA events tackled a number of hot-button issues while addressing the finer points of producing 2D and 3D animation for television and film.

Moderated by Sony Pictures Animation producer Michelle Murdocca (Open Season), the discussion included Walt Disney Feature Animation VP of production Carolyn Soper, DreamWorks Animation producer Mark Swift (Shark Tale), Mike Young Prods. co-founder and partner Mike Young (Jakers! The Adventures of Piggley Winks, Pet Alien), The Jim Henson Co. new media producer Bret Nelson and XLT CEO David Koenig (producer of Bratz, Lil' Bratz, Build A Bear Workshop DVDs).

A main focus of the evening was why producers decide to use 3D over 2D, or vice versa. Swift, who was part of DreamWorks’ shift from 2D to 3D, mentioned that one of the major benefits of 3D animation is the lack of what’s called “line mileage.” He explained that in the world of hand-drawn 2D, the more lines a character has, the longer it takes to animate and the more money it costs. “We realized that with 3D, we could make the characters as detailed as we wanted,” he remarked. However, Henson’s Nelson was quick to point out that “render is the killer on the CG side.”

To work around the slowdowns and equipment woes related to rendering, Nelson and his team are taking a fairly novel approach to 3D animation production. A new animated series they’re producing is being shot like a three-camera live-action sitcom. Using the patented Henson Digital Performance Studio, puppeteers animated characters in real-time. The footage is then edited and only the parts that are going to make the final cut are rendered.

The general consensus held that there are very little cost differences between producing 3D and 2D on the film side, while Nelson noted that 3D is more expensive for television. In regards to CG animation budgets, Disney’s Soper said the most frustrating thing is the “lack of exactness in determining what something is going to cost,” indicating that whatever’s on paper before the production starts is merely a guess because they’re developing the films as they’re in production. She adds, “There’s a constant balance and trade-off in dealing with the [production] as a whole and managing the complexity of the individual parts.”

[b]Mike Young said a major difference between TV and film is that TV producers are more like directors and often have an artistic background because they deal heavily with storyboards. He revealed that his studio is even developing a secret system to augment the storyboards in order to better communicate ideas to off-shore animators. “How does an animator India know how a spoiled California girl is supposed to act?” he asked, adding that their proprietary solution will help keep things from being lost in translation. Young also commented that creator-driven shows, such as Steve Hillenbrand’s SpongeBob SquarePants, are always better and that studio features need to have more of a central creative voice. [/b]b

When asked for his advice on pitching TV properties, Young cautioned, “Don’t rely on US. Networks because they have basically become cartels. Studios like Warner Bros., Sony and Paramount own just about everything and they’re primarily interested in their own brands.” He added that, for Mike Young Prods., overseas has become just important as the domestic outlets.

On the subject of pitching, Koenig said it’s very difficult to get people to gamble on an original concept. “We’ve been licensing a bunch of properties because its easier to go to investors with pre-owned IPs,” he stated, advising independents to start animating rather than trying to sell ideas. Swift agreed, indicating that the traditional creative pitch is getting harder to do. “They’ll ask, ‘Can I see that character animated?’ and I’ll say, ‘Yeah, in about a year.'”

Even if a show gets picked up, there’s no guarantee that it’s going to be profitable. Young made a point to debunk the myth at every cartoon property is a licensing gold mine, noting “In reality, on about one in 200 makes anything at all.” Nelson agreed, lamenting, “That’s painfully true.“

On the issue of internet distribution, Nelson predicted that it’s going to happen because the end users want it to the point that they’re going to jail for it, and the producers want it because they can bypass the costs of traditional distribution channels. The snag, he says, lies in business and legal affairs because of issues involving unions such as the Screen Actors’ Guild and the Writers’ Guild of America.

One new distribution model that is currently happening is digital deployment, and it’s one that can potentially affect the creative process dramatically. With films being beamed digitally to theaters via satellite, distributors can, and most likely will, alter the content even after the release date. For instance, audiences in different cities might see different versions of a film because it has been altered along the way. And while this may have producers like George Lucas drooling at the possibilities, it has our panelists a bit worried, to say the least.

Soper told of a “scary” moment she experienced during the final days of production on Chicken Little, which was sent digitally to select theaters. She said the decision to do a stereoscopic 3-D version of the movie came relatively late in the game and called for some last minute tweaking. “We had 12 days to go back and redo 20 to 25 shots and ended up turning around 60 shots, delivering the last scene on the Tuesday before the Sunday premiere,” she recalled, adding that a Disney board member then floated the idea of adding new scenes to Chicken Little for the holidays.

“Animation Producers: New Skill to Draw From” was produced by New Media Council Events Committee chairs James Fino and Duncan Wain. To keep breast of upcoming Producers’ Guild events, go to www.pganewmedia.org.

grafikdon:
Moondust, 2D isn't going anywhere,it is here to stay like the palm of your hands. Lion King is still leading the pack, especially if you consider the ticket price of 1995 ain't the same as that of 2004/2007.

Couldn't have said it better myself! It seems some folks fail to understand that not only is 2D here to stay, but also that there are certain stories that can only be best told  visually via that medium/genre, as also applies to 3D.  E.g. I can imagine Dreamworks' "Shrek" as a 2D movie and will tell you straightup that it wouldn't have succeeded as well as it did as a 3D flick, same way Lion King would(a) suck(ed) [BiG TimE!] if done in 3D. Neither is better than the other [as both have their strenghts and weaknesses], it's just left to the storyteller to determine which of both mediums would/can best bring a story to life visually. Try telling the Japs that animes would be better in 3D -- as I write I'm trying to mentally picture the beautifully animated and visually stunning NINJA SCROLL in 3D, and I cringe~~~.

Mine would have to be:

my choices are based primarily on the quality of the animation, and then the story.

(1) the Lion King -- I saw clips of the pencil tests of this movie, and was blown away by the quality of the animation. Definitely an all-time classic/favourite.

(2) the Incredibles -- it had a 2D look and feel to it -- a la the squash and stretch, character designs/proportions -- and GREAT animation. Has to be the best 3D feature animation out there, atleast so far.

(3)  Road to Eldorado -- LOVED the character designs and animation, and story/plot wasn't bad either.

Some 2D related blogs you might want to check out:

http://theartofglenkeane..com/
http://characterdesign..com/
http://mayersononanimation..com/
http://handdrawnnomadzone..com/
http://johnkstuff..com/
http://sevencamels..com/
http://blackwingdiaries..com/


Cheers.