Top products from r/learnanimation
We found 24 product mentions on r/learnanimation. We ranked the 15 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
1. The Animator's Survival Kit
Sentiment score: 4
Number of reviews: 3
Used Book in Good Condition
3. The Animator's Survival Kit: A Manual of Methods, Principles and Formulas for Classical, Computer, Games, Stop Motion and Internet Animators
Sentiment score: 2
Number of reviews: 2
Faber Faber
4. Cartoon Animation (Collector's Series)
Sentiment score: 1
Number of reviews: 2
art
5. Character Animation Crash Course!( DVD not included)
Sentiment score: 2
Number of reviews: 2
Silman-James Pr
6. Directing the Story: Professional Storytelling and Storyboarding Techniques for Live Action and Animation
Sentiment score: 0
Number of reviews: 1
Focal Press
7. Animate to Harmony: The Independent Animator's Guide to Toon Boom
Sentiment score: 2
Number of reviews: 1
Focal Press
8. How to Cheat in Maya 2014: Tools and Techniques for Character Animation
Sentiment score: 1
Number of reviews: 1
Focal Press
9. An Atlas of Animal Anatomy for Artists (Dover Anatomy for Artists)
Sentiment score: 1
Number of reviews: 1
10. The Illusion of Life: Disney Animation
Sentiment score: 1
Number of reviews: 1
Used Book in Good Condition
11. Figure Drawing for All It's Worth
Sentiment score: 1
Number of reviews: 1
Titan Books UK
12. The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
Sentiment score: 0
Number of reviews: 1
13. Wacom Bamboo Splash Pen Tablet (CTL471)
Sentiment score: 1
Number of reviews: 1
Lite art creation. Painting, drawing, sketching or document mark-upFree downloadable creative software included: Autodesk Sketchbook Express and ArtRage Studio. To obtain the software, register the item with the included installation CD, which will take you to download.wacom.comErgonomically designe...
14. XP-Pen Deco 01 V2 10x6.25 Inch Digital Graphics Drawing Tablet Drawing Pen Tablet with Battery-Free Passive Stylus and 8 Shortcut Keys (8192 Levels Pressure)
Sentiment score: 1
Number of reviews: 1
Features Type-C input design, easy to plug in and out. The Deco 01 V2’s expansive tablet is big and brilliant, yet still designed to break through the limit between express keys and drawing area. 10 x 6.25 inch working area, so you get more space to create or get work done. TheDeco 01 V2’s thick...
15. Looneng Animation Peg Bar, Comic Tools Ruler Fixed Paper Feet for Fixing Animation Paper
Sentiment score: 1
Number of reviews: 1
Comic tools ruler feet 3 pin animation peg bar for fixing punched animation drawing paperStandard 3 pin animation peg bar, for use with all punched animation paperThis stainless steel animation peg bar ensures that animation papers remain aligned to facilitate drawingSpecial designed allows quick pl...
Hey there, happy you're looking to explore animation; it's an intensely difficult trade that's super rewarding if you truly enjoy the time you'll spend on it.
​
I'm currently studying animation at university now, and can offer a few programs & advice. I just started animating in the Fall of 2018 and am focusing on a track of hand-drawn 2-D animation (digital, but i still enjoy working on paper every so often!). I've decided to pursue character animation, but I have an interest in storyboarding, layouts, and fx animation:
​
*Always look for student discounts! You don't have to study animation to access the student discounts for an
animation program. Take advantage of these if you've got access, because they really knock down the price to a
manageable level.
​
Best of luck on your future projects, I can't wait to see what you're able to make. :\^)
For you first attempt at animation, I thing you did a great job! Definitely a good start.
The storytelling is a bit unclear, it took me a few views to understand exactly what was going on. The main reason it was unclear to me is because up until the end, I didn't really know where the characters were in relationship to one another. A couple ways you could fix this is to have a background in each shot to show where they are in the environment and have a few shot where you see both characters in frame at the same time to show how close/far they are from each other. I would also have an establishing shot at the beginning to show where the story is taking place. I think you are also missing a few key storytelling shots at the beginning that would help clarify that the characters are playing hide and seek. I think you need to show the beginning of the game, where the boy character would be counting and the girl character is starting to hide.
In terms of the animation, I think the constantly changing line color is distracting. I would try to keep it to one color throughout. You could have the boy and girl have different colors, but I wouldn't keep those colors consistent in each shot. I like the loose/rough quality of your drawings, but I think you need to pay more attention to the volume and form of your characters. Your timing and spacing in the animation is quite even as well. Meaning, it looks like everything is moving at the same speed and it is hard to distinguish between fast and slow movements. Timing and spacing are hard to get right, even for people who have been animating for a long time. The only way to improve these skills are to keep animating!
For your first animation, I think you did really well, the more you animate the more you will improve. I think you chose a really complex subject for this animation and suggest you start with some easier animation tests moving forward. I would start off with learning the 12 animation principles and animating some basic stuff like bouncing balls, pendulums, falling leaves, etc. I would recommend buying these books: Animator's Survival Kit and Eric Goldburg's Character Animation Crash Course. You also might want to look in to using software that is designed for animation. It will probably make it easier to see the animation as your working on it instead of exporting out images and putting them together in movie maker. You should check out PAP4, its a simple animation program that is free to download/use.
As far as applying to CalArts, I would really focus on creating a great portfolio with solid life drawing. CalArts wants to see that their prospective students already have solid drawing skills so that you can hit the ground running when you start classes. I would see about taking some local life drawing classes/workshops where you live so you can build up a solid portfolio. While they like to see students with previous experience animating, the portfolio is much more important to getting accepted there. You should check out AnimatedBuzz, its a social community for animators. There are a lot of prospective CalArts students on there who post their work on the forums to get feedback.
Hope this helps. Good luck to you and keep animating :)
Friends of mine have used animation mentor.
Whatever path you take, bring this roadmap: https://www.amazon.com/Animators-Survival-Kit-Richard-Williams/dp/0571202284
You may not understand it all now but it will get you started, and even years later I sometimes look to it for reference on certain things.
You'll need to choose what software to work in. You can animate in Photoshop. You can animate 2D in Blender 3D using the greasepencil. I personally use Adobe Animate/Flash but also know Toonboom and After Effects. There are a lot of other programs like flip note- but I've NEVER seen flipnote used in the industry (not counting artists like Kiki who is given a project and uses it because that's what he knows best and he can make the call on any.)
Most jobs in the field use Toonboom or Animate/Flash that I see. There's other software but once you get the basics switching to something else is just adapting to another user interface so I'd suggest using either of these. Possibly even Photoshop- most animation jobs don't use Photoshop for animation but knowing Photoshop is good and has a vast amount of uses.
Start off with simple exercises like the ball bounce, pendulum swing, saving hard stuff like walks for last.
Here's a video that was recorded in a college level animation intro class: https://vimeo.com/15213159 It's unedited, but literally a recording a professional animator made while teaching his class so his students could rewatch the lesson when they got home (you miss things the first time when you're first learning it) The first one is a ball bounce.
This one teaches overlapping action: https://vimeo.com/7328290
There are a TON of other tutorials out there, but draw loose and practice the basics like bouncing balls BEFORE you try to do character animation.
definitely invest in the michael hampton book, figure drawing: design and invention. it is a spectacular book that focuses on every area of figure drawing for artists--gesture, anatomy, and construction. keep in mind, however, that it isn't entirely comprehensive; you're meant to study from it along with other books.
try looking for teachers/mentors/classes if you can. avoid classes that teach traditional figure drawing for painters; although these are no doubt taught by talented and terrific artists, it is not the type of figure drawing you're trying to learn. it's important for an animator to be able to quickly analyze, invent, and construct forms. traditional figure drawing by observation and long poses is, therefore, fairly antiproductive (there are some who disagree--john kricfalusi, creator of ren and stimpy, for example, thinks that really analyzing leads to stronger understanding and cleaner linework. your mileage may vary!)
i'm glad that you're looking into improving your figure drawing skills; it's a vital step to improving as an artist. keep in mind that for animators, it's recommended that you focus on improving your gesture (short pose) studies as much as possible (again, some people disagree--john k, for example. the average person, however, will find gesture to be more beneficial).
figure drawing is an important part of foundations. try looking into a school that has a strong emphasis on foundations as opposed to theory; having been to a school that was more "experimental," i regret not having transferred out sooner.
Start with Eric Goldberg's book "Character Animation Crash Course!"
http://www.amazon.com/Character-Animation-Crash-Course-Goldberg/dp/1879505975
It reads a lot less like the stereo instructions that is Richard Williams's "Animator's Survival Kit" providing for a much more accessible and lighter introduction to animation. If, after you've read through it, you find that animation is still for you then absolutely 110% get Richard Williams's book.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/086547897X/ref=pd_aw_fbt_14_img_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0MV2H6MZNC3HHHH1ED43
Another must have is "The Illusion of Life".
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0786860707/ref=pd_aw_fbt_14_img_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1S91BNCH9AFXPJQCA1HH
Always keep in mind that the word animate means "to give life to." You are bringing a character to life be it a drawing or a 3D model. Before even touching paper and pencil (because you thoroughly plan your scene out that way first before touching the mouse ;-) ask yourself "what is the character thinking?" Get inside that character's head. Sketch out exploratory poses. They don't have to be gorgeously rendered drawings. They are your visual notes and can even be stick figures just so long as you can read them. Get away from your desk and physically act out what your character has to do or hit up YouTube for research. Shoot reference with your smartphone (use an app like ProCamera which lets you shoot at 24fps) and analyze how long it takes you to perform an action. Don't sweat the software just yet. That's the technical stuff that comes later. Animators are actors and it's important to understand acting first. That being said, this book is great for learning Maya.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0415826594/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1453026213&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=how+to+cheat+in+maya+2015&dpPl=1&dpID=51IrWwVyubL&ref=plSrch
This book combines learning to animate in Maya while simultaneously teaching the 12 principles of animation. The very best of luck to you in the beginning of your animation journey. Take your time and practice everyday. Think of animation as a muscle. You have to workout everyday for it to get stronger even if you only work on something for 15 minutes a day.
We purchased this one. We did check out a few of the highly recommended tablets, but all were quite expensive for an 11 yo. This one was in a list of good beginner tablets, and happened to have a 25% of coupon that day. We dont want to sink a butt load of money in just yet, as kids can quickly drop things, however, I dont want it to be so crappy she loses interest entirely.
XP-PEN Deco 01 10x6.25 Inch Digital Graphics Drawing Tablet Drawing Pen Tablet with Battery-Free Passive Stylus and 8 Shortcut Keys (8192 Levels Pressure) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077P6BQP7/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_kFSZDb1T4PZAY
Do you know anything about it?
For the frew software, would FireAplaca be your top suggestion?
Any good YouTube channels that could help her? I'm not ready for her to venture on to reddit just yet, lol
I'll echo what others are saying. Nice first attempt but it's missing a lot of basics (And obviously more nuanced things as well).
Things it could benefit from:
More nuanced things I see that are problems:
etc etc
These are all things covered in books such as this, that I would highly recommend.
https://www.amazon.ca/Animators-Survival-Kit-Principles-Formulas/dp/0571202284
Don't be discouraged, you have a good start... but there is a lot of art and science to animation that's been established for over a century (Disney etc) and there is no point re-inventing the wheel. It's well worth your time reading up on it.
Keep at it!
When I learned (granted it was more than a decade ago) I found the tutorials at Lynda.com were fantastic. That being said, is there a specific reason you're shooting for Flash? I only ask because if you have yet to dedicate time and energy to a program, I'd highly recommend switching to one built for animation. Toon Boom makes a range of good products, or there's Pencil and TVPaint as options as well. All these programs will serve you better in the long-term than Flash, which was never designed for animation and with each new version becomes more difficult for that purpose. (This is from someone who did animation for 10 years in Flash. I had no idea how bad it was until I left it in the dust and moved to Toon Boom Animate.) Just a suggestion!
If you do choose to go the Toon Boom route, I recommend Adam Phillips book "Animate to Harmony" which is published by Focal Press. http://www.amazon.com/Animate-Harmony-Independent-Animators-Guide/dp/0415705371
I picked up this Monoprice tablet yesterday after owning this Wacom tablet. I'm already convinced that the Monoprice tablet is all around better than the other in price, drawing area, and it also has programmable buttons that I use to replace keyboard shortcuts in photoshop. Best $60 I ever put into anything art-wise.
This book is in the related and I've heard some really good things about it as well
Any advice I could give will pale in comparison to reading this:
The Animator's survival Kit
Richard Williams goes over all the big stuff, breaks it down bit by bit and it really is a fascinating read if you want to get into animating. I still go back and reference it after 5 years.
Andrew Loomis' Figure Drawing for all it's worth
has some excellent breakdown of drawing the figure in perspective.
Michael Hampton [Figure Drawing: Design and Invention] (http://www.amazon.com/Figure-Drawing-Invention-Michael-Hampton/dp/0615272819) demonstrates an excellent constructive approach to anatomy of the human figure.
Preston Blairs Cartoon Animation isn't so much a book on figure drawing or anatomy, but a book on the process of drawing for animation. While a lot of the work might be outdated, the process can be an indispensable foundation for artists.
Do you have a copy of Preston Blair's book? It's always been the most important entry-point bible (IMHO).
If you want to learn how to accurately, I would highly recommend 'drawing from the right side of the brain' by Betty Edwards. I used to teach drawing to architecture students and I used many of these exercises. You don't need to read a word of the book, just do the exercises. They'll teach you to stop seeing 'objects' and start seeing spatial relationships, which is the key to drawing accurately.
https://www.amazon.com/New-Drawing-Right-Side-Brain/dp/0874774241/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1492836156&sr=8-3&keywords=drawing+from+the+right+side+of+the+brain
Try looking at Directing the Story.