Some quick animation smear guides I put together for a friend! not sure if it works as a tutorial without my in person commentary, also more intended as a guide to show examples of basic/common smear types :O
…might make a tutorial on how to use smears another time…
So recently I came across a fellow artist who was struggling to find a free art program, and considering dropping the large amount of money for a Photoshop license. I know not everyone can afford such an expensive program, so I’ve compiled a list of programs with no cost to download and use.
Keep in mind all computers are different, so not all will work for everyone. Also, I’ve only ever used Windows, so for the most part, I’m not sure if everything will work for Mac. if in doubt check the website linked.
Photoshop CS2 - (Windows, not sure about Mac.)
FireAlpaca - (Windows and Mac)
Sketchbook Copic Edition - (Windows and Mac)
Paint tool SAI [cracked] - (Windows) (Mac)
Paint tool SAI 2 beta - (tumblr post on said program)
iPaint - (Mac)
Paintbrush - (Mac)
Pencil - (Windows, Mac)
Paint.NET - (Windows)
Seashore [still in development, ver 0.5] - (Mac)
ChocoFlop - (Mac)
Inkscape - (Mac and Windows)
ArtRage [Demo] - (Mac and Windows)
OpenCanvas 1.1[must pay for 2.0] - (Windows, not sure about Mac.)
MyPaint - (Windows)
Krita - (Windows)
Vectorian [Supports Animation] - (Windows)
Pixia[Japanese, some English versions] - (Windows)
Asperite - (Windows)
Chasys Draw IES - (Windows)
SmoothDraw - (Windows)
TwistedBrush Open Studio - (Windows)
BOUNS - CTRL+Paint [Great for teaching all kinds of stuff, like how to use digital programs.]
If you know more free programs, please add onto this!
OpenToonz has made many improvements since it’s initial release! (Windows & Mac)
Medibang Paint is a comic drawing software forked from FireAlpaca mentioned earlier in this post, and is available for mobile devices as well! (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android)
Sharing is Caring :)
Autodesk sketchbook is free too ^^
Tho you have to buy the full version, but the free one is good for quick sketches
Atem and his stand, “Magician Black”. Seto and his stand, “Dragon White”.
I’m running an Introductory Animation Workshop with creative arts students this Saturday (August 20, 2016) for The School of Creative Arts Open Day at Melbourne Polytechnic’s Prahran Campus.
I’ve rotoscoped and broken down some of the greatest dance gifs to their basic poses and we’re going to collaboratively design characters then MAKE THEM DANCE!!
Come down, check out the campus and say HI!
I can’t wait to see the weird animated goofs that result from this workshop, I’ll post them in a couple of days so we can all be in awe of their hilarious spontaneity!
I need this.
The Milt Kahl Head Swaggle
(Source: Cartoon Brew)
I love it when you can pick up an animator’s quirks.
I’ve read in old interviews with Milt Khal’s fellow animators that he did the swaggle to purposefully show off. Moving the head in 3-d space is an exceptionally hard thing to do but Khal upped the level of difficulty to a place many animators wouldn’t go.
Not only are they all doing the swaggle you’ll notice they are all TALKING while they are doing it. This is back in the days where you had to use a timing sheet to pace your animation and a head swaggle doesn’t work if its too slow or too fast so he had to figure out the right speed so it looked natural while the character finishes what they have to say while not interfering with the distinct mouth shapes.
Not only did Khal do it without any shifting weight problems or timing issues he would often do it while moving the rest of the body. This isn’t his signature move just because he was good at it.This is his signature move because he was one of the only people skilled enough to DO IT AT ALL.
Milt Khal was a MASTER.
1. Ah Fai was a chief animator for McDull’s animated features. He’s super cool. Ultimate senpai.
2. Previous post on breakdowns right here
Some thoughts on acceleration and force
I presented this in the order of how I slowly understood the trick of delivering force - first an abstract concept of impact taught by Ah Fai, then a more complicated discovery on the acceleration pattern, last back to a more abstract concept of breakdowns.
Like I’ve previously stressed, 2D animation is everything but one single approach. There’s no one rule that rules them all, but interchangeable ideas with math, or physics, or music, etc. There’s no “perfect” animation either, but what is perceived as organic and dynamic. E.g., using the Fibonacci numbers to animate didn’t bring me a perfect animation! On the other hand, a tiny change in the pattern could already make the feeling of force so much more powerful.
Not so much of a tutorial than a personal experience. I hope you find this interesting hahaha
Cosplay (and general sewing) life hack- easy pleats with a fork! For all those school girl uniform cosplays and more :)
How I break down anatomy and make it mechanical while still looking organic/streamline in shape. These guidelines can be stretched, squished, pulled, and widened however you see fit. They will work for any shape, from big and squishy to thin and spindly.
You can ref from this where needed, I encourage you trace this image in your private/personal studies, just please refrain from posting the image if you trace from this!
