Animation is a visual artwork that is created from continuous static pictures arranged by repeating them in a constant speed. It can be done individual or in a teamwork. But better animation needs better skills on each process.
The best thing of animation is about the unlimited imagination we can perform without having troubles with actors, environments, and possibilities. There’s only one limit to create animation, our own imagination.
So, how to create a good animation? Every studio certainly has their own ways to create good animation, depend on experiences, needs, and (mostly) client request. Well, me and my studio has different treatments to perform animation, but generally here are the steps.
1.Creative Brief is a Creative Deal
Pay attention to what your clients want. This tips only useful if you’re about to create commercial animation, remember this “client is king”, I really hate to say that
It’s always recommended to create “creative brief” before you start doing your job. Why? Because sometimes (read: oftenly) your clients want changes on your work. Creative Brief will prevent you from huge unnecessary revision caused by different visual perception. It will help you and your clients finding the same perception and understanding about the animation work to do.
2.Story is Glory
Story is about messages to tell. If you could arrange a good story, you got your first credit point There are no limit to choose a story, but any story you pick ; fiction, non-fiction, legend, fable, thriller, comedy, or whatever, keep it interesting. How? Good story always tell something, marked on the audiences and viewers’ mind.
If a good story choosen, break it down to scenario, where you add details of dialog and scene. It’s such an important step
3.Character Detail is Powerful
Every story has their subjects. So that’s why we have to breakdown every character detail into visual and textual explanation.
Visual : we draw their physical proportion as a base of their actions, draw it in all position; front, back, left, right, and it would be better to start it in naked one. You can custom the details later; dress, hat, shoes, or other attributes.
Textual : It’s useful to describe the character you’ve just draw, are they protagonist, antagonist, sweet, cruel, or else. You can also add a little description such as their birth place and date, history, psychic, and other non-visual elements
This step will help you find the strength of the story and character support it. Try it !!!
4.From Scenario to Storyboard
After finishing your scenario and character details, next step to be done is creating storyboard. It’s a visual plan, where we can translate textual script into visual
Storyboard is similar to a very simple comic. We determine the scene, angles of camera, characters action, sound effects, and many other things by creating simple illustration with a little note to describe atmosphere we’d like to build. The good storyboard will be resulting informative and communicative visual guide before we continue to the production steps.
5.Just Do It (Production)
It’s the time !!! Now you’re going to the production process. Those previous steps are in pre-production. There are view steps in production process :
a. Sketching
Start drawing your characters and environments in details. Look at your scenario or
storyboard. Remember, you’re on production mode now. Draw it the best you can
b. Modelling
Modelling is more familiar at 3d works, but I think it can be generalized into other
animation technique, such as 2d animation, or even clay. The point is we start to build our
characters and environments into proper media. For example Macromedia Flash and Toon
Boom are famous in 2d/cartoon animation. 3ds Max, Lightwave and Maya are most
common use in 3d animation. You can add the list more
c. Animating
Now it’s the time to animating figures you have modelled previously. Each tool and
technique has different treatment. In Flash you can create “frame by frame” or “tween”
animation. In 3d you can animate lot easier than in 3d, but need more advantage in
modeling
d. Compositing
After you animate your figures in previous step, now it’s time composite them with
environment, image background, sound or music background into one ready composition.
My studio prefers to use After Effect, it’s lot easier and complete.
e. Publishing
Now, we can convert our work into prefer media. And last we can burn them into CD,
SVCD, or DVD. It’s done
