Reddit reviews Character Animation Crash Course!( DVD not included)

OpenTOonz is more than an excellent choice for classic 2d frame-by-frame animation. Even better than Toonboom Harmony in my opinion. You must keep in mind that OT is very much studio production level oriented, and it shows in the way an animation project is handled. Be sure to read the first couple of chapters of the manual (see link below) to wrap your head around the concepts as used in OT.


For more painterly backgrounds Krita is a brilliant side-kick. It can also be helpful to use a 3d application such as Blender and/or Sketchup to assist you in creating quick perspective mockups for overpainting in Krita.

Get the latest and greatest release of OpenTOonz here:

https://github.com/opentoonz/opentoonz_nightlies/releases

First, a number of OpenTOonz related Youtube channels are available:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVLaNbnJtXu6j7o3Sy3eWIg

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-t3I3gSAsZWsCvsxUkBZRA

The manual can be downloaded here (Harlequin was/is the commercial version, and OT is 95% compatible):

http://www.toonz.com/cgi-shl/download/71H/Toonz%20Harlequin%2071%20User%20Guide.pdf

Two good (paper) tutorials explaining both the paperless digital and paper-based workflow can be found here (includes exercise files):

http://www.toonz.com/htm/support/suppw.htm

http://www.toonz.com/htm/support/supTWtut.htm

A more active "official" forum for questions and support is here: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!categories/opentoonz_en

As for your questions:

1. OT supports vector, "Toonz raster", and raster "levels" (the name used in OT for animated content). Bitmaps can be imported into frames. If you created animated assets in an external application (for example 3d animated backgrounds, or vehicles from Blender or a similar 3d app, or Krita background painted animations) these can be imported as a sequence of images using the following file name syntax: name.XXXX.ext (for example my3dcarAnim.0001.png, my3dcarAnim.0002.png, etc.). As long as you save your phone-shot photo sequences using this file name rule, you can directly import these in the timeline/Xsheet.
   
   
2. you can start an animation by sketching in a raster level, and then creating a vector level for inking/cleanup.
   
   
3. the latest beta version includes a quite flexible Camera Capture option: hook up a compatible webcam, and take reference shots (even entire sequences) with your web camera, and these shots are directly inserted as new frames in OpenTOonz. Useful for paper pencil tests, or reference shots. My Logitech webcam is directly supported in OpenTOonz. Super handy.
   
   
4. Importing QuickTime movies works for me. I have had little luck with AVI - too many variants of AVI out there. Do not expect stellar playback frame rates. It can be used for reference. I prefer to convert reference movies to PNG or jpg image sequences first myself, since playback is much faster.
   
   PS when you install Quicktime, PREVENT the player component from being installed. This is a known security risk. (I assume you will be working with Windows.)
   
   
5. Rotoscoping is supported (importing live footage as reference as explained in (4) and then increasing the opacity level of the reference footage. It is possible to draw over the reference footage this way.
   
   To learn more about traditional 2d animation techniques (timing, spacing, poses, inbetweening, and so on) I recommend getting the books by Preston Blair and Richard Williams, and Eric Goldberg. All three are/were masters of the craft.
   
   https://www.amazon.ca/Cartoon-Animation-Preston-Blair/dp/1560100842
   
   https://www.amazon.ca/Animators-Survival-Kit-Principles-Classical/dp/B00HTJZS48/ (get the expanded edition!)
   
   https://www.amazon.ca/Character-Animation-Crash-Course-Goldberg/dp/1879505975/
   
   Sites of interest for the beginning animator:
   
   http://animationresources.org/
   
   http://www.animatorisland.com/51-great-animation-exercises-to-master/
   
   http://johnkstuff.blogspot.ca/
   
   http://cartooncave.blogspot.ca/
   
   And most importantly, have fun learning!
   

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.

It's a shame that they didn't include Eric Goldberg's Character Animation Crash Course

the book itself isnt huge, but the level of information in there is so dense and awesome to glance through whenever.

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 :)

I would recommend getting something along the lines of:
The Animator's Survival Kit
Crash Course in Animation

I've never used Blender so I can't speak of that, but try getting a trial or educational version of Maya. There are a multitude of animator-friendly rigs you can use with that. Also join animation communities and read up on blogs. There is a ton of information out there regarding animation. Just keep in mind that animation works roughly the same was regardless of medium (2D, 3D, stop motion).

Here's a good site with a solid and helpful community:
11 Second Club
/r/Animation

I rarely have enough time to sink into animating anything for more than 15 seconds at the most. I hold down a job and take care of my parents (it's a long story).

If you want some literature to pick up, I'd recommend "Animators Crash Course" as a cheap starting point for understanding 2D animation.

3D is more pricey book wise but the good news is the student version of Maya (and 3DS Max) is free to download (you just get a watermark on everything).

Otherwise, take care of your business and handle the family stuff. That's way more important than messing with polygons and line work.

What type of animation interests you? The principles are generally all the same between all types of animation - which is great - but the actual act of creating the animation varies wildly.

Types of animation:

• 3D computer animation (Maya, 3ds Max, Blender)
  
• 2D digital (Flash/ToonBoom/TV Paint)
  
• 2D traditional (pencil/paper)
  
• Stop-motion
  
  I'm into 3D animation, so I could provide the most resources regarding that, but there are a couple things you could do to get started regardless of your preferred flavor of animation.
  
  

1. Buy this book: http://www.amazon.com/Animators-Survival-Kit-Principles-Classical/dp/086547897X
   
2. Aaron Blaise, a classic Disney animator, offers a bunch of reasonably priced video tutorials. Plus he's having a sale now:
   https://creatureartteacher.com/product-category/tutorials-lessons/animation-tutorials/
   
3. Buy this book too: http://www.amazon.com/Character-Animation-Crash-Course-Goldberg/dp/1879505975/
   
   If you studied (and practiced) that stuff religiously, that's pretty much all you'd need to get a really solid launch into animation for pretty cheap.