Introduction
Making your own animations can be a fun and rewarding experience. With the right tools and some basic knowledge of the principles of animation, you can create your own animated shorts, movies, or video games.
In this blog post, we’ll walk you through what you’ll need to get started making animations, the basics of animation, and how to put it all together. By the end, you’ll be ready to start animating your own creations!
What You’ll Need.
Software
To create your own animations, you will need animation software. This software will allow you to create the keyframes and in-betweens that make up your animation. There are many different types of animation software available, but for this article we will be using Adobe Animate CC.
Hardware
In addition to software, you will also need some hardware. You will need a computer that is powerful enough to run the animation software, as well as any other programs you may need (such as a video editing program). You will also need a drawing tablet and stylus. A drawing tablet allows you to draw directly into the computer, which can be very helpful for animators.
The Basics of Animation.
Keyframes
At its most basic, animation is created by keyframing an object’s position, rotation, and/or scale over time. Keyframes are simply the start and end points of an animation. Everything in between these points is determined by the software you’re using. In-betweening is the process of creating these intermediary frames.
There are a few things to keep in mind when keyframing:
Ease in and ease out: This refers to the speed at which an object moves into and out of a keyframe. By default, most software will ease objects into and out of keyframes, but you can also control this manually. Easing gives your animations a more natural feel.
Hold keyframes: Sometimes you may want an object to remain static for a period of time before or after it moves. To do this, simply hold the keyframe by clicking on it in the timeline and pressing “h” on your keyboard.
Linear vs Bezier interpolation: This refers to the way your software calculates the motion between two keyframes. Linear interpolation creates straight lines between keyframes while bezier interpolation gives you more control over the curve of the motion path.
In-betweening
In-betweening is the process of creating intermediate frames between two keyframes. As we mentioned before, most software will do this automatically, but you also have the option to do it manually. There are a few things to keep in mind when in-betweening:
Ease in and ease out: As we mentioned in the previous section, easing gives your animations a more natural feel by gradually increasing or decreasing the speed at which an object moves into and out of a keyframe. You can control this manually by adjusting the tangents on yourkeyframes or by using one of the many presets that come with most software packages.
Rotation order: Another thing to keep in mind when animating rotations is rotation order. By default, most software uses what’s called “xyz order”, meaning that rotations are applied in the order x, y, z (i). This can sometimes lead to unexpected results, so it’s important to be aware of this when animating rotations manually.
Timing
Timing is one of the most important aspects of animation. It’s what gives your animation its rhythm and flow. There are a few things to keep in mind when timing your animations:
Frame rate: This is the number of frames per second that your animation will be played back at. The standard frame rate for film and television is 24fps, but you can use any frame rate you want. Just keep in mind that the higher the frame rate, the smoother your animation will be but also the larger your file size will be.
Keyframes: As we mentioned before, keyframes are simply the start and end points of an animation. Everything in between these points is determined by the software you’re using. In-betweening is the process of creating these intermediary frames.
In-betweening: In-betweening is the process of creating intermediate frames between two keyframes. As we mentioned before, most software will do this automatically, but you also have the option to do it manually.
That’s the basics of animation! In the next section, we’ll put all of this together and learn how to create a simple animation.
Putting It All Together.
Storyboarding
The first step in creating an animation is to storyboard it out. This will give you a clear idea of what actions need to take place and in what order. You can use a software program like Storyboard Pro or draw it out by hand.
Design
After you have your storyboard, you’ll need to design the characters and backgrounds. Again, you can do this digitally or by hand. If you’re not confident in your drawing skills, there are plenty of online resources where you can find free or inexpensive stock art.
Animation
Now for the fun part: animating! There are a few different ways to animate graphics, but the most common method is known as “keyframing.” This involves creating a starting point and an ending point for each action, then filling in the details in between. You can also use something called ” tweening” to automatically generate the frames in between keyframes.
Once your animation is complete, animixplay safe you’ll need to export it as a video file so it can be shared with others. There are many different video formats, but the most popular ones are .mp4 and .mov files.
Conclusion
Creating your own animations can be a fun and rewarding experience. By following the steps outlined in this blog post, you can get started on making your own animated shorts.
You’ll need some basic software and hardware to get started. For software, you’ll need an animation program like Adobe After Effects or Blender. For hardware, you’ll need a computer with a good graphics card.
The basics of animation are keyframes, in-betweening, and timing. Keyframes are the starting and ending points of your animation. In-betweening is the process of filling in the frames between the keyframes. Timing is important for making your animation look smooth and realistic.
Putting all of these elements together can be daunting, but by storyboarding your ideas and designing your characters beforehand, you can make the process much easier. And finally, when you’re ready to animate, remember to have fun!
