Pencilprawn - Howdy Roosky!

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Hey! I'm really interested in pursuing a career in art (right now I'm thinking cartooning or something) and even though college apps are a couple years away my teachers have been telling me to look into what unis/colleges I'm interested in. Every time I do, I get really sad because I'm like "what are the chances of me being a successful artist with decent job security, especially since there are so many other great artists out there". Do you have any advice?

Here are some of my thoughts (after jump): 

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Hey there, blenderbeetle! Thanks so much for the mail. I can’t say that there’s any one perfect way to learn animation (if there is, I certainly haven’t found it), but I do have few personal tips that will hopefully help you as much as they’ve helped me. Some of these points are lifted from others posts I’ve made in the past, but fleshed out a bit more, along with a ton of new ideas as well.

First off, for anybody starting out, I highly recommend reading, studying, and copying from Preston Blair’s Advanced Animation. The name itself is pretty misleading- it actually starts from the very basics of construction, and continues from there into other important aspects, like strong lines of action and squash and stretch. It’s also where I started when I began getting more serious about animation, and I would absolutely say it has been my one of biggest helps. Start from the beginning, follow everything step-by-step as explained by the book, and check your work along the way. Having a good grasp on construction will help immensely with your endeavors (for it certainly did for me)

^One very important thing to keep in mind when you’re copying these drawings is that the goal isn’t necessarily to be able to draw those poses and examples perfectly, but to be able to take what you’ve learned from each example and apply it to your own drawings and animation. Your copies don’t have to be perfect, but you do want them to be very close to the examples, and follow logical construction progression. Because trust me, if you try to make them perfect (like I often tried to when I did them) you’ll end up driving yourself crazy over tiny details and forgetting what the whole point even is (like… me, when I did them). It’s pretty tedious and painful at the beginning, but the more you do it, the easier and faster it’ll become for you. I’m still not the best at it, but I can definitely say I’ve gotten much better over time.

Even if you think that you’ll never be drawing those types of “old-fashioned” characters, you can still use what you’ve learned in your own stuff. Seriously, these principles are pretty much universal, and can really help with art and animation!

Continuing on…

Study from the best! There are a ton of great artists and animators out there to study and learn from, in both the present and past. There are so many awesome animators even just here on Tumblr! Personally, I love to watch and analyze frames from 40s and 50s Warner Brothers and Disney cartoons (I’m very fond of WB directors Chuck Jones and Bob Clampett— their work is always on-point.) I still get amazed at how skillfully those animators could move those characters. Also, check out Sakugabooru. Tons of wonderful clips from both eastern and western animators are featured, and you can find almost anything you’re looking for, whether it’s character acting or lovely effects animation. While the focus is primarily on traditional 2D animation, you’ll also find some CGI in there too. (My personal favorites are the 2D/CGI blends!) There is some 18+ content there as well, so if you don’t want to see that, make sure you check the tags and rating before looking at a clip. They’re usually a good indicator. 

Yes, I realize the irony of me saying that last “18+ warning” part here on Tumblr of all places, but that’s how I roll.

Also, study from real life. Start to observe what objects (and people, and animals!) actually look like, rather than what you think they may look like. Once you do that, see if you can apply what you’ve observed into your own work!

If possible, find rough and unfinished versions of animated scenes, like these featured at penciltests​ . These are really cool because you can clearly see the general forms and construction lines, and get a feel for the process the animator used, all without anything else to distract (like final effects, coloring, etc.)

Along that vein, good ol’ model sheets are also great. In my opinion, the best model sheets to study are the ones that demonstrate some sort of progression in how the character is drawn:

On general animation:

When you start animating, start with the basic/general forms of your character/object and continue from there. Animating details and everything else all at once on a complicated character can get confusing, so I find that it tends to be easier to drop those details and get the general forms and motion down first.

Sometimes, I like try animating an action using the fewest frames possible. It can be fun to see what kind of impact you can achieve with just the bare necessities, and good for practice.

If you’re making a project that’s a bit longer or a bit more complicated than the usual gif, make some sort of plan. It could potentially save you a lot of time, especially if you end up forgetting something that you were supposed to put in. If you have a set structure and plan, it could also help you stay within your own guidelines. Because most of the animations I make are short and typically have next to no plot or narrative, I don’t really have a need for heavy planning or storyboarding. Still, a good plan could definitely help you in visualizing where you want to go, and can help you estimate how long something may take.

I just know, know, know you’ve heard this so much before, but truly, keep at it. Every step counts!

Like I said at the beginning of this post, I don’t think there’s any one perfect way to learn animation, but I sincerely hope you’ll find these tips helpful.  Being a self-taught animator as well, I can totally sympathize with you. But honestly, things will get better before you know it! 

Lookie:

Yep. Here are a couple of my ancient, all-out-wonky animations that I dug up, dated late 2010 through mid 2011. They were made in my very first animation software, Flipnote Studio for the Nintendo DS (even before I got into Inchworm Animation!)  That really puts some things in perspective! Really, I find it absolutely astounding to think that I would be putting out *anything* near what was in my last post. Practically everything I’ve learned so far about animation has come from what I’ve discovered on the internet…. And, well, watching a ton of movies and cartoons. I can’t tell you how how much the information that I’ve found (and am still finding!) and the friends I’ve met (and am still meeting!) have helped me.

Thanks again for the mail! If you or anybody else has anything to ask, please don’t hesitate.

Hey dude I've been following your blog for a while and you got some really cool animations. I myself am trying to learn how to animate but I don't know where to start. So my question to you is where do I start to learn how to animate? Like are there any books I should read or tutorials you would recommend. Thanks for your time man I really apreciate it.

First off, thanks for the compliment and thanks for following me!

I don’t really think there’s any one way, but…

As far as books go, I’d say Preston Blair’s Advanced Animation is probably the best place to start. The name’s pretty misleading- It atcually starts form the very basics. It’s where I started when I started getting more serious about animation, and I’d say it has probably been my biggest help. Learning good construction skills has helped me tremendously with my animation and art. You may have a lot of awesome ideas in your mind, but that won’t help much if you can’t translate them to paper (or tablet, or whatever you may use).  Learn about construction, how lines and features wrap around forms, clear and distinct poses, perspective, etc. Don’t trace the examples, but make your own copies of them step by step and compare them to the images given. Your copies don’t have to be perfect- what’s most important is that you’re learning how and why something looks the way it does.

When I first started copying I made the mistake of trying to make my drawings look exactly the same as in the book, causing frequent frustation. I’d spend forever on one drawing, not really absorbing and understanding what the goal was. Now, that doesn’t mean you should be careless about it… You do want them to look close. Just make sure to go step by step, checking your progress along the way. You’ll get better the farther you go.

You might have taken a look at those pages and thought “Well, that’s interesting and all, but I don’t exactly plan on drawing these old ‘40s Disney-style characters any time soon…”

That’s totally understandable and perfect because the next step is to use the tools you learned from copying those drawings and apply them to your own drawings. After all, what’s the point in copying and learning all those principles if you aren’t going to use ‘em? I’d also recommend some life drawing every once in a while. Draw people and objects and learn what things actually do look like and not just what you think they look like. Once again, apply these principles to your own drawings.

Like I said before, though, there’s no one way. That’s just the way I happened to learn. Some people can pull off amazing drawings and animation without a bit of construction!

As for learning actual animation… Watch and study the best! Take influence from both classic and modern animation. I love watching old Warner Brothers cartoons- especially those by Bob Clampett, Tex Avery, and Chuck Jones- and seeing how skillfully they move their characters. I also love anime, too. There are TONS of talented Japanese animators with unique styles and techniques. I have so many favorites I can’t even list them all, but SakugaBooru (occasional 18+ content there so beware) has a huge selection of awesome animation gifs and webms from just about everybody. Whenever you get a chance, browse around the site. Watch and analyze different animators’ works and study the underlying principles. Learn to recognize what’s great and what isn’t. Go frame by frame and see how things move, then try it out for yourself. If possible, check out rough animation too. Preston Blair also goes a little bit into animation (walk cycles, squash and stretch, etc.) later on in his book. I’ve also heard a lot of people recommend The Animator’s Survival Kit, but I haven’t really taken a look at it.

So, yeah, this is a big post coming from somebody who hasn’t had any type of formal training. Please don’t take my advice as the end-all be-all (…is that right?) Everything I’ve learned about animation so far has come from the internet, and I’m still just scratching the surface. There are still tons of things that I need learn and get better at (walk cycles still scare the heck out of me), but I’m going for it. Just look around and explore, both here on Tumblr and the rest of the internet. There’s quite a bit of treasure out there.

Some random tips and stuff:

-When animating, start with the basic forms first. Animating something that has a lot of details can be tricky and I find it easy to lose myself. Starting with the simple parts helps a bunch.

-This is probably just me, but I seem to have some sort of issue when it comes to erasing parts of a drawing. I tend to just draw over it, and over time that gets messy. Soo…. er, don’t be afraid to erase.

-If you’re making a project that’s a bit longer or more complicated than the usual gif or something, have a plan. Srsly. Storyboards help. I’ve learned that the hard way.

Miscellaneous recommendations:

-John K Stuff. Say what you will about him, but he gives solid drawing advice. Tons of information here that has also been a huge help in my learning. Also has some great animation lessons. I’d recommend it for those 16+, though.

-Animation Resources. They have the whole Preston Blair book uploaded.

I hope that wasn’t too long. If you or anybody else has any more questions please don’t hesitate to ask!

Podcast #28 - Getting a JOB as an Animator -

How do you get a job as animator? The Bancroft Brothers are often asked how to get into animation or how to get a job at Disney. In this informative podcast, the Bancroft Brothers sit down with long time friend and 2D animator turned CG animator, Ted Ty, to discuss how you actually get a job [...]

Happy Monday! If you haven’t yet discovered the amazing Bancroft Brothers Podcasts, do yourself a favor and spend the rest of your week listening to them on repeat! They share their experience in the animation industry from their days at Disney in the 90′s to projects they’re currently working on. What I love about their podcast is their honesty about the industry, while staying very optimistic and passionate. These guys are super passionate about animation, they love talking shop, they’re funny and presumably very good looking! head over there now! In this interview they sit down with Ted Ty and talk about getting a job as an Animator. I’ve gotten a lot of questions in the past few months about how to get a job at Disney. My pal Ted answers all of them with grace, he is spot-on in every case and I couldn’t agree more with him and the Bancroft Brothers. If you’re working on your portfolio or just curious about the industry, this is an excellent resource for you. I wish this was around when I was applying to Disney!!! Have a great  Monday! -T