I was just wondering if anyone knew of any resources for laying out steps for building a short animation project from start to finish? I'm in a bit of freefall atm, have learned a lot, but just feel like some structure would help
Any direction would be super appreciated.
Cheers
Matt
Tutorial for building project start to finish
Moderators: Víctor Paredes, Belgarath, slowtiger
Re: Tutorial for building project start to finish
This video and free ebook may be helpful. Bloop Animation also offers a Moho course if you're interested.
https://www.bloopanimation.com/how-to-m ... ted-movie/
https://www.bloopanimation.com/how-to-m ... ted-movie/
Re: Tutorial for building project start to finish
Thanks heaps folks appreciate the feedback
Re: Tutorial for building project start to finish
The forum post linked to by Daxel is a good resource.
IMO, the key to completing a film is to do all your planning upfront. If you do that, execution is much easier and the project is more likely to get finished. Yesterday, I posted some info with an example here: Need of inspiration. This thread is specifically about creating a project to learn Moho, but the information applies even when you already know Moho.
Here's the whole film production process in brief...
1. Block out an idea. If you're new to this, keep it simple. A single visual gag or joke is a good place to start. For a longer production, it's good to write a full script but I highly recommend keeping your first project simple. Most of my short projects are very simply written in a couple of pages, with a bare minimum of visual description. (Save the visuals for the storyboard and design steps.)
2. Create a storyboard of the idea. If you don't have characters yet, you'll also want to design them now. It's okay if they're rough but they should at least resemble the final characters.
3. Cut an animatic in a video editor. An animatic is the movie you envision, where each image from your storyboard is cut to an audio track (dialog, SFX and/or music.) When completed, it should play like a real-time slide show of the final movie.
If you look at animatics created by other artists or studios, you'll probably see some limited animation but this is completely optional. The important thing to figure out in the animatic is scene and action timing, and how long each scene will be. In other words, it's all about timing. When you're done, you should have an accurate frame count for each scene, and you'll use this info when you start animating the scenes in Moho.
(Tip: I like to export each scene as a low-quality jpg sequence with a separate audio track in .aiff or .wav format, and import these to Moho for visual and audio reference. I prefer to use jpg with a separate audio instead of an mp4 file, because the image sequence is frame accurate and streams will over a network. I prefer an uncompressed audio vs an mp3, also for frame accuracy. This is critical if you're planning to animate lip sync.)
The animatic is literally the blue print for your production. If you create it properly, you should have a pretty clear idea for how to proceed with your movie. At this point, it's a matter of creating animated versions of each scene, and then overcutting each 'storyboard' version of the scene in the animatic with the final version. Once you've overcut every scene in your animatic, you have a finished movie.
(Note: if you haven't already looked at the link about, check it out. I posted a link there to my animatic for my short film Scareplane as an example.)
Obviously, there's more involved with creating a film that I'm glossing over: You still need to know how you will animate the scenes, but that will vary from project to project and your personal workflow. So...
4. If you haven't designed your project yet, now is definitely the time to do it. At this stage, make your character sheets, which are drawings that show the character from multiple views. At minimum, you'll probably want to create 3/4 view, which is the most commonly used angle in animation. You'll also want to design your environment. An efficient way to work is to make a single large (high-res) painting that you can reframe and re-purpose for different camera angles. And, of course, you need designs for any props the characters may interact with. How to approach your designs is up to you...there is no 'standard', but choose a look you like and are comfortable working with.
Since this is your first project, keep the designs simple and something you can create quickly. You can try something more ambitious after you've completed a few 'simple' productions and gained experience from them.
5. Once you have the designs, it's time to create the artwork and start rigging puppets. You might even kill two birds with one stone if you designed for rigging in step 4.
6. With all the environment and prop art completed, and rigs ready to go, you're now ready to assemble your scenes and start animating them. The common workflow is to keep all your environment, props and character setups as separate 'asset' projects, and then either import or reference them into new 'scene' projects. If you reference an asset, you will be able to update all projects that use the asset by updating the original project. There are advantages and disadvantages to this workflow, so you should experiment to see what works best for you and your project.
As mentioned in step 3, you want to create each scene separately and import the renders to your video editor, overcutting each scene in the animatic. You don't need to do this sequentially; I personally find it faster to group similar shots together (shots with the same backgrounds, for example,) and animate them in batches. If the shots are similar, it's usually just a matter of duplicating your scenes to create new ones.
7. After you've replaced all your scenes in the video editor, render your final movie file from the editor.
All done!
Final words: It's not absolutely necessary to follow the above steps in order but, IMO, sticking to a plan is the best way to get a project done quickly so you can move onto bigger and better projects. It's okay to take time experiment and try different approaches or designs during a production but there's a risk that you will get sidetracked into development hell and never complete your project. For example, I have at least two projects that are perpetually unfinished because I didn't follow my own rules. But every project I did complete happened because I completed an animatic and designs up front, and didn't allow myself to get distracted by new design or story ideas after I started animating the project. If I do get a cool new idea during this stage, I'll save that for a future project.
Good luck and I hope this info helps!
IMO, the key to completing a film is to do all your planning upfront. If you do that, execution is much easier and the project is more likely to get finished. Yesterday, I posted some info with an example here: Need of inspiration. This thread is specifically about creating a project to learn Moho, but the information applies even when you already know Moho.
Here's the whole film production process in brief...
1. Block out an idea. If you're new to this, keep it simple. A single visual gag or joke is a good place to start. For a longer production, it's good to write a full script but I highly recommend keeping your first project simple. Most of my short projects are very simply written in a couple of pages, with a bare minimum of visual description. (Save the visuals for the storyboard and design steps.)
2. Create a storyboard of the idea. If you don't have characters yet, you'll also want to design them now. It's okay if they're rough but they should at least resemble the final characters.
3. Cut an animatic in a video editor. An animatic is the movie you envision, where each image from your storyboard is cut to an audio track (dialog, SFX and/or music.) When completed, it should play like a real-time slide show of the final movie.
If you look at animatics created by other artists or studios, you'll probably see some limited animation but this is completely optional. The important thing to figure out in the animatic is scene and action timing, and how long each scene will be. In other words, it's all about timing. When you're done, you should have an accurate frame count for each scene, and you'll use this info when you start animating the scenes in Moho.
(Tip: I like to export each scene as a low-quality jpg sequence with a separate audio track in .aiff or .wav format, and import these to Moho for visual and audio reference. I prefer to use jpg with a separate audio instead of an mp4 file, because the image sequence is frame accurate and streams will over a network. I prefer an uncompressed audio vs an mp3, also for frame accuracy. This is critical if you're planning to animate lip sync.)
The animatic is literally the blue print for your production. If you create it properly, you should have a pretty clear idea for how to proceed with your movie. At this point, it's a matter of creating animated versions of each scene, and then overcutting each 'storyboard' version of the scene in the animatic with the final version. Once you've overcut every scene in your animatic, you have a finished movie.
(Note: if you haven't already looked at the link about, check it out. I posted a link there to my animatic for my short film Scareplane as an example.)
Obviously, there's more involved with creating a film that I'm glossing over: You still need to know how you will animate the scenes, but that will vary from project to project and your personal workflow. So...
4. If you haven't designed your project yet, now is definitely the time to do it. At this stage, make your character sheets, which are drawings that show the character from multiple views. At minimum, you'll probably want to create 3/4 view, which is the most commonly used angle in animation. You'll also want to design your environment. An efficient way to work is to make a single large (high-res) painting that you can reframe and re-purpose for different camera angles. And, of course, you need designs for any props the characters may interact with. How to approach your designs is up to you...there is no 'standard', but choose a look you like and are comfortable working with.
Since this is your first project, keep the designs simple and something you can create quickly. You can try something more ambitious after you've completed a few 'simple' productions and gained experience from them.
5. Once you have the designs, it's time to create the artwork and start rigging puppets. You might even kill two birds with one stone if you designed for rigging in step 4.
6. With all the environment and prop art completed, and rigs ready to go, you're now ready to assemble your scenes and start animating them. The common workflow is to keep all your environment, props and character setups as separate 'asset' projects, and then either import or reference them into new 'scene' projects. If you reference an asset, you will be able to update all projects that use the asset by updating the original project. There are advantages and disadvantages to this workflow, so you should experiment to see what works best for you and your project.
As mentioned in step 3, you want to create each scene separately and import the renders to your video editor, overcutting each scene in the animatic. You don't need to do this sequentially; I personally find it faster to group similar shots together (shots with the same backgrounds, for example,) and animate them in batches. If the shots are similar, it's usually just a matter of duplicating your scenes to create new ones.
7. After you've replaced all your scenes in the video editor, render your final movie file from the editor.
All done!
Final words: It's not absolutely necessary to follow the above steps in order but, IMO, sticking to a plan is the best way to get a project done quickly so you can move onto bigger and better projects. It's okay to take time experiment and try different approaches or designs during a production but there's a risk that you will get sidetracked into development hell and never complete your project. For example, I have at least two projects that are perpetually unfinished because I didn't follow my own rules. But every project I did complete happened because I completed an animatic and designs up front, and didn't allow myself to get distracted by new design or story ideas after I started animating the project. If I do get a cool new idea during this stage, I'll save that for a future project.
Good luck and I hope this info helps!
Last edited by Greenlaw on Sun Jan 02, 2022 6:46 pm, edited 2 times in total.
D.R. Greenlaw
Artist/Partner - Little Green Dog | Little Green Dog Channel on Vimeo | Greenlaw's Demo Reel 2020 Edtion
Artist/Partner - Little Green Dog | Little Green Dog Channel on Vimeo | Greenlaw's Demo Reel 2020 Edtion
Re: Tutorial for building project start to finish
That is really awesome ty so much Greenlaw for all your advice and support, it's been amazing, have copy and pasted your reply, much appreciated.
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johnfromncl
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Mon Apr 10, 2017 12:17 am
Re: Tutorial for building project start to finish
Greenlaw's tutorial for building a project from start to finish is really useful. I'm planning a project that has no dialogue and am planning for someone else to create a sound track once the animation is complete. I could imagine me having to tweak timing a little then perhaps. Does anyone have any experience of working that way round, and any hints to help the process or things to watch out for? Thanks.
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hayasidist
- Posts: 3539
- Joined: Wed Feb 16, 2011 8:12 pm
- Location: Kent, England
Re: Tutorial for building project start to finish
if by soundtrack you mean "foley" - no real problems ... that's how it's usually done (and was how I did the "noises" in Rocks - that's the video linked to your other question.)johnfromncl wrote: ↑Sun Jan 02, 2022 3:05 pm Greenlaw's tutorial for building a project from start to finish is really useful. I'm planning a project that has no dialogue and am planning for someone else to create a sound track once the animation is complete. I could imagine me having to tweak timing a little then perhaps. Does anyone have any experience of working that way round, and any hints to help the process or things to watch out for? Thanks.
but if you mean "music" - that's another issue all together if you intend to use an already composed score -- be prepared to get into a notation program and/or audio editor [my choice is Sibelius for working with a score (edit / compose) and Audacity for editing audio] (and I used audacity to stretch the hold duration on some chords in Rocks)
Re: Tutorial for building project start to finish
I forgot to mention the ever useful shot list! This is a document with all your shots listed along with a description. This list is also used to prioritize tasks and track of the status of each shot.
I mostly use Google Sheets to track my personal projects. It works great for this, is accessible to any device you have an account with, and it's free!
Even at work where we use a commercial shot tracker for every production, I may still set up a personal shot list in Google Sheets where I can insert my own notes in greater detail than I care to submit to the production's tracking system. My personal system is just faster and more specifically informative for me. Of course, as I complete task in my list, I make sure to update the general production's tracker as appropriate.
Here's an example of a shot list I helped my child Sienna create for their short film 'Class Act'...
The way it works...
The 'scene' column is the number assigned to the shot, as it appears in the storyboard and animatic. (Note: 'Scene' is typically used in 2D animation production, and 'shot' is used more often for live action, visual effects, and cgi animation. Since I've worked in all of these areas, I might use the terms 'scene' and 'shot' interchangeably because they mean the same thing.)
The 'status' column has a number from 1-5, with 1 meaning it only exists in the 'animatic' and hasn't been worked on yet, and 5 meaning the shot has been fully completed. This column uses a feature called conditional formatting to change the box color as each of the next five columns receive a check mark. For example, when the 'animatic' column is checked, the status displays 1/red, and when all five columns are checked the status displays 5/green.
When you begin your project all of the columns are red, and when you done all the columns are green. This is a great way to track your progress.
This format can be greatly simplified, and for my personal shot lists it usually is. We set it up this way for 'Class Act' to make it easier for Sienna and I to collaborate, but for my own personal lists I typically use one column instead of six and I type in the word Animatic, Animation, Comp, or FINAL with the conditional formatting to change colors. Tip: If you use Data Validation, you can easily create a pop-up list with these choices...a great timesaver!
The 'Description' column has a brief description of the action in the shot. 'Dialog' and 'SFX' are self-explanatory, and 'Notes' is for special instructions or comments that don't belong in the other columns. Again, if this was for my own personal use, the columns would be simplified to only 'Description' and 'Notes'. You can make yours as simple or as detailed as you need...include whatever helps you get the project done.
Sienna wrote, designed and animated this production themselves, and this shot list helped keep them focused and on track to meet their deadline. By creating this list as a Google Sheet, it was easily accessible to both of us. Even when I was at work, I could monitor Sienna's progress and offer advice along the way. Without this list, I don't think the project would have gotten done on time. ('Class Act' was created for a PTA competition in Sienna's school district.)
So, if the animatic is the most important stage for planning and successfully executing animation production, I'd say creating a shot list is a close second.
I hope this helps. If anyone is interested, I can make a step-by-step tutorial explaining exactly how to set up a shot list like this in Google Sheets. It's super easy and incredibly useful.
I mostly use Google Sheets to track my personal projects. It works great for this, is accessible to any device you have an account with, and it's free!
Even at work where we use a commercial shot tracker for every production, I may still set up a personal shot list in Google Sheets where I can insert my own notes in greater detail than I care to submit to the production's tracking system. My personal system is just faster and more specifically informative for me. Of course, as I complete task in my list, I make sure to update the general production's tracker as appropriate.
Here's an example of a shot list I helped my child Sienna create for their short film 'Class Act'...
The way it works...
The 'scene' column is the number assigned to the shot, as it appears in the storyboard and animatic. (Note: 'Scene' is typically used in 2D animation production, and 'shot' is used more often for live action, visual effects, and cgi animation. Since I've worked in all of these areas, I might use the terms 'scene' and 'shot' interchangeably because they mean the same thing.)
The 'status' column has a number from 1-5, with 1 meaning it only exists in the 'animatic' and hasn't been worked on yet, and 5 meaning the shot has been fully completed. This column uses a feature called conditional formatting to change the box color as each of the next five columns receive a check mark. For example, when the 'animatic' column is checked, the status displays 1/red, and when all five columns are checked the status displays 5/green.
When you begin your project all of the columns are red, and when you done all the columns are green. This is a great way to track your progress.
This format can be greatly simplified, and for my personal shot lists it usually is. We set it up this way for 'Class Act' to make it easier for Sienna and I to collaborate, but for my own personal lists I typically use one column instead of six and I type in the word Animatic, Animation, Comp, or FINAL with the conditional formatting to change colors. Tip: If you use Data Validation, you can easily create a pop-up list with these choices...a great timesaver!
The 'Description' column has a brief description of the action in the shot. 'Dialog' and 'SFX' are self-explanatory, and 'Notes' is for special instructions or comments that don't belong in the other columns. Again, if this was for my own personal use, the columns would be simplified to only 'Description' and 'Notes'. You can make yours as simple or as detailed as you need...include whatever helps you get the project done.
Sienna wrote, designed and animated this production themselves, and this shot list helped keep them focused and on track to meet their deadline. By creating this list as a Google Sheet, it was easily accessible to both of us. Even when I was at work, I could monitor Sienna's progress and offer advice along the way. Without this list, I don't think the project would have gotten done on time. ('Class Act' was created for a PTA competition in Sienna's school district.)
So, if the animatic is the most important stage for planning and successfully executing animation production, I'd say creating a shot list is a close second.
I hope this helps. If anyone is interested, I can make a step-by-step tutorial explaining exactly how to set up a shot list like this in Google Sheets. It's super easy and incredibly useful.
D.R. Greenlaw
Artist/Partner - Little Green Dog | Little Green Dog Channel on Vimeo | Greenlaw's Demo Reel 2020 Edtion
Artist/Partner - Little Green Dog | Little Green Dog Channel on Vimeo | Greenlaw's Demo Reel 2020 Edtion
Re: Tutorial for building project start to finish
Less important but still super useful is an easy to use mind mapping program.
A mind map is a free form chart that's used for brainstorming and planning out complex projecta or pretty much doing anything that requires non-linear thinking and development. I find creating mind maps helpful in all areas of production, from story-telling to set planning. A mind map can give abstract thoughts or difficult tasks a clear comprehensible structure.
You don't need a program to create mind maps...a large sheet of newsprint and a sharpie works fine...but I find digital mind maps are better because they're easy to modify and rearrange as my idea grows and evolves.
One of my favorite mind map programs is an online service called bubbl.us. Bubbl.us is fast and really easy to use. Back when it was a free service, I used bubbl.us all the time. Bubbl.us went subscription several years ago but I still use it occasionally. The downside with bubbl.us is that it requires internet access, and the subscription fee can get expensive if you don't use it all the time.
A great standalone alternative is a program called SimpleMind Pro. The mind maps you can create with SimpleMind Pro are graphically similar to bubble.us, but the program runs locally and it can run on multiple platforms so you're not tied to the internet to use it. SimpleMind Pro is reasonably priced too! If you want to access your files on multiple devices, you will need to use a file sharing service like Dropbox or Google Drive. (Update: I see they added cloud support but I haven't tried it yet.)
If you don't want to spend a lot of money, I highly recommend an open source mind mapping program called Freeplane. Freelplane is an off-shoot of another open source mind mapping program called Freemind. I prefer Freeplane because it's more visual, and closer to bubbl.us and SimpleMind Pro in how it works. Freeplane's mind maps aren't as pretty as what you can create with the other two, but it's very capable...and it's free! (Donations are welcome of course.)
There is no native cloud support for Freeplane, so you will need to use a separate service like Dropbox or Google Drive to share the files between devices. Also, Freeplane only runs on Windows. (There's probably a Mac alternative to Freeplane but I'm not aware of it. If anybody knows of one, please share the info here.)
To be honest, I could probably do all my mind mapping with just Freeplane, but the program is a little more complicated to use. What I like about bubbl.us and SimpleMind is that their elegant point-and-click UI doesn't get in the way of creating a mind map which is very important when brainstorming. That said, even though Freeplane's UI can seem overwhelming at first, once you learn a few essential hot keys, it's pretty easy to use too.
A mind map is a free form chart that's used for brainstorming and planning out complex projecta or pretty much doing anything that requires non-linear thinking and development. I find creating mind maps helpful in all areas of production, from story-telling to set planning. A mind map can give abstract thoughts or difficult tasks a clear comprehensible structure.
You don't need a program to create mind maps...a large sheet of newsprint and a sharpie works fine...but I find digital mind maps are better because they're easy to modify and rearrange as my idea grows and evolves.
One of my favorite mind map programs is an online service called bubbl.us. Bubbl.us is fast and really easy to use. Back when it was a free service, I used bubbl.us all the time. Bubbl.us went subscription several years ago but I still use it occasionally. The downside with bubbl.us is that it requires internet access, and the subscription fee can get expensive if you don't use it all the time.
A great standalone alternative is a program called SimpleMind Pro. The mind maps you can create with SimpleMind Pro are graphically similar to bubble.us, but the program runs locally and it can run on multiple platforms so you're not tied to the internet to use it. SimpleMind Pro is reasonably priced too! If you want to access your files on multiple devices, you will need to use a file sharing service like Dropbox or Google Drive. (Update: I see they added cloud support but I haven't tried it yet.)
If you don't want to spend a lot of money, I highly recommend an open source mind mapping program called Freeplane. Freelplane is an off-shoot of another open source mind mapping program called Freemind. I prefer Freeplane because it's more visual, and closer to bubbl.us and SimpleMind Pro in how it works. Freeplane's mind maps aren't as pretty as what you can create with the other two, but it's very capable...and it's free! (Donations are welcome of course.)
There is no native cloud support for Freeplane, so you will need to use a separate service like Dropbox or Google Drive to share the files between devices. Also, Freeplane only runs on Windows. (There's probably a Mac alternative to Freeplane but I'm not aware of it. If anybody knows of one, please share the info here.)
To be honest, I could probably do all my mind mapping with just Freeplane, but the program is a little more complicated to use. What I like about bubbl.us and SimpleMind is that their elegant point-and-click UI doesn't get in the way of creating a mind map which is very important when brainstorming. That said, even though Freeplane's UI can seem overwhelming at first, once you learn a few essential hot keys, it's pretty easy to use too.
D.R. Greenlaw
Artist/Partner - Little Green Dog | Little Green Dog Channel on Vimeo | Greenlaw's Demo Reel 2020 Edtion
Artist/Partner - Little Green Dog | Little Green Dog Channel on Vimeo | Greenlaw's Demo Reel 2020 Edtion
Re: Tutorial for building project start to finish
I'd be interested...
You can't have everything. Where would you put it?
Re: Tutorial for building project start to finish
Ok, will work on that. I actually scratched off a ton of 'boring but necessary' to-do list tasks over the holidays and have time for some fun personal stuff again.
(Sigh! I wish I had another week of 'holidays' to work on the fun stuff.)
(Sigh! I wish I had another week of 'holidays' to work on the fun stuff.)
D.R. Greenlaw
Artist/Partner - Little Green Dog | Little Green Dog Channel on Vimeo | Greenlaw's Demo Reel 2020 Edtion
Artist/Partner - Little Green Dog | Little Green Dog Channel on Vimeo | Greenlaw's Demo Reel 2020 Edtion
Re: Tutorial for building project start to finish
Oh, geez...been so busy I totally forgot to follow up on this. Will make a note to put something together this weekend, and maybe post some other useful info.
D.R. Greenlaw
Artist/Partner - Little Green Dog | Little Green Dog Channel on Vimeo | Greenlaw's Demo Reel 2020 Edtion
Artist/Partner - Little Green Dog | Little Green Dog Channel on Vimeo | Greenlaw's Demo Reel 2020 Edtion
Re: Tutorial for building project start to finish
Did you ever create a tutorial about this? Your info is always stellar, so didn’t want to miss this if it exists.
Re: Tutorial for building project start to finish
Thanks for your interest!
I had decided to include that in a full workflow tutorial, but also along with a bunch of other tutorials and projects I have in my personal projects queue. What was taking time was that I started a brand new animation project to use as an example for the workflow project, but doing both at once was just getting complicated and extra time-consuming. Now I'm going to use an old project I already finished instead but reference some of the tools I use now instead of what I used back then. So at this stage it's mainly an editorial task that I need to block out time to finish.
For the last couple of months I've been working at other tutorial projects down into 'bite-sized' videos (it, just a few minutes each) so I can actually finish and start releasing stuff. I should be able to do that pretty soon.
I'll make an announcement here when I start doing that.
Oh, btw, glad you found this thread...I was actually looking for it but the forum's search isn't working so great right now. Bookmarking now.
I had decided to include that in a full workflow tutorial, but also along with a bunch of other tutorials and projects I have in my personal projects queue. What was taking time was that I started a brand new animation project to use as an example for the workflow project, but doing both at once was just getting complicated and extra time-consuming. Now I'm going to use an old project I already finished instead but reference some of the tools I use now instead of what I used back then. So at this stage it's mainly an editorial task that I need to block out time to finish.
For the last couple of months I've been working at other tutorial projects down into 'bite-sized' videos (it, just a few minutes each) so I can actually finish and start releasing stuff. I should be able to do that pretty soon.
I'll make an announcement here when I start doing that.
Oh, btw, glad you found this thread...I was actually looking for it but the forum's search isn't working so great right now. Bookmarking now.
D.R. Greenlaw
Artist/Partner - Little Green Dog | Little Green Dog Channel on Vimeo | Greenlaw's Demo Reel 2020 Edtion
Artist/Partner - Little Green Dog | Little Green Dog Channel on Vimeo | Greenlaw's Demo Reel 2020 Edtion