Hunt - an animation strip made with Moho

[Y2Jussi]

Hi,

This slightly absurd animation strip is made with Moho. It's actually just a part of a bigger animation film which will be finished some day, I hope . Animation footage is originally in HD-format, but I hope it's viewable on Youtube.

Here's the link: http://youtube.com/watch?v=JFmlSCO694E

[ToonLifeOnline]

I thought the animation was great! I really enjoyed it! If you get a chance share it on ToonTube.

GoodJob

ToonLifeOnline
http://toontube.toonlifeonline.com
http://www.toonlifeonline.com

[Rasheed]

Good first attempt!

I saw a few technical mistakes (e.g. the walking), and perhaps the story could be paced somewhat differently, and/or change the composition, to have more dramatic scenes (see here - PDF). The action flow felt a bit "flat". The gun shooting scene was great. Keep that in.

The splatter could be a bit more extreme; the lovers' clothes and hair didn't get wet, while you would expect that from the water gushing over them. It would add to the believability of the scene.

Nevertheless, I liked the story twist at the end. I really thought he was going to shoot the male lover.

[spoooze!]

The animation on the dog was good. The humans need some work though.

Just keep at it and you'll get better. You have talent.

[esotropiart]

I watched the animation without sound because I have no speakers on this particular computer. I thought it was very effective. Like others have said, the dog animation was very well done. I actually smiled as I watched it simply because I thought the animation was charming. The hunter's exaggerated steps were humorous - totally exaggerated and funny. I especially thought it was funny because, while the character is fairly realistically drawn compared to say Elmer Fudd, the animation more closely resembled someone like Elmer Fudd. So it had the funny factor of being a relatively normal looking person walking like a more stylized animated character would walk - creating a type of zany "irony", since the motion doesn't match the realism of the character. Obviously it was not intended to mirror reality, but more of a cartoon. In that light, I enjoyed it. I guess I'll have to check it again when I can hear the sound.

[Y2Jussi]

Thanks for your comments. It's good to hear different kind of opinions. Esotropiart seemed to understand what I tried to achieve with the Hunter's walk. It's really exaggerated. I tried to figure out how a bit fat and simple minded character with high self-confidence would walk and present it funnily. It isn't flawless but I'm pretty pleased with that walk (and sneak).

It's true that the lovers should have got wet. I'm not that pleased with the water drops either. More versatile use of perspective would also add value, that is true. I just tried to get things done in certain amount of time . I'm a bit jealouss to 3D-animators. They can change their camera angles completely in no time.

[esotropiart]

There's absolutely nothing stopping you (besides ambition and learning curve!) from combining your animations with 3D elements and/or effects. This is something I'm excited about trying myself. I have a number of 3D animation applications.

There are a number of ways to combine the 3D and 2D - not sure which is best because I haven't tried any of them yet.

1) take your rendered 2D animation from Anime Studio and use it as a "video texture" for a flat rectangle layer within a 3D animation program. What I mean by this is make a 2D plane within the 3D app that has the same aspect ratio as your 2D animation and import the 2D animation as a video texture map for that 2D plane - an effect known as rotoscoping (a movie within a movie).

2) The reverse of #1, you could create whatever 3D content you want - either background stills or full 3D animations or scenes, and import them into Anime Studio as a video. Then you could animate your 2D characters and props on top of the 3D background.

3) Render both your 2D animation and your 3D animation, using some techniques and trickery to make sure the timing for each is approximately synced. Then, using a video editing program, you can overlay the 2 layers, either 2D on top of 3D or vice versa. You may benefit from techniques such as "virtual green screens". This means that you will render your 3D animation over a green background or make the background layer of your 2D animation green. Then you could "cut out" this area in your video editing software so it shows through in either case.

Any of the three techniques above will probably work, and I'd probably use a combination of all 3. For example, I might use #2 to make sure my 2D animation is going to sync with my 3D animation. Then I might use #1 when I really want my 2D to interact with the 3D. As the final step, I'd use #3 to really composite everything together and add visual effects (some of which were rendered in the 3D app). The advantage of using #3 is that you can also add a lot of your sound in this step, as all video editors have sound track(s). It might be easier to add music and sound effects in this step. Though voice overs will probably have to be done within Anime Studio to ensure the lips move in sync.

Sounds complicated, but it's all doable.

If you don't have a 3D application or video editor, here are some suggestions. Keep in mine, they are very biased, and there are "better" options. But I generally use the best option in my price range, which is generally free or close to it:

Video Editors:
1. Serif MoviePlus 5: This is a FANTASTIC, overlooked video editor. It offers infinite video and sound layers, a large number of effects, green screening, etc, etc, etc. It's pretty cheap and well worth the purchase price. A trick to save even more is to sign up for their mailing list, and eventually they'll send you an email offer that is ridiculously cheap (especially when they are about to release another version) - but that takes patience. http://serif.com
2. Windows Movie Maker: (comes free with Windows XP/Vista) - pretty limited in what it can do, but it works for some things - doesn't really offer multiple video layers, so it's almost useless for what I described above.
3. Most people will probably tell you to get Adobe Premier or something, but that's major overkill and horribly expensive. There are other options, like Pinnacle and Sony (Vegas) products. I like Serif MoviePlus the best because of the price and feature set.

3D Animation Applications:
1. Blender 3D: Absolutely FREE, mega powerful open source 3D application. Blender actually competes in many ways with the features found in programs like Maya, 3D Studio Max, Lightwave, SoftImage, etc. It's not nearly as powerful, but it has everything you need and tons more to do Hollywood quality films. The main problem with it is the steep learning curve. It has many keyboard shortcuts and tricks that, once learned, can really speed things up.
2. Bryce, Poser, Carrara: I'm grouping these together because they used to be made by the same company. Not anymore, but I still think of them as similar because they retain some arching principles. They are middle range in price and have a lot to offer. If you look around and are "in the know", you can get them for super cheap. For example, a while back the producer of Bryce offered version 5.5 for FREE! And I just recently got Carrara for the purchase price of a British 3D magazine - it was included on a CD as a promotion.
3. There are million other 3D apps, but I have used and like the ones mentioned - mainly because of value for price and ease of use (though Blender is hard to learn). These particular ones have the capability to be used as described in the 1, 2, 3 techniques described above.

Who knows if I'll even follow my own advice. I'm a lazy hobbyist and generally leave most of my projects incomplete. But I have been thinking of how cool it would be to spend more time with it.

Phil
esotropiart.com

[slowtiger]

Uhm - instead of piling up more and more software power - what about just editing/refining the existing stuff?

Rework the timing. Tell the same story in half the time. Set more accents. This will improve the story much more than any 3D software or whatever.

Concentrate on what you're good at. Your characters have charm, they live, they have emotions.

[esotropiart]

I very much agree with slowtiger. I was just expounding on the topic since it was brought up "I'm a bit jealouss to 3D-animators. They can change their camera angles completely in no time." It probably would have best fit in its own topic. It is very valid to say that with some skill and patience, all can be done adequately in a single 2D application (like AS) without resorting to using composite and multi-program rigmarole. However, I personally have fun with using multiple programs when it's to my benefit and not too intensive.

That said, yeah, don't be jealous. Be good at what you choose to focus on. I tend to spread myself thin and dabble with too many things rather than focusing on one thing and doing it very well. So I am more "jealous" of someone like you who has dedicated himself to one discipline and had some nice achievements - your completed animations are achievements.

Pointless analogy: It's kinda like martial arts - a person who trains in one discipline with much diligence is as good or better in a fight (and in their inner character) than someone who dabbles in numerous forms with no diligence.

[Y2Jussi]

What I said about being jealous was actually kind of a joke. I just meant that in 3D animation, you only need to model and rig your character once. Then it's possible to use any camera angle you can imagine. But I'm not saying that 3D animation is easier to do than 2D or vice versa.

Thank you both for your advices and encouraging words anyway.

[esotropiart]

I think it depends on how one's mind works. I have found 3D animation to be rather complex and a bit discouraging. It feels like no matter how hard you try, the results look clunky and without emotion. I think it is easier to get a quick result with 2D because it more resembles drawing. Besides, even if you set up a scene with lighting and cameras in 3D, it can take anywhere from hours to weeks to render a complete animation depending on the complexity of the scene. 2D animation is in your face immediately, no waiting involved. I love being able to scrub back and forth on the timeline and see the animation unfold live!

I am starting out with Anime Studio and was drawn to it because of its bone rigging system. I had dabbled with Flash before and was very disatisfied with its lacking set of tools for character animation (I know, the Pros will argue that this is a GOOD thing). I want to be able to make something of my random imagination - quickly, before the ideas go numb or get lost. I think AS is a great way to achieve such fluidity between what is in the mind and getting it in a viewable form. Just draw a character and rig its bones, and you can make a story or idea come to life. Then, you can go back and fine tune it, after the basic sequence has been captured.

[Rasheed]

Like Slowtiger wrote, you can tighten up this animation, cut away some of the fat. Remember, you want to tell a story, not show a certain amount of animation for the sake of animation. Animation is just a medium to tell stories, whether it is in 2D or 3D, doesn't matter for the storytelling.

It might have been prudent if you had created a kind of animatic or storyboard, with key poses (meaning: important poses, which can be left out to tell the story). It is tempting to dive into animating right away, and don't do any preparation, however, often the time you spend in preproduction is saved manyfold in production.

Make your key poses as strong (clear, exaggerated) as you possibly can. Some master animators spend days (or even weeks) on getting one key pose just right. It are the most important poses in your animation and deserve quality time. Remember, if you think it is already too extreme, too obvious, it probably isn't extreme and obvious enough --try to push the limits. Consider how you can show what you want to tell as clear as possible. One way of testing this, is to create a silhouette of the scene.

Then develop the intermediate stuff (how you go from one key pose to another), and don't use the obvious, play with the viewer's expectation a bit. Character animation had much in common with stage magic (well, it is a kind of magic in its own right). Timing is of the essence. How long does it take for the viewer to register something on the screen? That is the amount of time you should use to show that part of the scene. No more and no less.

Traditional animators often animate too tight, because drawing each frame is so time-consuming. OTOH computer animators tend to animate too loose, because inbetweens take no or very little time.

[slowtiger]

Traditional animators often animate too tight, because drawing each frame is so time-consuming. OTOH computer animators tend to animate too loose, because inbetweens take no or very little time.

Good observation! I'll keep that sentence for further reference ...