How to make Animation film (1st e - Focal Press 2009)

[...]... you begin your studies, it might help for me to go over the ideal prerequisites you will need if you are to maximize the effectiveness of the course material presented here Of course, these prerequisites do not mean that you have to have them in order to complete the course But, being aware of the ideal circumstances and attitudes when approaching your studies will help you better cope with what is to. .. the standard office letterhead-size paper, and will require a larger, and therefore more expensive, scanner to ensure the whole drawing area is covered 16-Field–Size Paper (15-Field in the United Kingdom) This is the largest of the two professional animation paper sizes used It is the size that is predominantly used in large-screen, theatrical movies, although many professional animators prefer to. .. have a strong and reliable electric pencil sharpener beside their lightboxes There are a number of excellent ones out there, but I tend to find that Xacto’s Powerhouse is the one that has least let me down However, always make sure before you buy one that the point on the pencil is acceptable for detailed animation drawings, as some of the cheaper varieties can create a stumpy point, which is really... not ideal Field Guide Although the above equipment enables animators to work, they do need to define a required area to work in Consequently, transparent plastic field guides are required to identify the “field” (or viewable screen area) that the animation is to be seen in Field guides come in various sizes but the normal standard ones are 12 field and 16 field (15 field in the United Kingdom) These xxix... central peg with two horizontally elongated ones on either side of it, engineered to xxvii Introduction specific measurements However, cost-conscious students can alternatively buy a simple three-circular-peg plastic peg bar, which is quite inexpensive but will enable them to use paper that is punched using a standard three-hole office punch Inexpensive three-hole peg bars can be obtained online from... with exposure sheets at the onset of their more advanced work It is possible to either print them from a standard template (available from Desktop Academy, at www.desktopacademy.com) or else purchase them from one of the excellent online animation stores on the Web If you are an intended filmmaker too, you will need to consider scene production folders, which will contain both exposure sheets and animation. .. animated film that really expresses itself to its full potential and capability Consequently, to be a significant animator you need to be a dedicated and somewhat patient individual You also need to have a determined commitment to see through whatever you start Finally, you need to have the tenacity to hang in there when all seems to be failing, or the world seems to be against you fulfilling your dream... that animation movie files require Most software packages will reveal the minimum requirements, including a fast-operating motherboard for faster speed rendering Many very ambitious animated filmmakers might want to hook up several computers to create a “render farm,” which will enable them to access a great deal of rendering power if time becomes an issue Three-Dimensional Software Much to the annoyance... come in either regular “academy” size (3:4 screen ratio) or else more rarely in a widescreen format (1.75:1 screen ratio) Available from most online animation stores, the field guide (known as a graticule in some places) is an essential piece of 2D animation equipment when filmmaking is the ultimate objective Many of the exercise details in this book, however, do not require a field guide Miscellaneous... “button-pushing” animators are severely limited in terms of their artistic range and versatility when faced with the more aesthetic and broadly ranged production challenges that are invariably required in the demanding and competitive world of animation today However … Even though the core material in this book is composed of primarily 2D-based material, every effort has been made to respect the essential . the  rst-ever comprehensive, structured course set in the requirements of the modern animation world. It is structured to give you just about everything you’ll ever need to know to become. professional animation. Consequently, to be ahead of the curve it is essential that present and future student animators begin to embrace the hardcore principles of animated movement that have been. gone! The actual core principles of animation never change of course — they are timeless and eternal, and will forever be so. However, the obsessive presentations that still hark back to an era