Why Choose This Method?
- If you love to draw
- If you want the maximum in expressiveness
- If you want full control
…then this is the technique for you! Start with drawings! Continue reading
…then this is the technique for you! Start with drawings! Continue reading
This technique is best suited for artwork more akin to “Adventure Time”, where the legs and arms are like tubes or spaghetti. It uses the puppet tool in AE. For an example of how to construct the artwork, download and take a look inside the Illustrator file, “beatnik.ai”. The download is zipped.
The following tutorials review how to set up your artwork (in Illustrator this time) and import it into After Effects as a composition, ready to walk. I demo using a skeleton created for this lesson. Sorry, he’s not available for download. Continue reading
Whether you began by drawing, using cut paper or digital files, you will likely use imaging software, like Photoshop or Illustrator, to prepare and build your character for the “pieces/parts” walk cycle.
IMPORTANT: Unless you plan to do true frame-by-frame and not Cel animation, make sure that your pieces/parts are on a transparent background!
Break it Down!
It is important to break down each of the joints into separate pieces making sure to overlap each piece with a circular shape as if you were going to connect them with pins or rivets; this will help prevent angular “holes” when they move.
Create each of the following separate pieces, ON IT’S OWN LAYER:
Here are a couple of examples:
Both examples are using the 3/4 view instead of a full profile. This tends to be more interesting, even though it isn’t as accurate.
Hand-drawn and scanned in…(His neck is included in the torso…another option). In this example, the background will need to be eliminated, and the figure assembled, with some overlapping at the joints. Also, the coat might need to be broken into a front and back layer, so that the legs can be “inside”.
A little dragon…he has extras, like eyes and jagged tail parts. In Illustrator, each piece would be created on its own layer. This exploded view simply gives you an idea of the different parts.