Matthew The Unlucky Kid

[Markster]

Just a test animation.

[Danimal]

I liked the door shaking to signify the yelling father, very "cartoony" touch.

Outside of that, the animation isn't poised to win any awards. That said, I know you're new to animating, and without exception the best way to learn is to dive in and make something. You'll get a feel for what works, what doesn't, and most importantly, how to make visuals tell a story; which, by the way, it's also great to see that you're starting with an actual story to animate instead of just random, incoherent stuff.

I look forward to more.

[Markster]

I've actually been animating in Paint since age 9, but I am new to Anime Studio, and thanks, I'm not trying to win, I'm just making something for the fun of it.

[heyvern]

The problems I see with your examples so far are a lack of knowledge in animation basics. Just like any other "classroom" situation, you can learn those with study and practice.

When you are in school learning any topic they usually give you a "book" as a reference.
I know at your age that money is an issue (it's the main reason ps4 is beating xb1 ) but finding a copy of the Animator's Survival Kit would be a great animation text book that you will keep and use for years. This book is truly an amazing resource and is heralded as one of the best resources used by both beginners and professionals alike.

The cost of this book is nothing compared to the concentrated knowledge it contains. And yes, I recommend the old fashioned print version (there is a digital version). It's, portable, will never lose functionality and you can read it anywhere if you follow me (visiting the porcelain library, seeing a man about a dog, taking the Browns to the Superbowl... you get the idea). My copy of the Animator's Survival Kit is dog eared and beat to heck . Maybe you can find an older edition for cheap to save money. Look in the public library as well. You may get lucky. There are also many free resources on the web.

The key for learning and improving your animation skills is not the software you use, it's knowledge gained from those who have come before you and from practice and observation. The software or tools are meaningless. You could apply the same knowledge to flip book drawings on the edges of paper back books or cheap note pads, stop motion with action figures and a cheap camera, or the key frames created in Anime Studio.

What do you want from this forum?
Do you want only positive "good job, keep trying!" type responses?
Or do you want honest criticism that will help you improve?

Useful critiques from experienced forum members may possibly be limited by the fear of being too harsh and discouraging your obvious desire to learn. As a result you may not get the harsh truth you need. Do you want the honest opinions of a teacher or the biased approval of a parent? Here on the forum we have experienced... er... uh... angry responses to honest critiques. It is hard to tell how someone will respond to an honest critique of their work.

You never ever have to make excuses for your inexperience with the software or your lack of animation skill. All of us at every skill level has been at that starting point. Remember, it isn't the software that makes good art, it is the knowledge and skill of the artist. Learn the basics anyway you can. Leave your "pride" at the door and take everything said with a grain of salt.

[Markster]

Thanks for being honest, I am just getting started with this new animation style, I'm so used to animating frame by frame in Paint, and usually the animations I made in Paint would turn out to be crap.
Like I said in the YouTube description, the animation is crappy.

I'll have to check out the Animator's Survival Kit book, I have about 40$ saved up, I might could buy it on Amazon.

[heyvern]

Thanks for being honest, I am just getting started with this new animation style, I'm so used to animating frame by frame in Paint, and usually the animations I made in Paint would turn out to be crap.
Like I said in the YouTube description, the animation is crappy.

I'll have to check out the Animator's Survival Kit book, I have about 40$ saved up, I might could buy it on Amazon.

Without doing a ton of research I did see some copies available on ebay around $20. I am sure you can find a copy that's cheaper than the list price. I believe there are different editions that include a CD that cost more. In my opinion the book itself in whatever condition is a must have if you want to learn animation.

I've found that even if I didn't need to know something when I bought it, I will discover something I need to learn and will find it in that book.

------

I would suggest one more thing... and this is a tricky one and may not make a ton of sense...

Try to be positive about your work. If you feel something is "crappy" right from the start than of course it will be. You should always strive to push a bit further than you think you can. Also you should try to find your strengths. You have a lot of time to develop your own style.

A long time ago...the art school I went to was dedicated to graphic design and production which wasn't all about "fine art" and being a "fabulous illustrator". It was about learning skills, techniques and finding your strengths... to... uh... well... make money not art. There was a much more expensive college a few blocks away that was dedicated to creating "fine art". We wanted to be artists and make a living.

One of the students in my class was a TERRIBLE artist. Couldn't draw worth a dang. I mean just a step above stick people. In the beginning I kept scratching my head wondering why this guy was going to art school.

It turned out his strengths were not being a fantastic artist capable of drawing a masterpiece. His amazing skill was in IDEAS and COMPOSITION. The teacher pointed this out many times. Everyone had skills in different areas.

Years later I discovered that this skill is very valuable in the field I was in. I worked in advertising for 20 years as both a production artist and illustrator and designer (before and after computer desktop publishing). There were highly paid creative directors who were my supervisors. They came up with the ideas and people like myself made them reality. Many of the creative directors didn't have strong illustration skills. They relied on others like myself, to do that type of thing. Their strengths were the ideas and the layout of say, an advertisement, brochure, photography etc.

It use to crack me up seeing their scribbled marker layouts for an advertisement with badly drawn people, incorrect perspective and vague descriptions of strange things.

There would often be funny conversations:

"Uh, Richard, what is this thing down here suppose to be?"
"That's one of those Easter Island heads wearing a backpack."
"Really? Wow! Do we get to fly to Easter Island to take photographs?"
"No. Just push the button on your computer to make one."
"I keep telling you, there is no button like that."
"Then how did you put a backpack on the statue of liberty for the last ad?"
"It requires skills with 3D software, Photoshop and talent you obviously don't understand."
"Whatever. Can you make the heads smiling?"
"Oh, I see now. That's a big smile on the face. Looks like a mustache."

[Pinesal]

Hey Heyvern, you can get a used copy of that book for under $30 on Amazon.com. I will be ordering one soon.

[exile]

A good deal for the money is Preston Blair's "Animation 1". It's just one (classical) style but covers a lot of ground. It gives you plenty to work on without being as overwhelming as the Survival Kit and only costs a few bucks new. Survival is a great book, but has a bit of an "over-kill" effect on me at times.