Task: to animate a bird flying

x-sheet: mark key frames and breakdown frames

use a simple sentence to write the feeling

World building- naming the sensory details: make viewers to enter the story

imagery in a story-the fishes gathering around their feet

tension is important for the story-don’t make it too easy

Positionality/strategic self: put things that uncomfortable to say out loud into written words

metaphor-example:

personification-example: lonely sky

• tomorrow is too far
• the time invariance of snow, E. Lily Yu

40sec- 5 story beats

• match cuts
• cross cuts
• make each panel count-push to extreme

rule of thirds

ref

• The monk and the fish
• palm rot

practice

• a character catching a fly/scared by a mouse
• two characters arguing using only gestures

overlapping

• break down the movement (e.g. for turn around: head turn first, then shoulders, then the legs, last the body)
• practice: make a head turn/ full body turn &write down the order of turning
• body turn: shoulder>body>legs>head

contact-up-passing-down-contact

walking 1968

task: character walk cycle with a secondary animation

practice

bouncing ball: timing and spacing

tips

starting a project: logline>strong beats(log beats)>storyboard>animate>keyframes>extremes>breakdowns>inbetweens

shortcuts

zoom in: opt+pressing the pen button

*pencil for the clean line art

shortcuts

• opt+command: rotate
• shift+x: back to upright position
• shift+m: back to the stage
• contour editor: press command to add a point
• press k on a pencil layer: show the gap(yellow dots)
• command+r: new drawing layer
• f: scroll forwards on timeline/ g: scroll backwards
• command+x: cut and copy
• stencil brush: could add tones onto an existing colour layer
• gradient colour: drop down contour select>gradient editor
• import texture could be used in the colour panel
• for clean up: duplicate the draft layer and unpaint (the bucket tool) it

Tips:

• Read&write scripts
• research a wide range of things, not only animation (theatre, cinema, gallery, etc.)
• character building is important
• staging, anticipation &acting
• Thinking of final outcomes (film festivals, platforms online…)

Research materials:

• Shaun of the Dead(2004)
• German expressionism
• Arcane

place to visit:

• Prince Charles Cinema

if the camera movements are going to be added, move everything in the frame in Toonboom before exporting