Can you animate?

[Josie]

Just wondering if there are any self taught animators here. My youngest is crazy for creating animations in any way we can, but I haven't got him started yet with any programs. I don't even know where to start. He's been doing just fine, but he wants to be an animator when he grows up (2D so far), so he wants to "go pro" lol. I want to help him get on his way with that.

Any suggestions for programs? Maybe some books that might help?

 

[EileenCruz]

I can kind of animate at best.

I love this book by Preston Blair: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/listi...tInStock_Under26-_-Q000000633-_-2690018351034

Here's the wiki page on him: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preston_Blair

Smith Micro has a version of Anime Studio that's about $50. It's not as full featured as the $300 version. But it'll give him a taste of it and it'll help you and him see if he's really got a knack and love for it.
http://anime.smithmicro.com/buy.html?gclid=CP3DwqrolbsCFQrxOgodUg8AwA

When he gets older, you might consider Toon Boom or Anime Studio Pro. I'll have a full list of anatomy and animation theory books if he's still into it by then. =)

 

[Josie]

Thanks! I'll look into all of that today

Oh, he has a knack. Right now he does whatever he can with just cameras and phone cameras lol.. it's adorable, he's quite amazing at it. He's even made some claymation "movies" and they're amazing. Almost seamless. I can't wait to help him onto the next steps, this is totally what he wants to do.

Thanks again!

 

[EileenCruz]

Ooooh, he's a stop motion animation fan. The stuff above still applies. But, here's a little more.

Focal Press makes good animation-related books. I don't have this one. But the ones I do are pretty thorough.
http://www.amazon.com/Stop-Motion-S...168986&sr=8-11&keywords=stop+motion+animation

This one's more of a history book that he might really like.
http://www.amazon.com/Century-Stop-...168986&sr=8-12&keywords=stop+motion+animation

 

[Josie]

Thanks again! You're uber helpful He's into all animation actually (as long as he's the artist anyway lol). he just really wants to get started with 2D and I haven't figured out where to start. Anything and everything in animation in general is appreciated though, he's a really advanced learner, so the "age appropriate" thing doesn't really apply to him. Guess I should get on all these links soon!

 

[rastergrafx]

If you want to try a crack at a free animation program, you can give Synfig Studio a try.

 

[heyhowareyou]

I took a 2d animation class in high school, you could try to see if there are any similar programs. I taught myself how to use Flash, but that's an expensive program and it's very unique. There are tons of animation and Flash tutorials on YouTube and the internet as a whole, though.

 

[Josie]

Thanks guys! I'm going to spend today looking into all of this. Hopefully! lol.

 

[niiro17]

I don't know how to animate but I can draw well. And thanks for all of this info!

 

[primalclaws1974]

You can animate with programs built into your computer. I do basic animations by drawing in Paint and then putting each frame into Movie Maker. It takes a lot of patience, even for a short, quickly/crudely drawn cartoon, but it is fun, and doesn't cost anything.

There is a website called GoAnimate that has a lot of characters that are simply drag-and-drop. The animation is automatic. Some of it requires a paid subscription, but there are plenty of free options as well.