How do modern cartoons. "Live pictures": how modern cartoons are made

In order to give people a fairy tale, it is no longer necessary to color kilometers of paper - artists draw on tablets and computers. However, the most complex, creative component remained the same. Even if the cartoon is created based on a well-known work, first of all, you need to think about the appearance of the characters and the details of the plot.

Our guide through the fairy-tale world was chief studio directorSergey KIATROV. He has been in animation since 1996.

The master says that the cartoon begins with one scene, from which the plot of the future story unfolds. If the sketch is successful, a script is written, where the scene of action is described in detail, the characters of the characters and dialogues are worked out. The total script for a 3-4 minute cartoon is 70-85 pages.

“I can add my own elements to the content,” Kiatrov continues. - To be honest, I wrote off the main character of the cartoon "Waterman" (based on the tale of the Tatar poet G. Tukay) from my neighbor, but he does not know about it yet. (laughs) The character turned out to be hooligan, he jumps from the bungee, although this is not in the work.

The appearance of each character is thought out to the smallest detail: facial features and figures, costume, items of use. All this creates a complete image.

The harmony of the plot is given by a clear sequence of actions: not a single cartoon is filmed without a storyboard. This is an illustration in the form of a comic book of each scene of the future picture.

The next step is to create drawings. The studio uses the translation technique. This means that the components of one scene - the characters (and sometimes their body parts), background, houses, trees will be created separately. The more details - the easier it is to give movement to the elements. Then all this is collected and mounted together in Adobe After Effects.

Cartoon characters are drawn by each studio artist. “It turns out about 30 options, from which we choose the best together. We are working on it. We like negative characters more - they are more characteristic. For example, Div from "Kisekbash" ( evil sorcerer from an old Kazan legend. - Note. ed.),” explains animator Denis SADIKOV.

Further, the director divides each element of the thick storyboard among several artists. It is very difficult to reproduce "cartoons" exactly. Therefore, it is important that scenes with certain characters are drawn by a limited circle of specialists.

“Here, for example, I create a boy,” says artistNelya ABDEEVA. - I choose according to the scenario, what poses, what facial expressions he has here. I draw it on a tablet in Adobe Photoshop, selecting the "pencil" function. Then I paint."

“Modern technologies are very convenient. You do not need to rethrow everything if one element did not work out. For example, here the boy has a short neck. I select only the head in the program and edit,” the artist continues.

After the drawings are ready, you need to teach the characters to move.

“The beauty of the cartoon is that it does not have to be subject to the physical laws of our world,” the director explains. - But if you do this, in all animation studios they take this bouncing ball as a basis. On his example, the frog I created also moves.

Denis Sadykov: - How would a regular ball fall from a height in a cartoon (shows). What if it was cast iron? We see that he is heavy (shows) And if it were a watermelon, he would burst .... And if he is an actor? (laughs and shows) This is one example ... "

How to make a character cry or wave his hand, says a gesture specialist Denis Sadykov. He has many years of experience. “For the first time I made an animation for the video of the Piknik group. It was a plasticine mouth,” he recalls.

Denis Sadykov:- “At the moment I am working on the cartoon “Talk Duck”. Now I'm drawing a scene where a chatty duck meets a hedgehog. Different parts of the hedgehog's body are drawn separately. Let's say palm, hand, elbow. Then we open everything in the "After Effects" program, attach the body parts to each other. This is necessary so that he can move his hand. When meeting, the hedgehog waves to the chatty duck, such as "hello."

For one step of the boy in a frame lasting several milliseconds, 12 drawings are needed. The lower the speed of movement, the more illustrations you need.

“Animation is painstaking, hard work that requires perseverance and patience: today I did only 10 seconds for the whole working day,” admits Denis Sadykov. “But if you love work, everything works out and brings joy!”

Sergei Kiatrov: - “This picture is 12 frames per second. Such a wonderful horse runs. And her last and first frame are the same. Our eye sees an intermediate stage, when the horse's legs are tucked in - if this is not the case, the horse is moving too fast. Here, for example, 24 frames per second. we see that the legs began to ripple.

ArtistDasha MITROFANOVA explained to us how to create a sequence of actions and using the example of a scene in which a boy shakes off his clothes after bathing, created in TVPaint Animation.

“According to the script, he went behind a tree. We see only his hands, - explains the artist. - I must say that each movement of an animated character is at least 10 drawings and whole weeks of work. In my case it is 38 frames, each one is a separate image. Then I reproduce and correct my shortcomings so that the movement is alive, smooth and effective.

And the artist Polina Grechkina, perhaps the most ambitious task - she creates a general plan for the cartoon. If each movement of the hero in the frame is several illustrations, then the background for the entire scene is usually one. In addition, separate elements are also created - layers in Photoshop: houses, trees, the sun, which will be superimposed on the background during installation.

Polina Grechkina:- “When editing, for example, it will be one layer, the second layer will be a character. If he goes, the camera will move behind him. No need to redraw the background every time. For example, if a character has to enter against the backdrop of a forest, then on the frame he must go behind a tree. That is, the forest is one layer, the tree is one layer, and between them is a layer with a character.

After the image is ready, you need to teach the characters to speak. Sounding cartoons sometimes has to be done several times: the actors and the director understand the characters' characters and the circumstances of the plot in different ways. Then the voices are edited, synchronized and assembled into single audio tracks. “For voicing animals, we usually call the actors of the Theater for the Young Spectator: in children's performances there are often animals among the characters,” explains the chief director. “To voice human characters, we turn to the artists of the Galiaskar Kamal Theater.”

When all the scenes are ready, the specialists sit down for the final editing of the cartoon. This is the fastest and most difficult process - you have to reluctantly cut out finished scenes. However, the main result is at stake - the real story of small "live" characters created by animators.

Process animation creation step by step - that's what we wanted to cover in this article. Ready-made you can see on the studio website. Let's talk about the process here. After reading this text, you will be able to understand how work usually takes place in this area, who is involved in the process (a brief description of the work of copywriters, screenwriter, artists, animators, announcers, sound engineer), and get an initial idea of ​​\u200b\u200bwhere you can start the animation learning process.

It is better to divide the work into several main stages and move step by step, clarity is needed in the process of creating animation.

CREATING A CARTOON

How to create a cartoon

We are often asked how we create our cartoons? In this article, we will try to briefly but clearly describe how this process looks like in the Tundra animation studio. Much depends on why you need a cartoon.

If you want to order an animated video for your company, then, of course, you need to contact professionals. If the cartoon is a gift to your friends or relatives, then you can do something simpler, but it’s better to do everything right too. This is not a fast process and requires the professionalism of all participants in the process.

If you want to learn how to make cartoons yourself or somehow connect your work with cartoons, then this text will help understand how everything is done and who is involved in this process.

Stages of creation

It is better to divide the work into several main stages. It is more convenient to divide the work into parts and consistently move forward step by step, especially if you are not making a cartoon for your own pleasure, but for someone you need clarity in the process of creating animation.

1. Writing a cartoon script

At this stage, the copywriter develops a general concept, the idea of ​​a cartoon. Often a customer, turning to an animation studio, already has some idea of ​​what he wants to see in the cartoon. Sometimes it even happens that the script is already fully developed.

If this is not the case, then a brief (something like a questionnaire) is drawn up, which lists the main questions that are proposed to be answered. Usually, these are questions about the goals pursued by the customer, about the target group he focuses on in creating the cartoon, about the duration of the cartoon, preferences in style, voice acting, etc.

After filling out such a brief, the situation becomes much clearer and you can proceed to create a cartoon script. Having a completed brief, the screenwriter usually offers the customer several different script ideas to choose from. The selected option is being finalized into a full-fledged scenario.

Once the script is approved, character development can begin.

2. Character development

Character development is usually started when the main objectives of the cartoon, the target group and style preferences are already known. According to the script, the illustrator or the so-called concept artist develops the image of each of the cartoon characters. Sometimes, at a separate stage, even before the characters are drawn, a description of the character of each of the characters is developed - such a portrait of each of the characters in text form. This is done so that the artist, when developing a visual image, has a clear idea of ​​the character's character.

First, as a rule, the artist makes some rough sketches, simple sketches with a pencil or on a tablet. At this stage, neither color nor clarity of drawing is important. The main thing is to find the right image first. 1-3 different versions of the character's image are created. If you do not like anything, then you can make additional options.

After the sketch is approved, the next step is its final revision and final drawing in color and vector (if it is a flash cartoon).

This happens with every character. When all the characters are designed and approved, you can safely proceed to the storyboard.

3. Storyboard

It should be noted that the storyboard, in general, is an optional step. A storyboard helps you understand how the cartoon will look like even before you start creating the animation. Therefore, if there are any special wishes or concerns in this regard, then a storyboard for a cartoon can be useful.

The essence of the storyboard is simple - it is the rendering of the main scenes of the cartoon in static. From the storyboard, you can understand how the scenes in the cartoon will look like, their sequence, duration (if the storyboard is with timecode), the location of the main objects in the background, and also the location of the characters relative to the background.

cartoon storyboard example

The storyboard can be black and white in the form of a pencil sketch, it can be color in a raster or in a vector. Detailing and drawing can also be different - it all depends on the complexity of the cartoon and the tasks.

Usually, a storyboard is enough to understand how everything will look in a cartoon. After the storyboard is ready, most often, you can start creating animation. But in some cases (when you need 100% confidence that everything will be in the cartoon exactly as you would like) one more intermediate stage is required - animatic.

4. Animatic

Animatic is an animated storyboard. These are no longer static pictures, but also not a cartoon - something in between. An animatic is usually created exactly according to the storyboard and according to the time of the cartoon (if the cartoon is 30 seconds, then the animatic is made exactly 30 seconds, so that you can understand the duration of each scene before the next one changes).

An example of creating an animatic

The most important moments can already be animated in the animatic (fully or partially). Something can be schematically shown with arrows, some additional explanatory frames are inserted, something is signed with text, etc. The animatic does not have to be clean. Its function is to make the storyboard material more understandable.

5. Create a cartoon

Animatic is ready and approved. Now you can create a cartoon. The animator already has everything necessary for this. In parallel with the animation, the background artist can deal with the backgrounds. Also, for a full-fledged cartoon, animation dubbing is usually required.

Dubbing can be of different levels of complexity and consist of the following components: announcer's reading or the work of actors, dubbing of events in a cartoon, overlaying music, writing poetry, songs, original music, mixing all the material.

But back to animation. Each animator has his own scheme of work, which he likes more and which he is used to. Most often, first, according to the animatics, the animator draws the main locations of the characters. After that, the animation of intermediate frames between these locations and everything else is already underway.

Basic principles of animation

In classical animation (animation), a cartoon is created from a sequence of static pictures (frames). The frame rate can be different (most often, it is from 12 to 30 frames per second). That is, 12-30 frames are viewed per second, each of which is slightly different from the previous one. This creates the appearance of movement.

The more frames per second, the smoother the movement, the smaller, the more choppy. For flash cartoons on the Internet, 12-18 frames per second are most often used - this is due to the fact that doing 24-30 frames per second is 2 times longer than 12-15. For TV standard Pal 24-25 frames for NTSC 30 frames per second. But, of course, it's better for the Internet to do the same 24-25 frames per second - this animation looks smoother and more beautiful.

I must say that cartoons for the Internet are usually flash cartoons. This animation program is focused specifically on the Internet and has a number of features that make it easier to work on a cartoon and reduce the size of the final file.

The size of the cartoon file was very important a few years ago, when everyone was still on modems and there was no question of the widespread use of online video - everything was loading too slowly. Then the swf format was indispensable for the cartoon. However, now the situation has changed a lot - the Internet has become fast and inexpensive, and cartoons, more often, are already being converted to video format.

Video animation in Flash

As for optimizing the work of an animator, Flash also offers interesting solutions. Classic frame-by-frame animation is very time-consuming and for the Internet it is completely unprofitable, as a rule. On flash, you can make animation both frame-by-frame and by shifting (using motion tweening), also, in the latest versions of the program, the ability to create animation by skeleton has been added, and, of course, the use of symbols (animation pieces can be looped and used many times where needed). All this significantly helps to reduce time and make the animation faster. Of course, the animation on the skeleton, shifting or frame-by-frame will look different in each of these cases. It is most reasonable to combine these possibilities, achieving an optimal result.

Post-production, cartoon compositing

Post-production and compositing for cartoons is work that can be carried out after the cartoon is ready. This is an optional step (flash cartoons are usually made without it). However, this stage should not be underestimated when it comes to using beautiful raster images in a cartoon, interesting colorful effects, creating a cartoon for TV. Animation can be in mixed media. For example, there may be a video of people shot with chroma key (on a green background, which is later removed during compositing). Let's say some people are dancing in this video. You can make animated backgrounds and put these dancing people there, that is, they will already be dancing in such a cartoonish country. Or, conversely, photos or videos can be used as a background, and animated characters can be superimposed on top.

You can, for example, shoot a video of a restaurant, and then make an animated chef who walks around the restaurant and tells how everything works in it. With the help of compositing, you can achieve a beautiful organic combination of animation with backgrounds, make color correction, etc. All this allows you to make the cartoon as attractive and complete as possible.

I must say that cartoons for the Internet are usually flash cartoons. This animation program is focused specifically on the Internet and has a number of features that make it easier to work on a cartoon and reduce final file size

Animation software

There are many animation programs out there. There are different techniques and animations and different versions of programs that allow you to create cartoons in various techniques.

The most popular ones are: Adobe Flash, Toonz, Toon Boom Studio, Adobe After Effects, Anime Studio. There are many others, but we will limit ourselves to these in this article.

Flash has become a leader in creating animation for the web due to its flexibility. Toon Boom Studio can be called an analogue, which has its own characteristics, of course, without such programming capabilities as a flash.

Toonz is more suitable for frame-by-frame animation. After Effects is a very powerful program for creating effects, TV design, compositing, and you can also do animation with raster overlay in it. Anime Studio is interesting for its simplicity, the ability to animate the skeleton and high-quality raster rendering.

In general, it all depends on the tasks and preferences. There are also programs for 3d animation, plasticine animation, etc. But this is a separate conversation.

Check out our cartoons here:

). After all, this is real magic: the pictures move, talk, dance and sing. It seems that such magic is not subject to the ordinary person. In fact, the creation of a cartoon, although a painstaking process, is not so difficult. You and your child can easily create your own cartoon.

To create a cartoon, you don’t need much: free time, imagination and desire. And the rest can be found at hand or on the Internet. The editors of the site share with you the easiest ways to create your own animated masterpiece for a couple with a baby. For clarity and inspiration, we supplemented the article with video examples made by families in different parts of the world.

Stop motion cartoons

The easiest and most popular way to create a cartoon is the stop-motion technique. You put toys (plasticine figurines, paper-cut characters, LEGO men) in a certain position and take pictures. Then slightly change the position of the figure and make a new frame. And that's how you create your story. It's best to take pictures with a tripod, but if you don't have one, just try not to change the shooting angle.

Next, these frames need to be edited in one of the computer programs, there are a lot of them on the Internet (Pinnacle Studio 18, Windows Film Studio, Movavi, etc.). Remember that each simple movement, like raising your hand, is at least 2-3 frames, otherwise your cartoon will become too sharp and jumpy when stitching together.

A source: Stas1308

You can then add sounds, music, or speech to the video. Here again you will need a special program if the editing editor does not provide such opportunities. All these programs operate on the same principle. You read the text into a microphone, then load it into the video and put it where you want it when your character starts talking. You can voice not everything as a whole, but in separate phrases, and sounds can also be superimposed on each other so that the cartoon has both a song and your words.

There are even special play sets that help children create such cartoons. Now the Stikbot line is especially popular, which got to the 5th place according to Toy.Ru. There, the task is facilitated with the help of moving plastic men and a special green background, which can then be easily replaced with any other landscape.

Drawn cartoon on computer and phone

If you don’t want to take 100 frames of a man waving his hand, then you can use a computer and draw a cartoon there. There are a lot of programs for this (Animator, Wick, Hippo Animator, Algodoo and others).

In one of these programs, for example, you can make a video of yourself painting in slow motion. That is, you will be saddened by the whole process of creating a drawing. But it's still not exactly a cartoon. Basically, editors offer the following: you draw separate frames, and then the program itself glues them together. You only need to add sound. Or you can not draw anything, take ready-made models from the library and simply move them with the mouse across the screen. Something like this on YouTube there are numerous videos for children.

You can draw your cartoon online on Google Drive, and you can do it not only alone, but also in a large company, simply by expanding access to the required number of children. Together is more fun. Or you can not use the Internet at all: draw in Paint, but glue in Windows Movie Maker.

A source: Duderocks5539

Mobile devices are also full of applications for creating animation, we even made . The easiest thing is to take ready-made characters and move them around the screen, a little more difficult is to draw the characters yourself and use the guide lines to change their position. True, there are not enough options with voice acting. Usually, editors offer to overlay some kind of melody or the simplest sounds from their own library on the video.

For those who want something more serious

And if these methods seem too simple, boring to you and you have already tried everything, you can start experimenting with more complex techniques. For example, create your own picture from sand or other bulk materials. True, such shooting requires more equipment - you need a special table, sand and proper lighting.

You will have to draw here not with pencils, but with your hands. Of course, it is more difficult, but what a result! Sand paintings, even those made by children, come out very smooth, fluid and magical. And shooting takes place in the same stop-motion mode.

Previously, even a simple animation had to be worked on by a team of professional animators. Yes, and such work was carried out in specialized studios with a set of appropriate tools. Today, any user of a computer, or even a mobile device, can try himself in the field of animation.

Of course, for serious projects, you will have to use full-fledged software complexes, but simpler tasks can be handled using simpler tools. In the same article, you will learn how to create a cartoon online and what Internet services you need to interact with for this.

There are many resources for frame-by-frame animation on the web, but without some artistic talent, nothing significant can be created with their help. However, if you try, you can get a fairly sane result as a result of working with an online editor.

Note that the bulk of the relevant tools assume that you have . Therefore, if there is none, do not be lazy and install this multimedia solution. It's very simple and won't take much of your time.

Method 1: Toonator

The most easy-to-use tool for creating short animated videos. Despite the relatively meager functionality, everything here is limited only by your imagination and skill. An example of this is the numerous users of the resource, among whose works you can find really remarkable cartoons.

However, there is one “BUT” here: you can save your cartoons on the resource as much as you like, but for downloading you will have to spend "Spiders"— the service's own currency. You can earn them by participating in regular Toonator contests and drawing cartoons on the "topic of the day", or simply buy them. The only question is what you like more.

Method 2: The animator

A similar solution for working with frame-by-frame animation online. The toolkit of the service, in comparison with the previous one, is wider. For example, The animator allows you to use all RGB colors and manually change the frame rate in the video.

Unlike the previous one, this web tool is in English. However, you should not have any difficulties associated with this - everything is as simple and clear as possible.

As you can see, unlike the previous service, The animator allows you to freely download your own work. And in terms of ease of use, this solution is in no way inferior to Multator. However, a large Russian-speaking community has formed around the latter, and this particular fact can seriously affect your choice.

Method 3: CLICK

A more advanced resource for creating animated videos. Click offers users not just to draw each frame, but to combine a variety of elements: all kinds of stickers, inscriptions, backgrounds and popular cartoon characters.

Despite the rather wide functionality, using this web tool is simple and convenient.

Method 4: Wick

If you want to create really complex animation, use the Wick service. This tool in its functionality is as close as possible to professional solutions of this kind. In general, we can say that the service is what it is.

In addition to full support for vector graphics, Wick can work with layers and interactive JavaScript animations. With it, you can create really serious projects right in the browser window.

Wick is free and open source and does not require registration.

Creating a cartoon can be a long and complicated process. But if you're passionate about seeing your own cartoon stories on screen, the end result will be worth the effort. Here's what you need to do if you want to create your own cartoon.

Steps

Part 1

1. Consider your resources. Perhaps your imagination is limited and your budget and talent are limitless, or vice versa. When you're thinking about a new idea for a cartoon, consider how much you can put into the process and how much creativity you have.

   • If you're new to this, you might want to stay away from plots that require complex animation scenes, such as large-scale battles or complex vehicles. Before taking on a project of this magnitude, hone your animation skills and gain experience.
   • Also keep in mind that depending on the complexity of your cartoon, you will need different equipment. A plasticine cartoon with more than 20-25 characters and 4 sets will need more materials and devices than a celluloid cartoon with one episode. If you have a very limited budget, opt for a short and simple cartoon.

2. Think about the length of the cartoon. Depending on the target market, it may differ. If you decide on the length of the cartoon at the beginning, it will be easier for you to come up with a plot that fits into this framework.

   • If you want to create a cartoon that can become an animated series, it should be either 11 or 20-25 minutes long.
   • Animated films can run from 60 to 120 minutes.
   • If all you want to create is one cartoon (not a series) for the Internet, you can make it for 1-5 minutes. If it is longer, it may turn viewers away from watching.

3. Decide on the target audience. Despite the fact that most cartoons are created for children, there are many films for teenagers and adults. You should be guided by the characteristics of the age group and other demographic characteristics in the process of creating a cartoon.

   • For example, a tragic cartoon (say, about the death of a loved one) is more suitable for a slightly older audience. If your cartoon is for the younger generation, you'd better choose a theme that's a little easier to understand, more specific.

4. Build on your experience. In other words, write about what you know. Many authors write stories based on events, feelings, or relationships that they once experienced. Make a list of things that happened to you that could be the basis for your cartoon.

   • If you want to create a cartoon with a serious idea, remember the events that made you stronger and tougher: unrequited love, the loss of a friend, dedication to achieve the impossible, and so on.
   • If you want to create a more humorous cartoon, take a day-to-day situation as the basis, such as waiting in traffic or feeling like an email is about to arrive. Embellish the situation and comically convey its complexity.
   • You can also use a ready-made humorous story to create a light cartoon.

5. Turn on your imagination. Of course, there are many plots that are not related to real moments of life. You can use your interests and imagination to create completely new environments. In this case, you need to include enough details that are relevant to the audience so that they can understand the actions of the characters and the story as a whole.

   • Viewer-relevant details are topics that affect everyone. For example, most people can be touched by the topic of growing up, whether the story unfolds in a real modern world, surrounded by a space future, or in the world of fantasy heroes.

6. Create a charming main character. Make a list of character traits that you would like to see in the main character. Write both positive and negative traits so that the hero is not too perfect.

   • This is an important step. It doesn't matter how simple or complex your cartoon is. Whereas a longer, more serious film needs more character development, a short humorous cartoon needs a character with a clear purpose and clear personality traits that allow him to respond to conflict in a unique way.

7. Try your hand at animation using celluloid film. This is the traditional method of creating cartoons. You will need to hand draw each frame on a piece of celluloid film and then photograph them with a special camera.

   • Celluloid animation is guided by almost the same principle as the cinemagraph. A series of drawings is made, and each of them is slightly different from the previous one. If they are shown quickly one after the other, the differences between them create the illusion of movement.
   • Each image is drawn and painted on transparent celluloid film.
   • Use your camera to take pictures of these drawings and edit them with animation editing software.

8. Try your hand at puppet animation. This is another traditional type of animation, but is less commonly used than celluloid animation. Plasticine animation is the most common form of puppet animation, but there are other types of puppets that you can use to create such a cartoon.

   • You can use shadow puppets, paper puppets, sand animation, or anything else that can change position.
   • Every movement should be small. Always take a photo after you've made a new move.
   • Edit images by viewing them together, quickly alternating one after another. When you observe them in this way, you will notice things that need to be corrected.