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Author
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Topic: How do animate draw digitally on a Wacom?
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jeffnevins
IE # 247
Member # 1657
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posted
Actually did OK w/ a bit of animation on the Cintiq Wacom, but it took 5 times the effort to go from rough to cleanup.
On paper I can traceback, quickly figure proportions, etc. On the tablet/monitor, it seems almost impossible.
Thanks-
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My game art & animation-
http://www.tangerinepop.com/GraveShift2/
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Rupert Piston
IE # 175
Member # 2875
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posted
Hi Jeff:
It's taken me some time to get used to it, but I didn't start out knowing how to draw too great either, so my continued practice with a pencil really helped my work with a Wacom.
I had a Graphire 4x5 for a long time, and this year got a 6x8 on Ebay for thirty bucks. Love it. I can use my whole arm much better.
What took me the longest was learning to use pressure sensetivity. I'm no pro (literally), but at this point I hardly use paper for any but storyboard and development.
Like I said, I'm no pro, but I like where it's going for me. It impresses my students, anyway... ![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
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bronnie
IE # 93
Member # 25
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posted
I'm using a Cintiq doing board cleanup, and I'd never, ever worked paperless(on the job) before!I really love it! So silky- smooth compared to my little Graphire! Sure, it really takes some getting used to as it is a whole new tactile process;but if I had the 2500 clams to spare, I'd buy one NOW.
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I am not young enough to know everything- Oscar Wilde
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Ganklin
IE # 14
Member # 1864
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posted
jeff, i'm assuming you're using flash to animate in? drawing in flash is very cumbersome, and works against you. the line you draw is not going to be the line that flash renders, but it can be done. it deffinately takes some getting used to. here's a few tips and some words of encouragement:
keep a model sheet on a guide layer undernieth your roughs. scale it to match the size of the character you're working with. hide the layer on and off to get what you need. another thing to remember is you're working digitally...let the computer trace back for you! copy and paste parts (like a particular hand, or even an entire head) and manipulate them frame to frame altering it as needed. remember to work in groups when doing this. one other thing i see flash beginers do is have a million layers when they're roughing. that just seems so confusing to me if all you're doing is roughing out. keep it simple and only limit it at first to a few layers.
good luck!
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http://fsummers.blogspot.com/
www.shamoozal.com
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jeffnevins
IE # 247
Member # 1657
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posted
Thanks- especially ganklin. I was doing just that (copy/paste of parts to keep proportions, then line trace/manipulation for clean).
Working indie right now, but w/enough practice, may end up in a specific Bay Area business-
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My game art & animation-
http://www.tangerinepop.com/GraveShift2/
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gergley
IE # 200
Member # 74
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posted
A couple of other things about Flash which might be of some use to you, Jeff.
In addition to using a model sheet on a guide layer and onion skinning, you can set up the workspace so that with the rulers are visible. At the very least having the rulers allows for setting up Guide Lines on the stage.
Another visual trick which I think plays off of what Ganklin recommends about working in groups:
If you are tracing over something, create a layer in between that layer and the one you are drawing in. Create a rectangle over the entire stage and fill it with a 10-40%* white then lock that layer.
That mask or skin, if you will, dims the layer(s) beneath it and serves one of the purposes or uses of Grouping. It is just an alternative which is sometimes useful.
*whatever opacity works best for your needs.
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Matt Wilson
IE # 139
Member # 1520
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posted
Flash is a bitch for drawing into. It not only doesn't render pencil strokes correctly, but brush strokes as well. It's just something you'll have to live with. Keep your hand by the CTRL-Z shortcut at all times. In a perfect world Macromedia would fix stuff like this but I guess they care more about companies that make "SHOOT THE BASKETBALL IN THE HOOP TO WIN" ad banners than animators.
Something that should help is if you select areas of a line there are Smooth/Straighten buttons that can help clean them up, but don't get too dependent on them cause they're not that great; plus you'd start to lose the energy/personality of the drawing.. that's just my feeling, anyway.
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Graphiteman
IE # 218
Member # 2092
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posted
It may've been on another site but I've commented before on how taping down my tablet with double sided tape has helped my line Q in Flash 10x better. That said, what Matt Wilson says is true. Not only that but when using brush ya hafta make sure you are in the same screen magnification for a consistent brush.
WOuld love the opportunity to use a cintiq everyday to learn and get better at it.
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Scotty Arsenault
IE # 178
Member # 116
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posted
As much as I enjoy working with it, Flash really ain't the best for tight drawing and animating.
I use Toon Boom Studio also, and it handles lines much better. The line you draw doesn't wobble around after you lift your pen like it will in Flash.
(I've got my name on a waiting list for a Cintiq too. Can't wait!)
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Cartoons for the Common Man!
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Noogy
IE # 18
Member # 705
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posted
I've never adapted to drawing with a wacom. I do all my painting with it, and have used it for years, but I can never get to the point where I'm comfortably inking cels with it. I guess I could get it deep with vector tools and so forth, but I'd rather just ink on paper.
I have, however, considered using those little digital pens that record all your strokes and put them in the computer.
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-Dean Dodrill
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Steve Piscopo
Member
Member # 3257
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posted
I have a wacom at work but find it hard uncomfortable to work with (may be due to the small size and being a Graphite). I prefer sketching out my characters, then using the mouse and the line tool to trace my artwork. I’d love to get my hands on a Cintiq 21UX
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robster16
IE # 160
Member # 620
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posted
I just did three tv commercials animating directly in flash with a graphire tablet. I also cleaned the animation in flash, which is horrible to do, but like so many things, if you do it a lot, you'll get the hang of it and it gets easier. There are a few tricks though. I line my drawings with the general brush tool and in properties I always set "smoothing" to 70, which takes out the most obvious irregularities of the line. Then I clean them and afterwards perfect the drawings by using the selection tool to drag and push and invert the line exactly into the shape I want it to be in. It's a little work, but it's worth it in the end. Here are a few examples of the latest commercial. both rough animations and clean stills:
have a great day and good luck animating!
ROB
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robster16
IE # 160
Member # 620
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posted
uhm, I started with the first animated commercial I think about one and a half years ago. Which is when I really started to manually clean animation in flash, the last commercial was done between november and february and I did all the 2D animation and clean-up for that commercial myself. I must say some of the stuff in that commercial was based on live action footage, not actually rotoscopped, but there was a guideline, mostly because of the nature of the movement as the movements had to be breakdance.
We took an amazing piece of footage as a starting point, then picked certain moves for the spot and then decided what we could exaggerate and turn more broad to make it suitable for animation and take it to a next level. I'm quite proud of the last commercial which should be out very shortly in the netherlands on national tv, but I have gone through a HUGE progression when I look back on the first commercial. Also because the character has become increasingly more complicated, as in the first commercial he was snowboarding fully clothed with gloves, glasses and a hat on. Now there is a full face, hair, tighter clothing, hands, etc, etc.
I'll try and make a preview clip and show some of the animation online soon.
ROB
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robster16
IE # 160
Member # 620
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posted
btw, I've been using a wacom tablet almost daily for about uhm... 5 to 6 years now.
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gergley
IE # 200
Member # 74
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posted
Jeff,
for what it is worth, if your first experience using a pen/tablet is using a Cintiq, it is probably a great place to start. Play around with it as much as possible to see how to allow yourself to become comfortable with using it then you'll build on that.
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Anim8tUSA
Member
Member # 3256
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posted
I like the old fashion way of pencil and paper, but I do have a wacom tablet and it is easier and faster than scanning in every drawing. Just took me a long time to get used to it for Flash. For photoshop it is great.
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Mr. Fun
IE # 63
Member # 352
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posted
I'll probably be buying a Cintiq soon. Especially if they lower the price again.
I agree, Bronnie. $2500 is a lot of clams, but it's tempting.
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jeffnevins
IE # 247
Member # 1657
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posted
5 years- it shows.
I'm fortunate to have a friend/business partner who knew what to get for our project.
I was trying to mimic the best colors for ColErase pencils on roughs to 2nd pass, but should try roughing in light grey, and getting tighter/darker & going to color on 2nd pass-
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My game art & animation-
http://www.tangerinepop.com/GraveShift2/
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Steve Piscopo
Member
Member # 3257
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posted
What size tablet do you guys work on?
I work on an A6 and find it hard to use, I'm guessing its cause it’s so small, so i may invest in a larger one but before I do I wanted to get some feedback.
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