Intober Day 10: Don't Be Afraid To Use That New Sketchbook! First Drawing On My #moleskine That I Have

Inktober day 16: well, this turned out better than expected ^-^ . #inktober #inkstagram #inktober2016 #inking #drawinggirl #drawing #art #traditionalart #illustration #girl #girlsinanimation #ink #balloons #artistsofinstagram #tumblr

can you show us how you make gifs ? gimp is confusing ahh

Sure! ill try to make it as simple and quick as possible

I’ll explain how I do the blinking since it’s what i do most, 

this is just how I do it, there are many other ways but i found this to be the best for me :)

so to achieve this blinking touka…. (ignoring the red ghoul eye)

We are gonna first need to draw the “base” image on whatever program you prefer (photoshop, Krita,SAI.. doesn’t matter) , mine are always the subject with the eyes open. Also, try to not have TOO much detail, I usually don’t spend much time on the hair, but rather focus on the skin and features.

Now that we have that exported as a .PNG file, we are going to create the movement of the blinking, i usually do four frames consisting of the eyes open, slightly closed,¾ closed and closed (i just draw over my base drawing and save as i go). you should end up with four drawings with everything except the eyes being the same! >>

Now let us jump to GIMP,open up your base image, then “file>open as layer” for all the other frames, you should have something like this on the layers tab to the left of the screen. 

Now to achieve a natural blink, simply right click layer “3/4 closed” and copy it then paste it on top of “eyes closed” repeat that to the remaining layers, I hope this picture makes it much clearer >>

Ok, now go to filters>animation>playback, this will show you a demo of how your animation loops (this is where to do changes to your drawing if you don’t like how the eyes blink)

you should now get a nice blink! like this>

following this concept, you can copy and paste more “base drawing” layers to get a longer pause between blinks, or add two blinks close together then one blink after a few second pause (pretty common and gives a natural effect)

keep using the playback button to check on how your image blinks until you’re satisfied with the number of blinks and how long the pauses are.

alright, now that you have your desired blinking animation, do you just save? nope! for your drawing to load faster on tumblr you need to get your drawing to the smallest possible file size.

to do that you need to go “to filters>animation>optimize (for gif)”, this great tool cuts your file size from 2 MB to 90 KB!! (with compromising a little bit of quality)

after optimizing GIMP will open a new window with the now smaller file sized drawing, simply save that by going to “file>export as..>”  and save your file as a .GIF file, a new window will pop up and it should look like this>>

click on the “as animation” button and the “loop forever” button, THESE ARE IMPORTANT. now just click export and you are done!!

of course this is just the very simple basics of how I use GIMP to get blinking effect, If you want another tutorial on glowing effects or changing colours please let me know! I hope this was helpful :)

Tutorial: Expressions~

First off, I gotta start off with the typical Disclaimer.

*ahem*

This is a tutorial based off of MY knowledge and MY experience. My advice is just that, advice, and is not is anyway, shape or form, absolute. I am still learning and do not consider myself a professional or expert. Look at other sources, look at other materials, expand your inspiration, don’t just look at this tutorial and call it good. And most importantly have fun~

Alright, with that out of the way, before I can get to the actual expressions, we need to discuss an important concept known as “Squash and Stretch.” You’ve probably heard of it before. Squash and Stretch was a method that was invented (I use this term a bit loosely) by Freddie Moore, a Disney animator from the 1930s to 1940s. He was the animator for the Dwarves in Snow White and he gave these characters a spongy flexibility that made them feel more real and gave pliability to the face that made them come more alive.

Even outside the world of animation, Squash and Stretch is essential and you’re going to squeeze much more life out of your characters if you understand and are willing to push the weight and flexibility of their faces. This also doesn’t only apply to cartoons, look in the mirror and make funny faces and strange expressions and you’ll notice how squishy your face is.

The next concept to be aware of is the Acting Elements of the Face. This is a concept I never really thought about until I read Tom Bancroft’s Character Mentor, a book I have recommended many times. The Acting Elements are the basics of character expression and focuses on breaking down the elements of the face in order of importance to properly communicate an expression to the audience.  These are not set in stone and a lot of times their order can be switched around depending on the expression. This is the default order Bancroft uses in his book:

1)      The eyes

2)      The eyebrows

3)      The mouth

4)      The neck

5)      The nose

I’m not going to go into much detail about this; otherwise this tutorial will run on forever, so DEFINITELY give Character Mentor a look for a better understanding.

Here are some expressions I whipped up, notice the different ways each of the above elements contributes to the overall expression. Try to identify which element is strongest in each one. Also notice how some elements repeat (such as the use of the eyebrows in the bottom two) but they’re still different expressions.

I personally find that I always build from the eyes out when building an expression. Ever heard the phrase “The eyes are the windows to the soul?” well guess what? THE EYES ARE THE WINDOWS TO THE SOUL!  This is why people look away when their embarrassed, why their gaze shifts when they’re lying, why their eyes grow wide in awe.  It’s what makes a hero seem cold when they hold their gaze at the display of heartless behavior or gives a villain a moment of redemption when they turn away from a cruelty.

Part of the reason why Glen Keane’s characters are so incredible is the way he expresses a character through their eyes. He says “If you’re going to make a mistake, don’t make it in the eyes. Because everybody’s looking at the eyes.” He creates these characters that are filled with passion and before that passion translates into body language or into an expression, if bursts out through the eyes.

Remember when I brought up that the order of the Acting Elements is flexible? As I said, I tend to start with the eyes when expressing and character but sometimes that just doesn’t “work” with the character. Take a look a Max, from Cats Don’t Dance (if you haven’t seen the film, I highly recommend it, even if just for the animation).  His face is almost ALWAYS in the same position, with the same expression, completely stiff. The only thing that moves is his mouth and it’s animated in a way that is both comical and intimidating! This is a common theme with his character, fluid motion against unmoving bulk.  It contrasts and guess what? Contrast creates interest! <—-Remember this phrase, because it applies to everything!

Next, pushing your expressions. Don’t be afraid to add that extra “umph” to a characters expression. Unless you’re animating, you don’t have the luxury of constant motion and steady frames, so make the most of a scene, make it clear to your audience what your character is feeling. Check out some of these simple examples below.

Now some of you probably thought the first expression was better than the second. And you know, you may be right! Sometimes a subtler expression speaks volumes more than a more obvious one. It’s important, however, to understand to how to make the most use of your character’s face. But in the end it all boils down to the character. Which leads me to my final segment of this tutorial…

A character should express themselves through their emotions. Just like costumes, colors, body language, etc. expressions are ultimately a tool used describe a character, to visually tell a story about them.  When dealing with different characters, try to avoid “recycling” expressions, ESPECIALLY in the same scene/picture/moment. A good exercise is to draw two or three different characters with the same emotion but give them different expressions.

Or better yet, draw them reacting to the same situation.

Your goal should be to make each expression true to the character. Their expressions should tell the audience something about them. The same way you might bold a word or phrase to emphasize its meaning, a character should express themselves in ways that emphasize who they are.

Using Shapes Row 1 & 2 Row 3 - 5

Late night sketch: Hufflepuff Steven Universe

When I animate (in 2d, 3d, or in any medium) I always start be thinking about the overall shape of the character. I decide what simple shapes create the pose. I also decide what are the main thoughts in the scene and how can I represent them with a shape. The most important part of this Is to always remember “shape change equals a thought/emotion change”.

Newt Scamander, everyone! I want to watch this movie ASAP!!

I’m pretty sure this is what my daughter sees when she looks in the mirror.

Apple tutorial