Animation
The techniques and knowledge to create interesting, effective animations can be used in a very wide variety of workplace settings. You could make attention-grabbing advertisements, interactive games, or impressive flash websites. We will be learning basic 2-D animation techniques, leading up to the possibility of exploring 3-D animation in the more advanced levels of Digital Media. Making objects and text move in order to catch the eye is a skill that not everyone has, so it can be highly marketable and profitable when properly applied in the real-world.
The software we will be using in Digital Media to create animations is Adobe Flash. It is an industry-standard program that is highly capable and versatile. Flash uses a timeline-based interface that can incorporate both frame-based and vector animation techniques. It can also utilize ActionScript coding to create interactive features like buttons and controls. It is rather expensive, especially for the amateur animator, but it is considered the best in the industry.
The software we will be using in Digital Media to create animations is Adobe Flash. It is an industry-standard program that is highly capable and versatile. Flash uses a timeline-based interface that can incorporate both frame-based and vector animation techniques. It can also utilize ActionScript coding to create interactive features like buttons and controls. It is rather expensive, especially for the amateur animator, but it is considered the best in the industry.
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ADOBE FLASH TUTORIALS
Adobe Flash is a very high-powered software that can be used to create a wide variety of animations for any type of client. Throughout the semester, we will be only learning a small portion of what this program is able to do. If you would like to explore its capabilities more in-depth, use the resource websites on the left to discover many more useful tools and features of Flash.
Adobe Flash is a very high-powered software that can be used to create a wide variety of animations for any type of client. Throughout the semester, we will be only learning a small portion of what this program is able to do. If you would like to explore its capabilities more in-depth, use the resource websites on the left to discover many more useful tools and features of Flash.
STORYBOARD
BLANK STORYBOARD TEMPLATE
The utilization of a storyboard for planning purposes is absolutely necessary if you intend to create effective, interest-grabbing animations. Use the template on the right to plan out movement of objects, background noises and/or sound effects, and how the overall progression of your animation will take place from start to finish. Sketch out the visuals and describe the technical details in written form. If this planning stage is used appropriately, it will help eliminate inadvertent mistakes that can result in an ineffective animation.
The utilization of a storyboard for planning purposes is absolutely necessary if you intend to create effective, interest-grabbing animations. Use the template on the right to plan out movement of objects, background noises and/or sound effects, and how the overall progression of your animation will take place from start to finish. Sketch out the visuals and describe the technical details in written form. If this planning stage is used appropriately, it will help eliminate inadvertent mistakes that can result in an ineffective animation.
storyboard.pdf | |
File Size: | 14 kb |
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FREE ANIMATION SOFTWARES
Adobe Flash is an awesome program that is capable of creating many different types of animations. However, it is rather expensive. Use the links below to find a few animation softwares that are free to download and use. They are not quite as powerful as Flash, but they will get the job done in most cases. I have not used any of these softwares extensively, so use the resources on each individual website to figure out its tools and features.
ROYALTY FREE SOUND EFFECTS
Animations can be taken to the next level by incorporating simple sound effects. Adobe Flash has a great library of sound effects included into the software, but sometimes it's hard to find the perfect sound for the action that is being animated.
When developing advertisements and promotional animations for television shows or movies, incorporating the original theme song helps your audience immediately recognize what the purpose of your project is and who it was made for.
If you click on the image on the left, you will find a gigantic library of royalty-free sound effects that are free to download and use. Either find the perfect one you like and get it individually, or download the entire sound pack for the extensive library of free-to-use sounds.
When developing advertisements and promotional animations for television shows or movies, incorporating the original theme song helps your audience immediately recognize what the purpose of your project is and who it was made for.
If you click on the image on the left, you will find a gigantic library of royalty-free sound effects that are free to download and use. Either find the perfect one you like and get it individually, or download the entire sound pack for the extensive library of free-to-use sounds.
Keep in mind that using these songs outside of a classroom setting violates copyright and trademark policy. Click the image to the right to find a HUGE library of theme songs.
FLIP-BOOK ANIMATION EXAMPLE
Frame-based animation is a technique that places individual images in a progression that tricks the human eye into seeing continuous motion. This type of animation is clearly illustrated in a flip book format.
On the left is a printable file that can be assembled into a flip-book. Cut out each image and staple them in order, then flip each page quickly to see the continuous motion. On the right is the .FLA file of the resulting animation. |
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ANIMATION PROJECTS
Bouncing Ball Project
The first project we will complete with Adobe Flash will help you learn the basics of creating objects on the stage and making them move from place to place. It utilizes computer generated formulas between keyframes to define the path and speed of movement. This is known as vector animation.
This is a rather simple project that will only take one day to complete. However, it will require you to pay attention in class and follow the directions given to you by the instructor. You will create 10 different balls of various size and color. There is a PDF tutorial located to the right to help you complete this project.
As you work, save your project as a .fla and name it lastname + first initial + balls.fla. When you are finished, export it as a .SWF file with the same name (ex: pettywballs.SWF).
This is a rather simple project that will only take one day to complete. However, it will require you to pay attention in class and follow the directions given to you by the instructor. You will create 10 different balls of various size and color. There is a PDF tutorial located to the right to help you complete this project.
As you work, save your project as a .fla and name it lastname + first initial + balls.fla. When you are finished, export it as a .SWF file with the same name (ex: pettywballs.SWF).
flash_bouncing_ball_tutorial.pdf | |
File Size: | 725 kb |
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Waving People
An anchor points is the point at which an object rotates. Understanding anchor points is an important part of animation. To grasp this concept, you are going to create 4 people of various sizes and animate their arms in a waving up/down motion. Each body part that is going to move must be on a separate layer.
Change the background color to a solid color other than white. This project will teach you how to convert shapes into a symbol and how to adjust anchor points. There is a PDF tutorial to help you complete this project.
As you work, save your project as a .fla and name it lastname + first initial + people.fla. When you are finished, export it as a .SWF file with the same name (ex: pettywpeople.SWF).
Change the background color to a solid color other than white. This project will teach you how to convert shapes into a symbol and how to adjust anchor points. There is a PDF tutorial to help you complete this project.
As you work, save your project as a .fla and name it lastname + first initial + people.fla. When you are finished, export it as a .SWF file with the same name (ex: pettywpeople.SWF).
flash_waving_people_tutorial.pdf | |
File Size: | 1119 kb |
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Flying Text
Animating text is a great way to attract attention and direct the eye to an advertisement. Luckily, there are several tools and features of Adobe Flash that make this process rather easy and quick. In this project, you will be animating your name to make it fly around the stage and assemble itself into order.
Change the background color to a solid color other than white. This project will teach you how to break apart words and distribute to layers. There is a PDF tutorial to help you complete this project..
As you work, save your project as a .fla and name it lastname + first initial + text.fla. When you are finished, export it as a .SWF file with the same name (ex: pettywpeople.SWF).
Change the background color to a solid color other than white. This project will teach you how to break apart words and distribute to layers. There is a PDF tutorial to help you complete this project..
As you work, save your project as a .fla and name it lastname + first initial + text.fla. When you are finished, export it as a .SWF file with the same name (ex: pettywpeople.SWF).
flying_text_tutorial.pdf | |
File Size: | 885 kb |
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NBC Ad
Advertisements and pop up ads for products can be found on website throughout the web. You are going to use your knowledge of Photoshop and Flash to create an animated Television Advertisement for your favorite TV show.. You will use multiple characters from the show, the network logo the show appears on, and the day an time the show airs.
The size for this project is 300 width x 300 hight in pixels. Change the background color to a solid color other than white. This project will teach you how to fade images up/down using the alpha channel. Use the Internet to find high resolution images for your project. You will need to cut out all your images in Photoshop with Layer masks and add a white stroke before you enter Flash. Use dafont.com to find a font for your showtime that fits your target audience. There is a PDF tutorial to help you complete this project, and it is very important that you follow it step by step for this project.
As you work, save your project as a .fla and name it lastname + first initial + tvad.fla. When you are finished, export it as a .MOV file with the same name (ex: pettywtvad.MOV).
The size for this project is 300 width x 300 hight in pixels. Change the background color to a solid color other than white. This project will teach you how to fade images up/down using the alpha channel. Use the Internet to find high resolution images for your project. You will need to cut out all your images in Photoshop with Layer masks and add a white stroke before you enter Flash. Use dafont.com to find a font for your showtime that fits your target audience. There is a PDF tutorial to help you complete this project, and it is very important that you follow it step by step for this project.
As you work, save your project as a .fla and name it lastname + first initial + tvad.fla. When you are finished, export it as a .MOV file with the same name (ex: pettywtvad.MOV).
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Snowboarding
The previous projects we use computer generated formulas to define the movement (called tweens). In this project, we will learn frame-based animation techniques. It can be a little bit more time consuming, but it is easier to create exactly the type of movement you envisioned.
This project will teach you how to utilize the onion skin feature of Adobe Flash. It is useful to create smooth, consistent movement with the frame-based technique. You will also learn how to create separate scenes within one animation project. Use the provided files and video tutorials to learn how to create this project.
As you work, save your project as a .fla and name it lastname + first initial + snowboarder.fla. When you are finished, export it as a .MOV file with the same name (ex: pettywsnowboarder.MOV).
This project will teach you how to utilize the onion skin feature of Adobe Flash. It is useful to create smooth, consistent movement with the frame-based technique. You will also learn how to create separate scenes within one animation project. Use the provided files and video tutorials to learn how to create this project.
As you work, save your project as a .fla and name it lastname + first initial + snowboarder.fla. When you are finished, export it as a .MOV file with the same name (ex: pettywsnowboarder.MOV).
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Video Tutorial Part 1Video Tutorial Part 2 |
Animated Self
Many animations begin as drawings or sketches and then set to motion through the tools of animation software. In this project you will trace an image of an author from a photograph and animate certain areas of the drawing. Then trace a scene to appear in the background as well.
The size for this project is 640 width x 480 height in pixels. Import your photo to Library and move onto the stage. Copy the layers that do not animate to 60 frames, and animate the parts that move, every 5 frames or more over 60 total frames. Remember to delete the photo after you have traced and filled in each part. Use dafont.com to find a font for your name that is creative and describes your author. There is a PDF tutorial located to the right to help you complete this project, and it is very important that you follow it step by step for this project.
As you work, save your project as a .fla and name it lastname + first initial + author.fla. When you are finished, export it as a .SWF file with the same name (ex: pettywauthor.SWF).
The size for this project is 640 width x 480 height in pixels. Import your photo to Library and move onto the stage. Copy the layers that do not animate to 60 frames, and animate the parts that move, every 5 frames or more over 60 total frames. Remember to delete the photo after you have traced and filled in each part. Use dafont.com to find a font for your name that is creative and describes your author. There is a PDF tutorial located to the right to help you complete this project, and it is very important that you follow it step by step for this project.
As you work, save your project as a .fla and name it lastname + first initial + author.fla. When you are finished, export it as a .SWF file with the same name (ex: pettywauthor.SWF).
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