Any Tips for New Animators?

[DaggerTDX 28]

I'm rather new to animating, so I thought I'd ask the community about any tips / tricks to help me improve. Or maybe just some things you wish you'd know when starting out animating. I'm just asking for advice, and stuff like that. Thanks!

[ZephyrAnimations 482]

Never always use Linear transitions.

For your first animations, try making a walking and running cycle.

If you wantto do an animating collab thing (not Megacollabs like SKIBBZ's latest one) then it's reccomended to get Skype or Discord if you don't already have them.

Don'ts in the Mine-Imator community
No dabs
no FNEF (you know what i mean)
no TattelTaile (you know what i mean)
NO MONSTER SCHOOL I REPEAT NO MONSTER SCHOOL
An exception is Undertale if it's really good.

 

BTW if you need more help then MSG me! ;D

[DaggerTDX 28]

 

Never always use Linear transitions.

For your first animations, try making a walking and running cycle.

If you wantto do an animating collab thing (not Megacollabs like SKIBBZ's latest one) then it's reccomended to get Skype or Discord if you don't already have them.

Don'ts in the Mine-Imator community
No dabs
no FNEF (you know what i mean)
no TattelTaile (you know what i mean)
NO MONSTER SCHOOL I REPEAT NO MONSTER SCHOOL
An exception is Undertale if it's really good.

 

BTW if you need more help then MSG me! ;D

 

 

No dabs? No fad? I love this place already.

fad*

Oh.. I'm meant to say FNEF..?

Edited February 25, 2017 by DaggerTDX
fad*

[Weasxl 83]

 

Never always use Linear transitions.

For your first animations, try making a walking and running cycle.

If you wantto do an animating collab thing (not Megacollabs like SKIBBZ's latest one) then it's reccomended to get Skype or Discord if you don't already have them.

Don'ts in the Mine-Imator community
No dabs
no FNEF (you know what i mean)
no TattelTaile (you know what i mean)
NO MONSTER SCHOOL I REPEAT NO MONSTER SCHOOL
An exception is Undertale if it's really good.

 

BTW if you need more help then MSG me! ;D

ya, but make sure you experiment on EVERYTHING

 

thats how everybody gets better

[DaggerTDX 28]

I still can't believe this website filters out Five Nights etc. as "Fad" I'm in love

[Weasxl 83]

fad animations are CANCER AND I REPEAT CANCER

[DaggerTDX 28]

So instead of trying to make a bunch of full animations, what about practicing in people's collabs?

 

fad animations are CANCER AND I REPEAT CANCER

 

Yep. I can delete those things from my search history, but I can never - EVER erase them from my mind

[Weasxl 83]

 

So instead of trying to make a bunch of full animations, what about practicing in people's collabs?

Yep. I can delete those things from my search history, but I can never - EVER erase them from my mind

btw the ultimate tip is when you are animating make sure you know the perfect timing and if you dont know a certain movement then do it in rl. your muscle memory is gonna help you out

[DaggerTDX 28]

 

btw the ultimate tip is when you are animating make sure you know the perfect timing and if you dont know a certain movement then do it in rl. your muscle memory is gonna help you out

 

Oh okay, I'll have to try that. I can't imagine what the people sitting next to me are going to think lol

[Immqrtal 204]

test everything , never upload with satisfaction . upload with confidence.

[Mike 3.4k]

about animation though, that's a tough one

try to stay moving

start sort of fast slow ease out

head always moves first

transitions are bae when used correctly

leg movements are half the battle

oh also, never use flatlands on a wallpaper

Edited February 25, 2017 by Mike

[DaggerTDX 28]

 

about animation though, that's a tough one

try to stay moving

start sort of fast slow ease out

head always moves first

transitions are bae when used correctly

leg movements are half the battle

oh also, never use flatlands on a wallpaper

 

Thanks!

[Proud_AnimatorZ 508]

oof,  ok lemme start with the tips :

1.  start making some preset animations what I mean are like the basics, for instance being idle when one of the characters isn't moving and a Walking/Running cycle (unless you've mastered that and is already good at animating it single handedly piece by piece. 

2.  Always use transitions,  if you animate the entire animation using linear that is really boring and seems like u put no effort and no way you can build up suspense or whatever emotion your going for.

3.  camera movements mean alot , and i mean a lot because having a straight camera gives off no effect  (ex. Trying to build suspense by using a transition making the camera slide slowly to the left of the character while dramatic music plays in the backgroud while the music slowly ends, used [instant] to shift towards the face while the camera once again slowly moves towards the head while the music slowly dies off). Also, when it comes to camera movements replay your animation  to make sure your camera doesnt shift to quickly to the next position or else that would make everything pointless out of what u expected it to be. 

6.  Always plan ahead before you animate it, I mean never come up with it on the spot. Its simple to make an animation coming up with it on the spot, but it'll make more sense if you put the animation together before you animate it therefore I mean its also way more easier (Tip: use a blank notebook for just story writing, even if its just a 10 sec animation)

7. Lastly, don't always thinks its going to come out the way you want it in a day. A good animation can take up to days maybe even a week depends your experience, from time to time your going to see an animator here in the forums say "I got to lazy to finish the animation" so all that piece by piece unfinished animation you did will go to waste not only that the time you lost on it. 

Hope you learn from others an your animation come out good i went from straight crappy sliding linear animation to somewhat smoother moving animations, dont believe me? check out my channel go to my first videos and then make your way up. Good Luck On Your Adventure!

Edited February 25, 2017 by Proud_AnimatorZ

[Emaniplex 6.3k]

Let me tell what I wish I'd known
When I lived and breathed animation:
You have compulsion
To create, complicate,
Perfect your vision...

Cringy homages aside, getting started isn't particularly hard, it just takes a lot of patience. You must cast aside any notion of making a good-looking scene and focus on the fundamentals by replicating dynamic movements with the basic Characters through consistent practice.

@AnxiousCynic, @Keep on Chucking, and a guy on YouTube called Skiedude have tutorials that will teach you a few techniques and shortcuts to take advantage of, but most importantly, they'll teach you the basics of how animation works. I recommend ignoring any tutorials having to do with special effects or flashy details for now as those may severely hinder your development.

Don't proceed until you can animate a Human doing all of the following actions organically: perform a wave using more than one part of his body subtly, direct his attention somewhere else, shift his stance, throw a punch, stand on one leg with poise, turn in place by ninety degrees, manipulate an object in hand, take a few steps forward, jump up off the ground after a slight squat, run in a girlish manner, fall onto the floor, travel up a few stairs, climb up a few ladder rungs, fall off of a ledge to a dismount, climb onto a ledge to a stance, block or dodge an attack, and throw an object (in that order).

These exercises are typically called "Tests." They begin and end abruptly, focusing on a small motion that lasts a couple of seconds. This will take a few months, and there's a chance that you may lose the motivation to continue. Keep in mind that you should animate whatever and however much you wish before attempting any step of my training guideline in order to keep yourself engaged. You could, say, animate a short duel between two Wither Skeletons before even attempting to have a Character turn in place. Any leisure Tests between the assigned ones are encouraged.

Needless to say, it will take more than one attempt at successfully executing any one of those assignments without either a firm grasp of how the software/animation works or a strong sense of organic physicality (usually gained through observing or honing athletic ability).

This could take you roughly two to four months of dedicated practice or around a year of dawdling or longer (although I realize it's a bit irresponsible of me to assign time-based values to an artistic process that varies from person to person).

If you take my advice and come back with results, I'll tell you what I truly wish I'd known when I became serious about animating.

P.S. I would also recommend exclusively using the Linear Transition for chain movements. If you want to see a stick fall over in one motion and decide to mess with the Transitions, that's one thing; trying to perfect a Character's motion with Transition combinations is another thing.

EDIT: Don't start by making walk/run cycles either, and don't even touch the Camera unless you're attaching it to something/someone.

Never plan your Tests early on; do whatever you want to do in the heat of the moment, whatever's exciting to you now. And, the moment you lose interest in a Test or find it too difficult to conclude, drop it and start another one with a fresh mindset.

Edited February 25, 2017 by Emaniplex

[Rollo 3.2k]

I would suggest recording yourself or someone else completing an action, and then imitating that in your animation.

It gives you a feel for how the body works, and gets most of the hard work done for you already (physics).

[Jovan0896 666]

Make sure not to stretch textures! Also welcome!

[BrokenScreenPro 17]

On 2/25/2017 at 1:02 PM, ZephyrAnimations said:

Never always use Linear transitions.

For your first animations, try making a walking and running cycle.

If you wantto do an animating collab thing (not Megacollabs like SKIBBZ's latest one) then it's reccomended to get Skype or Discord if you don't already have them.

Don'ts in the Mine-Imator community
No dabs
no FNEF (you know what i mean)
no TattelTaile (you know what i mean)
NO MONSTER SCHOOL I REPEAT NO MONSTER SCHOOL
An exception is Undertale if it's really good.

 

BTW if you need more help then MSG me! ;D

You mean don't use much linear transitions? Because linear transitions are sometimes useful too... don't underestimate them

 

On 2/25/2017 at 0:35 PM, DaggerTDX said:

I'm rather new to animating, so I thought I'd ask the community about any tips / tricks to help me improve. Or maybe just some things you wish you'd know when starting out animating. I'm just asking for advice, and stuff like that. Thanks!

Keep your character alive in your animations

Exaggerate things if possible

Practice

Check out tutorials on you tube so it can help you thru your animations

[IamDyslexic 1]

No Undertale(except for some reasons), No fad(because the community hates Fad), No tattletail,No Bendy and the ink machine(except for some reasons)....

[Dr. Cuto 602]

1. Don't use dead Internet phenomena (like Dab)
2. No fad
3. No TattleTail
4. No Pointless topic
5. No Clickbait
6. No racist
7. Don't adverting your post in another post
8. Don't start a collab if you have under 200 reps
9. Don't post any sexual content
10. Don't use fad profile pic
11. Don't abuse everyone
12. Never use Linear Transition
13. Never use Flatland (you can use Flatland in rig picture)
14. No monster school
15. Never parent 2 cube together then call it a "Rig"
16. Never build something in Minecraft, import to Mine-Imator then call it a Rig
17. No JUMPSCARE!
18. Don't be rude

My opinions

Edited April 27, 2017 by Dr. Cuto

[Ninja Dino 1.2k]

Tutorials, and practice are the most efficient ways to improve and learn.

I would suggest these as a sort of "starter pack" set of tutorials

Spoiler

This

This

And this

(Anyone one of these can help you out. I suggest watching all of the first one, and 2nd one on this list. The third is more for useful things that enhance your animation.)

It's also a good idea to make lots of test animations. That's how you REALLY improve. Good luck!

Edited April 24, 2017 by Ninja Dino

[Sibernethy 8]

Make sure you know where all your assets came from before finding out you used one someone didn't tell you was copyrighted and your Youtube video gets slammed for it. This is especially true with music.

And to anyone out there who's submitting resources for fellow animators to use, please please please check them and make sure you're not putting the end user at risk because they're copyrighted.

Edited April 30, 2017 by Sibernethy

[chuckles de clown 53]

don't make monster school animations or if you do don't tell anybody about or post it anywhere because that content is a big no no for most people on here. your first animation is not always your best just keep working at it, people will give you criticism but mostly tips(there are not that much haters but don't give up). do your best and have a good time on here.

[Milkcraft Animations 2]

yup... tattletail, fad and monster school is bad.

[ScarClaw72 3]

One thing to start with is try to avoid stiff positioning with joints.  Try to make your transitions look fluid.  If something looks wrong, play with the keyframes until it looks better.  Don't be afraid to take your time, animation is by no means a quick process.  Actually one thing I have learned is that the more time you take, and try new things, the better it can end up looking.  Trying to speed something is never a good idea, always take your time.