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I am creating a frame by frame animation also and I am also worried about degrading my video by converting to swf. I heard you can actually submit another format besides a SWF. You must contact Tom Fulp (The site owner) first. I believe these movies were "not" submitted as a swf. Starbarians http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/593843, Lucky Day Forever http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/596083. It has to be quality work though.

At 7/25/12 03:50 AM, Petrikov wrote:

At 7/24/12 08:36 PM, KhanhCPham wrote: Sorry I read your page incorrectly and you actually did not want to do tweens. Just do the key positions of the walks and add frames in between them. Here is an example. http://www.idleworm.com/how/pic/a0002/wlk01.gif

Oh, thanks!

You mean I should draw the walk cycle at ONE frame, then see if it's right
then just paste them into frames?

You draw the key positions on different frames. An example to draw a step forward position on "frame 1" and on "frame 2" you draw a passing position where the the leg lifts up and prepares to step forward. You add more drawings in-between frame 1 and 2 to make it smoother. It takes time to get used too. I usually do a rough drawings to get the timing and feeling right. Once I'm happy with my roughs, I do the final line work.

Sorry I read your page incorrectly and you actually did not want to do tweens. Just do the key positions of the walks and add frames in between them. Here is an example. http://www.idleworm.com/how/pic/a0002/wlk01.gif

Try to draw the key poses first than link them together. That is the main problem when thinking about tweens because I find some people are thinking about separated body parts instead of the whole gesture of the body. What I would do since its only sticks, I would do plan it frame by frame (does not have to be final) than I would add a layer on top with the tweens.

At 7/20/12 10:02 PM, Informant wrote: uhhh... I dont really use tweens much, so... The best advice I can give you is that you must find a way to animate that suits YOU.
Some people never get comfortable animating. So the best thing you can do is, relax. Animating is honestly a very slow process.

I have a very clean final project usually. I put the final animation frames inside movie clip symbols.
Depending how much you care about organisation, you can always have multiple .FLA files.
Having separate files for different things.
One for absolute final compilation.
One for initial frame by frame animations (or for making symbols.)
One for tweens, where you will copy the symbols you drew earlier into the project and do the actual tweening animations.
Also you might wanna make backups of your files in case one day you accidentally save over the wrong one. trust me if you do it once, you will never make that mistake again... Just take care with it haha.

I agree as it comes eventually on how you want to organize it. I do animation frame by frame too and I usually start out full of layers but when it gets too messy, I delete the useless ones. Before deleting a layer, I usually save the project into a new filename just in case I need it back. The topic creator seems to animate and tween several things separately so I can imagine how the messy it can get.

Here's what I do for my animations
-each scene are in different filenames(just like the post above). I do this so I can work things small than compile when I finish. It also puts less stress on my memory
-I do gesture drawings as an animation test in one layer
-If I like my gesture drawings, I add simple block shapes so I can give my figures some dimension
-Add a final line art layer.

At 7/20/12 03:33 PM, Strawbella wrote:

At 7/19/12 08:33 PM, KhanhCPham wrote:

At 7/19/12 07:12 PM, Strawbella wrote: Alright, so I'm running a trial version of flash cs6 and am trying to crank something out pretty quickly. The project is broken apart with scenes and I want a song to play across all of the scenes. I changed the song with the sound envelope so that it'll start where I want it to but it cuts off after the first scene. How can I get it to go through all of them?

thats the drawback when using the "scene" option in flash because the sound does not carry over to the next scene. I find to fix this problem is to put all your scenes into graphic/movie clip symbols and put them into one timeline with your sound. Its frustrating...but I learn to never touch the "scene" option ever again.

Really? How else would you break up different scenes in flash without the "scene" option? I'm pretty new to it and I cant think of another way to do it.

they are still broken up into different scenes. An example is you create a Movie clip graphic symbol and doing your scene on that. Once your done with that scene, you can rename it to "scene 1" than do create another movie clip and do your "scene 2" on that. Once your done you can drag the renamed "scene 1" into your main-timeline. You must adjust the length the frame of the movie clip in the main-timeline that is the same as the created movie clip. An example of adjust the length is that you create your "scene 1 movie" clip in 39 frames long and when you drag it into your main-timeline, it must be 39 frames also.

are you having trouble trying to comprehend body movement as a whole? It takes practice. I suggest try looking gesture drawings or animations so you can practice mentally getting the pose from your mind. I quickly youtube a gesture animation with simple shapes here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3kPB30WkFQ. I usually do draw the key poses first than link them up. I tend to find any close ups need more frames and subtle antics are needed such as moving the face forward when its angry.

At 7/19/12 07:12 PM, Strawbella wrote: Alright, so I'm running a trial version of flash cs6 and am trying to crank something out pretty quickly. The project is broken apart with scenes and I want a song to play across all of the scenes. I changed the song with the sound envelope so that it'll start where I want it to but it cuts off after the first scene. How can I get it to go through all of them?

thats the drawback when using the "scene" option in flash because the sound does not carry over to the next scene. I find to fix this problem is to put all your scenes into graphic/movie clip symbols and put them into one timeline with your sound. Its frustrating...but I learn to never touch the "scene" option ever again.

I am not that experience with game-like material but I believe you can put a sort of stop command in an action script. You should perhap post in the flash or programming forum because this is specify about animation only.

I find that I cant achieve the consistent smooth look with the brush too. I use a tablet PC that has pressure sensitivity . I do end up using the selection tool(V on the shortcut key) and select and drag at the edge of the line to adjust the desired consistency.

Just a simple walk and squat test. Its not much but o well =P

Walk and Squat test

Full view
http://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/fbadaf947a171a6f65eeeb7c ad6ddfff

Flash is a lot of trial and error and it can be frustrating at time when something gets unstable. It depends on the user. I recently discovered that I can just Alt+click and drag a frame to copy and paste(Yes I know stupid me) but it cuts a lot of time. I suggest you to experiment now and when a problem comes up, you can search the web. Since your new, I suggest doing small project before you take on a bigger project so you can get a better understanding of flash and your own skill. A tip I usually use is that I save in .XFL uncompress format because I found flash always crash while saving. I also save in several different filenames in case it crashes.

Sprite is still animation but to me it has to at certain extend to get me interested. If the person took a sprite sheet but still kept in the confines of sprite sheet, I might not even bother. If they added there own ideas with the sheet, It does catch my attention. An example is this movie called MK Vs. SF 3 by Proxicide http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/377529 where he took a sheet and added his own designs by added his own effects and even adding more drawings on the sprites.

You should submit this in the portal if you want a review. I really like how you set the mood of this piece. its feels anonymous with the setting on a meteor and yet familiar with the elephants. Your message seems clear until at 0:25. I assume the baby elephant gave the flower to the lonely elephant. Its confusing here because the scene jumps too quickly. Maybe if you had a short scene of the baby walking to the lonely elephant than it would make more sense. The problem with the confusion is maybe because the design of the elephant is too similar or you can give more time for the viewer to get familiar with all the characters first. I did not know which elephant was the flower given too at first watch. I thought I baby elephant did not move at all and gave it to the adult gray elephant. For a starting animator, this is a good piece. When I started, I also rush the piece without thinking first. Animation is more important about planning with a storyboard and an animac. I see more good things from you in the future so keep it up.

At 6/26/12 04:24 AM, LOBSAE wrote: What would be a free way to get an animation out there and seen by people?

-post in animation forums
-submit your movie on the newgrounds portal where it will get 200 views and get a rating
-join deviantart and join several animation groups and post in their gallery (although I suggest you to post it in flash form. If its on another format, I suggest you to convert to flash because there film posting requires good quality)
-create a decent movie as people tend to pass off the bad ones
-I usually preview a movie/clip with a small animated .gif because presentation is always important.

Crash Test

Full view
http://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/8807a32ba4ad50aa7f98123b bf1120dc

At 6/18/12 09:36 AM, Blounty wrote: I think the explosions should puff out more, Adam Phillips AKA Chlauid does some good tutorials on youtube of smoke and dust. Maybe check them out.

Thanks. I am having problems controlling smoke.

Full view of Explosion test here
http://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/8f6c7f217af74ed2fdfc1758 da819c18

Explosion test

At 6/15/12 10:59 PM, Archxiao wrote: Okay, so while this is all helpful I am not very good at drawing by hand. Which leads me to my question; Do artist use drawing tablets over mice because it is a personal preference or is it because they are actually better? I say this because I am using my mouse, and while it does take a lot longer I am doing okay with it and I happen to like it now that I have gotten slightly better and my confidence in my skills are better (albeit I know that I am not THAT great).

"Do artist use drawing tablets over mice because it is a personal preference or is it because they are actually better? "
-It depends on the animator but I know a lot prefer to a tool over a mouse. Many here use a Wacom pad but I use a tablet pc(drawing on the screen) because it feels more natural for me.

"I say this because I am using my mouse, and while it does take a lot longer I am doing okay with it and I happen to like it now that I have gotten slightly better and my confidence in my skills are better (albeit I know that I am not THAT great)."
-If you feel you are confident with the mouse and can get better with it, than go with the mouse. A major pitfall I have with creation is that I always have dilemma of what is the best tool to use. I always end up over thinking and not doing any actual experimentation. I suggest you try to loan a pad somewhere or get the wacom bamboo (the cheapest pad). I can never get used to the pad but I did played with it enough that I am 100% certain sure that it isnt for me.

At 6/12/12 02:51 PM, SenseiRickyKim wrote: ive recently posted my flash video as quicktime format on newgrounds and youtube. on newgrounds it seems fine but on youtube some parts become choppy. does anyone know how to fix this and make the vid run smoothly?

Thats a major pitfall I found with flash which isnt great when you export it in another format besides a swf. Basically whatever that bogs down the performance with flash such as plug-ins or effects can make it choppy. I would try to to get rid of unnecessary curves as much as possible. You can optimize your performance by going to modify->optimize and adjust to your liking.

I personally use a tablet PC but there are some people that use the mouse pretty well. I can never get used to a Wacom pad. I wish I have the money to get a Cintiq with a powerful desktop. If your taking any art classes in college, I suggest you to ask a professor to let you give a test run of a wacom pad. A wacom pad is not for everyone which is what I discovered.

At 6/13/12 06:34 AM, Blounty wrote:

At 6/13/12 06:28 AM, KhanhCPham wrote: its kinda choppy =/

rocket test
http://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/69ad931f7f974c937f9692a7 fdb22b2f

Does that guy get hit in the face by the rocket, If so that's awesome,

sure is :) thanks for the input earlier by the way.

its kinda choppy =/

rocket test
http://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/69ad931f7f974c937f9692a7 fdb22b2f

Thought I show some of my rough animations I been working on. Some of them need more in-betweens. Feedback is welcome because I want to improve them when I finalize them.

Rose Swing Test
http://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/9f7f6ae8bec9068e4e2cdca3 139fb6a8

Blush/Fear reaction test
http://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/0ddd9d9e96c07dca7a6f3f32 d2412706

Shrug Test
http://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/e35731b8f988abfa2c2aed50 75212703

Step In Test
http://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/315b94d87944450df37bdeb0 56c3cfa2

Walk Cycle Test 2
http://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/0e3ac5bba5035a1e2a4fa2c9 e8c1a9b8

Rocket Aim Test
http://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/619a9afe8c62d6ad54257cf5 1f901173

Spin Test
http://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/d684741c6e12afe913a47d17 a6794322

Walk Cycle
http://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/8d8c2ff3ab49934de6be9e2f d81ddbb3

Punch Test
http://www.newgrounds.com/dump/item/a4a976b96d1932d6526544e5 6f85b233

thanks the tip pigpen and I noticed people were having problems with lag in my flash. I am still a newbie with the program but it feels satisfying to solve its problems.