Can I be a designer?

[Dilarus]

Okay, so I have middle of the road drawing skills but my strength is in writing interesting scenarios and creating character designs but how does one get from the concept stage to having an animation?

I recently posted a link to an animatic I made for a short named Horsefeathers See it here
And although I admit it is a bit lengthy and over ambitious for a project without a dedicated team, I would very much like to contribute my skills by building a universe to present to an animator so that we can create something amazing, be that a teeny short piece that requires colourful characters or a series that needs plot development to keep it interesting.

So far, my work has consisted of drawing character designs, producing animatics, writing scripts with the screen in mind and so on but I'm puzzled as to how I might make myself available to artists wishing to collaborate without a) posting endlessly on the collaboration forums and being a general nuisance or b) PM-ing animators at random,
the collabinator hasn't given me any luck so far by the way, and I've been around the collaboration forum and have yet to find someone in need of a writer.

Or is it simply that there are heaps of people with ideas and so little animators, who will likely be working on projects of their own?

Either way, if anybody wishes to work together either on an idea of mine or theirs I'd be happy to help, and if you know of any steps that would encourage more interest let me have it.

In the mean time, I'm going to be learning animation from the ground up in the hopes of contributing to the site another way down the line. So far, I've gotten to the step about a bouncing ball so it might be a long way off.
Sam

[Max-Vador]

there are a LOT of routes to take from concept to animation.

a few good things to do is take your concept, and draw him in as many different positions as you can. jumping, running, sitting, etc. as well as different expressions.
This will help you keep your character on model throughout the animation.

You should also decide what style you want to take with your animation. Anime style usually involves a more extremes based animation where there are less inbetween frames and fewer subtle movements. sitcom style animation focuses heavily on non-moving backgrounds and longer dialogue moments. traditional/disney style usually takes the longest as everything is very fluid and a character never stops moving whether it be a foot tap or hand movement.

practice your main characters doing ordinary movements, and work on the timing for these movements until they feel natural to you. and don't try to work an animation straight through. start with the smaller or easier parts. this will give you more practice while you're making progress on the animation itself

[Dilarus]

Thanks very much for the tips :)

[PeterSatera]

It depends on what you mean by a designer. In studios a designer isn't a concept artist. Our designers work a lot in script side, and rarely have anything to do with creating art. So if you mean artist wise, then I'd call it an concept artist.

D'artiste create excellent hard books full of this stuff. They're expensive, but ballistic publishing allow you to look at it in small page per page before you buy. I currently own 5 of these books, and they're great for inspiration as well as a base for anyone to learn.

http://www.ballisticpublishing.com/books/dartiste/concept_ar t/

Alternatively if you want to push your art skill you really need to be able to drop the flash and still produce stunning art. So http://www.imaginefx.com/02287754332446636545/tutorial.pdf
http://beta.imaginefx.com/shop/bookazine/how-draw-and-paint-
anatomy

I follow a range of people as initially I wanted to be a concept artist. (Things change n all that). So its handy to join Dev' Art for connections and research.