Need a place to learn how to do animation stuff

[SonicRainb00m]

Hi, everypony! I'm pretty new here, and as I mentioned in my introduction, I happen to have Adobe Flash CS3 Professional, which ran me about $300... I haven't used it that much, due to the lack of motivation. But I think you guys can help solve my problem.

I could do some OK animations back when I used the program in school, but since then, I have pretty much forgotten everything in Flash. So my question is this: do any of you ponies know where I can get up to speed on animating stuff in Flash for the brony community? I've heard that able animators are needed, and I could be a potential candidate, if I could learn how to do it... I mean, who knows, when the show is cancelled (hopefully not for a LONG time), it would be cool if the fandom could continue making episodes or something like that.

If animating doesn't work out for me, I'll have to go to writing fanfics, which is perfectly fine, since I'm a pretty good writer, but I've been leaning towards animating things.

Thanks in advance.

[SonicRainb00m]

Hmm, bump?

[BrainedBySaucepans]

In my experience (which is by no means vast), the best way to learn animation is to animate.

Seriously, open up flash and just play around. Create some stuff and get the best possible feel you can for the tools available. If you feel struck for ideas, have a look at a particular sequence you like, slowing it down and viewing it frame by frame to work out how they got it to work.

If you're feeling too lazy to do this (we all feel like that sometimes) or can't think of any sequence in particular, I can't recommend gbeaudette's MLP Animation Analysis series any higher (Link: http://mlpfanart.wik...mation_Analysis). The videos all look at a very specific element of the show in great detail, but many of the principles he shows have a great many general applications, and they all show a great insight into the sort of mindset you need. Also useful is this resource pack, apparently obtained from the show by Drud14: http://drud14.devian...-2-1-303426524?

At the end of the day though, I'll reiterate again; learn by doing. Unless you strike it extremely lucky, to get experience and training in animation, you need to be a good animator. Catch 22 can suck sometimes, but you have a big advantage in that you're still in school. Seek out your school's art department and find out which of the teachers knows (or even has a passing interest in) about animation, then badger them about it every chance you get. If you're lucky, they'll know a bit about the topic themselves and will be willing to teach it (that's kind of their job). If not, get them to look out for opportunities and courses, and don't forget to do the same yourself. Above all, show enthusiasm and passion for the subject. In my experience school (and to a lesser extent University) is one of the only places that raw enthusiasm actually gets rewarded. After that, the focus shifts to experience and ability, and if you don't have the former, you won't get many chances to demonstrate the latter.

One final word, in my mind, animation isn't a hobby. It's a job or an obsession, at least if you want to get anything approaching professional quality. I started on working on a pretty big project (as solo animator) a week ago, and since then I've put at least 8 hours a day into it (the joys of unemployment XD). I now have a grand total of 24 seconds and over 300 library assets. If there's some bits of animation that you find slightly annoying right now, you will probably end up despising them. Take a look at the final credits of My Little Pony, or any other animated show, and look at all the animators they list. There's a reason it's that long.

BUT

If you stick with it and still enjoy it, it's truly a great feeling. Those 24 seconds are one of the things I'm most proud of, and when you look at something you've poured in your time, energy, blood, sweat and tears into and it works... it's indescribable.

Overall, I hope animation is for you; if it is, stick with it through the good and the bad, and it'll pay dividends. If it isn't, find something else and feel proud that you gave it your all. The world needs more people who love what they do.

Edited August 2, 2012 by BrainedBySaucepans

[SonicRainb00m]

Thank you for replying! I abandoned this topic since nobody replied to it before, but it really makes me happy to see that somebody actually cares enough to look.

Yeah, I actually have seen all of the MLP Animation Analysis videos as well as downloaded the resource pack, my problem is that I have been unable to actually go into Flash to animate. I've been quite busy over the summer (which is strange for a teenager like me), but hopefully that will change in the future!

And congratulations, you wrote an entire post without the use of footnotes! Just saying...

[BrainedBySaucepans]

DON'T SAY THAT! Now I'll have to go through it and add some...¹

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¹ Assuming I have a massive case of OCD of course.²

² Crap.