This reminded me of those Japanese, novels/games. Someone let me know the name. I have been enjoying this. I think he also uses a psuedo 3d method to create this animated series.
If you want to tell your story here is another way to do it.
how to make animation
I always loved this little tutorial. It is from the creator of GANTZ GANTZ has been made into a manga, movie and anime.
The author uses 3d models, traces over them and adds detail and walla he has a manga.
Here is some more of his current work. That might be an idea to make your own manga or anime.
In the next few posts I will be showing you more of the stuff I will be working on and I will be using this method more readily but using Poser similiar to Brian Haberlin
Here is his method. I hope you can glean some off this method.
This is a shot of the last day at PDI. It is sad to think that all these people are now unemployed.
I always wondered what it would be like for a few of these guys to get together and create their own properties.
It would be awesome to see more artist owned endeavors. It would be awesome for some of these guys to get together and work on their own intellectual properties and make their own money vs working for the status quot. I know a lot of people say it takes millions to make a movie but quite honestly that is no longer true.
Here is the breakdown.
1 person can make an animated feature. It has already been proven.
MdotStrange, Jeff Lew, David Krupicz, Nina Paley, Tyler Gibb etc. Each did an entire feature.
MdotStrange has done 3 films and is able to do one in a year. So in truth it does not take a massive team of 1000s. Also it doesn’t take years upon years. Jeff Lew did it all in 3. I have been following newer cg artists and they are turning out 3 minutes a month by themselves. Imagine if you had 10 guys doing that together.
Now it is true you will not get Pixar quality but you can create pretty good quality that is watchable. Also if you have to create out of necessity and find ways around limitations you could probably have some really cool styles coming out of it.
Here is the perfect example. R’ha was done by one person in the span of 7 months. It is roughly 5:30 minutes long minus credits and such. Now imagine you had 10 guys working together. In 1 1/2 year you could have a full feature with similar quality.
If folks like the Asylum, Video Briquendo and the folks behind Kiarra the Brave can turn a profit imagine what 3-10 great artists from Dreamworks could accomplish if they worked more the way these indies who have completed full length films.
The tools are there. The talent is there. Why is there not more of these?
I love Cinema 4d and M Dot Strange. He is what you call an UBERECTOR. He has created 3 full length animated films all by himself in 10 years. That is amazing.
He can definitely give you a bunch of tips in this Filmmaking Workshop.
Money is always a challenge.
You need money to live. To make money you need to spend time working. To work you lose time to create.
If you are a writer and not really a visual artist you may need money to hire artists to bring your vision to life. Money is not everything but having it is. If you had a ton of money making anime, cartoons, series, comics, etc would be a lot easier.
If I had 2 million dollars to spend I’d just go to the Korean outsourcers Japan uses and have them make my 13 part epic anime series. But I don’t and chances are neither do you.
This has been a big challenge for me. It goes hand in hand with my personal talent. I don’t feel I have the talent to model 3d characters. There are also tools I want that make things go by faster and there are a ton of other reasons I would like an actual budget for telling stories.
Now there are some new ways to find money. I am talking about Crowdfunding. The big boys out there are Kickstarter and Indiegogo. That is an option open to anyone. I will tell you truthfully though that it is a lot of work. I ran my own campaign twice and failed twice. You have to almost become a full time marketer. That takes a lot of time and money.
So you have to ask yourself how much do you really need that money?
Coming up with a basic budget, being realistic and balanced can go a long way. Plus we live in an age where there are more and more free tools that you can use. Yes the technology to create your own anime is free. For every high dollar piece of software there is a poor man’s open source free version.
Maya = Blender
Zbrush = Sculptris
Toonboom = Synfig
Below is an animated short created with Synfig and Blender. All free software.
There are also cheaper alternatives. I will tell you thought given budget constraints you can get a little more creative.
Also many software packages are allowing a monthly subscription. The entire Adobe package is about 50 bucks a month. I’m sure more people can swing that.
I also wanted to mention that if you have a little budget aside you can find artists for cheaper prices. I have found great modelers on sites like Fiverr.com and Deviantart.com for pennies on the dollar. If you can afford a Playstation, Xbox or a computer you can get a lot of artwork at that price.
Below is some artwork from a great artist I found on Deviantart.com. I am not going to tell you the price but it was a really good deal. It was affordable on my paycheck.
Here are some bullet points in regards to money.
*Determine your wants and needs
*Use free alternatives if you cannot afford the
pro level tools-in many cases the free versions are just as good.
*Be more thrifty- can you make your coffee at home for 10 cents on the cup vs $5
for that latte mocha.
*Find little quick ways to earn money to sink into your project.
I’m selling my comic books and figurines I have collected over the years.
*Try crowdfunding, it worked for me…errr….well it has worked for a lot of other people.
*Outsource if you must.
There are plenty of starving artists out there who just need a little pizza money or
even a few followers who you can convince to believe in you.
*DIY- Do it yourself. If you cannot afford something do it yourself. You can work for free.
Some of you may not have to deal much with this but I know I do and that is the lack of artistic talent. Animation in general is a visual media. We may have a great story and have all these ideas in our head but getting them out there for people to see can be a challenge if you do not have the talent to draw.
Some will tell you that you can get there. Usually these are people with talent themselves. Point is you probably can with much practice and determination. But it is in my opinion that natural talent is also required. I have been drawing everyday since I was 3. I have gotten better and I do draw better than the average person but I am no where near what I want to be and no where near what I want to show people.
Behold my work above. That is the extent of my drawing talent. I think I can do a little better with more practice but honestly that is not what I want to see in MY series. I’m sure I could make something watchable in my style but I’d rather go a different route.
You see this whole website or book depending on what you are reading is designed to address that TALENT part in full. In fact it should be titled “How to Make your Own Animation even if you suck at art and nobody will help you because I don’t have the money to hire them but have this great idea for an Anime”
That would be the synopsis. Well despite some of your limitations or perceived limitations I think we can work through this together.
How?
A combination of things will make it possible.
*Save a little money and hire some artists. (I’ll show you where to find them)
*Collaboration (works great in connection with voice actors, musicians but visual artists are going to be a tough sale)
*Using tools to the fullest (don’t be afraid to use things or think you are too good to use certain tools)
*Stylize (make a unique style out of it)
*Rely on the STORY! (Story is king)
*Just do it with what you got
I want to share something with you if you feel that you do not have the talent to draw. I personally was depressed at my own ability until I saw this.
Truth be told I draw better than this guy. It looks like the stuff I draw in my quick storyboards but I will tell you now that this is one of my favorite Mangas EVER! What it lacked in beauty if made up for in character, charm and story. I cannot stop reading this story. Before I knew it I was hooked. At one point this artist of the series One-Punch Man was getting 20,000 views a day. It became a viral hit and was very popular. Soon I didn’t care about the art and that it wasn’t perfect. I was still looking at a wonderfully entertaining story. Since then the art has been beefed up but quite honestly it lacks the charm of the original.
The point is your art does not need to be Disney, Pixar or Miyazaki level. Your story however should be.
