So when working on my upcoming secret projects I have been looking for several different pipelines that would lend to the speed and quality of my animation. I have worked on 2 different pipelines for both my manga and my Cinematic comics.
I am using UE4. If you have seen some of the quality coming out of it and others it seems pretty fit to tell a good story with good visuals and add to the SPEED of creating good looking art.
Paragon was a recent game featured on Unreal Engines Youtube page and they shared their animation techniques.
So here is a pipeline you can possibly use.
Daz for characters > Iclone for animation and scene setup>Export to Ue4 for realtime render.
Or you can have someone model your characters and have it rigged for DAZ and Iclone to export into Ue4, Unity or Cry Engine.
Right now Ue4 is best for me due to the upgrade in their cinematic program, Sequencer.
I know there are a ton of people out there who love anime and have so many stories in their minds ready to be told. I’m sure the dream is to go to Japan, find a company they can submit to and have their stuff made into anime.
They wish they could make their own but lack the actual talent to do so. Plus no money. This concept is also the same if you are trying to make a comic or manga. It is still a challenge for the person who can’t draw. So what can you do?
Collab? Nope folks won’t really collab with you. I know. I tried. So what can you do?
Well you may have to spend some money but maybe not as much as you think.
Brian Haberlin showed a really cool way to make comics. I posted here earlier about it using Poser.
This is a great way to make a comic/manga without knowing necessarily how to draw.
But what if you don’t want to use the standard Poser characters? Hire someone to model and rig the characters for you. Now I know it costs money for this but the cool thing is this. You can find modelers out there who will work with you. Start simple and work your way up.
Sketchfab is a great place to find some modelers.
I’m doing a search right now for my newest characters and my current comic.
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.
I love 2d work very much. I love it even more when both 3d is used to bring an extra upgrade in quality. The other day I was checking out Mike Inel’s work. I found this little video where Mike uses a type of mocap, rotoscoping and then tracing over the 3d work. I’ll let you check out the process here below.
I noticed Otaking using a similiar process. I think this helps take his 2d to the next level.
This should help you in your endeavors especially if you are not the best artist. You could easily use Poser characters and trace over them in a 2d package. Daz is free and you could do the same thing. Go for it. Make your own anime today.
I really like this method used by these comic book creators. Poser may seem like a cheat but I’m really wanting to tell stories. Noticed in this webinar that Brian said he can do about 6 pages per day. This gives you speed and quality that you would not normally be able to get out of hand drawn work.
You can apply the same principals in this video for Anime or Manga. I hope you enjoy this awesome Webinar.
Do you want to make your own anime type movie or series? Do you want to tell a story visually?
But I cannot draw! I’m not good at art! I don’t have money! Well don’t fret you can still do it. I was watching Appleseed the other day and I love the animation but then it reminded me of an animation I had watched from a single person.
Here is the other animation.
DAZ can be a very helpful tool to create good graphics. Check out the movie below made with Daz characters.
You can get a really cool look and create some cool stuff using DAZ and Poser. Now I know there are many people who hate on Poser and Daz in the professional world but the general populous does not care. End results are what truly matter.
Yes you can make your anime in full 3d animation. I am here to tell you it is not as hard as you think. In fact it may be a little easier than 2d style and give you the full on animation. Remember I shared several different methods with you. Each method can be used to quickly and creatively produce a visual story.
I personally like 3d animation because once the assets are done the creation of animation can move so much more quickly. I will mention though that a few tricks you would use in 2d would not work as well. For example a common trick in anime is to pan a 2d picture and hold that one frame. In 3d you almost constantly have to be moving unless celshaded or if it is more 2d rendered in nature and even still it may look a little weird. Another drawback is creating all those assets. It is very difficult and takes a lot of time.
BUT….
Once you create those assets you can reuse them over and over again and in any angle and even change the entire style. And that is where you can really take off. A ton of lone animators work using 3d to speed up the pace but also to raise the quality level a bit that might not be achievable in 2d. 2d does have a certain warmth to it but for the visual storyteller 3d may be your best bet for speed and quality.
But then again I think this 3d rendering of Snoopy in 2d captures it really well and adds a depth I do not think possible in 2d full animation. It feels so warm and fuzzy.
So imagine the above if you have a 3d model. You can easily reposition it, move it around, animate and render it in any angle and have them do anything.
3d can give you a real advantage if you do not want to draw frame by frame and do not want limited animation or the 2d tween/puppet style animation.
M Dot strange was able to in the last 10 years create 3 FULL Length animated features using 3d.
Dave was able to make this in about 18 months I believe.
Jeff Lew made this full animated feature in 3 years.
The World Gone Mad was created in 5 months.
The point is that you can make a series or a full fledged movie and it will not takeyou an eternity to do it utilizing 3d. I would say if you use some shortcuts and tricks you would greatly speed up you work and could possibly get a good average of about 3-6 minutes of animation a month, maybe even more. All it really takes is the models that are rigged and ready to move. The quality really depends on you.
I made this in less than 3 hours.
I mean it is not a master piece by any means but it gives you the idea of the speed and quality that can be achieved using some shortcuts.
The question is “What if I don’t know how to 3d model?”
Well the answer is there are tons of resources out there that provide you with 3d models that you can “Kit Bash” or just find the right outfit.
Poser, Daz 3d, IClone, MMD (freeware Anime making software).
All of these can be used to make an animated series, cartoon, anime, etc.
People may laugh, especially in the CG/Special FX and 3d community for using pre-made models and a program that seems like a toy or digital Barbie doll but the tools are what you make of them. (That is another post all together)
Here is an example of Poser being used in Animation
Mac Wave Studios has some great work.
Could your movie look like that? YES! Using pre-built props and characters. I don’t want to make it sound so easy but basically the scene above looks like Victoria from Daz 3d, background looks like something StoneMason created which you can purchase at Daz3d.com and some Mocap files with some great rendering and lighting in Cinema 4d.
All those things are now available to you.
What? Even MOCAP. Yes. Mocap has gotten cheaper and easier to use.
http://ipisoft.com/ here is a link to cheap Mocap Sofware.
http://brekel.com/ here is a free Mocap Software.
IClone’s pro package has MOCAP built into it.
Both of these 2 software packages use a Kinect Camera connected to a computer. Go to Amazon.com and get one for 45-150 usd.
Or if you do not have Mocap you can do something like this.
Addressing the folks who may laugh at you for using Poser, Daz3d, IClone, or MMD please check out the animations below.
Rosa was made using what looks like Aiko 4 or 5. Definitely Daz characters. This animation was made in about 1 year by 1 person.
RWBY is now a very popular US made Anime series created by Monty Oum. He uses Poser to animate with more custom characters. He has some great making of videos and tutorials. You can glean a lot from watching others work.
One of my favorite up and coming artists uses FREEWARE MMD to create animated shows. Kel-Chan is featured here. She uses “Kit Bashing” which basically is using bits and pieces from one character to the next to make original characters.
http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/650267
The point is you can do some really cool stuff using 3d and you can get alot done. Add some imagination and creative thinking and you can create something worth watching.
