How to create cartoons on a computer. How to create cartoons on "Android"

You have long been a child and not even a teenager, but quite an adult and a serious person. Or not serious ...? However, this is not so important - the main thing is that you still like cartoons, you are delighted with beautiful and high-quality drawing, you laugh at funny voiceovers of characters and when you look at them for some time fall out of reality, plunging into the bright animated world. This has its own charm - to remain a child a lifetime. How to know, perhaps this hobby will grow into something more than just a love for cartoons. Surely you at least once thought about how these colorful stories are created and what work was done before the finished video got on the screen of your monitor. Well, today the opportunity to become a painter-director himself appeared not only among professionals of this matter, but also among ordinary people. And now we will tell you how to create cartoons on a computer without having a special education, but possessing a great desire. Forward!

About how it all began

Today, in order to make a cartoon, extensive computer technology is used to create real masterpieces of animation. Previously, everything was different. The history of the creation of animated cartoons began long before the invention of cinematography. Primitive animation appeared in the beginning of the XIX century. In order to bring the images into motion, ribbons with patterns and rotating disks, mirrors and the like were used. In 1914, the American animator and cartoonist Mackay reflected on how to make a cartoon that would raise animation to a new level. It was then that the work of the animator and the background was divided. Mackay created the first real cartoon character with features and qualities - it was the dinosaur of Gertie. Assistant artist was engaged in drawing the background for each frame.

With the invention of cinematography, animation took a firm place in it. To create cartoons, we used special film cameras and cartoons. Until 1928 the cartoons were dumb and black and white. Breakthrough in this form of art made Walt Disney, who took the first voiced cartoon - "Steamboat Willie." Today, the technology has advanced so far that anyone can learn how to create cartoons on a computer.

Before proceeding directly to the technical part of the process, it is necessary to conduct considerable creative work. If we create animated cartoons ourselves from the beginning to the end, we need to make a plan that will include the steps described below.

Coming up the idea of a cartoon

Finding and choosing a cartoon idea is a seemingly easy, but in fact very important part. Already at this stage it is desirable to determine what the duration of your cartoon will be - it will be a short animation sketch for display on the Internet or a full-fledged cartoon for an hour or more. And maybe it will be several episodes of one story? Knowing the length of the cartoon, it will be easier to determine his story.

In addition, decide what will be your target audience - kids, teenagers or adults. Think what idea you want to convey to the viewer. Be based on your own experience and past experiences, emotions. This will help you to better open the topic and hook the audience.

Working with the script

After you have decided on the topic and the main idea, start writing the script. Carefully consider the image of the protagonist - his character, manner of communication and behavior. He should be charming and cause sympathy (or antipathy - depending on the plot and the pursued goals) in the viewer.

If dialogs are planned in the cartoon, carefully write down them, marking the important points that must accompany each remark. A long cartoon is better divided into semantic parts in order to simplify the work.

Draw each frame on a new card so that you can replace or change them if necessary. Picture the main changes in the poses and movements of the characters. These basic elements are necessary for storyboards.

Choosing a way to draw a cartoon

The technical stage of working with the plot, namely - its drawing, can be implemented in various ways: someone prefers to do it manually, and someone uses a variety of computer programs. You can choose the version that seems most convenient and interesting for you. However, do not think about how to create a cartoon in Paint, for example. To date, there is a huge number of more modern and functional programs. They allow you to make a cartoon for free, but at a much higher level.

If you are new to the cartoon business, then the most suitable solution for you will be one of Adobe's tools. This is all known Photoshop, as well as Flash or After Light. They allow you to implement various stages of the process of creating a cartoon - from drawing characters and background elements to moving them (animation).

Creating a cartoon using the Adobe tools

In the Adobe workspace, there are window frames in which your story will be created. It is also possible to place each individual object on a new layer and a panel that allows you to change the characteristics of the layers in the time space - Time Line (included in the Windows / Animation menu). In order to understand all the basic functions, you do not need much time - with a serious approach about a week or two.

Simple steps in animation

Let's say you drew your character and placed it at the beginning of the time axis (located horizontally). Now next to the parameters of its position, set the Key Frame (keyframe). Further on the axis, place one more keyframe (for example, in one second), but change its coordinates (for example, slightly lift up). Then take the third frame in another second and move it to the first layer. Thus, after looping the playback, you will achieve that the hero will come into motion - start bouncing and come back to the place. The more different variants of changing the hero's poses (along the time axis) you make, the more smooth and natural will be its movement. So, step by step, your cartoon will come to life.

Thanks to the digital implementation, you can make a visual storyboard by placing each frame on the TimeLine axis. In this case, it is important to remember that with a normal video image per second, 25 frames are displayed , each of which is filled with motion. This allows you to create an effect of naturalness of changing postures, facial expressions and other moments in time.

About storyboarding manually and using a computer

With the classical method, that is, when each frame is drawn by hand, the storyboard occupies the entire wall in the artist's multiplier office. Each frame is displayed on a separate sheet or card. This allows you to schedule the entire sequence of scene events, as well as to determine the variants of their multi-scale display (when it's a big plan, and when it's general, etc.). In this respect, the hand storyboard loses digital realization, as creating cartoons on the computer is much more convenient (and the entire storyboard is placed on the screen of your monitor).

After the main frames are placed on the time axis, you continue to work on them, but more subtle, paying attention to the details. These are hardly noticeable gestures, facial expressions and slightest changes in posture, and folds on clothes, and other nuances that, however, can not be neglected.

Go to the background

Do not forget about the background image. Whether it will be static or with animation elements, how colors and objects will change in time against the background of the main action - all this needs to be thought through, and then gradually realized using multiple layers and TimeLine / Frame functions. In Adobe programs there are various tools that will help you work on the background image - the color balance, sharpness, transparency, etc.

And only when all the characters and objects on separate layers are placed on the timeline, you can proceed to attaching the background.

Sounds in the cartoon: background noise and scoring

The final stage of the creation of the cartoon is his voice acting and the imposition of corresponding noises. This is no less important part of the work, which must be given special attention. You can record the voices of the characters by using a microphone - while watching the movements of the mouth of the heroes coincide with the speech.

By the way, you can also make and record noise yourself. For example, to create a sound of boiling water, draw a liquid into the glass, lower the tube there and blow it. Or the sound of a bonfire - it will help to recreate an ordinary cellophane package, which you just need to crumple in your hands. These ideas will tell you how to make the cartoon more interesting and creative.

The work on the cartoon ends with the imposition of the sound image on the animation series. There are many free, but good programs to do this. Now your creation is ready for presentation to the first audience and critics.

Move from small to big and complex

Of course, there are other ways to create cartoons on your computer. In particular, various programs for 3D animation (for example, 3D Studio Max). However, for beginners to master them will be much more difficult and time it will take more. It is best to start with the 2D format and programs such as Adobe Flash and After Light, and then move on to more complex tools that give more scope for creative and technical implementation.

We make cartoons on Android

Today, there are tools that make it possible to create animated cartoons on the Android platform. Naturally, they turn out to be simpler, both in terms of playback technology and in drawing. But as a hobby can be quite interesting. For this, many easy-to-learn programs have been developed, such as Animating Touch or Stick Fighter. With their help you can create funny and simple subjects.

To create a cartoon you will need to draw the basic - key - frames, and the application will turn them into a smooth animation. By the way, in the gallery of instruments you can choose faces for your characters, which change their facial expressions during playback. Also, with the built-in tools, voice-over is added. A ready-made multic can be shared with Internet users by uploading it to YouTube. Such an easy and very exciting way to create cartoons will appeal not only to adults, but to very young animators.