How to Start with Animated Drawings: Tips and Tricks for Beginners

How to Start with Animated Drawings: Tips and Tricks for Beginners

Animated drawings, from classic cartoons to complex CGI, have the power to captivate and tell stories in unique ways. If you’ve ever dreamed of bringing your own drawings to life, this guide will give you the fundamental steps and essential tips to embark on your animation journey.

1. Understanding the Core Principles of Animation (Before You Even Pick Up a Pencil):

This is arguably the most crucial step. Animation isn’t just about moving pictures; it’s about creating the illusion of movement. Familiarize yourself with the 12 Principles of Animation, developed by Disney animators in the 1930s. These principles are the foundation of good animation, regardless of the style or software:

• Squash and Stretch: Giving objects a sense of weight and flexibility (e.g., a bouncing ball compresses when it hits the ground).
• Anticipation: Preparing the audience for an action (e.g., a character winding up before throwing a punch).
• Staging: Presenting an action clearly and unambiguously.
• Straight Ahead Action and Pose to Pose: Two main approaches to animating. Straight ahead involves drawing each frame sequentially. Pose to pose involves planning key poses first and then filling in the “in-betweens.”
• Follow Through and Overlapping Action: Different parts of a body moving at different rates (e.g., a character’s hair continuing to move after they stop walking).
• Slow In and Slow Out (Easing): Objects accelerate and decelerate, rather than moving at a constant speed.
• Arcs: Most natural movement follows curved paths, not straight lines.
• Secondary Action: Subtle movements that support the main action (e.g., a character’s facial expression changing while they walk).
• Timing: The speed and duration of an action, which dictates the feel of the movement.
• Exaggeration: Pushing actions and expressions beyond reality for greater impact.
• Solid Drawing: Understanding 3D form and anatomy, even in 2D animation.
• Appeal: Making characters visually engaging and interesting.

Resources for learning these principles are abundant online (YouTube tutorials, animation blogs, and books like “The Animator’s Survival Kit” by Richard Williams). Don’t skip this step!

2. Choosing Your Animation Style and Method:

There are several paths you can take, each with its own learning curve and requirements:

• Traditional Animation (Hand-Drawn): This involves drawing each frame individually on paper (often with a light table) and then photographing or scanning them.
  • Pros: Develops fundamental drawing skills, very tactile.
  • Cons: Time-consuming, requires significant drawing ability, can be expensive (paper, pencils, animation peg bar, lightbox).
• Stop Motion Animation: Creating animation by physically manipulating objects and taking a picture after each slight movement.
  • Pros: Can be done with everyday objects, good for learning timing and posing.
  • Cons: Time-consuming, requires patience and a steady hand, can be limited by the physicality of the objects.
• 2D Digital Animation: Using software to create animation on a computer.
  • Pros: More forgiving than traditional (undo button!), allows for easier coloring and editing, can be faster once you learn the software.
  • Cons: Requires learning animation software, can feel less tactile than traditional methods. Good starting software includes:
    • Toon Boom Harmony: Industry standard, powerful but can be expensive.
    • Adobe Animate: Widely used, integrates with other Adobe products.
    • Krita: Free and open-source, excellent for drawing and basic animation.
    • OpenToonz: Free and open-source, used by Studio Ghibli.
    • Pencil2D: Free and open-source, very simple and beginner-friendly.
• 3D Digital Animation: Creating animation using 3D models and software.
  • Pros: Can create realistic or highly stylized visuals, reusable assets.
  • Cons: Steepest learning curve, requires understanding of 3D modeling, rigging, and animation principles. Good starting software:
    • Blender: Free and open-source, incredibly powerful and versatile.
    • Autodesk Maya: Industry standard, powerful but expensive.

For absolute beginners, 2D digital animation with a simple, free software like Krita or Pencil2D is highly recommended. You can also start with simple flipbooks (see below).

3. Start Simple: The Bouncing Ball Exercise:

The bouncing ball is the cornerstone of animation training. It’s a deceptively simple exercise that teaches you:

• Timing: How long it takes for the ball to fall and bounce.
• Spacing: The distance between frames, which controls the speed of the movement.
• Squash and Stretch: Showing the ball’s elasticity.
• Arcs: The curved path of the ball’s movement.

How to do it (using a flipbook or animation software):

1. Draw the ball at its highest point.
2. Draw the ball a little lower, slightly closer to the previous frame. This creates slow-out (easing out) at the top.
3. As the ball falls, increase the spacing between frames. This creates acceleration.
4. Just before impact, stretch the ball vertically.
5. At impact, squash the ball horizontally.
6. As the ball rebounds, stretch it vertically again.
7. As it rises, decrease the spacing between frames. This creates slow-in (easing in) at the top of the bounce.
8. Each subsequent bounce should be lower and have less squash and stretch. This shows the loss of energy.

Repeat this exercise multiple times, experimenting with different timings and spacing. Observe real-world bouncing balls (videos or in person) to understand the physics.

4. Progress to More Complex Movements:

Once you’re comfortable with the bouncing ball, try:

• A Walk Cycle: A repeating animation of a character walking. Start with a simple stick figure. Focus on the key poses (contact, passing, high point, low point) and then add the in-betweens.
• A Simple Character Action: A character waving, jumping, or picking something up. Break down the action into key poses and focus on anticipation, action, and reaction.
• Animating a Head Turn: Practice smooth transitions and overlapping action (e.g., the hair lagging behind the head movement).

5. Essential Tools and Resources:

• Drawing Tablet (for digital animation): A Wacom tablet is a popular choice, but there are many affordable alternatives. Even a basic tablet is much better than a mouse for drawing.
• Animation Software: (See recommendations above).
• Light Table (for traditional animation): Allows you to see through multiple layers of paper.
• Animation Peg Bar (for traditional animation): Keeps your drawings aligned.
• Online Tutorials: YouTube is a goldmine for animation tutorials. Search for specific software or techniques (e.g., “Krita animation tutorial,” “walk cycle tutorial”).
• Animation Books: “The Animator’s Survival Kit” is a must-read. Other good options include “Cartoon Animation” by Preston Blair and “Drawn to Life” by Walt Stanchfield.
• Online Animation Communities: Join forums or online groups to share your work, get feedback, and learn from other animators.

6. Tips and Tricks for Success:

• Start with short animations: Don’t try to create a feature film right away! Focus on short loops and exercises to build your skills.
• Use reference: Watch videos of real-world movement, or film yourself performing the action you want to animate.
• Plan your animation: Create thumbnails or storyboards to plan out the key poses and timing.
• Get feedback: Show your work to other animators or friends and ask for constructive criticism.
• Practice consistently: Animation is a skill that takes time and dedication to develop. Even 15-30 minutes of practice each day can make a big difference.
• Don’t be afraid to experiment: Try different styles, techniques, and software.
• Be patient: Animation can be challenging, but it’s also incredibly rewarding. Don’t get discouraged if your first animations aren’t perfect.
• Focus on the fundamentals: The 12 Principles of animation are the key to all animation work.
• Learn to “see” movement: Start observing the world around you with an animator’s eye. Pay attention to how people and objects move, and try to break down those movements into their component parts.

7. The Importance of Flipbooks (Even in the Digital Age):

Even if you plan to primarily animate digitally, creating a physical flipbook is a fantastic way to grasp the fundamentals. It’s inexpensive, tactile, and forces you to think about each frame individually. You can buy pre-made flipbook paper, or simply staple together a stack of index cards or small pieces of paper. The bouncing ball exercise is perfect for a flipbook.

8. Iteration is Key

Don’t aim for perfection on your first try. Animate a scene, then watch it back critically. Identify areas where the timing feels off, the spacing is uneven, or the principles of animation aren’t being fully utilized. Then, go back and revise. Repeat this process multiple times. Each iteration will improve your animation and your understanding of the process.

Animation is a journey of continuous learning and improvement. Embrace the challenges, celebrate your progress, and most importantly, have fun bringing your drawings to life!