Hey all,
I have a project Im really getting excited about ands have completed the rough (very rough!) storyboards and animatic on.I wanted to know (from some of you who have actually done this!)Whats the best way to get your backgrounds into Flash or After effects, whatever you use.Do you scan the drawing, completed background or ?Ive done a little of both, digitally painting (a scanned in drawing)and creating the the entire thing in the program of chioce.My stylus pen drawings are NEVER as strong but the process does seem to go quicker on some projects.Most recently I think what Colby Bluth has done with the monkey project comes to mind and Ive seen some cool ones from Noogy, thats what Id like to accomplish (and I realize considerable TALENT is required for those quality levels!) but what do the rest of you do?Thanks for the input in advance.
swankaman
Background Questions
Background Questions
I personally prefer to make backgrounds by hand, using techniques that leave a "non-computer-like" impression. Not only it creates great contrast with vector-line drawings (i.e. Flash, ToonBoom, etc), it also gives a different look to the movie. Not to mention you can use the background's technique to interfere with the story, give the mood you want, etc.
For example, in my present project, I'm using dark yellow rough recycled paper and drawing with pastels and colored pencils, because I want a extremely textured look--so I can use 0 JPEG quality and still have files that look like the originals! (I have a 2 megabytes limit for this Flash movie)
danielpoeira.org
Swankaman- I agree with Daniel about how hand painted backgrounds look nice against the flat colors of the characters.
I would also say to create your bgs in whatever medium you're most comfortable with and that gives you the best results. If you do decide to paint digitally, it may be worth it to draw your layout on paper then scan it in. It's all about weighing the quality vs. time and effort.
I've just started to get into the layouts and paintings for my next project and already I have had to make compromises. I wanted to paint them in watercolor, but after doing a test bg I found that my skills at it aren't strong enough. I might be able to pull it off, but it would take more time and concentration then I want to invest in this project. So I've decided to just stay with the same technique I used on the monkey movie. So much for progress :rolleyes:
Good luck man. Let me know if you need more advice.
-Colby
All of the backgrounds we have used to-date in animation, have been vector.
I too love the contrast of the pixel/vector situation...and yet, also understand the time/effort/money thang!
I've been doing Photoshop and Painter illustrations for awhile, and hope to bring them more into some of our work.
I don't know if that helped or not, but I can appreciate either style/medium...!!!
Splatman
SPLAT digital
Thanks guys, Im leaning towards the traditional style (until I get a little better with the Wacom!) at this point.I'll keep ya posted!
swankaman