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how do i make my own cartoon?

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how do i make my own cartoon?

me and a couple friends came up with idea for a cartoon that we think will be really funny, and we wrote a script and drew the characters but we really don't know what the hell we're doing. we've never animated anything before and we don't know what we need for a program and recording equipment and stuff. we also don't know what the whole process is to making a cartoon. we want the animation to look professional. we basicly know what we want it to look like at the end but we don't know how to make it basicly.

somebody please help.

Why not educate yourself?

The information is out there, in books, CD-roms, Magazines, software, Internet sites, forums like this.
If you are thinking that someone here is going to point to or divulge some magic solution in 10,000 words or less, its just not going to happen--it'll take too much time and its effort that you are better off expending before anyone else.

Really, truly, the only way to learn the process is to get busy with researching.
Obviously, you know how to use a computer..........start with your favourite search engine, and go from there. It will not happen overnight, it might take a solid year ( or two) of research. Trust me when I say that you have it faaaaaaaaaar easier than I did when I started in the animation biz 21 years ago--there's 100's of times more info out there now.

Good luck.

"We all grow older, we do not have to grow up"--Archie Goodwin ( 1937-1998)

Hi Streak75889 and welcome to the AWN Forums.

Like Ken said, use google and search the web. It's easy to find info now a days. Ken had to learn from cave paintings when he started out. :p

You can also go to your local book or art store and look for books on animation. One of the best is Cartoon Animation by Preston Blair. A good program to get to animate is Flash. It's not the cheapest out there, but it's pretty versital and can out put your animation in many different formats.

Aloha,
the Ape

...we must all face a choice, between what is right... and what is easy."

Cave paintings?

All I had was a pond of murky scum-laden water to draw on.......I tell ya trout that eat pond scum were the bane of my existence in the early days.

Woulda loved a cave though....

"We all grow older, we do not have to grow up"--Archie Goodwin ( 1937-1998)

You had pond scum? I'da killed for pond scum...

All we had was sticks and dirt...

Sheer luxury. Back in ye olden days, when man's vocabulary consisted of little more then the word "oomph", the only colouring could be obtained from the gland of a special, mountain-dwelling snail. The mountains were hostile, the snails ten feet tall and man-eating and the gland the size of a walnut, located at a very inconvenient spot, would produce only one small drop per milking. Furthermore, only people by the name of "Jolly" could actually hope to return from milking the snails with all life-sustaining organs intact. Don't ask for reasons, let me just tell you that the fact most people back then were called "oomph" made colouring a rare commodity indeed.

wow u guys r just HILARIOUS

wow u guys r just HILARIOUS
let me get this strait i'm not planning on animating this stuff myself 1 of my friends r plannin on animating it if we get the right stuff. and if he can't figure it out then we're gonna pay some1 2 do it. so could u guys stop talkin bout ur caveman days and say somethin helpful?

Really? That's the response? Do you really want it to be an uphill battle that badly?

wow u guys r just HILARIOUS
let me get this strait i'm not planning on animating this stuff myself 1 of my friends r plannin on animating it if we get the right stuff. and if he can't figure it out then we're gonna pay some1 2 do it. so could u guys stop talkin bout ur caveman days and say somethin helpful?

Something helpful was said.

Lemme guess, you're.............15, right?

Might be time to use your youthful skills and dig around on the internet, and in the library,--you'll pick up something valuable doing even just that.
You found this site/forum, you can find others--they are out there and are NOT hard to find.

You ARE NOT going to find a single program, or book or web-site that is going to answer all your questions, or show you how to animate, all in one go. If you want the easy solution, to have it all answered for you ........you'll be dissapointed.

"We all grow older, we do not have to grow up"--Archie Goodwin ( 1937-1998)

so could u guys stop talkin bout ur caveman days and say somethin helpful?

Nope, still enjoying them way too much.

Go to your nearest bookstore (a larger one like Barnes & Noble or Borders) and look for the magazines with a bonus CD included. They often give away free or tryout versions of software. This might be animation, video or sound-editing software.

Flash is a good program to start with, as others have said, and if your are a student you may be able to buy it at a discount.

Another good source of info is DVD commentaries, they can be very educational.

While we're at it; I've always liked the piano. How do I play the piano?

.

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I finally feel like I have something relevant to say on this forum! :o

ALRIGHT, GUY, LISTEN TO THIS

In December of 2004, I got a bug-up-the-ass to finally make a cartoon. I had never ever ever ever in my life actually animated anything. So here's what I did:

I bought:

A LightTracer lightbox ($40)
Macromedia Flash Education Addition (about $100, I think)

I already had:

Photoshop Elements (Education Edition)
A computer and a scanner
Apple GarageBand
MobilePre USB
A Microphone and stand
Copier paper and Triconderoga #2 pencils

On top of that, I hadn't drawn anything since highschool (about three years). I spent about four months working on this flash cartoon, which you can see here:

http://billysajdera.com/swf/BUD3.html

It's not the greateast, far from "professional," but shit, man, I made it! About 8 months later I found this forum, and I've learned A LOT since then. I'm trying to put together another project right now, one that will show big improvements on the first.

I want to share this with you to show you that a little determination and ambition will get you further than looking for some hidden secret in some book or some message board. There isn't any. It's like asking somebody how to ride a bike over the internet. You just have to do it.

What about timing, design, staging, composition, acting etc., etc., etc....?

Softare and some hardware is the easiest part of the process.

The soft-mushy brain part is the difficult stuff,,,,,

"We all grow older, we do not have to grow up"--Archie Goodwin ( 1937-1998)

What about timing, design, staging, composition, acting etc., etc., etc....?

Softare and some hardware is the easiest part of the process.

The soft-mushy brain part is the difficult stuff,,,,,

Shhhh.... I wanna see what he comes up with.:D

Follow @chaostoon on Twitter!

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.

While we're at it; I've always liked the piano. How do I play the piano?

I've wanted to tackle trans-dimensional spatial warp theory.

Zipping around the galaxy...........now THAT would be a hobby!

I think there's a comicbook that shows how......or was it a gum wrapper....

"We all grow older, we do not have to grow up"--Archie Goodwin ( 1937-1998)

Here's a couple more helpful books:
The Animator's Survival Kit

Flash Character Animation Applied Studio Techniques

If you do not have the benefit of formal schooling, jumping into the mechanics can be a good start, but an understanding of the principles is also important. I've learned a lot listening to this podcast:

The Animation Podcast

so could u guys stop talkin bout ur caveman days and say somethin helpful?

Buy low, sell high...

Buy low, sell high...

And buy often.

But use discretionary income, not the stuff that's for rent or your cans of Alpha-ghetti.

Cannot get by without alpha-ghetti....

( if you get a windfall, try alpha-ghetti with cocktails weenies--the height of luxury!!)

"We all grow older, we do not have to grow up"--Archie Goodwin ( 1937-1998)

( if you get a windfall, try alpha-ghetti with cocktails weenies--the height of luxury!!)

Sorry my friend; the absolute height of luxury is a breakfast food. It looks like a corndog, but it's a sausage, and the coating tastes like pancakes with syrup. Now that's luxury!

Sorry my friend; the absolute height of luxury is a breakfast food. It looks like a corndog, but it's a sausage, and the coating tastes like pancakes with syrup. Now that's luxury!

Ooooooooooooooooh, like a Mcgriddle on a stick??!!

Gawd, I am weak.

"We all grow older, we do not have to grow up"--Archie Goodwin ( 1937-1998)