Many enjoyed watching cartoons in childhood, and even at an older age, many retained this habit. At the same time, for many people, no, no, and the thought slips through to create your own cartoon. Indeed, in this case, one could tell some kind of his own story, describe some new world or create a character who had long been entrenched in his head, but was not realized in other works.
In addition, during the mass spread of high technology, the creation and rendering of the cartoon ceased to be such fantastic tasks, if you make a little effort, then almost anyone can cope with them.
By the way, that is why it is possible to involve children in the process who can help come up with the world and heroes, and working together on a cartoon can help to better understand each other.
How to create a cartoon on your own computer - all steps
In this section, all the stages of creating a cartoon will be discussed in detail, it is worthwhile to carefully read each of them, so that later you will not grab your head due to the fact that something was not fully thought out.
Coming up with an idea
Before you remove the cartoon at home, you must go through the preparatory phase.
This is the stage from which not only the creation of the cartoon begins, but also almost any creative activity. In this case good rate their starting conditions.
It should be taken into account how much the user is experienced in this matter and how much time, effort and money in general is ready to spend on this project. In the event that this is one of the initial experiments to create something similar, then it is worth stopping at a simple cartoon, with a small number of characters and a short duration.
To begin with implement a small project with well-written and traced characters than to tackle a global cartoon with a large number of characters and their complex interaction. In addition, such an experience will approximately estimate your strength, time and resources, which will help to better plan work on the next cartoon.
The second step in thinking about an idea should be duration of work. If this is the first test of the pen, then you can create a cartoon from 1 to 5 minutes, this duration will not scare viewers on the global network and they will be able to get acquainted with creativity. In addition, for such a short period of time less resources will be required, it will be possible to better think out the characters and everything else.
In case you plan small animated series, then each cartoon can be a length of 10 minutes to 25. A full-fledged film should take time from an hour to two, but this obviously should not be taken from the swoop, it’s better to practice something less.
When the duration is chosen, it remains to be determined for which age group he will be, who will be his main audience. Of course, it is believed that cartoons are watched mainly by children, but teenagers and adults will also not refuse to watch a good work. From audience age the main idea and action on the screen will very much depend. It is better to raise serious philosophical or tragic topics in adult cartoons, for a younger audience it is worth choosing something simpler in perception and more dynamic.
Creating an idea for a cartoon should be based on personal experience. In the case of a serious work, you can take memories of some difficult moments and overcome them, but it is easy or humorous to take well-known situations and add something unusual to them. In any case, an idea taken from personal experience will be much easier to describe and implement, and viewers may like the fact that something familiar happens on the screen. 
However, it’s not worth it thoroughly describe real life. It is best to connect the imagination and transfer the situation to an unusual place or to unusual heroes. At this stage, fantasy will help a lot, which will allow you to squeeze a typical situation of standing in a traffic jam into a fantasy setting.
You also need to clearly present the character and type of the main character. This is especially important in a short work, where it should immediately be clear what kind of character this is and what to expect from him. In a long cartoon, it will be possible to show character traits gradually, it will develop over time.
Script writing
Now that the main points have taken shape in your head, you can start writing the script. This is a very important stage, especially if the work is long and there are dialogs in it. In this case you have to create a complete script with a description of events and interactions between the characters. This is also necessary because they will have to voice the dialogs, for which they will have to invite other people, and they should know not only the words, but also in what situation and on behalf of which hero they voice them so that absurd overlays are not obtained. 
In the absence of dialogs or a short duration, you can simply outline the main scenes and stages, as well as briefly describe the actions that take place in them so as not to get confused. You should not immediately rush for the implementation of the first scenario, it is better to let him lie down for a couple of days, and then give him a fresh look. During this time, new interesting ideas may come to mind.
Define the way to create
Now the user will need to decide on way to create cartoon. It can be completely drawn, in this case, you will need to draw each scene of the cartoon, and each character separately on a computer or paper, and then apply animation to it. You can also make a plasticine cartoon. In this case, the characters will have to sculpt and place on a painted background. After that, each scene will have to be shot using special equipment. 
And in both cases, it will not be so simple to do this the first time without any experience. So when creating the first cartoon, you should proceed from your skills, and if they are approximately equal in both areas, then you should choose simply on the basis of their preferences. In any case, the processes are quite different and it will take some time to understand all the subtleties. If in the case of plasticine special equipment, a camera, a shooting table and a computer are needed to bring all this into one film and voice acting, then with a drawn cartoon you only need a computer, but this will not make it easier. 
It will take good modeling skills, drawing animations, because you have to create models of each character, and then place them on your own created scene, and then animate it. All this requires the presence of specific programs that are very demanding on computer resources. The ability to draw and create models will be useful, although some of them can be taken from open sources.
Choosing an animation program
In this case, everything will pretty much depend on what type of animation was chosen. In the case of plasticine models, you can do just a couple of programs for video editing and sound overlays, like Adobe Premier. 
In case you plan to make cartoons on your computer in 2D or 3D animation, you will need several programs to create models and varied graphics. In this case, you should first take on familiar programs, do not immediately download super-sophisticated professional applications, it will be much more difficult to understand them. In any case, a description of many programs for modeling is presented on our website, so you should read their descriptions and choose the one that you like best.
Cartoon character
The user can now proceed to the storyboard. In fact, it is small drawings, which will help to better imagine what is happening in the frame, where the hero is heading and what will happen next. 
After the storyboard is done, you can go to the next stage of creating a cartoon with your own hands.
Create backgrounds and decorations
No action of the characters takes place in a vacuum (if it is not a space odyssey, but even there must be a ship in the background, or at least stars), so you will have to think over the scene. Thereafter need to sketch itso that you can fit under plasticine figures. 
Or you will have to create all the scenery using computer graphics. Not worth it overload scenes different objects, this can adversely affect both the viewer's perception of the background and the time the project was created and processed. In any case, the background should be well thought out and no less thoughtful to draw. 
Soundtrack and voice acting
Actions should also not take place in absolute silence, so it’s worth picking up or recording a background that matches the surroundings, let the noise of the forest, the sound of hooves or the noise of passing cars be heard. The background should not be empty and should organically fit with everything that happens in the frame and not leave unnecessary questions, forcing viewers to think out the little things.
Installation of the finished project
After all the elements are on hand, you can proceed to the final touch - the installation of the project. At this point, you need to bring everything together shot framesand then overlay on this video track background sound accompaniment and voices of heroes. At the same time, everything needs to be adjusted so that it looks good and organic. This stage will take a lot of time, as it is a long and painstaking work.
Creating cartoons on your Android phone
It is unlikely to make a full-fledged cartoon on an Android phone, however, some points can be worked out with the help of applications. For example, Rough Animator will allow the user create simple models and animation, which can be useful for not too long projects that use fairly simple models. 
Lyan 3D utility will help to create more complex 3D models and textures, as well as animate them. 
Using this application, you can create something more serious, however, it will still be more convenient to work on a stationary device.
How do cartoons?
It is generally accepted that cartoon is entertainment for children. However, beautiful animated stories are loved not only by kids, but also by adults. Today, animation is no longer just fun. This is a real art and a complex technical process. Want to know how cartoons are made? Let's look at where inanimate pictures come to life, and plasticine characters learn to speak - in the workshop of the artist-animator.
How it all began
Few people know that the animation appeared even before the cinema. The founding father of the cartoons is considered to be Emil Reynaud. In 1877, he presented to the public the first moving tape on which painted pictures successively replaced each other. However, before him there were attempts to revive the pictures. Back in the 15th century, books were distributed in Europe, which, when quickly turned over, created the illusion of character movements. Actually, the very principle of animation is built on this.
Create the simplest cartoon in the power of any of us. We take a notebook, draw on each page of the same character in different poses imitating a sequence of movements, then quickly turn over the pages. Our eye perceives this as a single video sequence.
By the way, the animation was originally an adult entertainment. To do children's cartoons began only in the XX century.
What are the cartoons
Drawn
The most popular type of animation to this day is hand-drawn. Only technical devices are changing. If earlier cartoons were drawn by hand, now it is done on a computer. The principle of how hand-drawn cartoons are made has remained unchanged.
First, a detailed script is written. Then all characters are drawn. Each figure is an element of the character’s movement, a separate pose. There can be thousands of such drawings. After the drawings are either photographed one at a time and combined into a single video series with 24 frames per second, or with the help of special programs the same thing is done on a computer.
3D cartoons
Computer animation is the most promising area today. 3D cartoons stand out in it. They allow you to make the image three-dimensional. This is a very expensive technology, but it is 3D cartoons that today collect full halls in movie theaters.
How do 3D cartoons? Of course, here modern technology comes to the rescue of a person. The picture is created using special computer programs, for example, Maya or Z-Brush. First, the "skeleton" of the character is drawn with all the muscles and tendons. Each of them, as in a real human body, is responsible for a particular action. That is, when turning the head, we will see the movement of the cervical muscles, and when the arm is bent, the biceps will tighten. Particular attention is paid to the face, the muscles responsible for facial expressions.
Then the texture is pulled onto the skeleton. And this is not only the color of the skin and clothes. It is important to work out every wrinkle and fold, all the chiaroscuro and so on, so that the character looks alive. The background is also being worked out in detail. Everything should be as believable and realistic as possible. In order not to draw every blade of grass, the animators have special modules that “plant” the vegetation in the frame as it grows in reality.
Then the installation begins. Usually an animator creates 4 seconds of a cartoon a week - so this is a painstaking process! To be on time, dozens of animators usually work on a cartoon.
Now, when you watch the next “Shrek” in 3D, remember how cartoons are made. A 90-minute video is the work of hundreds of people and the fruit of many months of labor.
Plasticine cartoons
Plasticine cartoons, beloved from childhood, are made a little easier. But here you can’t call for help on a computer, except at the installation stage. All figures in all their actions are molded by hand.
In professional studios, figures are made of special plasticine, which does not melt under the lamps. Then they are laid on a special surface of a pure color (blue, green) - chrome. Figures are shot on a digital camera. Then the background is also removed. And already on the computer, the background and the figures are connected. This is called the swapping method. Now it is the most common.
You can create your own plasticine cartoon at home with the help of a camera. Now on the Internet there are many workshops on how to make plasticine cartoons. And for this you do not need to have a professional set of tools. Enough digital "soap box", plasticine, talented hands and a simple program for video processing.
Zabelina Victoria
With the advent of modern technology, the fascinating world of animation, which previously seemed inaccessible and mysterious, has opened its doors wide for everyone. Currently, you can learn the basics of animation and feel yourself in the role of a novice director without leaving your home. With a superficial acquaintance, animation seems like a simple task. In fact, this is a rather complicated work, and its successful outcome, among other things, depends on a good imagination and an extraordinary fantasy. Purpose: to learn how drawings come to life and how to create a simple animation. Tasks: 1) get acquainted with the history of the development of animation; 2) find out what types of cartoons and ways to create animations exist; 3) conduct a survey on this topic among classmates; 4) create a simple animation example. Object of study - the art of animation. Object of study - cartoon. Relevance of the study: Everyone loves to watch cartoons: both adults and children. They have become an integral part of our lives. Children learn good from cartoon characters, analyze their actions. Cartoons develop imaginative and abstract thinking. And creating animations in different ways is even more interesting than just watching cartoons. Research methods: - literature analysis; - questioning; - analysis of the results; - practical work.
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Municipal educational institution
Bilitui High School
How cartoons are created.
Educational research work.
Executor:
Zabelina Victoria
3rd grade
Scientific adviser:
Zabelina Alena Vasilievna
MOU Bilituyskaya secondary school
2012 year
Introduction
With the advent of modern technology, the fascinating world of animation, which previously seemed inaccessible and mysterious, has opened its doors wide for everyone. Currently, you can learn the basics of animation and feel yourself in the role of a novice director without leaving your home.
With a superficial acquaintance, animation seems like a simple task. In fact, this is a rather complicated work, and its successful outcome, among other things, depends on a good imagination and an extraordinary fantasy.
Goal :
learn how drawings come to life and how to create simple animations.
Tasks :
- get acquainted with the history of the development of animation;
- find out what types of cartoons and ways to create animations exist;
- conduct a survey on this topic among classmates;
- create a simple animation example.
Object of study - animation art
Subject of study - cartoon
The relevance of research: Everyone likes to watch cartoons: both adults and children. They have become an integral part of our lives. Children learn good from cartoon characters, analyze their actions. Cartoons develop imaginative and abstract thinking. And creating animations in different ways is even more interesting than just watching cartoons.
Research Methods:
Literature analysis;
Questioning;
Analysis of the results;
Practical work.
Animation story
Animation - in a free translation means revival, but in our country it has received the name of animation. Since classical times, people have made attempts to make drawings lively and moving.
Already in 70 BC the poet and sage Lucretius in his work “On the Nature of Things” talked about the mechanism for creating moving patterns.
10-11 centuries - Shadow performances appeared that were very similar to future cartoons.
15 century - similarities were made to notebooks on which there were moving patterns, usually these were movements of a person or an animal.
In the Middle Ages there were specialists who entertained people with moving images, using special mechanisms for this.
In the second half of 17 tbsp. A. Kirsher created a “magic lamp” with which it was possible to display images on glass.
After that it was already much easier to create new mechanisms and devices. In the 19th art. it was determined that the human eye is designed so that the image he sees is stored on the retina for a short time. This is the main principle by which cartoons are created today.
During the 19th century. the search continued for the “revitalization" of images — the instruments and mechanisms that were invented at that time, although they performed their function, but needed substantial improvement. At the same time, comics became the main figure in the North American and French publications and became the main characters.
first cartoons.
One of the creators of the beginnings of cartoons is E. Reynaud - it was he who invented the way to perform cartoons - image by image.
However, the emergence of cinema almost replaced the animated films and made mankind forget about it. But the term for forgetting the cartoons was short-lived - soon people turned to her again.
History of Russian animation
The main animator of our country was V. Starevich, a biologist who planned to create an educational tape about insects. In 1912, Starevich performed a documentary film in which mating games of beetles were shown. However, during the filming, he encountered a problem - when he set the right light, the beetles refused to move. Then, in order to finish the film, the biologist makes stuffed beetles out of bugs, attaches strings to them and shoots the film by frames. This picture was the first puppet cartoon. Starevich made several more similar films on the subject of insects - but now he used real scripts (from romance novels, etc.). These tapes were very popular among the audience - many did not understand how the picture was made, and were surprised at how the author managed to train the beetles in this way. It was Starevich who became the author of the film, in which both actors and animation were simultaneously used.
Then he left our country, after which animated films were not removed for a long time, and only at the beginning of the twentieth century. The government of the USSR revived the animation for creating propaganda videos. The experiments and experiments of animators were only welcomed, so at that time a variety of cartoons were created.
Real Soviet cartoons appeared a few years later - over the course of just 1 year, several cartoons were created at once, including Soviet Toys and others. A similar number of cartoons was explained by the emergence of new technologies that freed workers from creating complex images.
Another craftsman was A. Ptushko, who was a certified architect, but, accidentally falling into the animation, got the opportunity to realize himself in another. The popularity was brought to him by the full-length cartoon "New Gulliver", which gave the text of D. Swift an agitation appointment. In the cartoon, various techniques were used, in general, the "children's" genre was taken quite seriously. It was Ptushko who later became the director of the special animation studio Soyuzdetmultfilm.
How it works?
Animation is the most common technology that allows, with the support of inanimate immovable objects, to form the illusion of mobility. The most famous kind of animation, which transmits a series of drawings, was known in the Russian Federation as animation, and in English-speaking countries as “cartoons”. In fact, the process is as follows: the depicted figure is drawn many times, and each image of the figure carries some changes that represent its movement. Finished images are taken - 1 frame \u003d 1 image, and broadcast at a speed of 24 frames per second.
Animated characters constantly do things that are unrealistic in true life. They can fly, rise from the dead, conjure and transform. Even more “magical” are animated “inanimate” things - self-propelled cars and self-constructed houses are completely normal. Animation is mainly based on fairy tales and fables.
Making a cartoon is a long complex process, in which a script is created that is divided into individual incidents, and they, in turn, are illustrated with appropriate images. Scoring takes place at the very end of the animation process.
What is required to create the simplest animation? To begin with, a pencil and a notebook will be quite enough. Try to draw a bird on ten different sheets. Each subsequent image must differ from the previous position of the wings. Now quickly flip through all the pages and you will see how the bird comes to life. The frequent change of frames depicting a sequential action is the main secret of all cartoons. This simple trick with a notebook is nothing more than the most primitive visual aid to help you feel the specifics of the animation.
First steps
To create a home animation studio you will need some equipment:
- digital camera or webcam
- tripod
- a computer
- artificial light sources
- fishing line
- Whatman paper used as background
- clear glass or glass table
- material for making animated characters
Therefore, before you start shooting a cartoon you need:
- think over its plot
- develop a small scenario
- determine the stylistic orientation of the work
Setting and shooting a single frame with two or three figures takes about an minute on average. For the plausibility of the reproduction of movements, one second of the cartoon must contain at least twelve frames. Accordingly, this will take about a quarter of an hour. It is easy to calculate that only a frame-by-frame shooting of a cartoon lasting ten seconds will take about three hours. If we add here preparatory work, installation and final processing, then in total the process of creating such a mini-animashka will take a whole day.
Drawings that know how to move
For nearly a hundred years, drawn cartoons have been loved by viewers of all ages. They owe their long lives to the great American animator Walt Disney, who was one of the first to introduce manual painting techniques. In order to experience it in practice, you will have to work hard and prepare a whole picture "gallery". Experiment and use watercolor paints, felt-tip pens, colored and slate pencils, crayons and even ordinary ballpoint pens in the drawing process. The basis for drawing can be not only paper, but also glass. Note that to create a new picture on the glass, you only need to correct the previous sketch, while erasing the excess lines. On paper, each subsequent movement will have to be drawn completely from beginning to end.
In order for the movement of an animated object to attract attention by naturalness, the difference between adjacent drawings should be slightly expressed. All the smallest changes in the pictures should be fixed with a camera mounted on a tripod.
Living dolls
No less interesting in terms of technology puppet cartoons. Vladislav Starevich is considered to be the "father" of puppet animation. His first professional work, created in a similar technique, saw the world at the beginning of the last century.
Changing the position of the dolls, creating the illusion of their movement, is somewhat easier than when drawing, but here there are some nuances. For example, to depict an object floating in the air, you will need to fix it in space with a tense fishing line. The "mount" itself remains virtually invisible to the lens of the camera or camera.
Puppet cartoons, like drawn ones, “come to life” only with meticulous frame-by-frame shooting. The difference between them is that for the manufacture of puppet characters, not only paint and paper are required, but also a lot of other handy materials. It can be shreds of fabric, threads, foam rubber, wire, buttons, wood, various fruits, etc. The Lego constructor can also serve as the basis for creating puppet cartoons. In reality, it does not matter what your puppet hero will be made of, the main thing is that he be endowed with personality.
A special place in the puppet animation is occupied by special effects. So, ordinary semolina or salt will help create a picturesque winter landscape and deep "snow" snowdrifts in the frame.
Hidden Sand Energy
Sand animation looks extremely impressive, the technology of which is quite realistic to master at home. Carolyn Leaf, a professional animator from Canada, was involved in her appearance. To achieve an artistic effect, sand paintings should be "painted" on a glass table with backlight. Ideally, sand of various shades should be at your disposal. This problem is easily solved by coloring it.
The specifics of sand animation remains the same - the slightest changes in the picture created by your hands should be captured by the camera’s lens.
Dynamic plasticine
Due to its extraordinary flexibility, plasticine for many years remains one of the most beloved animator materials. Try it and you feel its expressive dynamics and create your own bright plasticine heroes.
Do not forget that plasticine under the influence of temperature tends to lose shape, so for lighting in this case it is better to use fluorescent lamps, which practically do not create a thermal effect.
The endless possibilities of high technology
Every year, the popularity of computer animation is growing rapidly. Today this process cannot be stopped, and is it worth it? The digital format in which the new generation cartoons are created is more practical, and not only visually, but also economically.
Computer programs greatly simplify the process of creating cartoons. Based on the entered parameters, they allow you to effortlessly build basic models of animated characters, the intermediate poses of which are calculated automatically.
Previously, cartoons used mostly two-dimensional (flat) graphics. In this way, the famous Masyanya was created in Adobe Flash. Products such as PowerPoint and GIF Animator are suitable for creating 2D animations. You can try your hand at three-dimensional three-dimensional animation, which is particularly realistic, using 3D MAX and Photoshop.
Conclusions:
The story of the animation is very interesting. In addition, I learned that the art of animation is older than the movie itself!
The ways you create animations have changed a lot during this time. Performing this work, I learned how to create animations in different ways and this is even more interesting than just watching cartoons. It turns out that it is not necessary to have a complex technique in order to create an animation.
But, if creating a simple animation is quite simple, then creating an animation film is very difficult! No wonder the whole crew is working on the creation of the cartoon. Currently, the main way to create an animation is a computer. Therefore, to create cartoons, you must first study special programs, and this takes a lot of time. But, the most difficult thing when creating animated films is to come up with a plot!
List of references
- Frolov M.I. Learning computer animations. Self-instruction for children and parents / M.I. Frolov.- M .: Laboratory of Basic Knowledge, 2002.
- All about everything. Volume 11.- M .: Philological Society "Word" AST, 1999. S. 74-76.
- I know the world (cinema). AST Publishing House, 2000.P. 91-94.
- Internet resource:www.myltik.ru
) After all, this is real magic: pictures move, talk, dance and sing. It seems that such magic is not subject to the ordinary person. In fact, the creation of the cartoon, although a painstaking process, is not so complicated. You and your child may well create your own cartoon.
To create a cartoon you need not so much: free time, imagination and desire. And the rest can be found at hand or on the Internet. The editors share the site with you in the simplest ways to create your own animated masterpiece for a couple with the baby. For clarity and inspiration, we supplemented the article with video examples made by families in different parts of the world.
Stop Motion Cartoons
The easiest and most popular way to create a cartoon is the stop motion technique. You put toys (plasticine figures cut from the paper of heroes, LEGO men) in a certain position and take pictures. Then slightly change the position of the figure and take a new frame. And so form your plot. It’s best to photograph with a tripod, but if it’s not there, just try not to change the angle of the shot.
Further, these frames need to be mounted in one of the computer programs, there are a lot of them on the Internet (Pinnacle Studio 18, Windows Film Studio, Movavi, etc.). Remember that every simple movement, such as raising a hand is a minimum of 2-3 frames, otherwise when glued your cartoon will become too sharp and jumping.
A source: Stas1308
After that, you can add sounds, music or speech to the video. Here you will again need a special program if the editing editor does not provide such capabilities. All these programs operate on the same principle. You read the text into the microphone, then upload it to the video and put it in the place you want when your character starts talking. It is possible to sound not all in its entirety, but in separate phrases, and sounds can also be superimposed so that the cartoon has both a song and your words.
There are even special play sets that help children create such cartoons. The Stikbot line is now especially popular, which fell into 5th place according to Toy.Ru. There, the task is facilitated with the help of moving little men from plastic and a special green background, which can then be easily replaced with any other landscape.
Cartoon drawn on computer and phone
If you do 100 frames, as a little man waves his hand, you don’t feel like it, you can use a computer and draw a cartoon there. There are a lot of programs for this (Animator, Wick, Hippo Animator, Algodoo and others).
In one of these programs, for example, you can make a video of how you draw in accelerated shooting. That is, you will get bored with the whole process of creating a picture. But this is still not quite a cartoon. Basically, editors suggest the following: you draw individual frames, and then the program itself glues them together. You only need to add sound. And you can not draw anything, take ready-made models from the library and just move them with the mouse on the screen. Similarly, numerous videos for children appear on YouTube.
You can draw your cartoon online on a Google drive, and not only do it alone, but also with a large company, simply expanding access to the right number of children. Together - more fun. And you can not use the Internet at all: draw in Paint, and glue in Windows Movie Maker.
A source: Duderocks5539
On mobile devices, too, is full of applications for creating animations, we even did. The simplest thing is to take ready-made characters and move them around the screen, it’s a little harder to draw characters yourself and use their guide lines to change their position. True, there are not many options with voice acting. Usually, editors suggest overlaying some kind of melody or the simplest sounds from their own library onto the video.
For those who want something more serious
And if these methods seem to you too simple, boring and you have already tried everything, you can start experimenting with more complex techniques. For example, create your own picture from sand or other bulk materials. True, such shooting requires more equipment - you need a special table, sand and proper lighting.
You will have to draw here not with pencils, but with your hands. Of course, this is more difficult, but what a result! Sand paintings, even made by children, come out very smooth, fluid and magical. And shooting takes place in the same stop motion mode.
You have long been not a child or even a teenager, but quite an adult and Or not serious ...? However, this is not so important - most importantly, you still love cartoons, be delighted with the beautiful and high-quality rendering, laugh at the funny voice acting of the characters, and when viewing for some time, fall out of reality, immersed in a bright cartoon world. This has its own charm - to remain a little child all my life. Who knows, perhaps this hobby will grow into something more than just a love of cartoons. Surely you at least once thought about how these colorful stories are created and what kind of work was done before the finished video hit the screen of your monitor. Well, today the opportunity to become an artist-director himself has appeared not only among professionals in this matter, but also among ordinary people. And now we will tell, on a computer, without special education, but with great desire. Forward!
About how it all began
Today, in order to make a cartoon, extensive computer technologies are used to create real masterpieces of animation. It used to be different. The story of the creation of cartoons began long before the invention of cinema. Primitive animation appeared at the beginning of the XIX century. In order to set the images in motion, we used ribbons with drawings and rotating disks, mirrors, etc. In 1914, the American animator and cartoonist Mackay thought about how to make a cartoon that would take animation to a whole new level. It was then that the financier was divided. Mackay created the first real animated hero with characteristic traits and qualities - it was a Gerty dinosaur. The assistant artist was engaged in drawing a background for each frame.
With the invention of cinema, animation took a strong place in it. To create cartoons, special movie cameras and multi-station were used. Until 1928, the cartoons were dumb and black and white. A breakthrough in this form of art was made by Walt Disney, who shot the first voiced cartoon - “Steamboat Willie”. Today, technology is so advanced 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 carry out considerable creative work. If we create cartoons ourselves from beginning to end, you must definitely make yourself a plan, which will include the steps described below.
Coming up with the idea of \u200b\u200ba cartoon
Finding and choosing an idea for a cartoon is a seemingly easy, but actually very important part. Already at this stage, it is advisable to decide what the duration of your cartoon will be - will it be a short animation sketch for showing on the Internet or a full-fledged cartoon lasting an hour or more. Or maybe it will be several episodes of the same story? Knowing the length of the cartoon, it will be easier to determine its plot.
In addition, decide what your target audience will be - toddlers, teens, or adults. Think about what idea you want to convey to the viewer. Build on your own experience and experiences, emotions. This will help you better understand the topic and engage your audience.
Work with the script
Once you have decided on the topic and the main idea, start writing the script. Carefully think over the image of the main character - his character, manner of communication and behavior. It should be charming and cause sympathy (or antipathy - depending on the plot and the goals pursued) in the viewer.
If dialogs are planned in the cartoon, then carefully write them down, marking the important points that should accompany each remark. A long cartoon is best divided into semantic parts in order to simplify the work.
Draw each frame on a new card so that they can be replaced or interchanged if necessary. Depict the main changes in the poses and movements of the heroes. These basic elements are needed for storyboards.
Choosing a cartoon drawing method
The technical stage of working with the plot, namely, its drawing, can be implemented in various ways: someone prefers to do this manually, and someone uses a variety of computer programs. You can choose the option that seems most convenient and interesting to you. However, do not think about how to create a cartoon in Paint, for example. Today there are a huge number of more modern and functional programs. They allow you to make a cartoon for free, but at a much higher quality level.
If you are new to animation, the most suitable solution for you would be one of the Adobe tools. This is the well-known Photoshop, as well as Flash or After Light. They allow you to implement the various stages of the process of creating a cartoon - from drawing characters and background elements to putting them in motion (animation).
Creating a cartoon using Adobe tools
The Adobe workspace has frame windows 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 layers in temporary space - Time Line (included in the Windows / Animation menu). In order to understand all the basic functions, you will not need so much time - with a serious approach for about a week or two.
Simple steps in animation
Suppose you placed it at the beginning of the time axis (located horizontally). Now, next to the parameters of its position, set the Key Frame. Next along the axis, place another keyframe (for example, after one second), but change its coordinates (for example, slightly lift it up). Then take the third frame after another second and move it to the first layer. Thus, looping the reproduction, you will achieve that the hero sets in motion - starts bouncing and returns to his place again. The more different options for changing the hero’s position (along the time axis) you make, the more smooth and natural his movement will be. So, step by step, your cartoon will begin to come to life.
Thanks to the digital implementation, you can make a visual storyboard by placing each frame on the TimeLine axis. It is important to remember that with a normal video image, each of which is filled with movement is displayed per second. This allows you to create the effect of naturalness changes in poses, facial expressions and other moments in time.
About the storyboard manually and using a computer
In the classical method, that is, when each frame is drawn by hand, the storyboard occupies the entire wall in the office of the animator. Each frame is displayed on a separate sheet or card. This allows you to plan the entire sequence of scenes, events, as well as determine the options for their multi-scale display (when it is a close-up, and when the general, etc.). In this regard, the manual storyboard loses to the digital implementation, since creating cartoons on the computer is much more convenient (and the entire storyboard made 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 details. These are barely noticeable gestures, facial expressions and the slightest changes in posture, and folds on clothes, and other nuances that, nevertheless, cannot 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 over time against the background of the main action - all this needs to be thought over, and then gradually implemented using multiple layers and TimeLine / Frame functions. Adobe has a variety of tools to help you work on your background image — color balance, sharpness, transparency, and more.
And only when all the characters and objects on separate layers will be placed on the timeline, you can proceed to join the background.
Sounds in the cartoon: background noise and scoring
The final stage in the creation of the cartoon is its voice acting and the imposition of appropriate noise. This is an equally important part of the work that needs to be given special attention. You can record the voices of the characters using the microphone - while making sure that the mouth movements of the characters coincide with the speech.
By the way, you can also implement and record the noise yourself. For example, to create a sound of boiling water, draw liquid into a glass, dip a tube there and blow into it. Or the sound of a bonfire - it will help to recreate an ordinary plastic bag, which you just need to mash in your hands. These ideas will tell you more interesting and creative.
Work on the cartoon ends with the imposition of a 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 viewers and critics.
Move from small to large 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 it will be much more difficult to master them and it will take more time. It is best to start with the 2D format and programs such as Adobe Flash and After Light, and then switch to more complex tools that provide more opportunities for creative and technical implementation.
Making cartoons on Android
Today, tools have appeared that make it possible to create cartoons on the Android platform. Naturally, they turn out to be simpler both in reproduction technology and in drawing. But as a hobby, they can be quite interesting. To do this, many easy-to-learn programs have been developed, such as Animating Touch or Stick Fighter. With their help, you can create fun and uncomplicated stories.
Emulators
