hey its me again with yet another wonderful question. i realized recently i had been asking alot of questions lately and then i said, "i have to ask more" so im back. my questions is about cartoons. i know this isnt a frequently asked question but i wasnt sure to put it so just move it if need be. anyway. im sure some of u here know how to make cartoons. i dont know and im interested in it. i know its tedious and it takes alot of patience but im willing to do so. the information i need to know:
what program to use
do i buy it or download it for free
where do i buy it if it needs buying
explaining of the drawing of cartoons
do i draw it on pencil and paper or do i use paint on my computer
do i color it with crayons and markers or do i use computer coloring
how do i make it run smooth
any other important information i would need to know and anything u would like to add
thanks for ur help!
The thing is, how into this do you want to get?
Proffesional Web comic and newspaper comics make their comics with pen and pencil, then scan the work onto the PC, use photoshop to ink the outlines, add colour/shadding and clean the work, then finally get their finished product 5-10 hours later.
Unless your ready to spend 1000$ on programs, tablets (to "draw" straight onto the computer) and pens, pencils, and paper. Then I think simply drawing then scannign and working on GIMP would suffice.
If you think you have what it takes, and really enjoy the pass time, then perhaps buying the CS3 or cheaper and just as good CS2 package would be a good choice.
CS2 would be your better bet as it'd be cheaper than CS3 and i hear from just about everyone that the differences are minimal. things are basically moved around. not much is added.
tablets are relatively cheap though. $60 for the one i got for my Photoshop course, and honestly, unless you spend time using it, they're too much hassle. using it once a week or month and you'll suck using it and just hate it. take alot to get used to the thing.
scanning and inking with the program (as rawr said) is easier than trying to draw with a tablet.
where would i get this "CS2" program. how much is photoshop? and thanks for the info
where would i get this "CS2" program. how much is photoshop? and thanks for the info
Photoshop CS2/3 = Creative Suite.
You may find it in computer retailers or online shops however be ready to pay in excess of 500$
Wait for Pizzaturdell to enter. He is a professional cartoonist.
My input:
A half assed "I'm bored" webcomic = Any image editor, a spare hour and a sense of humour*
A whole assed webcomic = Draw all your art by hand and then scan it in at the highest resolution you can, use the brush/pen tool in photoshop/GIMP to go over all the lines then start filling in. If you're particularly arty you can do some shading too. Downsize to a manageable resolution after that so that any errors you made are less noticable. ~5 hours
A Professional comic = Go out and buy a huge, expensive Wacom and use that to trace the art that you spent a good few hours drawing, fill it all in and do the shading. ~10 hours
A cheap animation = Get flash and read online tutorials
A good animation = beyond the scope of this post.
Lol good call D4rk, I saw "cartoons" and jumped in as soon as I could.
Okay Wii For Me, there's a TON of different avenues you can take these days when it comes to animation with the way technology is anymore.
If you are really serious about wanting to toon it up, it can be done for very little money. But it's all relative to the field.
First off you need 2 key books as a point of reference for doing any animation at all whether it be 2d or 3d, because all you're doing in 3d is applying 2d principles into fancy shmancy software that I'm not all to keen on because I'm a traditional animator.
The books you need are Cartoon Animation by Preston Blair and The Animator's Workbook by Tony White. Each of these books will run you approximately $20 each and they teach you all the basic principles of animation that every animator NEEDS to know.
Now before I continute on with this any farther WFM, what sort of resources do you have to work with already? When I say resources I mean computer hardware...Scanners, Wacom tablets, not to mention what kind of machine are you working on? Depending on where you stand there will determine the best path for you to work with beyond those two pieces of literature.
Oh and if I am not able to get to another post here until tomorrow I apologize, b/c i have to crash soon to be up for work early in the AM.
thank god i looked here when i did PT. well ok heres what i have:
pencil
eraser
paper
i didnt know what i needed so i have none of the above but im sure i can get a scanning printer soon enough. thanks for the help. and continue on with what u have to say.
Okay well pencil and paper animation is pretty expensive because of the hole-punch we use to keep all our drawings registered. (All that means is it keeps everything aligned so the drawings don't jump around when they're filmed.) It's called an ACME hole-punch and they run anywhere from $900 to $1200. You can buy pre-punched animation paper but it is almost not even worth it. But it's definitely good that you have your pencil and paper, keep all that together for doing your conceptual sketches and drawings to scan in and reference in the computer.
Your best bet I would say right now would be to invest in those two books, get a Wacom Graphire 4x5 pen tablet, and dl Flash and Photoshop. I don't condone those activities but the truth of the matter is every college art student does it and if they didn't they would fail out or starve to death because proper licensing costs for someone trying to ground themselves (unless they are rich) is crazy. The older Wacom Graphires are pretty cheap if you can find them... Recently all the new models were updated with Bluetooth so now they cost an arm and a leg... But if you can't find one I can hook you up because I just upgraded my setup and have an extra Wacom floating around here somewhere. So if it need be we can work something out so you'd be able to have it for pretty cheap like 25 or 30 bucks and shipping (which wouldn't be much since it's rather lightweight, I paid 70 for it but no longer have use for it since I have an Intuous3 tablet now). So yeah dude. I'd say find yourself a copy of Flash and Photoshop CS3 on mininova, get those 2 books and a tablet and your ready to rock and roll.
So if you have anymore questions dude feel free to PM me.