Animation: A Step by Step Guide

Animation is a motion of pictures. Back in 1920-1980 the animations were on paper and had to be projected, but today we use computers and tablets to animate using animation software and apps and other software.

Making an Animated Series

People have made Animated series on YouTube and TV, or Fan based like, Helluva Boss by Vivziepop, Eddsworld, The Amazing World of Gumball, The FNAF series by Magma Ren, Gravity Falls, Murder Drones, The SMG4 series and The Cuphead Show!

These were created by people who had ideas, they used different software for animation, editing, storyboarding and voice recording/music.

Your series can be for kids, for 18+ or PG/PG-13. You can make it however you want it to be.

Animation Styles

There are 9 types of animation styles, like:

2D animation: 2D animation is like drawing on paper but doing it on a computer.

3D animation: 3D animation is a very hard process of animation, it’s like 2D animation but 3 Dimension... And very hard and sometimes crappy.

Stop Motion: Stop Motion is taking pictures of an object.

Rotoscope: Rotoscoping is an animation technique that animators use to trace over motion picture footage.

Motion Capture: Motion Capture is the process of recording the movement of objects or people.

Typography: Typography is the art and technique of arranging type to make written language legible.

Mechanical: Mechanical animation is the process of creating realistic 3D renderings of diverse mechanical goods and their components' configurations, assemblies, and modes of operation.

Claymation: Claymation is like Stop Motion... But with clay.

And Traditional: Traditional is the classic version of Animation like what Cuphead is. These are the types of animations that some animators use for series and movies.

Software

These are the software that some animators use to make their projects like Opentoonz for animation, Audacity to record voices and to add music and SFX, Wonder unit for storyboarding and WeVideo for editing (+ these software's are free to download).

The Steps for Animation

Step 1: Script writing-You need to write a script first so people can know what they're doing and what to say.

Step 2: Storyboarding-You need to make a storyboard so your animation can flow, this is a very important process.

Step 3: Recording-You need to record to make your characters speak, + the scripts will help the person whose voicing.

Step 4: Animating-You need to animate the scenes that were on the storyboard like animating your characters, shading them, coloring them and drawing a background.

Step 5: Editing-After you're done with all of those things, it is time to edit. You need to edit your animation to make it very good.

Making Your own Character

If you want to make an animated series, you need to create a character of your own.

Step 1: References Sheet-This is a References sheet; a Reference sheet is something that reflects your character and has its information, details and how it supposed to look.

Step 2: Color your Character-Your character needs to have color and shades (I mean it doesn’t color or shades I mean it’s your choice).

Step 3: Roles-Your character needs to have a role. A role is when someone has their own things like your character has over a million jobs or they have a positive attitude.

The Plot of Your Animation series

Animated series have plots and what it’s about! Like, Helluva Boss! It's about demon assassins from Hell killing people in the human realm for business, that's the plot of the story, you want people to enjoy and understand the work you put in not have them confused and hate it (we don’t want that to happen, do we?)

Equipment

You need Animation equipment to make your animation like a pro, kind of.

1^st you need to buy yourself a computer and download software for animation.

2^nd you need a drawing tablet, I prefer you to buy a cheap tablet if you're on a budget, if you're not! Then buy the ones with a screen.

3rd you also need to buy a microphone if you want to voice your character without anybody hearing the noises in the background except hearing your voice.