Top 3 Animation Tips for Beginners and Beyond

Top 3 Animation Tips for Beginners and Beyond

Animation Increases Views

In today’s media world, it seems everything visual has movement. I’m told that movement even increases views, clicks and shares. I’m a motion designer, so I’m not up to speed on the latest media research. However, what I have learned by being a self-taught animator, I’m going to share here.

1. Begin with a solid foundation

Most animation work begins with static designs, photographs or illustrations. From there, movement and sequences can then be created. If you start off with great-looking still compositions, the motion aspect will fall in line better.

2. Use real life references

Even if what you are attempting to animate is going to be stylized or simplified, finding video footage of a certain movement will help. Recently I had to animate a water drop from the point where it forms on a surface to where it then detaches and falls. I found a video of this from the angle I wanted, and I scrubbed through it frame-by-frame in order to see what was actually going on so I could replicate something that worked.

3. Scrap ideas if they don’t work

Every project involves some level of experimentation. If you start out rough and don’t sink too much time into a sequence, you are more willing to ditch that idea if it ends up not working. Trust me, this happens a lot. There are certain things you don’t think about until all of the pieces start moving, and that may be the stage where you decide to change a specific movement or transition.

I guess there’s a 4th tip and that is: be patient. It’s easy to get frustrated, and that’s ok, because if you stick with it, you’ll end up with something you can be proud of.

Oliver GreenbargMotion Designer