Getting Animated Again

Getting Animated Again - TET News

I've been on an extended break from this blog (and pretty much everything I do in the way of creating my own new content) not by choice but because I've been very busy in my Animation Business. I'm certainly not complaining about that but, for me at least, there does come a point in creating animations for clients where all my energy has to go into getting the best result for my client - even if it means cutting back on everything else I do.

Fortunately the work has eased up a little and I feel I can get back into, what I hope will be, regular weekly posts to this blog again. I thought I'd begin with a post about what's coming up that I would like to blog about as well as an update on projects I started but have yet to complete.

Firstly, all the paid work has allowed me to purchase quite a few software packages that I'm sure readers of this blog would like me to review including:

Serif DrawPlus X5 - Vector drawing and animation.
Serif MoviePlus X6 - Video Editing.
Anime Studio Pro 9 - Animation

I've also mentioned Crazy Talk Animator Pro as software I use quite often but have yet to review it. As well I've been playing around with Xtranormal's State Software (now known as Xtranormal Desktop), the downloadable version of their online 3D animation software - which I think is well worth a look.

The major project that I announced (and thought I'd be releasing the first part of by now, if not part 2) was episode 2 of my GoAnimate series, Bat Storm. Unfortunately, after writing the script for part 1 and starting to animate the opening scenes, everything went on hold. I do hope to get back to it though and, at the very least, release the first part before the end of the year.

Previously in this blog I started a project to animate some of my own office people characters with Crazy Talk Animator. The project stalled because I've really had a difficult time learning the software. Particularly when it comes to creating vector art characters in Crazy Talk because the process isn't quite as simple as photographic, cut out style characters. However after studying many tutorials I think I know enough to continue in the near future.

As part of a job for client I started to animate a rejected Owl character in Koolmoves for my own interest - and because I thought the rejected Owl looked better than the one the client went with. The character will eventually become available for the community on GoAnimate once I give it a few more actions. Presently he can stand and talk to camera. I previewed the owl on my Facebook page but you can see him in the image above.

I haven't released any new GoAnimations other than this very short animated writing hand prop that I created for use with GoAnimate's newest business theme called 'Stickly business'. As you can guess the theme is based on stylized stick figures but it also features a number of human hand wipe transitions and prop placements. I wanted a hand that could write and this was the result...

TETs Writing Marker Hand by etourist on GoAnimate

Animation Software - Powered by GoAnimate.

The only other animation I've made public (beyond business animations) is this animated short (below) I created of my Frog Van to introduce the first of my video updates on how the project was progressing. It was created with Crazy Talk Animator Pro. The background is my actual house where the real van is parked and yes, that's me doing the voice of the van.

Some time in the future I'm going to put together an animated web series that features myself, the Frog van, my dog, Oscar, and maybe even my partner Enigma (if I can talk her into being involved). The series will be of our animated adventures (not necessarily taken from our real lives but at least inspired by them).

I'm sure it sounds a bit egotistical to create a series based on myself but they do say you should create stories about what you know... and it's sure easier to voice myself than to have to find people to do voices for me. However that's a fair way off yet.

I think I'll leave it here for now, suffice to say I have a number of GoAnimations in various states of being worked on that may or may not also make an appearance in this blog if and when I finish them. So... there's lots to look forward too.

Eight 2D Animation Apps For Your Phone or Tablet Mobile Device

M obile productivity apps have become so capable that they can be great alternatives to their PC/MAC equivalents or serve as great tools in their own right when you're away from your desk. While some apps simply mimic their desktop counterparts, others offer well thought out, touch-friendly interfaces that are easier and more fun to use. Every so often I check out what's available for 2D animation for Android devices, since that's what I use, that can complement my workflow with Reallusion's Cartoon Animator 5. Some may be available for Apple devices as well. Below I've listed six free (F) apps (with optional paid (P) upgrades) on the Google Play Store that you might want to explore. Some are just fun apps on their own while others may be useful as part of your workflow on bigger animation projects. Not all are exclusively animation apps and could be used on any production. JotterPad (F/P) The name JotterPad makes this sound like a notepad application but it's ...

OpenArt Versus Dzine: AI Consistent Character Training Compared

TET2d Avatar Image created with Dzine . R egular readers of Animation and Video Life will be familiar with my alter ego, 2D avatar character, TET, who is both the face of The Lazy Animator Cartoon Animator Tutorials, and is currently part of my Resident Dragon joke cartoon series. It is my goal to use him as an animated avatar for both my Lazy Animator video courses and my Cartoon Animator tutorials that you'll find on my @AnimLife YouTube channel . Unfortunately I don't have the time to animate him for every single project. Even with Cartoon Animator's time-saving workflow I wouldn't be able to produce animated content quick enough. Which is why advances in AI animation is something that is increasingly more interesting to me each day. Consistent Characters Before we get there I have to overcome one of the biggest hurdles in AI I've come across... reproducing my art style consistently. I don't want an approximation of my characters, I want my characters looki...

Inochi2D - Free Open Source 2D VTuber Avatar Rigging and Puppeteering Software (Part 1)

Inochi2D Creator - Free Open Source VTuber Software. If you've been looking for a way to live perform as a 2D cartoon avatar on camera, whether it be for a live stream or for pre-recorded content like educational videos, then VTuber software is a low cost (or even no cost) option worth looking into. In my previous post, How to Become a VTuber - 2D and 3D Software for Creating and Controlling Your Avatar , I took a brief look at the relatively new but completely free and open source Inochi2D which I thought showed great potential for my own needs of creating a live performance character rig for my own TET Avatar that I use for all my promotional materials. While it is possible to live perform my character using Cartoon Animator itself, Reallusion's MotionLive2D capture system isn't great - with lip sync in particular. More importantly though, I can't exactly teach people how to use Cartoon Animator if I'm using Cartoon Animator to control my Avatar. What is Inochi2D...

Creating an AI Digital Avatar and Voice Clone of Myself with Free and Low Cost AI Tools

O ver the years I've looked at various ways of creating and animating a digital avatar, from simply creating a character for Cartoon Animator and voicing and animating it myself, to creating a live motion capture ready Vtuber avatar puppeted and voiced by me in real-time. In the last year or so, making photographic images talk, using AI and AI voice cloning has really progressed. To the point where I wondered if I could create a photographic AI avatar of myself, complete with my cloned voice, that I might use on some of my videos? Creating My Avatar: Artflow To create my avatar image, as far as I'm concerned, Artflow.ai is the best value AI site for creating consistent digital characters (or 'actors' as Artflow calls them). That's pretty much their entire focus. Artflow's actor model training user interface. You get your first actor for free, 100 free credits per month (which equates to 100 still images per month - get an additional 50 credits if you sign...

Create 2D Animated Characters with 3D Character Creator Tools and Artistic Filters

3D CC3 TET Character, based on my Oppa Doll Avatar, used as the base for a 2D CA4 character. One of my favorite things to do is to create characters with any type of Avatar/Character creator app. In fact the first test I usually try with these tools is, can I make an avatar of me (or at least my The Extraordinary Tourist persona). Previously I've used 2D character creators like Oppa Doll as a source of artwork for some characters I've made for Reallusion's Cartoon Animator 4 animation studio but 2D character creators are limited to... well 2D. 3D Character Creators While you may think 3D character creators have no place in creating characters for 2D animation there are quite a number of advantages including: No drawing skills required. Render characters in any style. Use an art filter or even hand trace into line art. Need to animate the character in a specific pose or angle? Render out an image of the character in the required angle and animate it in 2D. Quicker to crea...

Artbreeder - Using AI created Character and Background Content in your Animations

A selection of User/AI generated images from Artbreeder. If you're looking for an endless supply of 2D character and background images for your animations then Artbreeder , an online Artificial Intelligence (AI) that generates image mash-ups you can tweak as much as you like, could be the ultimate content library. What is Artbreeder? Artbreeder is free to use though there are various paid plans, that give you additional features, such as higher resolution download images or more settings to play with. All images created on the site are Public Domain (CC0 License) and can be used in commercial projects. Using Artbreeder's online app you can generate head shot portraits, full body characters, landscapes, and other scenes simply by choosing two or more existing images to mash together then, using a series of sliders, to select which traits from each image you wish to lean toward in the final image. Photo Comparison - Top is my original uploaded photo. Bottom is Artbreeder's ap...

Moho 14 Released - Still the Best 2D Animation Software for Indy Animators on a Budget

Moho 14 Released. Regular readers know I am a Reallusion, Cartoon Animator advocate through and through. Hands down I would recommend Cartoon Animator 5 first over Lost Marble's Moho 14 to anyone who is just starting in 2D animation, is a team of one, or just needs to animate as quickly as possible. However, feature for feature, Moho is, arguably, the best 2D animation software for the rest of us who can't justify a Toon Boom Harmony , or Adobe Creative Cloud subscription (and even with their applications Moho is very competitive on features). You can get started with Moho Debut for just USD$59.99 which is a cut down version of Moho Pro but it still has the most essential features needed for 2D animation. While Moho Pro is a whopping USD$399.99 (Cartoon Animator, which only has one version, is just USD$149.00) upgrades to new version numbers come down to a quarter of the price at USD$99.00. Even though Reallusion just released features like Motion Pilot Puppet Animation and...

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