Animating my little clown subject was beyond fun, especially navigating Toon Boom. It felt so much smoother than Blender, with the necessary tools easier to locate. Finding resolutions to the software was quicker as it is used on a wider scale.
I had created my basic background on Procreate as it seemed much quicker to work from a reference I already had, than freehanding the linework. However, when importing this into Toon Boom, the scale was completely different to my character and trying to upscale it was unsuccessful. As such, I decided to freehand some extra shadows and thicker line work, and I believe it worked exceptionally well and even looks better than the original. Drawing the fish and other underwater scenery was done freehand, and it took forever to draw, but I’m incredibly proud of the outcome. I’m not completely happy with how it runs when I watch it back; it seems like the internet is interfering due to visual glitches, and it could have been created with a smoother transition between frames.
Next time, I will create fewer layers, as I believe I packed the software with too much information to digest. I will also begin to consider the whole body in reference to movements. Even though my character does move, I focused on particular limbs and made that section as smooth as possible without acknowledging any other area, and thus, they look stiff and robotic.
Adding colour was tedious but a lot less stressful than animating. I liked bringing it all together with a beautiful colour palette. I worked from my mood boards and my original colour palette for my character design. Using this as a base point, my other colour choices began to make sense and blend well together.
Leave a Reply