Screen Project 2: Progress update & tips
This week, I am animating the first 2 scenes and familiarizing myself with the workflow. My established workflow has 4 stages: drawing in Procreate, organizing layers and creating video timeline in Photoshop, animating in After Effects, and adding finishing touches along with audio in Premiere Pro. Working across 4 applications is a lot to handle, but I found this process helps with keeping the footage organized and the file size as small as possible.
After some trial and error, I have compiled some useful tips that should help to create the next scenes much faster. In the beginning, I drew objects that move in the same direction on the same layer. Later, I couldn’t animate those objects because they shared a single anchor point. I then had to redraw everything that moves on separate layers. This approach resulted in easy adjustment and smooth motions. I can copy and paste motion paths between layers while still being able to alter the anchor points and properties of each object.
Aside from working with motion paths, I began to play around with effects in After Effects, and one of which was CC Bend it. I used this effect to make the trees bend, but I also learned that it could be used to create motions like nodding, headbanging, waving, etc. For this project, I will try to be as mindful of effect choices as possible. Although I love experimenting with countless effects, this project already appears to be time-consuming, so I would not want to get carried away.
At the moment, the only movement I have drawn by hand is the head turn. It took me a whole day yet it lasted 3 seconds. The most significant lesson I learned regarding drawing motion is to sketch it first. In this case, it made visualizing the hair flow and the body turn much easier. If I had tried to draw the actual character first, I would have had to redraw the hair and the face every time I wanted to change the motion, which would have been inefficient. All things considered, I am enjoying the process a lot and hoping to finish the video on time.
