Jade Irving: Process and Production (year 2) - After Effects

This process and production workshop was about creating motion using a series of images that when put together make the subject look like its moving. Before going to the workshop we were required to have drawn out a set of drawings that are positioned in the same place on each piece of paper.

In the previous workshop we were shown the video above for inspiration and a sense of what we would be doing in the next workshop; therefore from seeing this it was clear that were making the drawings move during the animation and may even appear to being drawn during the animation.

To begin with I needed to draw something basic that could be drawn multiple times; this would make up the 'boiling' image. It was noted that we required an odd number of pages as an even number wouldn't register with the viewer and appears to be an error instead of having a smooth movement; I recall that I used seven pages. I then scanned then into the computer and using photoshop I adjusted the levels etc to have a bigger contrast between the drawing and the paper. Also I made sure that each paper size was the same and aligned on top of each other to make the animation process a lot easier and smoother. Once I was happy I saved the images as low-res (72dpi) for the purpose of screen animation as large files can affect the speed of editing and processing.

The next stage was setting up the composition in After Effects which was the same as the usual; 25fps HD with the duration of 10 seconds. The audio is added first and then cut to where you want it; I chose to have a motown song but it was a song which fitted with the animation of drawing. When importing the images into the composition these were done as a 'Jpeg Sequence' so that the software knows to keep the files together.

Once the footage was in the composition I went to file > interpret footage > main and then set the frame rate to 25fps so that that it would match the compositions settings. I also slowed down the speed of the cycle as when you do hand drawn animations you need to slow them down so that 1 drawing lasts for two frames; and changed the loop to 50 to ensure that it would continue to go through the cycle throughout the whole 10 seconds.

The jpeg sequence then needs to be stretched so that it fills the whole timeline; to do this you need to open the stretch option and change the properties from 100% to 200%; in the process this slows the video down even more which helps when trying to work on a frame at a time.

To make the drawing look more at home in the animation I need to find a paper background which I sourced from online; the paper looks slightly discoloured to give it a worn look. On the Jpeg sequence layer change the setting to multiply so that the white background is removed with the black drawings still remaining; this helps to make drawings look like they are placed on the background rather than being two separate layers, making it seamless.

The next stage to is make the image seem as if it is 'drawing itself', to do this you use the pen tool to trace around the subject; please note that you leave the shape open as you only want the line to be affected rather than the whole area. This stage is repeated for each line that you may have. Also it is key to note that you must drawing the lines in the order you want them to appear so that the drawing will continue in one movement. To make the effect you need to go to effect > generate > select stroke on the shape layer. Stroke sequentially if ticked will make the strokes appear in the order you did them or un tick it for al of them to come on together. On the panel at the top change the colour and width of the line so it covers original image, then put play head to the beginning, click start stopwatch. Then change the end to 0% and drag the play head to where the image will stop being drawn and then change the value to 100% to add another stopwatch. Then change bottom drop down to the bottom option.

Overall I enjoyed the workshop as I learnt new skills in the duration such as making something look like its being drawn on; these skill will prove to be valuable in the future when working on projects either in university or in the industry. These new skills can also be taken forward to future workshops so that I am constantly building on my skills. Below is the screenshots of the process and the final outcome.