Feasibility test in Toonboom and Procreate.
- Dan Evans
- Feb 23, 2023
- 2 min read
As part of the production process, I had to explore animation software to clarify which would best suit my project and my process in relation to both animating and clean-up. I first started with Toonboom as it is a leading industry software and to complete my project while gaining experience, knowledge and skills felt logical. The software was suitable for animating sequences concerning interface and navigation; however, I found it challenging to draw on. Whether this is due to a lack of experience animating, the software or drawing tablet has yet to be discovered. Although I was happy with the outcome, the process overall was frustrating to complete from an animation perspective.
Regarding clean-up, the selection of brushes within the software did not match the overall aesthetic and style I hoped to have achieved for the project, specifically the textures and mark-making capabilities used for the line work. I wanted to continue exploring other software, comparing both process and outcome, then conclude on what I believed to be the best way to approach the project's production. Another potential issue I had to consider was my accessibility to the software, specifically long-distance commuting to use the software and the finance to support each journey.
Having taken the abovementioned factors in this post, I explored Procreate as a possible way of animating my project. Procreate proved more sufficient concerning my ability and navigation to animate productively. I sketched out my characters’ poses and gestures and, once happy with the movement, focused on a more finalised version from a visual and aesthetic perspective. Its various brushes were also what I was looking for regarding mark-making capabilities and texture when doing the clean-up. The only issue that arose when animating was a limit on the number of frames I could use within a sequence, limiting my capacity to animate an entire sequence and therefore, having to separate the sequence into two Procreate files. However, despite this inconvenience, Procreate appeared to be the best viable option moving forward regarding animating and clean-up.
Once I had animated and cleaned up a shot, I decided to composite the animation in After Effects. I chose this software as I have previous experience using it and have a relatively good idea of its capabilities in relation to compositing. I wanted the background to have the same textured quality the animation had and therefore used charcoal brushes in Procreate. However, the environment felt bare, so I added a foreground using the same textures. My primary goal was for the animation and the environment to blend and complement each other while trying to achieve a grainy and traditional aesthetic.
This process enabled me to explore the best way to achieve the overall look for the project and although it isn’t exactly how I had initially envisioned it, it is as close to what I want to achieve. I think the downfall of using digital methods is that the visuals look too clean. Sometimes, giving an animated piece a traditional and messy look is difficult.
Feasibility test in Procreate and After Effects:
Animation Software Comparison:
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