Okay, I was just kidding about it being a patent pending, Fifteen (15) Steps. But, this is what I have discovered over my years as a creative. Even an investor myself, to others who were looking for enlightenment.

On a side note, before delving deeper into what I have to say, check out what BUZZFEED posted about animators. (15 of them to be exact)  I’m getting better at being patient. So, I’ll wait until you return. Even Essence Cartoon has their animation workflow that they follow. While I finish the next two paragraphs, feel free to go (Here) and read about them.

Cue On Hold and Waiting Music…

Music is still playing…

Are you ready to proceed? I know I am. So, here we go. Ways to get funding. You’ll need a few additional items. First. A small bucket or large rubber boot. A small bucket or large rubber boot. Visual aids (possibly, your storyboards). Small sandwiches and a drink. This will help keep up your strength. Food will fuel you, assisting to keep you on the creative path. Stand outside a theater, mall or even a busy street corner, a catchy chant could assist in getting attention and then, start watching the money roll in.

Now, if you actually get your funding that way. I’ll give you determination credit. Kickstarter, IndieGoGo, Patreon and even networking with friends or business contacts, was what I was referring to. These aforementioned are crowdfunding options. What is crowdfunding? Well, let me put it simply.

Crowdfunding is pitching a project to the public via the internet. People view your project. If they find it intriguing, they can choose different funding levels, you can set up then they donate to the project. Be prepared, in this world, not everyone like to give away their money. Crowdfunding projects usually give back to backers, perks or trinkets that will entice people to donate even more to the budget.

As you do move forward, great rewards. Remember that. One important factor, allow as many patrons, a way at the lowest possible cost to you, to get a digital download of the project. Animation must be seen in motion. Remember that, please.

Kickstarter and IndieGoGo are straight crowdfunding. You create a project. Get people interested. When successful, funding is given to create it. If not (but that is not why you are here, to fail, right?) no-one loses any money. Providing updates will keep them wanting more. Please don’t wait on the updates. People like to see progress, especially, in the case of milestone  give a reasonable date for completion.

One never knows from one day to the next, what it will bring. Life can be hard but never give up. Keep developing those creative ideas. BUT, don’t create such a great idea that you get the funding and take time even a couple of years to deliver that project. The average person will not stand for it. Be the better person and deliver a great project on time. Consider software for animation production by Toon Boom Animation Software, the makers of (Harmony and Storyboard Pro), just to name a couple.

One person I was able to get a few questions in to was Chance Raspberry. His project, Little Billy, the world’s first and only animated series about neurodiversity, special needs, and the power of being different (created by a Simpsons animator with Tourette Syndrome!)

Q: How did you approach crowdfunding to your project(s)?

A: Due to all the interference, delays, rules, and limitations of traditional pitching to networks or executives (the “old-fashioned” way), I knew crowdfunding was the best way to go for a project like mine the demands a certain level of creative control, freedom, honesty, sincerity, and quality. I wanted my vision to maintain its form, message, and purpose, so I knew I would have to create its beginnings myself with funds from fans.

Once I decided to launch the first Kickstarter for Little Billy, I took some great advice from a great friend and made up my mind to put everything else on hold – you have to make your campaign the entire project and give it 100% focus if you want to ensure its success; just like a full-time job.

Q: What avenues did you consider first, second, third?

A: I was originally planning to pitch first and try anything else second. I spent years trying to get my Little Billy project to a “finished enough” state to pitch it because in the animation/entertainment industry, the common “rule” is that the more locked down a project is, the less likely it is to be changed from its original state.

If the network/studio/company you pitch to likes it for what it is, they’ll likely want to work with you to maintain what they like about it. What I eventually learned is that it’s also MUCH harder to sell a show or get a deal if your project is too locked down because the people paying to have it made (the people you pitch to) want to be involved and in control of every phase/aspect of the project’s growth, process, and progress.

It’s part enthusiasm, part ego, part self-preservation, and part fear. No one wants something they supported to fail (especially if their name is tied to it). So, the need to control or decide most/all things kicks in and if you’re not very careful. You can wind up having your idea become someone else’s or selling a show.

This is where lose all your copyrights and ownership of it. And to even most likely to have it shelved and never made. All these pitfalls are what finally drove me to make crowdfunding my first choice. Rather than it being my backup or last resort. With crowdfunding, you can literally avoid ALL these problems and make the project you and your fans actually want – your way!

Q: Was it a good experience or were there obstacles in your way to funding, if so, what were some examples of them?

A: Crowdfunding is an amazingly POSITIVE experience! It does come with challenges just like anything else, but none of them outweigh the benefits of calling your own shots with crowdfunding – at least for me. Most good examples of these challenges are unforeseen delays with product/reward fulfillment, confused or impatient backers (which is no one’s fault and can happen to anyone), etc.

Despite these obstacles, I highly recommend crowdfunding for anyone who loves to create.  It has high standards for personal creative freedom and quality. Nothing ismore fulfilling than for an independent artist and the creation of their own independent economy to sustain themselves!

Chance’s Campaign, which is headed down the final stretch can be found, here. LittleBilly.com

Patreon is crowdfunding. But in a different way. Think way back to The Renaissance, say Florence, Italy, to be specific. Persons like Leonardo DA Vinci, Donatello and Michelangelo, to name a few. Wealthy families would contract or give patronage to these artists. It would help fund and sustain them while they produced works of art or projects for the public or even just the patrons themselves. They would look in and see how their money is being spent and enjoy what was being produced.

Well, in the digital age, it’s basically the same with Patreon. Patrons don’t need to leave their homes, if they don’t want. It’s delivered to their own homes via email or “LIVE BROADCASTS” from an artist’s studio. With Patreon, levels of patronage, will grant or unlock what the patrons will see or receive in return for their generosity.

And if and when, enough people flock to your project, you just might get that mighty project completed.

Don’t wait. Go out and create. I’ll even wait to hear from any of you on what was accomplished.

The post Crowdfunding: Finding Investors appeared first on essencecartoon.

But first, what is a storyboard? It is a series of drawn panels that show the various aspects of an animated or live-action filmed sequence. For today’s purpose, I’m sticking with animation. From close-ups and camera movements, to special effects and character dialog, it is here that entire productions are produced before committing to any final work on a project. It could prove costly in the end if any sequence goes wrong (i.e. cut for time, problems arise, just doesn’t work or a multitude of other reasons).

In this case, Storyboard Pro is the solution.

This software helps anyone from amateurs to professionals layout their animated projects in a manner that will put their minds at ease. In this case, I will classify myself as “the aspiring storyboard artist” and will point out some “professionals” who have and will use this software for their creative projects.

Okay, it is time to be straight-forward with the readers of this article. For those of you who have read both INTRO articles, for Storyboard Pro and Harmony, for this one particular paragraph you might be experiencing deja vu. In this space would have been a couple of quotes from a talented animator/storyboard artist but he was called back to the drawing board. Literally. And he could not participate in this article at this time. But I am holding this spot when he will be available. I respect his abilities, time and talent. So, when he can and he will, I will update this article and place his thoughts here. Thank you for your patience in this matter, I now return you to your regularly scheduled reading on this subject.

I will admit I have not met any of the creators of the following shows I shall be pointing out but this list is quite impressive. From SpongeBob SquarePants, Bob’s Burgers, Family Guy, Archer, The Simpsons, South Park, Rick and Morty & even Hannibal (I sideswiped and slipped in a live-action show), storyboarding is essential when plotting out the story, gags, camera shots and pacing of a show. I have watched all of the TV shows over my years and I will say I have watched each and every one of these series (maybe not every single episode). And when I needed software like StoryBoard Pro, I can appreciate why these shows used this software.

Now, sit down and relax for a few minutes while I extrapolate some key features of the software. Are you comfy? Let me begin then. I will not ramble on. I’ll make them short and sweet, so you can spend your time using the software yourself.

Importing scripts make it easy to annotate dialogue in the panels, audio (albeit, scratch tracks or final audio) tracks and other Image files that will make up each panel.

Layers allow for the versatility to combine 2D drawings with 3D images or backgrounds, to give an extra layer of depth.

The drawing tools react naturally and are responsive to the user whether using a graphics tablet or a Cintiq. The drawing tools include brushes of all styles and are customizable. There is also easy color insertion/alteration and replacement of characters and objects created for the project.

Project management is a breeze with all the tools, layers and formats for exporting at your fingertips.

Outputting the completed animatics is easy. Editing camera angles, panels and timing are trouble-free so that it doesn’t bottle-neck you down during production.

Stream-lined, easy to access tools help creatives create without getting bogged down with having to learn all of the tools and menus just to get started on a project.

With a package like this, a storyboard artist never has to leave StoryBoard Pro, since it has all the tools one needs to start and finish the storyboard project. I know I’ll be using this, guaranteed. Okay, #BRADYtheBETTA, ready to get animated?

The post Part One: StoryBoard Pro: In The Beginning appeared first on essencecartoon.

But, first, what is animation? It is the concept of bringing still images to produce the effect of movement, or as some, if not all, in the industry say, the illusion of life. Series of drawings, which when filmed in succession, and replayed, bring forth action. When creating this illusion, I will have to point out a book; some call THE book for helping to create animation. It is called Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life, written by Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas. They were Two of Walt Disney’s “Nine Old Men,” master animators who put together this great book that to this day is used as a reference and overall book to thumb through over and over. I know I wore out one copy and had to buy another as it almost fell apart in my hands from use. Okay, I got sidetracked. But I will add, if one is interested in doing digital animation all of the principles discussed in this book would be beneficial and should be on your shelf as a reference, regardless if doing 2D or 3D animation.

I have watched an impressive amount of hours of animation, and I am discovering more and more every day. With software, such as Harmony, and the help content online that can be found in this digital age, those hours increase, let’s me start with a thousandfold (Estimates could be much more). With a list of studios that utilize Harmony, it is mind boggling at the hours of content that they generate. The likes of FOX, Dreamworks, Film Roman, Nelvana, Metro Goldwyn Mayer, Universal, Lucasfilm, Ltd. Cartoon Network and Disney, have integrated this software into their daily workflow. And with these names on the list of users, it rates highly as an “industry standard piece of software.”

Okay, it is time to be straight-forward with the readers of this article. For people who have read both INTRO articles for Storyboard Pro and Harmony, this is one particular paragraph where you might be experiencing deja vu. In this space would have been a couple of quotes from a talented animator/storyboard artist but he was called back to the drawing board. Literally. And he could not participate in this article at this time. But I am holding this spot when he will be available. I respect his abilities, time and talent. So, when he can and he will, I will update this article and place his thoughts here. Thank you for your patience in this matter, I now return you to your regularly scheduled reading on this subject.

Harmony, software that brings together all of these aspects of traditional animation plus a multitude and more digital features and puts it into one animation package that is powerful yet easy enough to use for any scale project.

Harmony has an elegant User Interface and Tools. Sketching is as if you had a traditional animation desk with peg board disks (which can be digitally rotated) like that at classic studios of Disney Animation or Warner Brothers. Draw in layers help you simulate the flipping of sheets in an onion-skin interface to animate. Multi-plane and Camera Moves create amazing sequences all done within the software. Effects can be applied, enhancing the look of animation once initial sequences are done, to give it that extra flair of design. Rendering in popular formats gives it that full professional quality your project deserves. You can export formats to all popular viewing standards. Pipeline Integration allows for movement through the entire project that won’t cause a backlog because one part can’t handle the output.

And with a package like this, the animator doesn’t have to worry about needing multiple software to complete their creation. Here is where I’ll be getting into a groove and getting the movement I need to bring #BRADYtheBETTA to life.

Okay. What I meant to say was to give #BRADYtheBETTA, the finesse he so deserves for his animation debut.

Well, I better get back to the drawing board. The digital drawing board and draw some life into this smart aleck fish.

So long for now.

The post Part Two: Harmony: A Novice Approach To Animation appeared first on essencecartoon.