Animation Equipment - What Do You Need to Create Animations

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What animation equipment do you need to become an animator? Animation has arguably never been more popular. Animation has gone a long way since the first Disney movie! Every year, the number of animated films and animation companies appears to grow. Animation can be found in a variety of settings, including television, film, and advertising.

Let’s take a look at everything you’ll require to get started. It’s time to get started with drawing and animation.

Animation Equipment for Getting Started

Colored Pencils

You might want to draw building lines as you draw on paper. Many comic books and animation artists use colored pencils to create their construction lines. Colors are frequently employed because they are simpler to discern from the final lines, which are grey or black. When deleting the building lines digitally, colors become much more useful. Computer programs can more easily determine which lines to erase and which to maintain by using colors like red or blue.

You’ll want to purchase specific types of colored pencils. Of course, if you don’t want to use graphite pencils for everything, you can invest in alternative drawing instruments. Pastel, poster paints, watercolors, felt tips, and other mediums can be used to animate.

Transparent Sheets

As previously said, traditional animation necessitates a large number of drawings. You’ll require these for each frame. The more sheets or cells you use, the longer your animation will be.

You may make it using white printer paper as well, but the thinner the better. You should also consider purchasing a lightbox. You should ideally work on cels. These are acetate sheets, similar to those used with overhead projectors. Cels, on the other hand, can be costly.

A Camera or Scanner

After you’ve completed the drawings, you’ll want to order and play them back. You must first scan them before you can proceed. Scanning is more convenient than photographing them. Scan each frame and remember to number and organize them. You don’t want to have to browse through hundreds of drawings and manually order them!

You can snap images of your drawings if you don’t have a scanner but do have a nice camera. Make sure you snap the photos from the same distance and perspective as well, so they match up better.

Video Editing Software

You must create an animation out of your drawings or photographs. Adobe Premiere is recommended for creating this animation. Animations can also be created using video editing tools.

However, Adobe requires a subscription. Other tools are available, but the Adobe suite is the most popular and comes highly recommended.

Rostrum Camera

The rostrum camera is used to photograph animation cels. It’s a platform with a downward-facing camera that may be mounted. This enables you to swiftly swap out drawings without repositioning the camera. It enables smoother animation because all of the images of the drawings are shot from the same distance and angle.

However, these are quite pricey. A studio-grade rostrum camera might cost you thousands of dollars. This is not something for everyone’s budget.

Stop-motion Tools

Stop-motion animation is a type of traditional animation that use actual 3D models. CGI has largely superseded this approach. Stop-motion animation is commonly done using modeling clay, but it may also be done with dolls, lego, or anything else practical.

Animation equipment for Modern Animation

Animation techniques have evolved dramatically in recent years. We’ve gone a long way since the days of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Almost every blockbuster animation is now done in 3D with CGI, and while it was initially more expensive, new tools and technology have made the process easier.

A Good Computer

A good computer is required whether you are doing 2D or 3D animation using your computer. Animators require machines with powerful graphics cards. They’ll also require a substantial quantity of RAM.

Animation Programs

You can utilize good animation applications if you have a good computer. These programs let users draw on a computer and then digitally assemble the animation.

Here are some of the most popular 2D and 3D animation tools:

AutoDesk Maya
AutoDesk Softimage
Houdini
Aurora 3D Animation Maker
Adobe After Effects
Blender
Animation Paper
Moho
Pencil2D
Harmony
Houdoo
Animate CC

A Graphics Tablet

A graphics tablet, such as those manufactured by Wacom, allows the animator to draw directly into the computer without the need to scan their work. These tablets are popular among artists for drawing, art, animation, and graphic design, and there are models to suit all budgets. You only need to plug it into your computer to get started.

A Microphone

Unless you’re making silent films, you should consider investing in a microphone to record voices and sound effects for your cartoons. A decent microphone will produce high-quality audio. A directional microphone is ideal for recording voices, whilst a Zoom microphone is ideal for recording ambient noise.

Where to get the animation equipment?

The majority of digital tools are available from larger electronic stores and retailers. Computers, cameras, microphones, and other electronic devices are available. Art supplies, like acetate cels, can be more difficult to come by.

Don’t be afraid to ask store employees for guidance on which products are the greatest and which they would recommend. They not only sell erasers, pencils, felt-tip pens, and paints, but they also provide excellent advice. The same holds true for those who have studied animation at the university level.

Conclusion

Above is our list of the most important animation equipment that you need to become an animator. Animation, like drawing, technically only requires a few extra sheets of paper if you want to do anything that only lasts a few seconds. In general, animation requires up to 24 frames or drawings each second, therefore tons of paper would be required for an entire film.

It’s quite simple to get started in animation with very little. This will keep you busy for about an hour at first, but if you want to start with more intricate animation, you’ll need more than just paper and pencils.

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