Animation

Thank you for sharing, Laurie Ashbourne! Are you coming to AFF? Looking forward to seeing you and catching up, if so!

Thanks for your post. By the way I a wanna jump to this occasion for congratulate the adolescence scriptwriters and the young Jamie... In fact, the young Jamie is in the center of the success of this serie. Zithout doubting, he's the future of the cinema. I see him like Leonardo Dicaprio... He's sensible, natural. He doesn't force anything.

Thank you for your suggestions, my dear.

Started downloading a few to read this weekend.

Thanks for sharing Leonardo Ramirez 2 - you're the best!

You're very welcome my friend Cyrus Sales - hope you're doing well.

Thanks for sharing the video, Ashley Renee Smith. Studying animal movements and keeping them in mind while animating and writing are helpful.

Ah yes, I remember these exercises all too well. I have not done a quadruped walk in a while. I need to get back to practicing.

I have a series of exercises I teach on this. looking at reference video (such as Muybtidge studies) can help as well. Although you often find animal movements that “break the rules”, like a dog stepping off on the opposite foot, or giraffes, who do two left, then two right.

Thanks for sharing Ashley Renee Smith. I'm going to share this video with our animation team. While I don't personally do the animating, from the conversations I've had with the animators the hardest part to maintain is body mechanics consistent and the line work from artist to artist.

Hi, Julie Williams-Nash. Where were you trying to submit Little Odds?

Yes indeed. I wondered did it mean all UPPER CASE but that seemed, well, odd. I wondered if it was a technical term that I wasn't familiar with in terms of 'concept creation' perhaps.

Julie Williams-Nash, I wish I could tell you. Everything I submit is improper. Just ask my parole officer.

=D

Oh sorry Maurice - I just re-read your message - it was Sony Pictures Network - an online concept submissions portal - https://www.sonypicturesnetworks.com/storyteller/ - but on re-reading the T&Cs I've decided not to submit after all

Long Story Short looks funny, Pat Alexander. I'm looking forward to watching it and BoJack Horseman! I've been thinking about turning one of my short scripts into an adult animated series, and I got some ideas for the series watching the video. Thanks for sharing it.

Thanks for sharing the article, Bob Harper. I didn't know "Producers have shifted focus to test-running children’s IP on YouTube before investing in full series production or creating content for other digital outlets."

kids play roblox and watch youtube.

Maurice Vaughan I've read a few article on stage 32 where this has become a thing. Makes me wonder if it would be beneficial to build a following for an animation prior to attempting to pitch it.

I think that's a great idea, Cyrus Sales!

Was it animated with AI too?

Bob Harper thank you!

Wyman Brent let me know if you'd like to be apart of our newsletter, we share behind the scenes, tips and process flow with our community :)

Rick Wheeler no sir. The most AI we used was Chatgpt to create the prompt, from that point forward there was a creative actively working each role.

Cyrus Sales, of course I want to take part in your newsletter.

Thanks for sharing Mike Boas. I feel like it might be easy to gloss over this article but I do think every creative should read this and understand what's happening. I'll be candid, I knew steam boat mickey hit the public domain and my understanding was it was now free for anyone to use. I did not think about what this meant for commercial use. I'm interested in how the court will approach this matter.

You can think of After Effects as Photoshop with a timeline.

I don't have many samples to share, as I am primarily using Nuke, but I made the title sequence for this in AE (the TOC in the description lists all software I used for that documentary, though that is mainly for 3D rather than 2D character animation):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75dJW3teHHk

You can do pretty much anything in AE, and this video shows some good examples:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zy8N_Tpnx-U

As AE is widely used, you should be able to find a ton of free tutorials on YouTube.

Rick Wheeler This sounds like an exciting adventure and learning experience. I personally haven’t worked in that style, but I’ve posted several After Effects videos in the Post Production Lounge that might help you along the way. Please keep us updated on your progress—I’d love to see what you create.

Hadrien Hein welcome to stage 32. I'm an audio engineer and co-owner of an animation and post production company. I originally started with film and photography, but went back to school for audio engineer then partner with the co-owner for animation. Things have changed a lot since I first got started about 10+ years. It honestly depends on what area of the industry you are looking at to see how much of a change has (or has not) been made. I do wish you the best on your journey! Definitely check out the links Maurice Vaughan shared. Helped me a lot when I first got started.

I love shonen, action in animation is absolute art! Welcome Hadrien Hein

Thank you, I hope we could work together!

I've been in the business for almost three decades, and now it's all about creating your own content and brand, as well as learning a variety of skills. Back in the day, it was just about specializing in a skillset and finding steady work. But, studio greed and AI have kinda destroyed the old way. Good luck!

Oh ok, you mean that we need to be more versatile and creative than the machine, right? Thank you, good luck to everyone

Here’s a character-level application of the Mantid Expression System. This is Vedran rendered with the eye arcs applied — testing how the design language works once embedded in a fully realized character rather than just on a grid.

If you look closely, you’ll notice a structural detail in the mouth: the two lateral mandibles meet at the center of the upper lip, while a third, lower mandible rises to form the chin. Together, these create a “locked jaw” mechanism — the lateral mandibles cupping around the lower to form a stable surface for speech. The result is something like a natural mouthpiece: alien in structure, but capable of nuanced, legible expression when paired with the ember-eye arcs.

Does the expression feel emotionally legible here? Curious how it reads to fresh eyes.

Yes, I really feel the expression of your character Adam.

Koby Nguyen Thank you tremendously for the feedback and for taking the time to respond. It means a lot to me. It’s nice to connect with you.

Adam Spencer, thank you for sharing your process so openly. I also appreciate that you’re thinking ahead to animation pipeline compatibility.

Ashley Renee Smith, thank you for your kind words and for the way you continue to nurture the Animation Lounge community. Your presence makes these conversations feel both supported and purposeful.

For us, the path forward really depends on medium. In high-fidelity CGI, designs need to lean a little more anthropomorphic—otherwise we risk uncanny dissonance that keeps audiences from connecting. In 2D or more stylized animation, though, we can push deeper into mantid forms, where their alien qualities become part of the poetry.

The expression system we’re building—the “Ember Eye” and “Mandible Protocol”—is flexible enough to serve both. They’re designed to translate emotion whether subtle and human-readable or boldly insectoid.

Here’s an example leaning toward the stylized direction, where light and form work together to keep the mantid essence.

I think making the story and characters relatable to the British audience, writing about issues that British people face and issues they've faced, and writing about things British people find funny, Ashley Renee Smith.

Absolutely, that’s such a great point. Relatability is everything, Maurice Vaughan, whether it’s humor, conflict, or cultural references, rooting a story in the lived experiences of the audience makes all the difference. British storytelling has such a rich history of nuance, wit, and social commentary.