Animation and Video Life

ComiPo is the Bitstrips of Manga Comic Creation. Whilst this software doesn't have a lot to do with video or animation it could be used as a storyboarding tool for your personal projects just because it's so easy to use and requires no drawing skills at all. I've always liked Manga and Anime style animation but I have no desire to actually learn how to draw these styles myself (much like my love of Marvel and DC comic book art which I have no interest in learning to emulate). But I would like to make Manga comics, just for fun. So when the opportunity to purchase ComiPo came about, at a seriously discounted price of US$29.95 instead of the already affordable $49.99, it only took one look at the software's demo video to convince me it was a great buy. Take a look yourself at the video below. What's most impressive about ComiPo is not just how versatile it is but also how easy it is to learn. You can pretty much be up and creating in less than 15 minutes a...

Cool Froyd , now simply known as Froyd because I think perhaps he hasn't quite earned his 'cool' yet, makes his second appearance in a brand new CrazyTalk Animator 2 cartoon. This time he's gone a little bit Roger Rabbit and crossed over into the world of live action footage. Watch the video below then I'll tell you a bit more about the behind the scenes stuff. All you need to know is that Froyd is still interested in getting his daily dose of coffee. Inspiration It's no secret I've found it difficult to decide how to use Froyd in a regular series animation. He doesn't have a lot of movement range because the character is essentially an animated painting. Originally I wanted to have him talking to camera sitting in front of his blue background based upon his actual painting as per my first Froyd animation . However that background felt very limiting and I began thinking about creating other backgrounds for Froyd. Quite by chance I was answ...

Animation Paper - WIP user interface. I've written about the free Plastic Animation Paper Software designed for creators of digital hand drawn animation before. Whilst the software technically never went away its creators did stop developing the software and eventually decided to give it away for free with no technical support. Now, almost two decades after they first developed PAP, the developers have decided to give the software an overhaul with a new name, user interface, and first up - a native Mac version (to be followed by Windows and iOS versions later). The new software will be called 'Animation Paper' and will retain most of the features that made old-PAP so good but with a much better, redesigned UI. No doubt it'll get some new features too but the goal is to retain the simplicity of the software that made it easy and fun to use. You can read more about the new look Animation Paper currently in development and the all new website - as well as discove...