Animation and Video Life

Dr. Metal and Mr. Robotix. Starting up a one person, independent animation studio, creating an original series, seems like a daunting task but this article's featured animator, Ray Hohnecker, shows that if you just keep the animation simple, and focus on story, you can still create something extremely engaging that keeps viewers coming back for more. Originally Ray sent me the fifth (and latest) episode of his animated series, The Adventures of Dr. Metal and Mr. Robotix . I was so interested in the premise and humor that I went back to the first episode to see how things began, enjoying that episode so much, I watched the next, and the next.  All you really need to know is that Dr. Metal is an evil genius and inventor plotting world domination.  Watch episode one below. If you enjoyed the humor as much as I did you'll want to view further episodes right now. The full playlist  is on Ray's Manta Team Studios Channel on YouTube. To find out more about Ray, Manta Team Studi...

Preparing images for animation with Photoshop Express. If you're like me, when you hear the name Adobe, you immediately start thinking about cheaper, non subscription based, alternative software. Regardless of how you feel about Adobe subscriptions, there's no denying their actual software is really good. Particularly Photoshop which is as much a verb as it is a photo editing/artist tool. Adobe Photoshop Express is a free, cloud based photo editor, that gathers together a select few of Photoshop's most useful photo editing features for you to use as much as you like. You will have to sign up for a free Adobe Account to unlock all of its features but you will not be billed for anything or be funnelled into any kind of paid plan. You'll just see the occasional Adobe ad as you use Photoshop Express. [Note: The web based version of this app no longer exists and has been replace with a free mobile app version with similar capabilities. Click here for more information ]. Th...