Video Animation Tips for the Aggressive Artist

Video Animation Tips for the Aggressive Artist

by Kelly Richardson
Animation School Review Columnist

The boundaries of video animation are constantly being tested and redrawn. As cutting-edge technologies turn computers into virtual easels, artists and animators are able to produce some pretty incredible creations.

Video Animation Tips: Creation

Whether you're new to the animation game or a seasoned veteran, you can never have too many tricks in your bag. There are a variety of ways that you can communicate a message visually without losing something in the translation. Here are some basic ideas to keep in mind as you begin the build-out portion of your project.

• Save Early, Often. Especially if you're working with Flash video animation software, make sure you repeatedly save files to avoid losing your work.
• Mix and Match. Try combining flat color vectors with photographic bitmaps to give your work texture, versatility, and differentiation throughout.
• Don't Overdo. When you're in the creation process, it's easy to go a bit overboard. Remember that your audience can only absorb so much.

Video Animation Tips: Presentation

On the presentation side, try to imagine your audience in the process of viewing your video animation. This will get you thinking and clicking like a true surfer.

• No Waiting. Always have an alternative animation during loading times.
• Small Files. Smaller video animation files will have a much shorter download.
• Get Feedback. Find out from colleagues and friends how they interacted with your creations.

Keeping these aggressive yet sensible video animation tips in mind will improve your work as a whole, and develop you as a true animation artist.

About the Author

Kelly Richardson covers the local education and technology scenes in major cities across the country. His articles appear in educational journals, periodicals, and e-zines.

Day of Silence (can you for one day lose your voice for those who will never have one)
Since January 22, 1973 over 48,000,000 babies have had their voices silenced through surgical abortion in this nation. Children in their mother's womb have been dehumanized. Over 4,000 children…

Voicey Awards Finalists Announced at Voices.com
Get ready to hit the red carpet of voice overs with the Voicey Awards finalists, some of the finest voice talent in the world. [PR.com - February 16, 2007]

Behind the Scenes

The Red Masque/Mask

The original Red Masque was Richard Gillespie, the cousin of Commissioner William Gillespie. Richard was a soldier of fortune who traveled the world. In one of his escapades in the China Sea he acquired a mysterious red cloth that he was compelled to wear. Tying it about his head he heard voices, the voices of all who wore the cloth before. It's previous owners were all seekers of justice. Richard made a mask of the cloth and returned to Victory City and helped his cousin gain appointment as commissioner by exposing corruption in the Steel Town government. William, grudgingly at first, aided his cousin.

Within a year William had himself donned the mask a few times at need. The cousins resembled each other enough to convince people there was only the single Masque. In addition to giving the wearer mental powers the mask allowed greater agility and strength. Richard died in a car crash in 1951. Gillespie would don the mask several times over the following decades. But realized the mask was causing him to become increasingly violent.

In 1999 Gillespie engaged in his final disastrous run in with the police while trying to save Sharon Longacre from being assaulted in Hero Park. Diving into the Canal he contracted pneumonia. Sharon Longacre was an aspiring advertising executive who was out jogging when she had her run in with the Masque. Gillespie was dying and decided that saving Longacre meant destiny had marked her as his successor. He had the mask sent to her.

The mask she received in the mail mystified Sharon. Eventually she wore it to a Halloween party. The voice of the mask explained its past to her and after a few weeks of training she became the new Red Mask. She was determined to restore the vigilante?s reputation. She has felt the compulsion of the mask to resort to lethal force but resisted it so far. This may in part be because she is the first female wearer of the mask.

 The Gillespie mansion was untenanted after William died. In 2001 Arthur Chester, a petty thief broke in. Wandering the dusty halls and searching for something valuable and light enough to steal he was drawn to locked trunk in Richard?s room. Arthur broke the lock and found a blood red suit, possibly made of the same cloth as the mask.

 Chester took the cloth and returned to his digs in the Bowery section. In the next weeks he compulsively sewed more bits of cloth onto the suit to create the Jackalent costume. Chester was a failed actor and a thief mainly out of necessity. After he began working on the Jackalent identity he began speed reading books from the local library and working out as much as possible.

 He found a job in a small theatre company as a lighting technician. He still aspires to an acting career but it pays the bills. Chester chose the name Jackalent after a straw man that was a traditional Lenten decoration in England. During Lent people would throw stones at the jackalent to represent them casting off their sins. Chester became a magnet for the dispossessed in the Bowery, people who were wronged and could not trust the authorities for one reason or another.

 Bomber

A number of super humans were born after 1969. This is due to Bomber sleeping around after his wife?s death. It is an irony that a second string super (at best) has fathered and in some cases grandfathered a number of heroes.

 Background:

The Shadow, and his more violent peer, the Spider, inspired the Red Masque. His mask  is similar to  !MPACT Comics? Black Hood. I haven?t figured out exactly whether the mask itself is sentient or an anchor for the spirits of its wearers. It is very old and certainly tainted by dark forces.

 I drew on DC?s Wildcat for the Bomber, a man out of his own time who is still fighting the good fight. Bomber isn?t a very successful hero but he?s having too much fun to let anyone tell him to stop.

 For the Jackalent I turned to the Suppressed Transmission Column in Pyramid Magazine. It?s a great source for all kinds of occult weirdness. The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh, also known as the Rev. Dr. Sin, inspired me to create a scary hero. There aren?t enough of those IMO.

 Vengeance is actually a Dhampyre, a son born to a living woman impregnated by a vampire. Yes, there are vampires in this setting. They rule Valknia, an eastern nation more or less openly. Vengeance is somewhat impeded by bright light due to his sensitive eyes. He can regenerate wounds almost immediately and gain super strength when he drinks human blood. That compulsion is growing daily.

Voice Talent for Jingles and Songs Available at Voice123 (voice123.com)
Voice talent seekers can find professional voice artists to record jingles and songs for any type of voiceover project. [SANEPR 23 January, 2007]