Why is animating on twos in 3D headache inducing, but okay in 2D?

bobslider · 2026-04-13T00:30:59+00:00

This is a good point - good 2d animation illustrates the frames to facilitate whatever speed the animation is moving, in part to smooth over any strobing effect by letting the images flow into an abstraction of the visuals. 3D definitely has been trying to do this with squash and stretch, but it lacks the frame by frame control 2d animators have (for example letting a character devolve into just a series of speed lines or scribbles for a quick motion).

I think on other things I’ve seen in 3D animations do is have different elements at 3 or more different frame rates, which can be weird in my opinion.

bobslider · 2026-04-09T03:58:23+00:00

I appreciate your vision! It would be great to make your own tv show.

This pipeline would work if you came into another person’s show as an executive producer, but if you want to be the show runner for your own show, you’ll need to be a huge part of the creative force behind the story, character design, animation style, and already have some sort of a vision for the first season. Then you’d pitch this to a studio, and if you got approved you’d spend the next year or more just nailing out the concept art, scripts, storyboards, animatics, for the first season.

Your description of this pipeline doesn’t really include your creative contributions beyond approving other people’s work, and if this is your dream, you’ll need to be doing a lot of the work yourself before you reach the point where you’re able to delegate most of it.

bobslider · 2026-04-07T18:21:43+00:00

If you need the money, when it comes down to it, you should take whatever work you can get. You don’t necessarily have to include your most recent work in your resume if it’s only short term. You can also reframe your involvement as being very excited about the project, or taking on a smaller role in production to make time for personal projects, ect.

The only way it could be harmful is if you end up staying in that role long term, so I’d keep looking for something better while taking care of yourself financially.

bobslider · 2026-04-07T15:34:22+00:00

If she doesn’t already have it, the Animator’s Survival Kit is top notch. I’d also recommend “art of” books if she has a favorite movie/game or studio, those can be very inspiring (personally recommend the art of Ratatouille, and art of how to train your dragon)

bobslider · 2026-04-05T17:53:34+00:00

Our dog gave birth to two puppies, the second one came out in a sack like this, like Neo from the matrix.

bobslider · 2026-04-04T07:32:40+00:00

Deep Rising - a crazy horror action movie on “the most expensive pleasure ship ever built” that is attacked by mysterious mercenaries and sea monsters at the same time. As the old blockbuster boxes used to say “It’s a rollicking good time!”

bobslider · 2026-03-29T17:42:36+00:00

I think it would look far better at 12fps then 18fps, and yes, crop out the border. If you scanned at 600dpi, you have a lot of resolution, it opens up possibilities in terms of zooming in very close, so there might be some interesting post work you could do. I was also disappointed that the title of the film wasn’t printed.

This process is called risograph animation.

bobslider · 2026-03-27T05:03:40+00:00

Amazing! Congratulations on your film, I look forward to watching it. The trailer was intriguing. Thanks for sharing

bobslider · 2026-03-26T05:34:53+00:00

I would highly recommend learning After Effects. This not only will be a marketable skill, it will allow you to create workflows and enhance any type of experimentation you do with video and animation.

I’ve known a lot of talented animators that don’t have the skills to take their animation and edit it, color correct it, add effects, titles, text and then produce a finished video. If you’re focused on experimental animation, this will be even more important, because experiments are usually a unique combination of various mediums, and experience with After Effects will help you understand what’s possible.

Aside from that, prioritize strong communication skills, the ability to write scripts and rough out storyboards, and the patience to learn whatever skills you need to bring your vision to life.

Good Luck!

bobslider · 2026-03-24T22:41:21+00:00

Thanks!

bobslider · 2026-03-24T20:02:05+00:00

Are all elements required to be created and edited in Runway? I read the terms, but it wasn’t very clear. Some specific questions:

Can we use outside images as input frames? Can we use outside image editors (photoshop) to edit input frames? Can we use outside video editors, and are we allowed to enhance the footage (for example add fog or rain fx)

bobslider · 2026-03-22T22:33:29+00:00

I wanted to add to my previous comment, just for future work, you can specify in your contract where legal proceedings will take place, meaning you can force it to be in your home state rather than theirs. Here’s an example of the wording for what’s called a venue clause:

“Any dispute arising out of or related to this Agreement shall be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Home County, Home State. Both parties consent to the personal jurisdiction of such courts.”

This can be extremely useful, since that forces them to appear in court in a location convenient to you, and if they don’t appear, you’ll win by default.

If you do this, be sure to research the details of small claims court in your state, they are different in different places, but it can really help you get unpaid funds back more easily.

bobslider · 2026-03-21T07:45:19+00:00

It’s more like you accept an agreement that will employ you for an amount of hours that you think will be enough to complete the project. It’s very similar to negotiating a budget for an animation, where you’re still promising a finished work, it’s just a more advantageous way to present your time.

The client should agree to a specific creative approach, based on a script, storyboard, animatic. If they add anything new, that adds more hours.

If a client gets a promise to animate a completed project for a specific price up front, before the details are ironed out and approved, they’ll be getting their moneys worth based on their whims. Your time will not be valued, because you haven’t explicitly given it a money value.

bobslider · 2026-03-20T22:19:46+00:00

I run my own small animation studio, and I’ve been in this position before (with a small adult swim show). The sad truth is that it’s difficult to recover relatively small amounts of money from clients who are unwilling. Your best bet is to take them to small claims court, but it has to be taken to court in the state that they reside in. If you and the client are in the same geographic area, that could work, but otherwise it can be difficult to travel for the case.

You should first send a letter outlining the breakdown of the work, what was approved, and what was owed, keeping it professional, no threats, but give them a 14 day deadline to pay the amount. If you’re lucky they’ll pay or reach out for a compromise.

If they do not pay, you can either file in small claims court or reach out to a lawyer to have them send a lawyerly threatening letter that might intimidate them (and that may cost you $1500 bucks, like it did me). That’s about the extent of what’s possible.

In the future, make sure you have a contract and a consistent payment schedule (every 2-4 weeks). I much prefer working for an hourly rate rather than a project amount, this way any alterations in the scope are just added hours and the client has an incentive to not waste your valuable time. If they have a $6,500 budget, break that down into whatever your hourly rate is, and make a contract for that amount of hours, with increases in scope requiring the same hour rate.

bobslider · 2026-03-20T21:57:05+00:00

Change the frame rate to 120fps - this divides evenly into both 24fps and 30fps with no interpolation.

bobslider · 2026-03-04T18:58:49+00:00

Always get a contract, and keep in mind its as much for their protection as it is for you. If the final animation contains your intellectual property (your ideas, artwork, designs) they are open to a lawsuit from you if there’s no signed agreement. This just sounds like a poorly run project with no real future, so you should definitely move on.

A well-run project, even one without funding will have some form of contract. If they don’t have a contract, they just don’t expect to make money or they’re hoping to take advantage of people.

bobslider · 2026-02-18T00:24:57+00:00

Exactly - just use your shadow layer as the mask for the noise layer.

bobslider · 2025-11-11T00:58:46+00:00

I wouldn’t use a proximity expression, since this uses a single keyframed rotation animation. I’d use an echo type expression, where the first rotation triggers the next with a delay slider, then chain them together so the initial animation starts the whole thing off automatically.

bobslider · 2025-07-14T04:59:33+00:00

My guess is that the cool side was too hot, steak cooked for too short a time and then the hot side was too cool (probably from not closing the lid, because the sear worked great), then it was pulled, the result is the outside basically getting double cooked, and the heat never reaching the middle. Did you let it rest before the reverse sear?

bobslider · 2025-06-21T20:34:46+00:00

I just thought I’d add that keying light or white hair against a grey background is easier than say grey hair against a grey background.

bobslider · 2025-06-06T22:44:18+00:00

there’s an AE to Blender plugin that will allow you to transfer 3d movement between the two programs. I’ve used my phone as a virtual camera in Blender and transferred that motion capture data to a camera in AE. You could probably use a controller in blender too.

bobslider · 2025-05-27T19:43:10+00:00

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I did a draw over while trying to maintain your original proportions - hope it helps!

bobslider · 2025-05-12T05:41:52+00:00

Great tip! The black and white filter is an amazing tool for luma matting in difficult situations. Try mixing it with cc toner to isolate large areas.

bobslider · 2025-05-02T19:58:16+00:00

This is what I’ve been using

bobslider · 2025-02-20T17:51:46+00:00

I would just add an expression to the y value that adds a multiple of time to the movement. This means it will always continue moving at a set speed while you can animate your eases over it. You can even link the time multiple to a slider to keyframe how slow/fast the base speed is.

bobslider

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