How Do I Start Once I Have Drawn Character?

[andypenders]

Complete newbie here, so forgive me.

So I got my friend to draw a character for me. I now have a .psd file with a character kind of forward looking.

How do I start to animate him? Do I need other drawings of him?

Do I need it to be in a vector format?

Just want to know how to get started really.

Thanks
Andy

[hayasidist]

this recent thread might help get you started. viewtopic.php?f=5&t=32024

but a critical question is the actual structure of the PS file - if it's effectively a single layer (even if there are actually several layers including such as adjustments etc) with a neat looking character in an artistic pose you'll have problems doing much with it; but if it's a character that's designed to be animated - e.g. components such as eyes / mouth / limbs / ... on separate layers that's a whole different ball game.

[andypenders]

Excellent advice thank you.
I guess I need to get everything drawn in layers on a psd file..

[hayasidist]

Excellent advice thank you.
I guess I need to get everything drawn in layers on a psd file..

not just "drawn" - but designed with the movement in mind - so take good care of joints.

Also, in the referenced thread you'll see that whilst it is possible to animate bitmaps it's often better to use moho shapes in combination with bitmaps.