Need of inspiration

[Nicohk92]

Hello all,

I used to come here all the time almost ten years ago as I was really deep into anime studio pro.

Years have passed and I'm just going back to graphic design and animation, having learned that Moho is now in the right hands and seeing all those cool new features.

In 2022 I am giving myself 6 months to complete a project that consists of creating a universe of many different animated creatures and other surreal animated trinkets on a specific topic.

Not being full time graphic designer, I don't have all the automatisms and am still experimenting with different styles in Moho. All I know is that it should be on a black background (like an infinite void) and I wish to use as few colors as possible (preferably just white).

So this is for all the connoisseurs out here who perhaps have some suggestions about style along those lines. Some references, techniques, or even books you could suggest?

Thanks in advance and looking forward to coming back here much more often.

[Greenlaw]

Sounds like a cool project and I wish you the best!

Making a big personal project was how I learned Moho. In my case, I chose my own comic strip Brudders as the inspiration for my self-teaching project 'Scareplane' (2014). Because I was already familiar with the characters and material, writing the script came quickly and easily. With that out of the way, I could focus on learning how to use Moho.

The key thing is to plan the project out before you start animating it. First, make a storyboard and then turn it into an animatic by placing it on a video timeline and editing it to sound and music. The animatic can be rough and it doesn't need the final audio...it just needs to be complete and coherent because this is the blue print for the finished project. Once you get past this stage, finishing the project become much easier to accomplish.

For example, here's the animatic for Scareplane: Animatic for 'Scareplane'. As you can see I followed the animatic pretty closely. In fact, as I completed the final version of each shot in Moho, it was overcut directly on top of this animatic in my video editor. So in this example, my animatic was literally the foundation of the project.

Your 'black void' idea is intriguing. Here are a few design approaches that came to mind...

- Neon light art
- Constellations or astrology
- Scratchboard art
- Black velvet painting
- Chalk board
- Lite Brite
- Old school arcade game

Some ideas for characters, settings or themes...

- A night in the woods or the jungle
- Dreams or emotional states (i.e., what makes you happy or anxious)
- Spooky world under the bed
- Ant farm or spider web

My advice is to not make the project too ambitious and remember the goal is to learn the program while you're working on your project. If something isn't working out, try adapting to a different approach or technique, or simplify the idea to make it more doable. The important thing is to get the project done in a timely manner so you can apply what you learned to your next big thing. Setting deadlines for stages in your project can really help keep it on track.

For example, I have a couple of animations projects where I did not do this and I've literally been working on them for years. Trust me, it's not worth it, and I wish I had planned these projects better and finished them years ago. By comparison, personal projects where I did all the planning up front (like Scareplane,) got finished smoothly and on time. (My goal this year is to reign in my two perpetually unfinished projects and plan them in a way I can finish them in a few months.)

Finally, bcause Scareplane was a 'learning' project for me, I had specific Moho features in mind as I drew each scene in the storyboard. For your project, I suggest making a list of the features or techniques you want to learn, and check these items off your list as you draw the storyboard.

I hope this info helps! Oh, and remember to have fun!

[cgrotke]

I love the personal projects (mostly because without them I'd be waiting a long time for paid projects...) : ) Excellent for learning the software and staying fresh.

I did some animating with a black background not too long ago. In addition to the above, I'd suggest playing with brush styles, creating a palette of colors for each scene that looks nice on black, and playing with the off-camera space to make the black "infinite" by having your artwork go outside of the camera view.

Without other background art, the size of objects will give viewers an idea of their relative positions. If you have a big circle go off screen then come back on smaller, it will look like it went further away.

I have a project for the new year, too... it's been nagging at me for about three or four years now. I have audio of a relative telling an old story, then another relative correcting it by telling a different version. It's about bringing jumping horses to southern Ohio a hundred years ago or so. I have my thumbnails and can visualize some of it, but I've been trying to see if some grand idea comes to me. This year, I'm setting that deadline for myself and diving in. (I also got a copy of Timing for Animation to add to my library... wow. How did I miss this one?)

One other thought - sometimes it's fun to "let go" a bit and see where the project takes you. That is, plan, but don't overplan. If you run into some wall while working, rather than force it, step back and see if there is another way around. Sometimes those clever workarounds add more than anything you could have anticipated.

Happy end of 2021 everyone and thanks for your insights, tips, and help....

[Nicohk92]

Thanks for the very useful answers!!

You are right Greenlaw that setting a firm planning and starting with a storyboard is probably the most responsible way to go. I couldn't agree more. (really enjoyed Scareplane btw).
And thank you for the design and themes ideas. Some very interesting leads there.
In my case, I am envisioning something with perhaps less of a story-line and more of dream feel synced to music (like a TV series intro). If I can insert some coherence it's even better but I am still struggling with the creative block. I walk around with a notepad and write or draw little creature ideas but have yet to find the central thread. So until I read your reply, my plan was to work on each creature one by one and see what emerges (say a robot chameleon, a a fly with a top hat etc... just examples off the top of my head). I planned to put out one per week, as a looped animated square video. It would force me to experiment with style, feed some Instagram account, and populate my bestiary little by little.
But you are probably right that I shouldn't start animating until I have a clear plan on paper.
Here's the most advanced video I made with Anime Studio Pro almost ten years ago: https://vimeo.com/331983384
As you can see I had more fun with the environments than with the characters (you 'll recognize the old default character wizard people)
I'm not much of a drawer compared to pros but I'll try sketching it all first.

Christopher, thanks for the tips on working with black BG. I ordered a book about B&W illustration because having no color involves limitations I would like to know more about. I'm also thinking about getting 'Timing for Animation". I will explore different brushes as you suggest, and next up for me is to freshen up on Applied Styles in Moho cause that should certainly save me a lot of time when exploring different feels.

Happy 2022 everyone!

[slowtiger]

I did some frame-by-frame animation on black a decade ago and found it not very practical, because onion skin isn't working well that way. It was no problem however to draw in black, then, when finished, change everything to white.

You may want to work on some kind of gray background, to be able to see lines and points better.

As for inspiration: I'm a collector of graphics of all kind, especially cartoons (the european, 1-image kind) from first half of 20th century.
Ward Kimball could be quite surreal, as you can see here in "Mars and beyond" (and on black BG): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk7lf2D848I
Norman McLaren is always worth studying since he literally invented styles and techniques we still use today. Blinkity Blank: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3YeWgUgPHM, Le Merle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmP3eDNMNw0
A favourite of mine, Jan Lenica, albeit doing collage and stop motion, always gives me ideas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0ORbg9Gywg
A new one by Joanna Priestley, more on the abstract side: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG1rweiu3-o

I recommend doodling on paper, just whatever lines and loops, then try to bring to life each of them: what kind of being is that, how would it move, behave, feel? The most simple way to create something alive is to add legs and eyes to whatever object. I did that in Moho successfully for client's work: , the video isn't online anymore, unfortunately.

[Greenlaw]

I walk around with a notepad and write or draw little creature ideas but have yet to find the central thread. So until I read your reply, my plan was to work on each creature one by one and see what emerges (say a robot chameleon, a a fly with a top hat etc... just examples off the top of my head). I planned to put out one per week, as a looped animated square video. It would force me to experiment with style, feed some Instagram account, and populate my bestiary little by little.

I think that's a great idea! I keep a small notepad in my pocket too because I never know when inspiration will strike and if I don't write down or sketch the idea immediately, it disappears forever. I also use a digital notepad on my devices because I like being able to tag everything for easy retrieval later, but the physical notepad has been better for preserving the initial brainstorms.

And yes, Happy 2022 everyone!

[Nicohk92]

I did some frame-by-frame animation on black a decade ago and found it not very practical, because onion skin isn't working well that way. It was no problem however to draw in black, then, when finished, change everything to white.

You may want to work on some kind of gray background, to be able to see lines and points better.

As for inspiration: I'm a collector of graphics of all kind, especially cartoons (the european, 1-image kind) from first half of 20th century.
Ward Kimball could be quite surreal, as you can see here in "Mars and beyond" (and on black BG): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk7lf2D848I
Norman McLaren is always worth studying since he literally invented styles and techniques we still use today. Blinkity Blank: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3YeWgUgPHM, Le Merle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmP3eDNMNw0
A favourite of mine, Jan Lenica, albeit doing collage and stop motion, always gives me ideas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0ORbg9Gywg
A new one by Joanna Priestley, more on the abstract side: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG1rweiu3-o

I recommend doodling on paper, just whatever lines and loops, then try to bring to life each of them: what kind of being is that, how would it move, behave, feel? The most simple way to create something alive is to add legs and eyes to whatever object. I did that in Moho successfully for client's work: , the video isn't online anymore, unfortunately.

Just watched all those links and then some. All extreeeemly creative and inspiring!
I feel so much less ignorant.
Thank you so much for sharing and for the previous advices.
If any other references come to mind please don't hesitate to relay.