How to Do Anime Animation

Create an anime sequence by using a painting program's tools to create and animate the sequence's frames. You can also find a number of open-source programs made specifically for animation, such as Pencil. For best results with this project, you should study many existing anime sequences. An effective way to do this is to sketch stills of your favorite anime characters. Anime features other visual elements besides its characters, but you'll communicate an anime style more quickly by drawing characters, as these draw viewer attention the strongest.

Instructions

GIMP

1. Click the paintbrush icon from the tool palette, and then drag on the canvas to draw an anime character.

2. Click the page icon in the "Layers" menu to add a new layer.

3. Use Step 1's instructions to paint another instance of Step 1's character, but make a slight change to the character's position or size.

4. Repeat the previous two instructions to create a layer for each frame in your anime sequence.

5. Click the "File" menu's "Save" command, and then click the "GIF" item from the "Type" drop-down list.

6. Click the "Animation" option on the dialog box that appears, then type a name for the file in the "File name" text box.

7. Click "Export" to save the animation, and then click the "File" menu's "Open" command in your Web browser. Navigate to and double-click the file you just saved to display the animation in a Web browser.

Paint

1. Click one of the icons from the "Brushes" drop-down list in Windows Paint.

2. Drag on the canvas to draw an anime character.

3. Press "Ctrl" and "S" simultaneously to display the "Save" dialog box.

4. Type a filename in the "File name" text box, and then click "Save" to save the image.

5. Use the instructions from Step 1 through Step 4 to create a slightly resized or repositioned view of Step 1's anime character. However, save the file with a new name. Repeat this step for as many frames as you want for your anime sequence.

6. Open a Web browser on a page offering a GIF animation service, such as the one at Picasion, Make a GIF or GIF Ninja. Use the page's instructions to upload the anime frames you created, and to assemble and download the completed anime sequence.

7. Double-click the downloaded file to play the animation in your Web browser.

Photoshop

1. Click the tool palette icon shaped like a paintbrush to enter painting mode, then drag on the canvas to draw a character with large eyes, slender features and a heart-shaped face or head. Or, draw features similar to those in a favorite anime sequence.

2. Click the page icon at the bottom of the "Animation" panel to create a new animation frame. Click the page icon at the bottom of the "Layers" panel to create a new layer.

3. Click the eye icons of all layers below the highlighted layer in the "Layers" panel. This reveals only one layer in the new frame.

4. Draw a slightly changed version of the character you drew in Step 1, then use the instructions from Step 2 and Step 3 to create additional animation frames.

5. Play the completed animation by clicking the ">" button at the bottom of the "Animation" panel.

References

• "Photoshop CS5 Bible"; Lisa Dayley; 2010
• GIMP: GIMP Documentation; 2009
• Microsoft Windows: Paint Tool
• "Design Basics"; David Lauer; 2007

Resources

• Picasion: Make an Animated GIF
• Make a GIF: Create GIF Animations
• GIF Ninja: Create a New Animated GIF
• Pencil: Download Pencil