How to Make 2-D Animation for TV

Even with the rise of 3-D animation, 2-D animation still has a strong presence on television.

Even as 3-D computer animation has gained popularity in the last 20 years, classic 2-D animation still maintains a strong presence on television. Many children's programs continue to be produced in two dimensions, and 2-D cartoons have come to entertain droves of adults with prime time shows like "The Simpsons," "Family Guy" and "South Park." Computer software has streamlined the process and kept the medium from being abandoned due to archaic methods.

Things You'll Need

• Word processor
• Animation software
• Non-linear video editor
• Television viewer

Instructions

1. Gather a pool of writers and start bouncing ideas off each other. Have everyone come into writers' meetings with a few core ideas and let everyone critique and tweak the concepts into something workable. Riff on funny jokes or interesting plot points until they are fully developed. Act the scenes out and make them come alive.

2. Write an episode-length script formatted for television conventions. Turn to the classic three-act structure to write the story in a way that has a clear beginning, middle and end that resolves the plot or segues into a future episode. Take advantage of expected commercial breaks to punctuate points in the story.

3. Storyboard your episode. Draw key elements of scenes as you envision them appearing on the screen. Write notes about the story under each frame. Carefully categorize the frames with an agreed-upon scene code to keep everyone on the same page. Post these storyboards where all the writers and animators can see them.

4. Animate your cartoon shot by shot. Draw the key frames--notable changes in the motion of your animation--to create a rough animatic. Smooth out the animation with between frames, either with the automatic function in your animation software or by farming the grunt work out to an animation house. Colorize the characters and scenery to finish the scenes.

5. Edit your scenes together in your video editing program. Go back to your storyboards to maintain continuity throughout your episode. Render regularly and watch your progress full screen on a television attached to your computer monitor. Ask colleagues to watch and critique your work. Insert black space to let the station know where commercials should be inserted. Export the final product to a TV-friendly format.

Tips & Warnings

• If your episode will be distributed in the Americas, Burma, Taiwan, South Korea or the Philippines, you will be exporting it to NTSC format. Most other countries use the PAL format.

• Use creative animation solutions that contribute to the look of your show and streamline your production process. "South Park" is able to achieve turnaround incredibly close to its air date by rendering its characters in 3-D and squashing the models down to resemble paper cutouts.

• Don't hold onto jokes that make the episode run longer than its time slot. Cut what you think can be cut, otherwise the station will do it for you.

References

• National Television System Committee: Tutorials
• "Television Production 14e;" Gerald Millerson and Jim Owens, 2009
• John K Stuff: Writing for Cartoons
• South Park Scriptorium: The Making of South Park

Resources

• "Animation Writing and Development;" Jean Ann Wright, 2005