From the course: 2D Animation: Tips and Tricks
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Thumbnail basics
- [Narrator] One subject that gets to be left out of the popular how-to animation books is thumbnails. So, considering the importance of thumbnails, it's very strange. So, let's correct that by taking a close look at them and why you need them. So here's what it looks like very quickly animated. First pass at a loose, dizzy walk. And it's already off to a good start. So once more, these are the thumbnails. I created them in a lined notebook which is why you can see these horizontal lines. That should give you a feel for how tiny these are. Now the figures are a little more than an inch tall. They're drawn lightly with a 0.3 millimeter mechanical pencil. I really like those because I can get a really precise fine line and a very small size, but you can use whatever you prefer. Regular pencils, 0.5 mil, whatever works for you. I draw many of my thumbnails in a coffee shop and it's nice to get out of the studio or away from the computer, get some fresh air, nice cup of coffee, plan out…
Contents
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Loosen the joints2m 30s
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Loosen the body6m 1s
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To twin or not to twin6m 6s
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Head articulation5m 14s
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Physics: Falling4m 33s
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Creating staggers6m 32s
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Cartoony male mouth shapes5m 29s
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Realistic male mouth shapes3m 32s
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Pose-to-pose wipes4m 31s
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Zipping off screen3m 58s
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Cartoony female mouth shapes6m 1s
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Realistic female mouth shapes3m 44s
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Bird beaks4m 57s
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Stylized mouth shapes2m 51s
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Elderly mouth shapes5m 17s
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Breakdown basics turns3m 8s
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Breakdown basics reactions6m 6s
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Breakdown intermediate5m 24s
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Breakdown advanced6m 56s
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Thumbnail basics4m 56s
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Thumbnail intermediate5m 20s
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Thumbnail advanced5m 27s
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Fabric creases4m 49s
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Drag basics4m 15s
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Capes: Basics4m 48s
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Capes: Intermediate4m 28s
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Capes: Advanced4m 39s
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Flags4m 18s
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Dresses8m 18s
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Flour sack4m 25s
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Pantomime4m 7s
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Pantomime advanced6m 16s
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Object design7m 46s
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Objects Moving5m 17s
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Hair Basics6m 53s
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Hair Intermediate4m 16s
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Hair Advanced9m 56s
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Ball bounce1m 15s
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Fast Bite3m 21s
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Wipes Blurs2m 30s
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Morphs2m 39s
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Change expression4m 1s
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Timing basic1m 46s
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Timing intermediate5m 2s
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Timing Advanced3m 55s
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Texture Basic2m 38s
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Texture - advanced4m 47s
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Technical9m 4s
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Traditional animation process8m 15s
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Torque2m 54s
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Realistic construction4m 18s
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Cartoony construction4m 51s
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Eyeballs - cartoony9m 42s
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Eyebrows - cartoony5m 37s
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Eyeblinks - cartoony4m 27s
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Pupils4m 35s
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Eyes - realistic4m 58s
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Center mass2m 42s
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Crowds3m 52s
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Overcoming fear4m 23s
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Overcoming mental blocks7m 51s
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Breakthroughs8m 14s
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Avoiding burnout6m 17s
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The mystery of appeal4m 3s
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The wheel of fortune6m 45s
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Relationships matter3m 41s
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Interpreting dreams6m 5s
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Animating tails4m 21s
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Cheating transforms4m 7s
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Model sheets5m 8s
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Moving Hold3m 31s
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Moving Hold Advanced4m 28s
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Jumping with a push4m 34s
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Push objects2m 26s
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Coughing3m 8s
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Snoring5m 56s
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Reaching2m 18s
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Old styles: 1920s rubber hose intro8m 17s
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Old styles: 1920s rubber hose scene7m 51s
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Old styles: 1920s rubber hose post6m 6s
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Loosen with a reversal4m 16s
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Opposing actions4m 16s
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Overlap4m 39s
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Follow through5m 52s
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Leading actions6m 6s
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Overlapping large characters5m 20s
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Drawings, frames, and exposures3m 20s
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From rough drawings to cleanup5m 54s
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Cell painting to DIP6m 41s
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Color model3m 48s
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Tremor4m 44s
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Shaky walk2m 54s
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Camera shots5m 24s
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Strobing3m 38s
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Aspect ratios9m 34s
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Looney Toons: Intro10m 48s
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Looney Toons: Technical8m 8s
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Looney Toons: Animation style8m 20s
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Looney Toons: Walks and runs5m 59s
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Looney Toons: Scene7m 8s
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Looney Toons: FX explosion5m 5s
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Bouncing ball6m 3s
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Opposing action: Basic3m 13s
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Opposing action: Intermediate3m 56s
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Opposing action: Advanced3m 17s
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Counterpose: Basic4m 11s
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Counterpose: Advanced5m 37s
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Overlap: Introduction2m 9s
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Overlap: Advanced3m 15s
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Perspective: Introduction4m 30s
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Perspective: Intermediate1m 54s
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Plotting arcs3m 3s
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Figure 8s5m 7s
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Types of shots4m 44s
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Camera moves4m 2s
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Shot transitions3m 54s
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Staging: Introduction5m 25s
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Staging: Advanced6m 35s
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Line of action3m 16s
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Breaking a single joint1m 58s
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Breaking joints in a walk cycle3m 13s
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Plotting arcs and timing in a walk3m 29s
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Exaggerating the face2m 19s
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Exaggerating the body1m 44s
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Exaggerating acting5m 19s
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Anticipate and overshoot the head3m 13s
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Primary, secondary, and tertiary actions4m 10s
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Create personality with leading actions3m 14s
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Squashing the face for chewiness3m 8s
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Squashing bodies for animal runs2m 56s
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Reversing the line of action2m 15s
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A stretchy jump4m 33s
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Introduction to anticipation2m 46s
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Plotting character arcs3m 57s
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Leading actions on walks1m 29s
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Fast transitions2m 42s
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Breaking down a turn2m 47s
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Introduction to accents1m 30s
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Advanced stagger2m 59s
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Squash and stretch3m 36s
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Examples of counterpose1m 37s
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Straight-ahead animation3m 38s
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Pose-to-pose animation3m 53s
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Different accents3m 5s
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Correcting arcs and spacing6m 23s
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Frame rates and logistics6m 22s
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Wheeled robot3m 48s
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Animating walks on beats4m 12s
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Animating candles7m 53s
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Giant robot6m 41s
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Tails and reversed curves6m 2s
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Animating hair and clothing11m 9s
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Fixing hair and clothing5m 47s
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Plussing hair and clothing5m 3s
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Tripod walk6m 36s
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Dividing in thirds and fifths5m 39s
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Lighting a scene4m 10s
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The mushroom cloud6m 37s
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Ocean waves4m 32s
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Ocean waves: Advanced6m 3s
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Drawing budget3m 39s
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Sweatbox notes3m 11s
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Layout poses2m 20s
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Concise naming conventions7m 7s
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Cheating camera orbits2m 3s
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When to start a pan1m 39s
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Sixties TV intro and style3m 37s
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Sixties TV Structure7m 24s
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Sixties TV assembly8m 26s
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Sixties TV post-production3m 38s
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Cheating depth with color and tone8m 18s
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Cheating depth of field with blurs4m 53s
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Cheating depth with motion3m 11s
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Extreme walks3m 47s
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Acting with clothing and hair1m 11s
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Basic smoke poof3m 58s
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Advanced smoke poof4m 35s
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Animating a splash3m 58s
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Constructing animal snouts1m 16s
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Animating a dress3m 16s
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Fixing a dress animation2m 43s
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Animating puppet dialog2m 2s
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Planning side-scroller game animation9m 38s
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Creating the artwork and designs9m 28s
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Zero poses and idle animations5m 39s
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Walks and hookups3m 49s
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Jogs, runs, and hookups4m 44s
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Picking up objects2m 34s
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Jumping and crouching3m 20s
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Firing a weapon2m 32s
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Breaking an animation into pieces2m 49s
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Hit reacts1m 47s
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Dies3m 24s
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Flipping horizontally2m 42s
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Wins and levels up4m 15s
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Construction4m 41s
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Hands6m 34s
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Advanced hands4m 49s
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Texture in design3m 53s
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Straights and curves4m 3s
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Designing feet6m 50s
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Dimensional forms3m 25s
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Using color for story4m 13s
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Styles5m 28s
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Simple run4m 26s
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Weight and mass1m 55s
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Weight and mass in motion6m 55s
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The foundations of animation10m 51s
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Easy vs. hard scenes2m 11s
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ABC scenes4m 10s
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Puppets and gestures3m 57s
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Puppets and arcs3m 33s
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Boiling a line3m 16s
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Odd timing on twos5m 25s
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AA cycles4m 38s
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ABA cycles5m 1s
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Don't pop 1: Line and color2m 41s
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Don't pop 2: Lighting4m 40s
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Don't pop 3: Camera angle2m 43s
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Don't pop 4: Composition3m 38s
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Dos and don'ts11m 3s
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Making poses read3m 59s
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Making expressions read3m 31s
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Timing charts vs. tweening5m 36s
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Capes basic6m 15s
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Capes intermediate5m 56s
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Capes advanced2m 29s
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Hair basic2m 42s
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Hair intermediate2m 8s
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Hair advanced4m 5s
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Flags6m 8s
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Fine-tuning flags7m 4s
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Punchy dialog2m 8s
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1980s TV animation history3m 12s
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1980s TV animation techniques5m 10s
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1980s TV animation scene11m 57s
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1980s TV animation post production5m 53s
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Color vs. pencil test1m 42s
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Popping on and off screen2m 2s
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Foreshortening scene5m 43s
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Isometric game intro6m 45s
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Isometric game acting and dialog3m 46s
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Isometric game turning around2m 58s
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Isometric game walking5m 19s
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Bluth-style intro4m 59s
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Bluth-style design8m 15s
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