Toon Boom Studio "Review"

I was sitting around working on some things when I realized, I haven't really given any product reviews. And that's something aspiring cartoonists/animators that are just starting out wonder about. So I thought I would mention one that seemed really fancy when I first read of it.

If you're cartoon minded like me, you likely pick up Animation magazine whenever you can, and scour the net for all things related to the craft. If you do, you will have likely come across mention of Toon Boom Studio.

Toon Boom is a powerful program. It features bones and is capable of many different animation techniques. When I read of it Toon Boom sounded like the program I was looking for. Then I tried it out.

Before I continue I'd like to say it is really important to at least familiarize yourself with all of the basics of making a cartoon/animation happen. Since it's more than just drawing, you've got story boards, animatics, exposure sheets. there's a lot of things that go into keeping the entire project on track. Things that keep everyone on the same page

Now if you're a solo cartoonist, as many web cartoonists/animators are. Some of those things don't seem all that important . Until your ideas and planning get to the point where you realize you really do need to keep a more reliable record of your progress than your memory. It's very important to at least be aware of the basics. Especially you find like minded artists to collaborate with, because they don't have the convenience of knowing what you're thinking.

With all of that being said. Toon Boom Studio is, in a nutshell, the process of animation digitally reconstructed.

There is a time line and things some will find familiar if they've dabbled in Flash or anything else. That's where the similarities end. You cannot animate frame-by-frame with Toon Boom, not like with flash.

Toon Boom has and uses an Exposure Sheet like real animation. What an Exposure Sheet does is show you what animation assets and elements are in use for a particular scene. How many frames they're in, or length of a particular action lasts. You cannot do anything on the the time line of Toon Boom, unless you set everything up on the exposure sheet.

Toon Boom whether intentional or not, is geared towards paperless animation. They have a suite of products that are digital versions of aspects of animation, and ways of tying everything together so a studio can work digitally.

Which is all well and good if you happen to be a professional studio or students looking toward traditional animation, but want to be eco-friendly. And I think that's great.

However, for anyone just starting out Toon Boom is not the program for you. Unless you're specifically interested in being an animator. Then Toon Boom Coupled with the resource any and every cartoonist/animator should own The Animators Survival Kit Then you'll have a means of familiarizing yourself with things covered in the book.

Toon Boom is cheaper than Flash, but quite a meaty purchase unless you're really serious about being an animator. Definately try before you buy.

And So It Begins

Well I've done it. I've begun setting up my new website! No more domain forwarding or free webhosting for me. It's simply not good for your internet visitibility and generating traffic. Ok if it goes to another site...it means when I accidentally re-forwarded my domain, things haven't been processed yet and I haven't been able to cancel the forwarding. Oy, we lrean more from our mistakes though. yeesh.

Finally http://hootnannyonline.com finally just goes there! Which means I can now submit my site to directories around the net and better my odds of getting more search traffic, more google loves, and hopefully some funding via ad revenue.

Eventualy this blog will actually have more cartooning information that is directly about cartooning. Still I figure any information I can provide to others like myself whom are trying to get their studios and projects off the ground may be of use.

I've stumbled across things in my efforts I never thought I'd have to think about. There is way more than simply putting up a site and waiting to be found. It's an adventure for sure. Hopefully the things I discover and share will be of use to others.

A Sound Idea Redux: Flashkit.com

While looking through my stock music I ran across some catchy tunes that I could not remember where I'd gotten them.

Anyhow, long story short I finally thought to check the file's properties and found they were from Flashkit.com I can't believe I'd forgotten to make mention of such a great resource.

They've got music, sound effects, tutorials of all manner and many other flash related goodies. Most importantly IT'S ALL FREE. Or free-ish. I've not yet found any particular restrictions or anything. Seems many may share the music and sounds for promotion. There are a few royalty free services that offer samples on Flashkit.

And there you have one more resource for your creative needs.

Music Service I Forgot

I'm not exactly sure how, but in my previous post where I listed some royalty free music sources, it would seem I forgot to list Shockwave-Sound.com .

Anyhow, they're another good option if you're looking for tunes. If you've just stumbled across my blog go checkout my archives for my posts on royalty free music and music services.

And looky, Shockwave has banners! They also have an affiliate program. So hopefully I'll increase my chances of making money online.

Yeah, shameless plug I know. But I've actually managed to make some money with blogging and google ads....Ok 2 whole cents in the last two days! Hey, it's a start. Besides if things start going well, I'll start sharing my online money secrets. FOR FREE! After funding your projects is a part of being your own studio.

The Cartoon Syndicate

I'd like to give a bit of info on a pet project of mine. I know in the previous post I mentioned adding more publishing info, which I will.

Anyhow, The Cartoon Syndicate is an idea I've had for a long time. I'm trying to find ways to make it a site/service/resource for other cartoon minded folks out there, especially the little guys and fledgling creators like me.

The main focus is making animated toons, and I would hope it would become a place for cartoon loving individuals of all applicable talents to mingle with the potential to come together to make their own toons. The name isn't just catchy, it's quite litteral.

I'm ever stewing the structure I would like for the site and just the right associated community set up. Infact, when I have time I must again edit the site.

Also when I can I'll be dropping my free host to do away with the need for having all my domains forwarded. That way I can hopefully get more visibility and traffic to my sites, and hopefully make some advertising money at last.

I do have some really big plans for Cartoon Syndicate, that I have not and shall not go into just yet.

So for the time being I figured I could at least shed a bit of light on it here. Also there is a Cartoon Syndicate Blog With over lapping information with this one. Because they're both mine. The CS blog however I have new ideas for.

Please do check out the Syndicate's site, in all of it's neglected glory. Also if you're a toon-minded person, aspiring creator, that likes the sound of it, please do let me know. It helps me know where I need to focus my efforts.

Til next time!

A Sound Idea!

Sound effects and music are a vital part of any toon. For now I don't believe I'll get into the effects, as stock effects are a bit easier to come by than music.

"Music isn't hard to come by," you say? It is if you don't want to be slapped with a cease and desist order, or worse, sued if your project starts becoming profitable.

So what's a plucky creator to do? Well, there's always the option of seeking out music that is more or less public domain. In that regaurd the older the music or deader(yes, deader) the original creator the better. It's basically music old enough there's not many around to legally claim it. Aside from the unique vibe it lent the series, that was some of the reasons "Ren & Stimpy" featured such old music. They didn't have to pay for it.

From the realm of Public Domain we move on to "Royalty Free Music". Sorry to say, but "Royalty Free" doesn't mean free. You do have to pay for it. Although once you do the music is yours to do with as you please. All that trademarked licensed music in your favorite movies and such, unless they paid big bucks for the use, the companies likely have to pay out royalties to the artists featured in the sound track.

For the obvious great advantage of Royalty Free saving you from legal issues that may arise from selling a project with someone else's music, there is one big downside. Depending on the company or service providing the royalty free tunes, you may be paying the price of a full CD or more per track, which are sometimes only a few seconds long!!!

Royalty free is a great idea, but why so much? Fact is, it's a VERY niche market. The people behind it all are assorted artists and talented people and companies providing a product to a rather small market in the grand scheme of things. And their clientel are generally various companies, corporations, and studios with the money to afford the big price tags on royalty free tracks and libraries. Also when they sell that music they sell all the rights that go along with it. Some places actually sell tracks exclusively. Meaning that once a client purchases the music they aquire ALL RIGHTS to it. But that's something we little guys need not worry about.

If one is lucky, they can track down companies that offer a selection of free samples. A Google search can generally provide one a good place to start.

In the follow up to this I'll cover a few of the sites and services I've run across in a search for cartooning resources