"Robot Vs. Pirate" (Blender Animation)

In this Instructable, I will be going through the steps of creating an animation in Blender that will be easy to follow through as a beginner. As a beginner myself, learning animation was difficult for me and many other people due to the steep learning curve, which is why I want to explain as much as I can to inspire you to one day create your own.

Let's begin!

For this Instructable, I used Blender as well as ClipChamp to create the finished product of the video.

If you know the basics of animation, then the remaining steps will explain the process of creating my animation. However, for someone who has never tried animation before, there are some things you need to know. The most important one is the 12 Principles of Animation, which was created by Disney. These principles allow animation to look appealing and smooth, and many different animations include these principles. It is great to research this, as it is the most important thing for animation.

Another concept you need to know is 1s, 2s, and 3s. Animation usually goes at 24 frames per second, or 1 drawing for every frame. However, 2s holds the drawing for 2 frames, making it 12 fps. Same with 3s, as it holds it for 3 frames, making it 8 fps. Many people think that 1s is the best way of doing animation. However, during more intense and fast-paced scenes, decreasing the framerate can be better as it is faster and doesn't have a noticeable difference.

The last important concept is understanding the workflow of animation. This includes Pre-Production, Production, and Post-Production, each important in creating a good animation. Pre-Production is preparing to animate, which includes creating an idea and a storyboard. Then, the Production is creating keyframes for the animation and the biggest chunk of the project. Finally, the Post-Production includes editing and rendering the animation.

There are tons of videos online that explain animation, which is how I learned my skills to create this Instructable. It can be complicated, but continuing to practice and study will help you create animations better than mine!

I first began by creating an idea. I usually type this down and create multiple ideas to compare which one is the best. Remember, because I am a beginner, a mistake that I made is expecting myself to do something that I cannot finish. I came up with multiple ideas that were way too big to accomplish, and ended up using this idea that is simple. That is why it is important to start small and not expect something high-quality. I would say that my animation is terrible compared to others, but it is a start at least. After creating an idea, I think of how the scenes would go in my animation. It is good to write it down, but I decided to draw it out, which is storyboarding. Storyboarding does not need to look perfect, but it gets the idea down. I use arrows and notes to describe what is happening in the scene so that when I go into production, I know what to do. I believe that this step is the hardest part of an animation, as it requires a ton of creativity and planning, but I believe that you can do it!

When opening up Blender, click "2D Animation" to start a 2d animation. Then, by going to the top left, there are different modes. The modes that I use often are the Draw Mode, Sculpt Mode, and Edit Mode. On the right, by clicking on "Data", it allows you to create multiple layers so that different drawings can be in front of or behind others. Lastly, the "Material" tab allows you to create multiple materials that will be used on your brushes, which is better than the color attribute since it allows you to change the color of a material whenever you want. You can change the setting to allow brushes to use the material at the top.

I drew all the parts using a mouse, which is very difficult compared to using a pen. Therefore, I use arcs, boxes, and circles to have more control over what I draw, which makes it easier to create the animation.

The first scene of my animation includes a ship sailing across an ocean. To be able to convey the idea that the ship is moving, I drew multiple waves in different layers so that the ship is in between the waves. Due to the movement of the first scene being simple, I keyframe the beginning and end of the movement and interpolate it so that it completes the animation completely. You can do this by going to Draw, then Interpolate Sequence while in Draw Mode. A technique that I used in this animation is that I made the front wave move faster than the background. This is because objects that are closer to a camera usually move faster than the background, which makes it look better overall than everything moving at the same pace.

In the scene, the cannons shoot cannonballs off the screen. To do this, I use squash and stretch, as well as anticipation, to create the feeling of a strong cannon. By making the cannon squash before it shoots the cannonball, it shows the amount of power used in the cannon. It also anticipates the viewers as they see the cannon ready to launch. During the shoot, it stretches and then returns to its normal shape. The cannonball also stretches to exaggerate its speed. Without using the principles of animation, it can make it difficult for viewers to understand what is happening.

For the second scene, the camera is pointed towards a flying robot with a jetpack that dodges the cannonballs from the ship. I used the same exact waves from the first scene and interpolated their movement as a quick way to animate it. For the cannonballs that fly by, I made it already stretched when it enters the scene, as it is already moving very fast. As it slows down, the cannonball returns to its original shape. The movement of the cannonballs is in an arc, as it goes forward as well as down due to gravity. I scaled the cannonball down to make it seem like the cannonball is falling towards the ocean. For the first cannonball that misses the robot, it creates a splash into the water, and I was able to create that with a straight-ahead animation technique. This is where, instead of keyframing the important parts of the animation, I draw each frame ahead as the splash goes in an unpredictable motion. Straight-ahead animation can be used in fire and other effects, as it is not predictable in the way it moves. The robot stands still, and teleports everytime that is close to being hit by a cannonball. The repeated jittering shows that he is moving fast and is exaggerating the movement. For the eyes and mouth of the robot, it is animated in 2s (12 fps). I drew 4 different drawings that last for 8 frames, so that it is not too fast that the viewer does not notice it blinking. By creating the robot to blink, it creates a feeling of it being alive. After the robot dodges all 3 cannonballs, it laughs, and I conveyed it by making it move up and down constantly.

The last step in creating the animation is rendering it and adding the sound effects. I found all of my sound effects on YouTube, which is free to use. I usually watch through my animation multiple times and see what needs a sound effect, as missing a sound effect can make it not believable. For example, without the whooshing sound effect for when the cannonball passes, it doesn't make it seem that it is going fast. Therefore, with the help of sound effects, it makes the animation feel more alive. Post-production can take the longest, depending on how much you animate.

Now its your turn to create your own animation! Have Fun!