Animation

   Even though the e-Storybook will be accessed via an online subscription, it will also be available as a collection of DVDs (probably as a collectable gift to our crew & investors), since I have a DVD Publisher. Of course there are also SSD drives as well, which may turn out to be the prime method of delivery, due to the size of the files.

   So, I recently acquired another laptop, a Mac Pro, of course. I've need another portable, since all my other ones are basically dead. But the real reason for another computer is that I am building an animation workstation and I will be moving my Mac Mini over to that workstation. I am building a monitor into one of my drafting tables and this will allow my artists to access previous art and also use the built-in screen as a light table. This allows us to craft movement from any of the images, in a conventional fashion using art panels. Of course, we are still introducing digital animation techniques, but I want to make sure we have a foundation in classic animation methodology (albeit, somewhat upgraded by using computer imagery to create underlays)

   Now, I am also constructing a sound stage, with a green screen, so that we might be able to introduce puppetry into the background scenery, which we are creating and using in the Illustrated Storybooks.

   It's interesting how layers can be applied to this process. For instance; if we create animation of a character (CGI or manually) we can insert that character and it's movements in any background as an upper layer. But here's the beauty of it - that animated character layer can be replaced with Digital Video of the same character portrayed with a puppet, captured on the sound stage in-house. 

   I was amazed to find a copy of Adobe Character Animator on this new laptop. I didn't even know this existed. Here's what I found out; Character Animator uses the car my era in the computer to monitor the movements of my mouth and interpret them in into the animated character. That amazes me. I was even more blown away to discover that the program ties into MIDI. If I understand that correctly, I can then tie the animation into our music midi files.

  The music for the Gnomes of New Hope had been composed using Digital Performer. We have a total of 70 musical numbers. Some of those numbers are bridges, backdrops and instrumentals, so they are not all lyrical songs. But the point is that; if the animation can be tied to a MIDI track, well, then we can sync the action, including the lip sync. Clearly, with Character Animator, I can sing the song and the animated character will react in like kind. I have not explored that program yet, but I believe we can scan our characters (artwork) into the program and build functional files for each character.

    All in all, I'd say we are on the right track for creating not only excellent artwork for the  Illustrated Storybooks, but an Animated e-Storybook as well.

AG