Caterpillar_Penguin

Alright! Caterpillar_Penguin is finally done. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have never animated in After Effects before. Okay, I've done some motion graphic-type stuff, but never any character animation. C_P is not a complex animation. It's a building block, a stepping stone while I figure out the strengths and weaknesses of 2.5D AE animations. Having said that, I also must say that I learned SO MUCH from this project. For those of you who are also new to this type of animation, let me share a bit of advice: After Effects lets you have multiple compositions within your project -- Use them! And plan the length of your actions accordingly. (Though it's generally better (and easier) to have to cut something shorter than not have enough to work with.) If you're creating things in other programs, export them as Illustrator or Photoshop files, if possible. They will come out cleaner and give you greater flexibility. And don't be afraid of the pin tool... it's pretty awesome when you get to know it.

I'm very excited to move onto a new project -- I've been plotting one in my head for the past day or so. Now that I know what I can and cannot do (or rather, what is simple and what is the really, really long way to do what should have been simple) I'm planning on moving onto more of a puppet-type animation. The working title is called "The Magician." Stay tuned for updates. =D

P.S.
You may have been wondering why I chose a caterpillar and a penguin for this project. I knew I wanted to play with the segmented body of the caterpillar and well, the penguin just kind of happened. Besides, the irregular is generally much more entertaining than the ordinary, don't you think?

P.S.S.
Yay, Vimeo is working wonderfully again! Hurray for smooth, non-glitchy videos. ^__^