Let's all get together and make an anime!

[Interterrestrial]

How do you guys feel about giving this a working title? We can always change it later.

[Shoprocks]

Would it be too late for a newcomer to appear?

I don't have that large a skill set though, so I could probably only do writing, voice acting, and maybe a bit of music (Maybe crack out the Theremin, for some ambience?).
Any art I've done has mostly editing, which I guess could apply to Promo artistry

Welcome, welcome! We'll accept earnest newcomers the whole way through.

I know a site which lets you send files up to 2 GB to another persons e-mail. For that you don't need to sign up. It's called https://www.wetransfer.com/. I don't know if this might be handy, but it's there.

Yeah, that has its limitations because the whole group can't see it at once, but I can see that being useful when transferring from animator to editor, etc. I'll put it on the list c:

You can do most of (pretty much all) that in skype, then use that for small files, and then something like mediafire for larger ones . That's what I do for my podcast.

Ah good, Skype must be made of magic.

Also, you could set up some sort of active torrent that seeds the files in between all those who need it. Just an idea.

oAo Very l337, that's also on the list.

Now, I just realized there are a lot of posts I neglected to respond to, so I'm currently writing replies for those. Lots of love :3

[Shoprocks]

Now here's all the replies I forgot to make.......I think.....if I forgot to answer your question or acknowledge you, please ask again <3

I only know how to motion tween in Flash since that's what I use, so if you make tuts for other programs I might learn from you, haha. Though if you have time/are willing to do a Flash or Aftereffects tutorial I think that's awesome. If you need me to I can also put some Adobe/Autodesk tuts together in maybe a couple weeks (give or take) or if you put something together I can throw in some neat tricks I've learned. Or vice versa. Just like a melting pot of knowledge.

I don't know much about Flash. But I'm willing to watch some videos, particularly ones by amateur animators like *gasp* ourselves, and observe what techniques I found effective, and what fell flat. I don't think it'd be too comprehensive, but I can throw it your way and you can expand it. That would be fabulous.

I would love to make an animation! I see it is going to be hard to make characters fight and all but it should be fun.
About flash, truly dislike that stuff though, since it all looks quite stiff. I would like to say to keep the characters as simple as possible since you'll have to animate every detail you draw. Also would it be good to make turnarounds first of the characters and a simple animation of how they walk to see how it goes?
I have followed animation classes the past three years. I just joined the other site. I'll try think up a good character

I agree that Flash animations generally look stiff. I personally prefer to draw each frame new, instead of using motion tweens, so it's more fluid. (But sometimes it has that Ed Edd n Eddy look, with the outlines that make me feel like I'm on drugs, hahaha.) Especially given that Flash is so expensive, I'd like to explore a few options for animation before settling on one.

Turnarounds would be great though, and reference sheets, especially for faces. That will come when we settle on a general-ish art style, I think.

And I look forward to seeing what you (and the others) come up with, and seeing your experience in action c:

CG in general is going to be stiff, but it's also very economical. It's not what's ideal, but it gets the point across at least for an animatic as far as timing/sound effects go, so I don't think we should rule it out. If we get time later we can replace it with more fluid animation later.

What sort of things has your animation program covered? If you know animation programs, would you be willing to put together tutorials? And can you animate in Maya? I suck at animating/lighting/texturing in Maya but I can totally make models/props/rigs. Or if you know any other 3D animating softwares, Maya is all I know (I've been really wanting to learn Blender).

So are you suggesting that we plan it out in 3d or maybe stick with 3d overall? Sorry if I misinterpreted, this is kind of interesting.

(plan)

(extremelysupercomprehensiveplan)

A+++++++. I'm crediting you so hard for these.

The animation program I use is a 2D animation program called TVPaint Animation. I would love to learn how to work with blender, but it'll definitely cost me quite a while to master the software and to get to know the full possibilities.

I shall investigate these as well >:D

How do you guys feel about giving this a working title? We can always change it later.

I called it Project Alpha once for need of a name xD You guys must have better ideas than that. And yeah, we'll think of the real name when we know more.

[Troll]

So are you suggesting that we plan it out in 3d or maybe stick with 3d overall?

I don't think it's possible to create an overall 3D short film. It'll take forever to make this. 2D is more feasible.

[Shoprocks]

So are you suggesting that we plan it out in 3d or maybe stick with 3d overall?

I don't think it's possible to create an overall 3D short film. It'll take forever to make this. 2D is more feasible.

My thoughts also, but if she meant we plan it in 3d, that's a possibility, especially for complex changes of angle. Or I just totally misread it, pfft.

[Shoprocks]

Well gee, there's a lot going on! I wonder what I should be doing!

I'm so glad you asked!

Writers:
-Discuss stuff here. You don't even need an account.

Animators:
-Make some character designs here.
-If you don't want to design a character, hang tight. Someone may create a character but be unable to animate it themselves. Then you can choose whether you accept that mission.

Editors and sound people:
-Also hang tight.

Voice actors:
-We, uh, might need you. We don't know yet.

[pwii]

I'd like to join as a writer if you think I'm good enough. In the spoiler below is a link to one of my short comics that emphasizes action and pacing.

Spoiler! :

http://thebattle.smackjeeves.com/comics/1066982/1/

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Shoprocks is the Director for this project, yes? If it's not already decided, I think they should be.

Assuming I'm in, who are the other confirmed writers? How would we collaborate? (I have no mic, so I can't do Skype. I can do chat though.)

EDIT: Also, is there a head writer? Will we have a head writer? Will disagreements go up for vote or discussion, or both?

EDIT2: Has anyone thought of making a Facebook page? You could upload files(at least images. You can link to other filesharing sites there too), chat, plan, discuss, all on there. BUT I leave it up to Shoprocks to decide.

[Interterrestrial]

I was trying to say we can use 3D if we're doing something like a matrix move or we need to pan up on a building, or if we need some high-tech battleships or something. In other words, difficult perspective shots that you probably would not be able to get in real life.

I definitely was not meaning to suggest 3D animating the entire thing. More like just using it for props and environments. In other words, 2D/3D compositing (which is something you'd see in a TV show, where they animate the characters in 2D but have a 3D world.)

Making an animatic in 3D would be more reasonable, though. So the characters wouldn't be animated, but there would be 3D objects serving as placeholders for them (we can download a rig from creativecrash for that). Just to get a sense of camera moves.

Then when you get to animating characters you can keep the 3D backgrounds but take out the 3D character placeholders.

[pwii]

ALSO: Will the character designers want to participate in writing their character(s)?

[Troll]

if we need some high-tech battleships or something.

Complicated backgrounds, vehicles and other machinery like battleships are very minimal. This is a "videogame-like" opening. Like BlazBlue and Guilty Gear, mostly a very short compilations of character solos and mini fights. Just a short intro/teaser movie.

[Interterrestrial]

if we need some high-tech battleships or something.

Complicated backgrounds, vehicles and other machinery like battleships are very minimal. This is a "videogame-like" opening. Like BlazBlue and Guilty Gear, mostly a very short compilations of character solos and mini fights. Just a short intro/teaser movie.

Yeah, it's not to say it'll be detailed. And, as I said, we can use it for props, guns etc.

If you want I can totally do an example to show you what I mean.

I seem to be unable to sign on to the proboards.

[Ciro]

I don't know if it's been said before, but how about turning an existing comic into a anime? I mean, we would already have the characters and plot. A comic like Mokepon don't have too much action scenes and have an interesting story.

[Owlgravy]

I hope you stick around all the same! We still need some ideas for the opening sequence and maybe a general idea of what will be happening.

Yeah, I won't go anywhere.

[Shoprocks]

I'd like to join as a writer if you think I'm good enough. In the spoiler below is a link to one of my short comics that emphasizes action and pacing.

Spoiler! :

http://thebattle.smackjeeves.com/comics/1066982/1/

Ah, nice. That's a solid example of telling a simple but interesting story in a small period of time...hey! Sounds like what we're doing! And welcome to the magical world of Smackjanime.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but Shoprocks is the Director for this project, yes? If it's not already decided, I think they should be.

EDIT: Also, is there a head writer? Will we have a head writer? Will disagreements go up for vote or discussion, or both?

I'm the director out of necessity. I gladly accept this honorable title. But if someone else has a strong vision and leadership, they're welcome to take the title and guide us, as long as I still get decision-making and dispute-settling power.

As for a head writer...I'm sensitive about that because I picked one when I shouldn't have, and it got weird. So, this time, no head writer, just active contributors. The proboards forum has a poll feature that we could use. And I'll be kind of a judge - I'll listen to everybody's reasoning and opinions and (cross your fingers) try to choose what's best for the group. I mean, I don't think we'll have huge arguments on fundamental things, it'll just be small stuff.......right?

Writing for this is gonna be a little different than with traditional projects. Mostly we'll brainstorm as a group and pick what's good. Remember kids, "bad" ideas are just as welcome as good ones. Then we have options Look at my character. She's kinda stupid, but now we have a character.

Assuming I'm in, who are the other confirmed writers? How would we collaborate? (I have no mic, so I can't do Skype. I can do chat though.)

EDIT2: Has anyone thought of making a Facebook page? You could upload files(at least images. You can link to other filesharing sites there too), chat, plan, discuss, all on there. BUT I leave it up to Shoprocks to decide.

Skype chat is just dandy. For those of you who don't have Skype, you'll probably want it. If not, you won't be as much in the loop, but I'll keep you posted by whatever method works for you. A badger with an note?

Note: If you haven't already, please PM me your Skype name, as we'll be using that

Facebook is a possibility, but there's copyright issues and less privacy/anonymity. If we all knew each other anyway, that might be really nice, but ehh.

I was trying to say we can use 3D if we're doing something like a matrix move or we need to pan up on a building, or if we need some high-tech battleships or something. In other words, difficult perspective shots that you probably would not be able to get in real life.

Ahhhh yes. I've seen that done a lot. Especially in Gonzo anime, it would seem o_o And also in American cartoons, whenever there's a vehicle that's not just going straight. It's generally pretty conspicuous, but...obviously the studio has decided it's more cost-effective to render it in 3D than to draw so many frames of a complicated object.

Making an animatic in 3D would be more reasonable, though. So the characters wouldn't be animated, but there would be 3D objects serving as placeholders for them (we can download a rig from creativecrash for that). Just to get a sense of camera moves.

I prefer this most of all. The 3D helps us plan things we couldn't ordinarily ("HOW DO YOU DRAW SPACESHIP TURNING" *scribbles and breaks tablet* *quits*), but then we draw over it to make it more organic.

ALSO: Will the character designers want to participate in writing their character(s)?

I should maybe abridge my post in the character thread, but there's a space for the character designers to put some ideas for their scenes.

When we discuss it in Skype/boards/etc, I'll make sure the character designers are present when we're working on a certain character, unless they've given us permission to work without them. However if you refuse to budge to a ridiculous extent, or you're never there but we can't do anything without you, well, your character won't be with us for very long. ;__; cry cry

I seem to be unable to sign on to the proboards.

That kind of makes me want to cry. Can you at least post as a guest?

I don't know if it's been said before, but how about turning an existing comic into a anime? I mean, we would already have the characters and plot. A comic like Mokepon don't have too much action scenes and have an interesting story.

That's an interestin' prospect. And isn't Mokepon kind of the mascot of Smackjeeves? (Or would a better mascot be a yaoi couple, OHHHHHH.) I don't want to change the concept again this time round, but if we finish this and feel up to animating an existing comic I'm sure that would be lots of fun, and one hell of a compliment for the original comicker.

[Interterrestrial]

So it wasn't the Proboards. It was me. I realize the reason I wasn't able to sign on was because my password is in all caps when I was repeatedly trying it lower case.

This took me 2 hours to figure out, because I'm just that brilliant.