I would reccomend trying out a drawing tablet if you haven't yet. Its the closest analog to digital for this type of work.

I bought a Monoproce tablet a little whole back and it has been great for these situations. Background painting is a breeze and more intuitive while character creation can come faster with the addition of multiple undo states, etc.

Some will say they aren't as good as Wacom tablets, which may be true, but I've used both this monoprice one and an intuos and can't really find much difference in daily usage.

For reference, the monoprice tablets are much cheaper, but they do have some oddities compared to wacom, like batteries in the pen, but it would be a good starting point tonseenif you like the tool.

Here's their list of tablets. 

http://www.monoprice.com/Category?c_id=108&cp_id=10841

And here's the one I got.

http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=108&cp_id=10841&cs_id=1084102&p_id=6814&seq=1&format=2

The hotkey buttons on that one help out a lot with things like holding down alt/control or space bar to pan around. It's all customizable through their drivers.

It has compatibility with OS X, but not sure about the super latest versions. I use it on Windows 7 just fine here.

///Greg Balint
//Art Director / Motion Graphics Designer
/321.514.4839
delRAZOR.com/
   

On Jan 10, 2014 8:41 AM, "Anders Sundstedt" <sundstedt@hotmail.com> wrote:

Hi all AE Mail list followers,

 

It’s been very silent on this mail list yesterday and today so I thought I would contribute with a new discussion.

 

I am looking to find alternative, perhaps more efficient was of producing original from scratch made artwork for my animated cartoon style videos (2D or 2.5D).

 

Currently, I have 3 alternative ways (for creating 2D assets):

 

1. Draw required artwork (separated if to use as layers) on paper using pen –> Scan –> Touch up in IL –> Export .PSD to PS –> Color in PS, polish add any textures etc. –> Save .PSD for AE –> Import to AE –> Use as a comp or separate layers –> Animate.

 

2. Draw layers using Path/Shape in PS using Pen Tool and Direct Select Tool –> Import PS into AE. (Question: When I draw it fills the drawn path automatically, how do I draw it all first and then fill after drawn instead?)

 

3. Draw on SketchUp on iPad –> Import into Illustrator –> Export to PS –> Animate in AE.

 

Now, I don’t know which is the fastest, but I don’t think it’s option 3, as it’s a bit limited.

 

I have now shared some of my techniques for creating artwork for my animations, including background artwork, characters and props/objects.

 

Please would you suggest better/easier/more efficient or more fun ways that used in your production (or ways I could improve any of the 3 ways listed above, that you have experience of (I don’t use stock artwork so I am not interested in that option).

 

I would also love to know what you use for storyboarding (even if just sketchy line drawings / stick figure). I have been using pen and paper mainly. What do you or your clients use?

 

P.S. I am looking for more freelance work in 2014 so if you are looking for an animated web video / explainer / demo video of a more illustrative / cartoon style, please do feel free to get in touch to discuss your project. I can do a video from start to finish, or only artwork or animation if you prefer).

 

 

Kind Regards,

Anders

Anders Sundstedt | Director | Animator | Illustrator
After Effects Artist | Motion Designer
M.Sc. Media Technology & Visualization
e: anders@sundstedt.co.uk
t: +44 141 886 2037 | m: +44 7531 800 711
a: 3/2 8 Whimbrel Wynd | Glasgow | PA4 8TJ | UK
Twitter: @sundstedt & @AfterEffectsArt
Vimeo Channel: sundstedt
LinkedIn: Anders Sundstedt
Web: www.sundstedt.co.uk