Once you have the program installed (I think it comes with Windows 7, though I’m not sure of this), open up the file and you’ll have a template for an X-Sheet at your disposal. You can write/draw right overtop of the image using different colors or line thicknesses to differentiate your notes. Also, if you need to move your notes down a few frames, you can select the lines you wrote and move them on the fly. If you decide you want to work traditionally, you can then print out your notes and take them over to your animation table. This file is set up for an 8.5” x 14” page.
Download the file by clicking on the image below.
Click on this image to download the Window Journal file.
I created this because there doesn’t seem to be any one perfect 2d animation program to use at the moment. This means I tend to jump around from one program to another a lot. So why not have your plan for your animated sequence separate from the program? That way you are not tied to whatever program you started your 2d animation. Also, it seems that each program handles an X-sheet in their own unique way, usually looking more like a timeline in an editing program than a traditional X-Sheet. This way everything is standardized no matter which program you use, and your X-sheet, the plan for our entire animation, is accessible no matter which program you choose to use that day.
I have other X-sheets ready for printing that can be found by clicking on the “Resources” tab up near the top of the page if you’d rather stick to strict pencil and paper.
It started with one drawing and before I knew it I was roughing out an animation in Straight Ahead fashion. The sketches range from rough to super rough. I was having fun with this, I’ll probably come back to it and try to fill in all the micro expression changes to bring more clarity to the exchange going on here between our hero and the man off screen.
I need to figure out a better way to display these so you can frame through them rather than scrolling the page, which kind of ruins the effect. Any ideas?
**Update**
I took a rudimentary pass at timing this piece and exported to the quicktime below. I’m sure I’ll change the timing on it quite a bit from this point as I work on it, but this helps show the initial idea.
Just having fun coming up with different characters in profile. Made in Artrage. Click the image to see the larger version.
The other sequence was a Scrat short hinting at the premise for the next Ice Age film, called Scrat’s Continental Crack-Up.
I’m feeling the need to update my demoreel to include the models I’ve made for Blue Sky Studios over the past four years, so keep an eye out for that. I’m sure I’ll be adding stills of my models in the gallery section long before I ever have the reel together. In fact, here is a render of an Ankylosaur I modeled for Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, designed by none other than great Peter De Seve.
I also added a Resources tab to the menu where I’ll post what I hope to be useful tools for other artists/animation enthusiasts out there. As of now I added some tools for 2d animation, namely: X-Sheets, storyboard templates, field charts, and even a metronome conversion chart. So please come back and check for new content soon!
So I was playing around in photoshop, just trying to remember all the facial proportions and rhythyms and before I knew it this image was formed. I thought it looked pretty cool and maybe others might find it interesting/useful… or at the very least, it could give somebody nightmare material. It isn't entirely accurate, but has enough info to remind me of the foundations in the face. Maybe I'll make up a companion to it showing the planes of the face too.
