Frame by frame action

There's a common misconception that Flash is a limited animation tool.. i.e. it's a tool that's limited. Sure, it's perfect for the 'Limited' style of 2D animation, and it does have its limitations, but in my opinion more traditional animators (especially all of those who are now out of work) should be picking up Flash and pouring their frame-by-frame skills into it. When it comes to the frame-by-frame style of 2D animation, Flash is capable of a hell of a lot more than people give it credit for.

For those people new to Flash - and the beginning/aspiring animators amongst us - it's important to understand that it isn't some magical program that animates for you.. however it does have tools that can make the process easier or quicker. Just like a pencil though, it requires commitment and patience to develop skills.

Flash is very well suited to frame by frame animation. If you're a traditional 2D animator and you disagree with me, you're wrong (I smile in your face, cos it's my blog). The reason I say this is purely from personal experience. Anything I did on paper throughout my years at Disney (both character and effects animation), I can do with Flash quicker, cheaper and easier.

The difference between what I was doing at Disney and what I'm doing now is that I'm using a Wacom tablet and drawing directly into the program with Flash's Brush tool. The other big difference is that I now have complete control over the colour-styling, the compositing, the layout, the cleanup and inbetweening, backgrounds.. the entire process.

The huge benefit of having worked in a high-pressure production environment is that it forced us to work fast at high quality. The studio found ways to streamline production, each department created workflow improvements and individuals developed their own personal methods of speeding up. The pressure was a huge pain in the arse, but looking back, I owe a lot of my speed and quality to my colleagues and mentors over the years.

So all that streamlining and high output at top quality has taught me to find quicker ways of doing stuff. Instead of spending 3 weeks on a waterfall, there are ways to create something stunning with just three drawings. This kind of mindset is very well suited to Flash, because when you come across any limitations, you'll find ways to make it work.

So now you're probably saying 'ah well it's alright for you Phillips, ya smarmy bastard.. having worked for an animation studio, you probably find Flash easy'. But to that I say "Pokies". It doesn't matter where you're at with your animation experience or career.. picking up Flash isn't going to be easy. Everyone's first efforts are awkward and to some of us, embarrassing.

Don't be discouraged if your earliest efforts look like shit.. everyone cuts their teeth on bad drawings and bad scenes. These bad bits are essential for improvement, cos each time you do a drawing that makes you vomit, you learn something. This is why looking back on your early work almost invariably makes you cringe.. simply because you've come so far.

I suppose you could say that if you're working toward improvement, you're looking for flaws in your work.. working towards mistakes and learning not to make them.