"An American Art form, animation is the process of drawing and photographing a character–a person, an animal, or an inanimate object–in successive positions to create lifelike movement. Animation is both art and craft; it is a process in which the cartoonist, illustrator, fine artist, screenwriter, musician, camera operator, and motion picture director combine their skills to create a new breed of artist–the animator." – Preston Blair

Character development
Draw rough idea sketches
Develop the basic shape of the character then add features
Develop the movement and expressions

CHARACTER MOVEMENT
What types of actions will your character make
Use the line of action - an imaginary line extending through the main action of the figure

ANIMATION
Plan for the action the character is to perform

STORYBOARD
Storyboard and script are the foundations of the animation.
Draw your idea in your sketchbook.
Similar to how a comic book is illustrated.
Set the timing - keep it between 15 and 30 seconds.

The Process
PLANNING
Come up with a concept - keep it simple
Create a character
Write a script

ILLUSTRATOR
Draw your objects, characters, etc in Illustrator.
Put each movement on a different layer.
Save original file in native format.
Then export to Photoshop.
Check “write layers”, RGB, and 72dpi.
Click save/ok.

IMAGE READY
Open the file in Image Ready.
Be sure the layers opened as well.
Show animation pallette.
Pull down options arrow on the right side of pallette.
Choose “make frames from layers”.
Optimize as GIF.
Save Optimized as.....