Tools of the Trade
Intro
Welcome! So, this blog came to me because I get asked a lot about what I use to animate and make my shorts. I thought I’d take some time to write a blog about it so there can be a point of reference for those who are curious about this that goes into detail about what I use and why I use it. An important note is that none of these tools will make you a better artist. This blog is written without any assumption of your skill level as an artist. Tools are just tools and can make executing what’s in your head easier, but they won’t teach you how to bring those ideas to life. This is a very, very important distinction because when I was younger I thought if I had all the programs that the pros had I would be a pro. That is not true at all.
So with that in mind, these are my main tools so that I can complete shorts as timely and with as much flexibility as possible. As you will see, a lot of my workflow is split between portable tech (like tablets and phones), and my desktop computer. It wasn’t always like this, but in recent times I have valued more and more the the ability to do work on the go, mostly so I can get some fresh air and not be stuck in my apartment. But depending on your needs, you can do things all portably or only on a desktop. Maybe a mix of traditional and digital, or anything in between. I encourage you to experiment and discover a setup you are comfortable enough with so you can focus on the quality of what you’re creating and not get stuck on trying to create a pro studio. A lot of these items were acquired over a period of time spanning years, so don’t feel any pressure about not being able to afford something right away. Do what you can to get started on creating the type of art you want before you invest the money for more luxurious products. I’ll be linking to amazon for pretty much all of these because it’s easiest (I’m not being paid for this, nor am I using affiliate links, but I am using bitly to shorten the links for my own use). With that started, let’s break it all down!
Traditional Tools
Let’s get started with traditional tools. While I’m effectively all digital these days, there are times when I prefer working traditionally. The circumstances in which I prefer working traditionally are usually to do with jotting down small ideas or doodles. Sometimes it’s easier to sneak a doodle in a sketchbook than an digital tablet and there’s no wait time when using a sketchbook. I just open the book and start sketching. You’ve got to love that level of simplicity. Here’s what I use:
I use the hardcover pocket moleskin for the durability. I used to use the cheaper softcover and paperback ones but the sketchbook gets destroyed to easily, and I like to preserve my sketchbooks when possible. As for the pencil, I use a simple mechanical pencil. This is mostly for a pleasure thing because I love the weight a mechanical pencil has. I don’t need the range of strokes a regular pencil or charcoal has because the purpose for sketchbook doodles for me is to just get ideas down quickly, and to get messy. I find I am more experimental and free when drawing in a sketchbook than a when I draw in a tablet, and it’s the perfect environment to hash out designs and brainstorm.
Hardware
Next is hardware. For me, this is probably the most important thing. I like working seamlessly and with as little hiccups as possible. While you don’t need a beast of a computer or tablet to get work done, I would suggest having equipment that is above the specs of whatever programs you intend to use. There’s a lot that can go wrong when using hardware, so you want to remove any of those obstacles where you can. Here’s a fun fact as well: I don’t game on my PC. Not because I can’t but I don’t want to slow it down in anyway and I do a lot of renders so I want the hard drive space conserved for that. You don’t have to do the same, but you should keep in mind a PC fitted for 2D animation probably won’t run current games on max settings. The needs for playing games and making animation are a little different so it helps to have in mind what you want to do before buying. Of course computers are general purpose, so you’ll be able to do both to some degree depending on your rig, so do some research!
I will definitely stress the need to go for an SSD though (or if you can, an SSD for your programs and OS, and a traditional drive for your media). SSD’s are game changers for desktops, and you can make an old computer feel like brand new when using one. Of course RAM and the processor are important so keep that in mind as well. Here’s my rig:
HP Z2 Mini G3 running Windows 10
16 Gb of RAM
256 Gb SSD
1 Tb disc drive
i7 Processor
In addition to your rig, monitors are important. I have a dual monitor setup. I can’t work any other way anymore. I love having the space and ability to have multiple things going on. I have an HD monitor that functions as my main monitor and a Cintiq 13hd for drawing on. I use a double monitor arm that lets me swivel the monitors around. Also, because the Cintiq is an older model, there are no VESA mounts, so if you want to mount it on an arm, I recommend getting a laptop mount which works really well in keeping a smaller tablet sturdy and safe. I also have a matte screen protector for the Cintiq as well, but I can’t find the link since I don’t remember where I bought it from. Amazon has a lot now, so you can probably find one there.
ViewSonic VA2259-SMH 22 Inch IPS 1080p Frameless LED Monitor with HDMI and VGA Inputs
That’s more or less it for my workstation. It’s taken me a couple of years to get it to the point where I’m happy with it, but I really love it. That’s not all though. Since the tech is getting better, and I am more conscious of my physical health, I’ve decided to move a large portion of my production capabilities to mobile technology. Fortunately for me, the tech has matured so much and I have been able to move ALL pre-production and about half production capabilities to mobile. I have a ton of flexibility now in where I want to work and that’s led me to live a more active life. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND going mobile if you can. So here’s what I’m using:
Just a couple of notes on this. First, I also have an iPhone with a glass screen protector and case that I do a lot of planning work on. I won’t link to that because it doesn’t play a big part in my production since I’ve gotten my iPad. Second, while the folio keyboard is nice, it’s overpriced and probably not worth it now that more options are out there. I had to buy it for the work I wanted to do, but I don’t think it’s The keyboard this version of the iPad deserves. Lastly, I just want to reiterate that this isn’t all super necessary but it’s very nice to have. I also want to mention that while there are better animation apps on tablets now, none of them are as valuable as what you can get on a desktop. They’re great for the first generation of releases and the apps will get better with time, but not even the best mobile app can stand against the best desktop animation apps. That should go without saying, but I thought it’d be important to mention so you know the kind of limitations you’d potentially be dealing with.
Software
The software is something that’s really flexible. You should spend some time researching what works for you, and go for free when you can. It all depends on your workflow. There’s a lot of software out now for everything so experiment where you can. It also does help to know what the industry standard stuff is in case you want to animate in a more standardized way.
I’m going to split this section into 2 parts. The first part is for planning, and the second part is for creative production software. The planning software tends to change more frequently than the creative software, so keep that in mind when browsing for stuff. What’s more important is that you find software that makes you want to plan your stuff out. You can get the coolest program, but if you don’t want to use it because it’s too complex or there’s too much to learn, it wouldn’t be worth the cash investment. The only thing that matters is if it can get you to do the work you need. Here’s my lineup, and what each program is used for:
Planning software
iOS stock notes app
Management
Building list of ideas for shorts
Production Calendar
Writing outlines and scripts
I like the notes app for it’s simple user interface, and cross platform ability. I can open up iCloud on my PC and have access to all my notes and update things from there when I’m home. It’s lightweight and flexible.
Doodling
Brainstorming
I just discovered Notability and it’s interesting. I feel it’s more suited for doodling than writing so it kind of functions like my digital sketchbook to jot down ideas or work through problems. I’m still getting used to it, but it has a lot of potential.
To-do lists
Project management
Asset lists
I also discovered things 3 for iPhone and I really like this app. It’s the most logical to-do app I’ve used and it gives me everything I want. I used to put all of these kinds of projects in the default notes app, but once I downloaded this, I immediately moved my lists here. Highly recommended.
Scheduling out my week
I like this app for the user interface, which is clean and sleek. I’ve had a hard time getting into digital calendars, but this app converted me. It’s fun to use and lightweight.
Archiving
Evernote used to be my everything app, but now I mostly use it for archiving purposes. I put all of my stories and scripts here after they’ve been completed and I color code things.
This is more or less the main planning software I use. I will give a shoutout to google sheets though because it’s a great program. A lot of my past projects were planned using google sheets, and when I start doing larger projects I’ll incorporate it again. I just haven’t had much of a use for planning stuff in it because of the other apps I use, but this app is definitely a heavy hitter. I use a bunch of other smaller apps for very specific purposes as well, but I don’t think they fit in with the theme of this blog.
Creative Software (Desktop):
Puppet creation
Staging
Animation
Asset archival
Toonboom is the big daddy of animation programs and does most of the heavy lifting for me now. I used to use TVPaint, which is an awesome program, but Toonboom is a lot more production focus and has been adding a lot of the functionality that made TVPaint great to use, while also building off of it’s own strengths. Sometimes it can be buggy, but not as bad as Adobe Animate. There’s a lot of other things the program does well, and I’ve gushed about it before in another blog so check that out if you want to read more about my thoughts on Toonboom.
Compositing
Text Effects
Special effects
Rendering
After Effects to me is probably the most reliable program in the Adobe Suite and also the one with the least competition for what it does. Sure there are alternatives like Nuke, or Blender, but After Effects is a program that fits very well into it’s niche and has become the industry standard for compositing because of it.
Sound Design
Pro Tools is an industry standard sound designing program that I got acquainted with in college. I’m running Pro Tools 11 which is a few years old, and I’ve been reluctant to upgrade because of the price. I mostly use this because it’s what I used in college and I don’t have a desire to learn new audio programs. It’s a good program, but this version runs a little weird on Windows and it’s a nightmare when I have to re-install it on new computers.
Archiving and indexing sound effects
Searching for SFX for use in Pro Tools
This is another program I was acquainted with in College. It’s something you probably don’t think about often, but sound makes a big difference in films. It helps to have A LOT of sound effects for diversity and range and they add up. Having a program whose use is in the assistance of searching and implementing sound effects is a necessity for me at this point. It makes things go by so much faster and it’s nice to be able to cut out specific parts of audio and transfer that into my Pro Tools projects. That said, It’s pretty expensive and the version I have is pretty buggy. I’ve heard there are good competitors on Windows, but I haven’t looked into it too much.
Creative Software (iOS):
Doodling
Storyboarding
Asset planning
Procreate is a great program. It’s so fluid and versatile, it’s basically my default drawing app. When I’m planning assets for shorts, I always doodle them in procreate because it gives me the best drawing experience. I’m still learning it, and the more I know of it, the more its use case expands. I love it. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Storyboarding
I just purchased Rough Animator, and haven’t had a chance to use it too much., but from what I have used, it’s a great animation program. I would go so far as to say it’s the best animation program for your buck on iOS. Unfortunately there aren’t too many tools and it’s super simple, but that’s ok because I only want to use it for doing more detailed storyboards. There’s a bit of a learning curve, but it’s worth it.
Animatics
Video editing
It’s very rare that I use something that constantly surprises me with it’s versatility and usability. LumaFusion is that program. It made me a believer in the power of my iPad Pro, and if I hadn’t known it existed, I probably wouldn’t have made the leap. LumaFusion is not just good, it’s excellent. I’m not an editor, but working in this program is seamless and enjoyable. I find myself wanting to use it more because of how fun it is. It made a huge difference in my production capabilities because I was able to put together more accurate animatics. The price is high for a mobile app, but considering what you get, it’s honestly peanuts. As far as I’m concerned, this app is a must have.
Asset creation
Vectornator is a great program. It’s a lot like Adobe Illustrator. I love it because it can export to illustrator files (which play well with Toonboom). You get a lot of control when working in the file, and I’ve switched most of my asset production capabilities to this app. Precise and flexible, Vectornator is a great tool to have, and the team is constantly updating it and making it better. It’s not as versatile as something like Affinity Designer, but with what I need it to do, it works better for me than Affinity Designer does.
Asset creation
Affinity Designer is a good program that falls short of what I need a vector program to do for most of the time, but when I need a very specific asset made, I go to Affinity Designer. I think if it had the ability to export Adobe Illustrator file types, it would be my program of choice when factoring in Vectornator, but for now it’s use case is very niche for my purposes. It’s still a great program, and I imagine I’ll use it more as I learn more about it, but for now it plays backup to Vectornator.
Outro
So that’s that. It’s a lot of stuff I know, but I wanted this post to be as thorough as possible. This includes my current workflow, but I’m always on the lookout for things that make life easier for me through more functionality, cross platform ability and seamlessness of integrating into my methodology. I hope you were able to glean something from this post that can help you in creating the kind of work that you want to create. Remember though, these recommendations won’t make you a better artist, just a more efficient one. It’s up to you to put in the hard work to be able to create that which lives in your head, but I think anything that can make that process easier is worth serious consideration.
Now get to creating!
Current workflow, but always looking to improve things
Hope it was informative