Seeing how extremely complicated animation as seemingly simple as a walk cycle can be makes me appreciate everything from MLP to moving stick figures so very much more.
It's awesome how you explain what you love about this clip ("it's really fun and appealing... staccato beat of the song while still feeling light and snappy. How does it do that?!"). As a casual viewer, it gives me a whole new level to appreciate this art form. Thank you for that.
This is a great and helpful video to people who, like myself, don't even watch MLP, just for the sake of understanding the complex emotions put into animation and how they work.
Excellent job on this video! Very informative and well presented! I was glad to hear the confirmation about the 24 frames per second, as I was unclear if the show itself was using that or some odd number like 29.95. After doing all those Rhythm is Magic videos, I learned that Flash doesn't always like to play ball when dealing with syncing audio to visual loops and tends to desync if the loops is left playing long enough. I've tried several FPSs (including 24) and this tends to happen to me.
Typically though, if the scene doesn't last all that long this isn't TOO much of a problem. It certainly doesn't help if your trying to have a 6 frame loop carry through 2 whole minutes (Foal in One was a bit of a nightmare in that department). If any of you try stuff like this, be sure to keep an eye out for that sort of thing, depending on your computer speed, Flash can sort of lie to you and make it look like things are in sync when they really aren't.
Digi demanded I watch this video, and I'm glad he did! At first I only appreciated the humor and music in MLP:FiM, but videos like this help me appreciate its other features that escape my notice.
you only forgot one thing. the way the body goes forward the hoof stepping in the ground goes back and in the animation pinkie's hoof looks smaller so that makes similar
Thank you very much for this animation analysis. I am just starting animation (LITERALLY - I made my very first animation yesterday). It was a simple one. I made my second animation short today, which was a bit longer and had much more complicated character movements, and I executed them pretty badly, so I decided not to upload it. (If anyone reads this comment and wants to see it, just ask and I can share the video file.) I've been wanting to make my animating style interesting and "snappy," and I need practice of course. I was thinking of doing a pony recreation of "Gay Stroll'n" by Zeurel, and this trot cycle analysis really helped. I'm going to start work tomorrow! Wish me luck!
As someone who wants to be an animator, this is pretty freakin' inspiring. Thanks bro, you are really helping me, and more than likely, other animators.
I am interested in animation...but this video has me stuck....how did you get an episode or clip of the show INTO flash?o.o if I can learn that I can practice...as currently..i have n clue how to get the show clips...or import them...
What I really love about the animation is that it properly follows a rule of anatomy with four-legged animals. the legs alternate. Right front, back left, front left, right back, so on and so forth. It just really shows how a four-legged animal would move, though these ponies move more like dogs because they have more of an elbow then straight bones, while horses have an ankle so their hoofs can move. For a cartoon it still uses great anatomy.
When I watched this video honestly opened my eyes to so much and helped my apritate this show in new ways that I hadn't thought possible at the time. Kudos for honestly one of the most well put together animation analysis that has stuck in mind throughout the years
I love your vids, the average viewer never really thinks too much about what really goes into animation, but since I started watching vids about animation, I've discovered a whole new level of appreciation for this art.
I absolutely admire guys like you, who can make people actually take an interest in things they wouldn't normally take interest into (sorry if it's a little messed up, i'm not completely at ease in english, being french and all). Seriously I never thought that would be THIS interesting to analyse a 10 second walk animation from one of the song of MLP. Someone give that guy a medal.
O_o Watching this gives me a whole new appreciation for the brilliance of the animators behind this show... and this was just one WALK cycle! Absolutely amazing... Thank you for making this. You've just gained yourself a new subscriber.
Wow, this is a really informative breakdown! I love seeing the nuts and bolts of how things work, be it animation or anything else. This really shows how hard the MLP artists work to give us such a fun show.
one of those rare moments where i drop my "apathy is the best policy" attitude and actually give a sub to a guy who deserves it, your good at what you do, and having tried animation for a while i know it's not easy. good luck with everything, and thanks for the video!
"Besides, I've got ponies I could be watching." Don't we all... Anyway, thanks for the analysis. Still trying to decide how into animation I really am.
This helped me so much with musical timing so much. Everything has to be in sync with the beat all the time, or else the character seems off somehow. Now if only the guy who made that horrific Cats movie had even had half of this same level of understanding of movement and rhythm
Today, I learned more about drawing [still images] of ponies in motion than several deviantART tutorials combined. Seriously, great job on breaking down the basics. It makes a lot of sense even for those who doesn't have any grasp on animation.
I think my favorite bit of animation in that scene is that over head shot you showed at the end. how the legs and hooves move in time with the beat and the general layout of the shot just looks great.
You sir, are winning all the internets. My animation friends try explaining this stuff to me and it goes over my head, but YOU made it sound so clean and sharp OwO
Hooray for people who appreciate the art of animation and all of the work that goes into it! This analysis is exactly what I'm talking about when I tell people that MLP features the best animation television has to offer.
This is an amazing video, I am always so glad to see videos with substance that know what they are talking about while keeping a sense of humor and fun. I'm off checking out the rest of this series!
I absolutely LOVE how you explain this! The wording, especially with the dictionary part, loved that, was awesome and you didn't leave out anything when you were talking! Now, all I need to do is try analyzing something myself and use your tips for help...
I find this pretty interesting, being an ex-music major and interested (although majorly inexperienced) in animation. Thanks for taking the time to break it down!
Wow, great video! And yet another reason why this show rocks! It must be cool to actually have the skills needed to notice and appreciate stuff like this; thanks for sharing it with the rest of us :D
You're incredibly intelligent and perceptive, and this was wonderfully explained, which'll take you really far. Good luck with animating or whatever you want to do!
The breakdown is the main step in connecting your key/extreme poses to further define the movement. In the example above it involved delaying the step down so the leg is faster going down than coming up. It's basically placing the middle position between keys to control how fast things move.
You wow'd the fuck out of me with this (p.s. "wow'd" is a word, according to YT) I always knew the FiM crew put a lot of time and effort into the show, but your breakdown of this literally frame by frame earned them and yourself a lot of respect. It's not always easy to describe WHY you feel what you feel about something, but to be able to do it so concisely, AND be able to put a visual representation of it up too, now that's something.
I actually loved that walk cycle the most, but I couldn't put my finger on why. I think you really hit the nail on the head with this vid, and really hooked me into the animation process :) Now excuse me, I'm going to go watch the song again.
Your "pony-break-downs" are really fun to watch and immensely helpfull and well put together, this might even bring me back to making animation again ;-) Eadweard Muybridge would be proud of you...
I love this song too. It helps brighten up my day when I listen to "Smile, Smile, Smile." For people like coola kreele who hate the "Smile, Smile, Smile" are mean to Pinkie Pie.
As someone who is presently studying animation, I found this little video to be very useful in being able to understand a walk cycle. :) Nice analysis here.
Stuff like that is like learning your scales on the piano. If you can handle all technical stuff without much thought and effort, you can focus on the art and expression.
Animating takes so much patience that I don't have. This is why I help write scripts and voice act and now we have a fan movie being animated.. And I have to... Sing with my Big Mac-like voice... Oh no... Ooooh no... HEEEELLLLPPPP!
You say too obsessed, I say exactly the right amount. That's the thing about artists: we get pretty intense about the subject. Quality art, and animation especially, requires a thorough understanding of the subject matter, whether it be humans, ponies, robots, or RUclips commenters. To be a great artist, obsession is practically a requirement. One of the artists who worked on Bambi dissected a deer to better understand and thus more accurately represent them in the film. THAT'S obsession.
Thanks so much for this! My daughter's starting high school on the visual arts/animation track, and your videos will be great to revisit from time to time as her learning deepens. Your sense of timing is fantastic. (Twilight: NO.)
Very nice! I did think that the cutest walk, especially when all the ponies are marching and singing down the street. Very nicely done! Both to you and the MLP team. : D
I really love these breakdowns, it makes me want to re-watch all of the episodes and look for 'em. This really helps me too, I really want to get into animation and this made me even more motivated to work at it. So, I thank you for these. C:
The small things like this are what began to lasso me into this series, and once it started to stirrup my emotions makes me wonder why furlong, I didn't want any part in such a fandom.... so now It DOES look amazing to me and no matter what you do, you canter dissuade that from me.
Well, this was quite insightful into the process of animating to music. It's funny that slight syncopation is often more accentuating to a sound then complete synchronisation. Also, yes need to watch ponies now too.
Dear lord, you're kind of like me... You really notice those little tiny things that most people take for granted. I'm not an animator, but I do love me some smooth, flowing animation that really brings things to life. I love these breakdowns, as they make it seem like I can be a bit more snobby with my appreciation for quality animation.
This is really helpful...I'd been reading a book about this kind of stuff but it just now sort of clicked into place...I still don't fully understand but I'm getting there now. Thank you and I hope you do more videos like this one.
Flash models tend to be made up of a bunch of pieces you move or rotate. If you look at the rear legs on the pony model, it's actually 5 separate pieces you can move around. As long as you rotate from the right place, it usually looks fine.
He's just breakin' it on down for the animation buffs out there- true, overanalyzation can kill the magic for some people, but for others it just makes them appreciate it more I fall into the second category XP Great work, gbeaudette! What a great way to showcase the care and thought that goes into the simplest aspects of this show!
Thank you for doing these videos! They're great practice, fantastic reference, and are helping me even out some of my Flash work. Plus, hey... just love those ponies, right? ^_^
I was going to write a witty comment about how you have too much time, but then I finished watching it and realised that I had learned something. I never knew how much work was put into the smallest details, and how they could change the mood of an entire scene. Very informative, and interesting. Plus, you said "butt" and it was funny when you said 'butt.'
As someone interested in animating my own cartoons, these videos are very helpful! Mine will be of a different variety (80's style Alvin and the Chipmunks instead of MLP), but the core essence of animation remains the same. Thanks for these!
This is a really cool analysis, the kind that I -wish- my animation class at high school would go into, but at the moment it's really just a filler class. I am interested in animation, but I can't draw to save my life, which makes me fairly sad that I really don't know where I could end up in the industry. This definitely makes me want to break out that flash program I have lying around on the computer, if only to try this out and get back into animating a bit.
I'd say it's more people that makes learning seem interesting and very rewarding. Even for book worms or geeks, it still is hard to get invested into learning something without having someone to show them that it's really worth doing it.
Now that is some impressive stuff! Interesting to see a bit from MLP traced and animated more traditionally as just outlines as opposed to solid flash symbols and shapes. This shoul definitely come in handy once I start learning proper animation, what with walk cycles being the essential thing to learn and all (also, Animation Survivor's Kit FTW!)
As a male science teacher who has no artistic talent whatsoever, yet loves MLP FIM, I found your video to be amazingly insightful, educational, and totally fun to watch. I had no idea there was anything remotely scientific to the art of animation. You, sir, have completely blown my mind. HOOFBUMP /)(\
Trying to make a flash short of myself frolicking (in a very manly fashion) through Ponyville to the song "Livin' in the Sunlight, Lovin' in the Moonlight". This actually helped out with nailing the timing of the footsteps a lot! Thanks!
thanks so much!
Hey shgurr
Omp shgurr
Hi
Hii
real
Seeing how extremely complicated animation as seemingly simple as a walk cycle can be makes me appreciate everything from MLP to moving stick figures so very much more.
It's awesome how you explain what you love about this clip ("it's really fun and appealing... staccato beat of the song while still feeling light and snappy. How does it do that?!").
As a casual viewer, it gives me a whole new level to appreciate this art form. Thank you for that.
This is a great and helpful video to people who, like myself, don't even watch MLP, just for the sake of understanding the complex emotions put into animation and how they work.
2 years later has it gotten you addicted to pony yet? how bout now? Now? maybe now...
5 years later....
YOU ARE MY IDOL!!! THANK YOU FOR DOING THIS!
Hello
@@itzriz6329 hello
@@MinecraftVearatThemePlay Hello there!
@@itzriz6329 hi xD
@@MinecraftVearatThemePlay hello xP
How are you?
Excellent job on this video! Very informative and well presented! I was glad to hear the confirmation about the 24 frames per second, as I was unclear if the show itself was using that or some odd number like 29.95. After doing all those Rhythm is Magic videos, I learned that Flash doesn't always like to play ball when dealing with syncing audio to visual loops and tends to desync if the loops is left playing long enough. I've tried several FPSs (including 24) and this tends to happen to me.
Wow, you're smart, this all looks so complex, are you an animator?
Silver77cyn si
He is
Typically though, if the scene doesn't last all that long this isn't TOO much of a problem. It certainly doesn't help if your trying to have a 6 frame loop carry through 2 whole minutes (Foal in One was a bit of a nightmare in that department). If any of you try stuff like this, be sure to keep an eye out for that sort of thing, depending on your computer speed, Flash can sort of lie to you and make it look like things are in sync when they really aren't.
Thanks for this. It'll help on the animation I'm doing right now... the MLP Flash animation style is seriously so danged hard to emulate.
Digi demanded I watch this video, and I'm glad he did! At first I only appreciated the humor and music in MLP:FiM, but videos like this help me appreciate its other features that escape my notice.
He mentions this video in his review of "A Friend in Deed".
I started watching this, and I was like O.O then I realized it was in 0.5 speed
you only forgot one thing. the way the body goes forward the hoof stepping in the ground goes back and in the animation
pinkie's hoof looks smaller so that makes similar
"Like every self respecting man, I LOVE My Little Pony..."
Had to stop video due to lack of oxygen from laughing so hard
Thank you very much for this animation analysis. I am just starting animation (LITERALLY - I made my very first animation yesterday). It was a simple one. I made my second animation short today, which was a bit longer and had much more complicated character movements, and I executed them pretty badly, so I decided not to upload it. (If anyone reads this comment and wants to see it, just ask and I can share the video file.) I've been wanting to make my animating style interesting and "snappy," and I need practice of course. I was thinking of doing a pony recreation of "Gay Stroll'n" by Zeurel, and this trot cycle analysis really helped. I'm going to start work tomorrow! Wish me luck!
+Moony Thanks! yeah, CC is much better. And I saw your lip sync test, and it was a pretty nice job. Could be better though. Just practice! :)
God, this is soooo helpful! If you also have a video breaking down a normal walk cycle (toward camera) you'd earn a permanent subscriber.
Thank you Grant for the videos for the walk, flying and the magic stuff because I had a hard time animating.
"Besides, I have ponies I could be watching" xD I love that last line, it's amazing
As someone who wants to be an animator, this is pretty freakin' inspiring. Thanks bro, you are really helping me, and more than likely, other animators.
I am interested in animation...but this video has me stuck....how did you get an episode or clip of the show INTO flash?o.o if I can learn that I can practice...as currently..i have n clue how to get the show clips...or import them...
The easiest way is to convert the clip to an image sequence and import it into Flash.
+DatPoneEnthusiast90 thank you, that might help ^^, does the same thing work if I used it for speed paint videos?
Did you find out how to do it? I wanna do it as well, but with a different clip.
I gave up on animation, put it on the back burner for now. I need a physical teacher to show me what I am doing wrong it seems.
denma warlight ok
What I really love about the animation is that it properly follows a rule of anatomy with four-legged animals. the legs alternate.
Right front, back left, front left, right back, so on and so forth. It just really shows how a four-legged animal would move, though these ponies move more like dogs because they have more of an elbow then straight bones, while horses have an ankle so their hoofs can move. For a cartoon it still uses great anatomy.
This wasn't walking, this was trotting because it has two beats, trust me, I am a horse rider, so I know.
When I watched this video honestly opened my eyes to so much and helped my apritate this show in new ways that I hadn't thought possible at the time. Kudos for honestly one of the most well put together animation analysis that has stuck in mind throughout the years
I'm trying to imagine any other pony singing this song.
It's not going so well.
I love your vids, the average viewer never really thinks too much about what really goes into animation, but since I started watching vids about animation, I've discovered a whole new level of appreciation for this art.
8 years later-
12 years later 💀
I absolutely admire guys like you, who can make people actually take an interest in things they wouldn't normally take interest into (sorry if it's a little messed up, i'm not completely at ease in english, being french and all). Seriously I never thought that would be THIS interesting to analyse a 10 second walk animation from one of the song of MLP. Someone give that guy a medal.
What program did you use to animate this?
Flash
thank you for the reply
+Petunia Belle
•_• ok
You are my childhood favorite animator! I’m so glad you sent these videos years ago, otherwise I wouldn’t have started animation without these
Actually it's trotting, not walking.
Makes you really respect the animators, and everyone who works on this show a whole lot more.
O_o Watching this gives me a whole new appreciation for the brilliance of the animators behind this show... and this was just one WALK cycle! Absolutely amazing...
Thank you for making this. You've just gained yourself a new subscriber.
Wow, this is a really informative breakdown! I love seeing the nuts and bolts of how things work, be it animation or anything else. This really shows how hard the MLP artists work to give us such a fun show.
one of those rare moments where i drop my "apathy is the best policy" attitude and actually give a sub to a guy who deserves it, your good at what you do, and having tried animation for a while i know it's not easy. good luck with everything, and thanks for the video!
"Besides, I've got ponies I could be watching."
Don't we all...
Anyway, thanks for the analysis. Still trying to decide how into animation I really am.
This helped me so much with musical timing so much. Everything has to be in sync with the beat all the time, or else the character seems off somehow.
Now if only the guy who made that horrific Cats movie had even had half of this same level of understanding of movement and rhythm
This really helps me with understanding the walk cycle for drawing ponies. It was also a very well made breakdown. Thank you! :3
Couldn't have recreated this without you! Thanks so much for breaking this down, you're awesome ^^
Today, I learned more about drawing [still images] of ponies in motion than several deviantART tutorials combined.
Seriously, great job on breaking down the basics. It makes a lot of sense even for those who doesn't have any grasp on animation.
You should totally do more stuff like this! Your voice and style of explaining things is brilliant! :D
I think my favorite bit of animation in that scene is that over head shot you showed at the end. how the legs and hooves move in time with the beat and the general layout of the shot just looks great.
You sir, are winning all the internets. My animation friends try explaining this stuff to me and it goes over my head, but YOU made it sound so clean and sharp OwO
Hooray for people who appreciate the art of animation and all of the work that goes into it! This analysis is exactly what I'm talking about when I tell people that MLP features the best animation television has to offer.
This is an amazing video, I am always so glad to see videos with substance that know what they are talking about while keeping a sense of humor and fun. I'm off checking out the rest of this series!
I absolutely LOVE how you explain this! The wording, especially with the dictionary part, loved that, was awesome and you didn't leave out anything when you were talking! Now, all I need to do is try analyzing something myself and use your tips for help...
I find this pretty interesting, being an ex-music major and interested (although majorly inexperienced) in animation. Thanks for taking the time to break it down!
Wow... I honestly had no idea how much work went into each frame before this video. The animators for MLP are AMAZINGGGGGGGGGG!!!!
I LOVE how you break up each of these animation cycles! I learn so much from these!
Wow, great video! And yet another reason why this show rocks! It must be cool to actually have the skills needed to notice and appreciate stuff like this; thanks for sharing it with the rest of us :D
You're incredibly intelligent and perceptive, and this was wonderfully explained, which'll take you really far. Good luck with animating or whatever you want to do!
I don't know squat about animation, but the way you broke and guided through the frames makes animation analysis entertaining. More of these, please.
The breakdown is the main step in connecting your key/extreme poses to further define the movement. In the example above it involved delaying the step down so the leg is faster going down than coming up.
It's basically placing the middle position between keys to control how fast things move.
You wow'd the fuck out of me with this (p.s. "wow'd" is a word, according to YT)
I always knew the FiM crew put a lot of time and effort into the show, but your breakdown of this literally frame by frame earned them and yourself a lot of respect.
It's not always easy to describe WHY you feel what you feel about something, but to be able to do it so concisely, AND be able to put a visual representation of it up too, now that's something.
Despite not being an animator, this video was very interesting. Very well paced and narrated, too. Thanks for making it.
I actually loved that walk cycle the most, but I couldn't put my finger on why. I think you really hit the nail on the head with this vid, and really hooked me into the animation process :) Now excuse me, I'm going to go watch the song again.
still absolutely love these videos, even 12 years later
:)
Your "pony-break-downs" are really fun to watch and immensely helpfull and well put together, this might even bring me back to making animation again ;-) Eadweard Muybridge would be proud of you...
this was pretty cool. I'm not really into animating myself but I love to see how other people piece it together
MLP really have the one of the best flash animation out there. Smooth flow of their movements and it looks natural.
Wow... that was incredibly technical and actually makes me appreciate the animation even more!
I love this song too. It helps brighten up my day when I listen to "Smile, Smile, Smile." For people like coola kreele who hate the "Smile, Smile, Smile" are mean to Pinkie Pie.
As someone who is presently studying animation, I found this little video to be very useful in being able to understand a walk cycle. :) Nice analysis here.
Stuff like that is like learning your scales on the piano. If you can handle all technical stuff without much thought and effort, you can focus on the art and expression.
As expected, you got a ton of views :3
You've got a pretty good instructional voice. Clear and on point.
You know, I've learned more about animation from watching your videos than I have in all the time I've spent in animation classes, which is... none...
Animating takes so much patience that I don't have. This is why I help write scripts and voice act and now we have a fan movie being animated.. And I have to... Sing with my Big Mac-like voice... Oh no... Ooooh no...
HEEEELLLLPPPP!
this was amazing. i have a newfound respect for animators everywhere.
You say too obsessed, I say exactly the right amount.
That's the thing about artists: we get pretty intense about the subject. Quality art, and animation especially, requires a thorough understanding of the subject matter, whether it be humans, ponies, robots, or RUclips commenters. To be a great artist, obsession is practically a requirement.
One of the artists who worked on Bambi dissected a deer to better understand and thus more accurately represent them in the film. THAT'S obsession.
Thanks so much for this! My daughter's starting high school on the visual arts/animation track, and your videos will be great to revisit from time to time as her learning deepens. Your sense of timing is fantastic. (Twilight: NO.)
Very nice! I did think that the cutest walk, especially when all the ponies are marching and singing down the street. Very nicely done! Both to you and the MLP team. : D
I really love these breakdowns, it makes me want to re-watch all of the episodes and look for 'em. This really helps me too, I really want to get into animation and this made me even more motivated to work at it. So, I thank you for these. C:
Great job, I had always wondered about that scene, and you have explained it to me perfectly
The small things like this are what began to lasso me into this series, and once it started to stirrup my emotions makes me wonder why furlong, I didn't want any part in such a fandom.... so now It DOES look amazing to me and no matter what you do, you canter dissuade that from me.
I never thought I'd enjoy learning more about animation till you added pony. That just works... How, Friendship that's how!
Also thank you. I really liked the way you broke it down and made it easy to understand. Thanks. ^^
That's just awesome! The walking bit was always my favourite part of that whole sequence, but I just couldn't figure out why, and now I think I know!
Professionaly done there :D Well done that's an awesome analysis.
Well, this was quite insightful into the process of animating to music.
It's funny that slight syncopation is often more accentuating to a sound then complete synchronisation.
Also, yes need to watch ponies now too.
Dear lord, you're kind of like me... You really notice those little tiny things that most people take for granted. I'm not an animator, but I do love me some smooth, flowing animation that really brings things to life.
I love these breakdowns, as they make it seem like I can be a bit more snobby with my appreciation for quality animation.
This is really helpful...I'd been reading a book about this kind of stuff but it just now sort of clicked into place...I still don't fully understand but I'm getting there now. Thank you and I hope you do more videos like this one.
It's stuff like this that made me fall in love with this fandom in the first place.
that was awesome. you should definitely do more animation analysis videos like this one. subscribed.
Welp, that cinches it. You are awesome. And even though I'm not currently into animating, this was still enjoyable to watch. ^__^
Holy effing subbed.. i'm a brony but even if you weren't talking about MLP, your animation know-how is invaluable
Flash models tend to be made up of a bunch of pieces you move or rotate. If you look at the rear legs on the pony model, it's actually 5 separate pieces you can move around. As long as you rotate from the right place, it usually looks fine.
He's just breakin' it on down for the animation buffs out there- true, overanalyzation can kill the magic for some people, but for others it just makes them appreciate it more
I fall into the second category XP Great work, gbeaudette! What a great way to showcase the care and thought that goes into the simplest aspects of this show!
wow, this really just makes you think how much effort the mlp team put into their animation.
I'm not an animator, but I found that fascinating! It looks as if this is your only pony video. ... MORE PONIES! :D
im a flash animator myself. i been out of animating for a few years and just got back into it, and i watch your vids, and they help! i subbed
Thank you for doing these videos! They're great practice, fantastic reference, and are helping me even out some of my Flash work. Plus, hey... just love those ponies, right? ^_^
I was going to write a witty comment about how you have too much time, but then I finished watching it and realised that I had learned something. I never knew how much work was put into the smallest details, and how they could change the mood of an entire scene. Very informative, and interesting.
Plus, you said "butt" and it was funny when you said 'butt.'
As someone interested in animating my own cartoons, these videos are very helpful! Mine will be of a different variety (80's style Alvin and the Chipmunks instead of MLP), but the core essence of animation remains the same. Thanks for these!
This is a really cool analysis, the kind that I -wish- my animation class at high school would go into, but at the moment it's really just a filler class. I am interested in animation, but I can't draw to save my life, which makes me fairly sad that I really don't know where I could end up in the industry. This definitely makes me want to break out that flash program I have lying around on the computer, if only to try this out and get back into animating a bit.
That's how one learns, one must observe art and mimic it in their memory.
I'd say it's more people that makes learning seem interesting and very rewarding.
Even for book worms or geeks, it still is hard to get invested into learning something without having someone to show them that it's really worth doing it.
Now that is some impressive stuff! Interesting to see a bit from MLP traced and animated more traditionally as just outlines as opposed to solid flash symbols and shapes. This shoul definitely come in handy once I start learning proper animation, what with walk cycles being the essential thing to learn and all (also, Animation Survivor's Kit FTW!)
As a male science teacher who has no artistic talent whatsoever, yet loves MLP FIM, I found your video to be amazingly insightful, educational, and totally fun to watch. I had no idea there was anything remotely scientific to the art of animation. You, sir, have completely blown my mind. HOOFBUMP /)(\
That was cool and incredibly well broken down. Here's a like from me.
I have so much respect for the animators of My Little Pony.
After having watched this video. It's just tripled.
Trying to make a flash short of myself frolicking (in a very manly fashion) through Ponyville to the song "Livin' in the Sunlight, Lovin' in the Moonlight". This actually helped out with nailing the timing of the footsteps a lot! Thanks!
I was thinking 'Whoa this thing looks like it's going backwards' just as you said that. Mindreader.