So, after many stressful days (a colleague keeps seeing my scary, red eye and telling me that I "look tired") I finally figured out how to end this freakin' film! It's not ideal, but to tell a funny 30-second story in 14 weeks is an accomplishment in itself (wait, did I say that in a previous post? Sorry!)
Anyway, I have officially started the animating process. I followed Plympton's approach and bought some vellum (or tissue, as Plympton calls it.) This way I can layout and plan various actions with lightweight, inexpensive paper before moving to the regular animation paper. I've already found it helpful when drawing on the bus. Yeah, you heard me right, I draw on the bus. OK, the express bus, but still, it can be done when precision is not needed. But if I've got to commute an hour plus each way, having the vellum and a portable lightbox is incredibly helpful.
I was able to place the figures of Petey and Wayne inside the frame while remaining within the t.v. cutoff area. I'm finding that my drawing of these guys has improved despite not being great. But I'm satisfied that the action that I imagined is actually fitting properly. I also decided that the action would often be limited. The first scene with the hunters is 29 frames. So there won't be much happening besides eye and eyebrow movement.
Next post—pencil test animation of Scene 2.