Bring Sketchbook Art to Life

With Procreate

“Animation is about creating the illusion of life.” — Chuck Jones

Animation is magic. At least that’s what I thought it was when I was a kid.

I’ve always been fascinated with bringing illustrations to life through animation. Although not formally trained in animation, nor art for that matter (psst, I’m self taught); admittedly, I do enjoy dabbling in animation from time to time and thought this would be a good opportunity to share a few tips with my trusty readers.

Even if you never care to learn how to animate, this post will give you a sneak peek behind the scenes.

Step 1: Draw Something

Let’s just skip the pencil and go straight to drawing with crayons!

1. Setup your Camera and Record a Timelapse of Artwork.

2. Don’t worry about messing up. Just draw!

Step 2: Take a Photo of a Blank Page

Step 3: Take a Photo of Your Finished Artwork

Step 4: Open Procreate Application

Step 5: Insert Your Blank Sketch Book Page Photo

Step 6: Insert Your Finished Artwork Photo

Step 7: Use the Eraser Tool to Delete Around the Art

Pro Tips:

1. Alternate: If you have an iPhone, you can quick press the photo and apple will allow you to select the artwork and copy as a sticker. Then you’re able copy the sticker into Procreate and save a bunch of time from erasing the background.

2. Alternate: You can also use the lasso tool in Procreate and trace your artwork and quick delete everything except your selection.

Step 8: Turn on Animation Assist in Procreate

Step 9: Time to Animate - Finally!

Set the blank page layer to background. This will be a static layer so you don’t have to worry about this during animation.

Step 10: Animate the Artwork

Here’s my favorite part! It’s so much FUN! Can you tell I like animating?

1. Duplicate the artwork in a new layer (the front end loader (dozer) in my example).

2. For each layer, move the dozer a little bit to the right.

3. Repeat until you have enough layers to bring the animation to life. (I used 17 layers).

Step 11: Animation Test

It’s so enjoyable watching the loop. Take a sip of coffee and revel in your new-found animation skills.

Step 12: Adjust Frames if Required

If your animation is moving at supersonic speeds as if fueled by an aeroderivative gas turbine engine, it’s time to slow it down by adjusting key frames. I decided to go with 5 frames per second, which looks to be the right speed for a big orange dozer being driven by a hungry rabbit. Those are a lot of carrots, right?

Step 13: Export Movie as Animated MP4

Okay, we’re almost done! Save your movie and now let’s start with the editing process.

Step 14: Edit Movie in Your Favorite Program

Personally, I like the program InShot. It allows you to edit the clip, add music, add sound effects, as well as a host of other cool features.

1. Insert Your Timelapse Recording

2. Insert Your Procreate Animation

3. Add Music and Sound Effects

4. Export Finished Movie

5. Share Your Animation with the World!

Closing

Phew! That was longer than I expected; however, I hope you enjoyed this post and found it useful. Please feel free to share this post with anyone you think who might find it helpful.

Have you ever tried to animate? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.