Using A Tablet to Get Drawings Into the Computer

When I started making Animan cartoons, I used a simple tablet to draw my animated drawings in the animation software. I found it to be super awkward at first, because I couldn't watch my hands. But animation is very labor-intensive, and soon I found I had hundreds of hours of practice under my belt.

My only complaint with these standard tablets is that you have to keep the edges of the tablet in alignment with the angle of your computer screen. If you don't, you will have trouble drawing straight lines--instead of going up and down, or from left to right, they'll be going diagonally, all over the screen.

Click here to watch someone draw beautifully with a standard tablet

My first few films: Twist Party, Sex Ed, Big Beach Adventure, Camp, and Carmen were all drawn using a standard tablet. Thanks to my fans who bought some of these first videos, I was able to save my money and get the tablet I had always dreamed of.

I've been using this tablet for the past two years, and I've become very spoiled! Recently, I had to get this tablet repaired. The manufacturer had to send me an empty box which was humongous. I put the super-heavy Cintiq inside the complicated box, and sent it off for repairs. Here's the box.

The big box on the bottom is the "cover" that goes over the entire inner box. The Cintiq 24HD must be shipped at a diagonal angle, and therefore, it requires a box of epic proportions. The top of the cover box hits me about mid-thigh. And it costs about 30 plus dollars to ship back to the manufacturer! After a week, I got it back again, and all goes merrily.

Click here to see an actual Cintiq24 HD in action

Creating the face of an Animan-Man

In the next few posts, I will be sharing with you all my movie-making secrets. Each movie is basically different and I go through a slightly different process to make each one. But there are some techniques which are exactly the same every time, and I will talk about those.

So, I get an idea for a movie. The very first drawing I make is of the main character. Sometimes, I have a vague idea about how I want him to look, but other times, I have no idea. So, I just start drawing, hoping my pencil will show me the way.

I always start with the shape of the head. I might try a squarish head, and then I add some eyes, a nose and a mouth.  I'm never happy with the first drawing I make--I always try to improve it. I might make the eyes bigger, or make them lower on the face. Or, I might change the angle of the nose. Sometimes, changing the angle or size of the ears makes the character look better.

Usually my main character is a bottom guy. I like him to be attractive so all the other fellows will want him. I like to have orgy scenes in my movies, and this man will be the center of attention, so he should have some charisma!

Eyes, nose and mouth on a circular head will look different when you put them on a rectangular head. For anyone who wants to learn to draw cartoon faces, this is the easiest way to do it. Many books on cartooning mention this "head shape method" of creating original cartoon characters. It's easy to do, and it's fun!

When I make animation, I have to do a lot of drawing, so it's important that the shapes be simple and easy to draw. Round shapes look good in animation, and rounded characters have a lot of appeal.

John Bromfield

"Revenge of the Creature" is the first sequel to "Creature from the Black Lagoon". The film is notable for being the only 3-D film released in 1955 and the only 3-D sequel to a 3-D film.

Here's my favorite scene. That's John Bromfield on the right.

The film is in black and white, so the picture is hand-colored. Here's how it looks in sparkling black and white.

Here we see John on the telephone, standing next to Tab Hunter. Mr. Bromfield sure knows how to fill out a tight swimsuit!

John from different angles. He looks like an authentic Animan-type, in so many ways!

Man in Space

Here's a spread from TV Guide, spring 1955. That's when Disney aired their special Tomorrowland program, "Man in Space".  The last segment of the program inspired viewers to ponder whether or not it could be possible to send a flight crew into space and return them safely to earth. The segment used animation to visualize what this trip would probably be like, and it was televised for everyone in the U.S. to watch on March 9, 1955.

The art style for this animation is fresh and exciting, and it made a gigantic impression on me. The narration and music heightened the content. This is one of my all-time favorite Disneyland TV shows!

This is Your Page--the Brainstorm Page!

A friend sent me this message:

"Hey Animan,

You get a lot of suggestions and everyone has their own ideas about what they'd like to see you do. I was thinking maybe your blog could have a specific page for suggestions, somewhere where people could submit their ideas and everyone could discuss them. Obviously, not every suggestion can be used and it's best that you make movies using elements you're passionate about, but I think it'd be cool to have a place to just brainstorm and hear what everyone else has to say, and there could be things you hear people discuss that inspire parts of your future creations."

I think it's a great idea! I will be reading what everyone writes as I publish it, but I will not write any replies. As a gentle disclaimer, I'd like to say that I cannot guarantee that any idea presented will be used in an Animan movie. But I will read everything, and let it flood into the Animan idea machine. So let the brainstorming begin!

It Didn't Take Them Long

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Animan's "The Poker Game" goes on sale!

As always, if you have problems buying, downloading or watching the movie, please contact me through the Selz store. I'll do my best to help. Thank you!

Three More Days

I have finished drawing all the animation scenes--102 different scenes. The movie will be about 13 minutes long. But the movie isn't finished. I need to put the pieces together, add sound effect and voices, and adjust the sound volume.  If there are any mistakes or problems, I need to fix them.

The original movie is 19 gigabytes! That's too big. So I have to reduce the size without reducing quality. It takes one day for me to find the best settings through "trial and error". As Animan, I want it to be the best quality possible, so that you will want to watch it again and again.

I need three more days to completely finish it. One fan told me that they want me to draw a poster for this movie. So that's one more thing I have to do. Busy busy.

If the movie can be ready sooner, I'll announce it on Animan's World. Thanks for your patience.

Junior is Real Vintage American Design

I didn't realize it until now, but Junior's face bears an uncanny resemblance to the original "Kool-Aid Smiling Pitcher" from the 1950's and 1960's!  

 

But there's a big difference. The Kool-Aid pitcher is always happy, friendly and smiling. Junior smiles, too--when he gets what he wants. But if he doesn't, then this sort of evil look comes over his face, and he becomes another person!

         Here's some more Kool-Aid art from the good old days of Americana

Mad Magazine did a great parody of this last advertisment--here it is!

Here's a vintage animated commercial for Kool-Aid

Below is one I have NEVER seen before--Kool-Aid in Spain. ¡A los amigos de Animan en España, deseo disculparme por este anuncio comercial insensible!

Below is another I have NEVER seen before--Kool-Aid in Japan.  I know that in Japan--they don't use jin-rickshaws (except for tourists), and this music and scenery is too Chinese-style. And Japanese never wear shoes in the house. NEVER! The Kool-Aid pitchers with narrow, slanty eyes are not really that politically incorrect--Japanese cartoonists often draw Japanese and Chinese eyes that way--but most Americans don't know that. Although Kool-Aid doesn't harmonize with Japanese food AT ALL, there IS a drink they sell in Japan called "Nichirei Acerola Drink" that tastes just like Cherry Kool-Aid! Animan loves it!

日本の皆さん、こんなヘンテコリンなCMで、大変申しわけなく思います！人力車や、畳の土足や、中国風な音楽や、細い目をしたクールエイドの水さしたちの顔なんか、面白いながら、やっぱり行き過ぎですね！チェリー味のクールエイドに激似しているニチレイアセロラドリンクはアニマンの大好物です！

Production is Still Underway

Adrian and Hal are taking a good look at the cards Junior was using for the poker game. Is there a problem somewhere?
If I were them, I wouldn't trust Junior for a minute! Nobody knows what's going through that kid's mind.

The Poker Game Trailer at the Animan Shop!

The trailer for "The Poker Game" is available at Selz for free. You can either get WMV for PCs or MOV for Macs.  Both types include an MP4 version, just in case you need it.

The Animation Factory Moves Slowly Along

Although the new movie is proceeding as planned, there's still a huge mountain of work remaining to be done. The release date will be sometime in July, and the trailer will be ready by June 25. 

From left to right, the men are Rod, Adrian, Junior and Harvey.  

Another View of Harvey's Apartment

When Harvey called his friends over for a friendly game of cards, it never occurred to him to close the curtains. Junior decided to keep them open. I wonder if he knew that someone was watching?

Another Character

This is Kim. He's the doorman at the building Harvey lives in. Kim is one of Junior's friends of the "bad-boy" type. 

What will happen when Junior invites Kim to drop by after he gets off work tonight? And what will happen to the men when Kim joins in the activities? Will he play poker with the guys? Or will he just poke?

Stay tuned for more news about "The Poker Game"!

Harvey's Whole Living Room

Here we have a full picture of Harvey's living room. It's a comfortable place. You can relax on the sofa and read a magazine, enjoy a game of cards at the dining table, survey the night time city lights from the windows, read a book in the corner, or stretch out on some cushions on the floor while you play a record on the stereo. Let's see....how else could a group of guys use this room?

A Real Cool Pad

Harvey's living room is decorated in moss green and sea foam blue. There's a bar and a view of the city skyline. A lot of interesting things could happen here, and I predict some raunchy man-on-man action before the evening is over.

New Movie Stars

Here's a little information about the upcoming Animan movie.

Harvey is a wealthy businessman living in Manhattan with his family, his wife and son, Harvey Jr.  One night, Harvey's friends come over for a card game, and Junior is home from college, so he wants to play too. But the kid is spoiled, and always manipulates things to get his own way. 

Here's a Great Little Video

For Animan's non-English speaking friends, here's the text for the conversation.

A. Hey Bud, you gotta check out this new gay film--it's great.

B. Awesome! I'll buy it on iTunes.

A. Actually, here's the link where you can watch it for free.

B. Whoa, whoa! You mean as in, "steal it"?

A.  I mean, why pay when you can get it for nothing?

B.  Probably because the few bucks it DOES make goes to the filmmaker, who can then create more films. I mean, you always spend 4 dollars on coffee, but not on movies?

A. I mean, filmmakers are all rich already! I'd way rather give my money to some multi-billion-dollar corporation than some independent filmmaker.

B. OK. Interesting logic. You do know the reason more gay films don't get made is because they are a labor of love, and the only money the filmmaker makes is the few bucks it makes on the internet? Take that away, and no more gay films.

A.  What about porn?

B. Same deal.

A. Wait....what??! That CAN'T happen! OK. Now, I'm really upset.

B. Sorry Bud, it's the truth.

A. Well, I mean, without porn, what would we do?

B. I guess we'd have to make our own.

A. Oh, that's a great idea!

B. Yeah, we should do it!

C. Fellas, fellas! Now, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation, and I just wanna let you know, my iPhone has HD. And I did go to film school.

A. Well, would you film us? I mean, we could shoot a scene right here!

B. Dude! This is such a good idea! We should totally do this!

A. Yeah, and then if it comes out hot, we could put it on the internet, and people can download it, and we can make money, and then we can like start a little business! We can like get some cash off of it.

C. So that's the thing, though. See, some asshole is gonna steal your film, make it available for free, and then everyone's gonna have it.

A. Well, what about YouTube?

C. Do you really wanna sit through all of those ads just to make a few bucks?

B. Maybe we shouldn't do it, then.

A. If you can't make money, what's the point, you know?

C. It's a shame.  I was looking on filming some "steam-tastic" steam room sexy action. 

A.  Well, maybe I should just start paying for my entertainment from now on.

B. Yeah, I mean, if everyone throws in a couple of bucks, whenever they rent a movie or porn, imagine how good the films and how good--how hot the models will be!

A. You're right. I'm just gonna pay, I mean if it's gonna make hotter models, and better movies, then it's totally worth it, you know? (I'm getting horny again!)

C. The camera's right here, fellas!

B. Are you ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille?

A. Close-up of what?!

B. Let's do this!

A.  All right!

C.  All right, lights, camera and action!

First Look at the Next Film

Question: Where will the next Animan adventure happen? Answer: In the big city, in a penthouse apartment. I'll be posting more pictures in the near future!

Picture Perfect

How Animan's favorite Disney film was made.