Copyright © 2017 by Timo Fecher. All Rights Reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
The publisher is not responsible for the content of external links to websites of third parties. Responsibility lies solely with the operators of these websites. No infringements were evident to us while writing this book. Should we notice any violation, we will delete the respective link instantly. All trademarks and registered trademarks in this book are the property of their respective holders.
Adobe®, After Effects®, Photoshop® and Premiere® are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.
Adobe product screen shot(s) reprinted with permission from Adobe Systems Incorporated. www.crossfeyer.com
Email: [email protected] First publication: 2017
The creation of this book would not have been possible without the help of many members of the Visual Effects Germany Facebook group and the Crossfeyer newsletter subscribers. Thanks to all of you! You are great!
A BIG THANK YOU also goes out to the proofreaders Lena Rücker, Kai Götz, Julia Lindow, Heike Quosdorf, Jennifer Schmitt, Tom Meier, Mario Ercegovac, Andreas Maretzek and Jeremy Ondrey.
(You might have noticed (or will notice) that English is not the author’s native language. Even though all of the proof-readers have done their best to find the most severe spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, there are probably some left. Try to catch them all and send them to us ([email protected]) so that we can improve the book. Thanks for your understanding and help!)
3D Artist - www.3dartistonline.com CG VIZ Studio - www.cgvizstudio.com
Michele Yamazaki Terpstra & Toolfarm - www.toolfarm.com Boundless Blending - www.boundlessblending.com
CG Channel - www.cgchannel.com
Digital Production - www.digitalproduction.com
Oliver Peters, the digitalfilms blog - www.digitalfilms.wordpress.com Tariq Khan & Filmemacher Deutschland - Facebook page
Lester Banks - www.lesterbanks.com Mister Horse - www.misterhorse.tv
Motion Graphics Collective - www.motiongraphicscollective.com AEsweets - www.aesweets.com
Eran Stern - www.sternfx.com
Marcus Mravik - www.MarcusMravik.com Tobias Vogel - www.tobias.media
Artbeats - www.artbeats.com Synfig - www.synfig.org
Toon Boom Animation Inc. - www.toonboom.com Maxon Computer GmbH - www.maxon.net
and illegal. Copyright infringement is investigated by authorities directly in charge.
All gender-specific terms refer to both the feminine and the masculine form. I’m not a sexist, racist, terrorist but a little bit of a perfectionist. No animals were harmed during the production of this book.
1. INTRODUCTION 15
2. BASICS 23
2.1 The four “W”-questions 24
Who is your target group? Why are you doing this? Where is your platform? What are your restrictions?
2.2 The motion graphic commandments 28
Asymmetry creates tension Repetitions for recognition Natural and reasonable
2.3 Fire the starting pistol 33
3. PREPARATION 35 3.1 Concept 35 Research Idea Mood board Presentation
Arrange your composition Playing with elements
3.3 Storyboard 51
4. PRODUCTION 54
4.1 Get yourself into shape 55
Shapes and their meanings The visual weight
Hold the balance
Taking the photo
Different looks with different imagery Resources
File formats
4.3 Confonting writing 90
The mission of text Type classifications Mixing typefaces Legibility
Pimp my text Animating text
The basic science behind it A color’s character
The importance of creating contrasts Striving for harmony
Some colorful thoughts
4.5 Step by step, layer by layer 121
A short background story
One layer to rule them all – A journey to middle ground Foreground your art
Transformations Effects Camera Interaction The 12 principles Transitions 5. POST-PRODUCTION 173 5.1 Post-processing 175
The perfect imperfections Final coloration
5.4 Presentation 204
1. Introduction
We see a square. It rotates and fluently transforms into a logo that is perfectly presented on a background of moving elements. Everything appears to be in harmony. Colors, shapes, movements, sound, typography. Every single detail is loaded with meaning to support a message. It feels like a story from an author whose tools are not limited to words and sentences. A story from a painter whose tools are not limited to brush, canvas and colors, but who has access to another amazing artistic form of expression: the creative world of Motion Graphic
Design.
is the art of transforming static elements like graphics, images, texts and logos into moving designs by adding another dimension: time.
Great intro, isn’t it? I can imagine that you, dear reader, are now expecting some thoughts on the history of motion graphics. And about the fact that artists from various eras always had the ambition to illustrate motion in their paintings. We even know cave paintings from the Stone Age that show people and animals portrayed with several legs to give these illustrations a sense of motion. However, this is not exactly how I want to start this book.
I believe you are reading this because you want to improve your own design skills. And you probably do not have endless time and frankly neither do I. I am writing this while sitting in the airport departure lounge waiting to board a plane. To be honest, I think the stern looking lady at the end of the hall will be instructing us to board the flight
Ancient cave painting showing a jogger with his smartphone
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shortly and I want to at least finish the first chapter of this book before granting the responsibility of my life to a person I have never met before. So this is why we will dive right into the subject, leaving the historical background in the past and dealing with the fear of flying in the future for now. Just for the record: since the first days of mankind, people have tried to illustrate motion in static pictures. Nowadays, we have all the techniques needed to create real moving images. All we need to learn is how to deal with designs and how to use our tools the right way to transform our imagination into visual art.
Why am I writing this book? More than ten years ago when I began to discover the creative world of motion graphics, I was overwhelmed by its artistic and narrative powers. Never before had I experienced a comparable form of media which is capable of seamlessly uniting meaningful graphics, emotion eliciting sounds and exciting motions into
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exciting medium. I immediately started consuming everything I could about this new topic. Unfortunately, the only resources I could find were video tutorials and step by step instructions for specific designs. But I watched and followed every tutorial and created the most beautiful motion graphics imaginable. What I made looked nearly as good as the creator’s originals. Tutorials are a great way to learn more about the tools available and become a master. However, there is one thing they do not teach you: how to design.
Tutorials have you recreate the designs of great artists who have been kind enough to share their experience with you. But beware! There are also video channels where individuals try to sell motion graphics they have clearly copied from tutorials. They made slight changes to the design, changed the colors and then repackaged it as their own work. People who are new to the industry might possibly never recognize this is in fact an illegal act. Please don’t copy other people’s work.
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Tutorials taught me a lot and I want to thank all artists who share their knowledge with others. But tutorials are just the beginning. Finding more and more repeats of tutorials around the web, but then realizing my designs were also undeniably influenced by these tutorials, I started to rethink my personal design process. I decided to change my approach. Instead of thinking “Oh, that’s a great design and there is a step by step tutorial on it I can follow”, I started designing from scratch. There was nothing in front of me but an empty screen. Understand, this was actually pretty scary as it is so much easier to just follow something that is laid out for you! But in order to express your creativity you have to step out of your comfort zone at some point and start working on your own designs. Without direction, using only your own ideas. Be an artist first!
During the course of this book I will not go into too much detail on
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available to help you with that. What I really want is for you to view software as a tool; only as a means to an end. In fact, don’t restrict yourself to only one software package. They are all interchangeable in a way, and all do some other things better. Your knowledge about design and how it works is what is not interchangeable. That is why I will concentrate on you as an artist and the improvement of your skills. In terms of software: try to see this book as a plugin or an upgrade for yourself and not for your tools. I hope it is compatible with most of you and that there are not too many bugs in it. If you think it needs an update please inform the system administrator.
A little bit about me: I’m a filmmaker ever since I can remember. I love telling stories. During my studies in film production and digital media, I got more and more interested in the art of motion graphics that tremendously helped me to improve my moviemaking and storytelling skills. Now I have been a self-employed VFX and motion graphics artist
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for almost ten years and I still love my job. I’ve worked on numerous projects for small companies right up to big and famous movie and game production studios. With my website “Crossfeyer” I want to establish a platform that I would have liked to have while learning the art of visual effects and motion graphics. A platform to support creativity and to encourage artists by improving their skills with innovative training. Besides filmmaking, I’m interested in the newest technology trends (Virtual Reality is great!), photography, cooking (coconuts are awesome!) and composing music.
Combining my education in art, my studies in the field of media and design, and the knowledge I accomplished from many resources about motion graphics, I developed my own design process. A detailed plan which helps me create my own motion graphics, that carry my personality and are always something special. With my plan as a guide, I
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design was one of a kind, individual and with a purpose. For the sake of unique art I decided to share my knowledge and my detailed design process with everyone, to give you, my dear reader, an inside look into what I have learned through my experiences over the last few years. Hopefully this book will save you time and help you through those frustrating moments, when you do not know what to do next. May this book give you some thought-provoking impulses and inspire you to create your next unique and amazing motion graphic.
Alright then, here we go. We can finally board the plane. Fortunately, the battery of my new laptop is fully charged so I can write the next chapter from above the clouds. In flight mode of course… don’t want to upset those stern employees from the airline… see you there!
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2. Basics
So, I have switched my laptop to flight mode and downed a delicious tomato juice. Strange that tomato juice tastes so much different on a plane than on the ground. However, in the first chapter of this book I would like to give you an overview of basic design rules. Many of these rules are not restricted to motion graphics and are commonly used in all kinds of artistic projects. Of course it is not mandatory to follow all of them all the time (especially in the field of art, rules are meant to be broken), but for me these rules have always been a helpful guideline through any design process. We will take a look at the background information you need, outline a step by step plan for your work and determine which are the most important rules you should follow. So let’s
2.1 The four “W”-questions
Many artists I know like to jump right into their software and try to create a design without a plan or by copying something they have seen in other videos. Or even worse, they do something similar to a previous job. But this is not what we want to do. We want to build something unique. Something that perfectly fits the message that we want to tell and does not simply look like another design being “inspired” by another video we saw on the internet. And by “inspired” I mean “copied from”. And by
“video” I mean “Adobe® After Effects® Tutorial” . We want to find our 1
own style and our own individual way to develop designs and animations. Well now, before we launch our design software, there are four “W”- questions I recommend you find an answer to.
Adobe® After Effects® is the industry standard and most frequently used software for motion graphics. As I have
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said, we are not going too deep into software details but when I refer to software it will usually be Adobe® After
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Who is your target group?
From the very beginning you need to think about who your audience is. The target group that is the focus of your work.
Why are you doing this?
The next question you need to ask is what is the purpose of your design.
Where is your platform?
The third question you need to think about examines the medium in which your work will be viewed.
What are your restrictions?
In terms of the last question, you generally have to make a list of all technical specifications, outside influences and artistic restrictions which are not under your control.
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Only after knowing the answers to these questions should you start and develop your project. These factors determine the quality that all the other elements you work with need to have.
Not the most urgent question when you start, but still good to know as soon as possible: What is the output format for the final video.
Is the material you are working with (all the design elements, textures, fonts, etc.) protected by copyright or do you (or your client) hold all the rights to them? I assume you know how problematic it might become when using material you do not own. Remember! There are people making money by searching the web specifically for copyright infringements. Believing that “nobody will recognize this picture in the background” or “when I change it a little bit it’s technically my own work” is a huge mistake. These materials were created by people who know their own work even after it has been manipulated. So simply do
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only use design elements which have been produced by you, or for which you have written permission or license. We will talk a little more about this along with the resources for design elements you can safely use in a following chapter.
And finally: How much time do you have to work on the motion graphic? What is your deadline?
Some answers to the four questions may seem obvious to you. Nevertheless I recommend you write them down anyway. Making a small list with the answers to these questions is the best way to begin the actual design process. And who knows, maybe you will get your first artistic inspiration from this very list!
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2.2 The motion graphic commandments
Being in the creative business of art and graphics – and mainly motion graphics – for more than ten years now, I figured out some significant rules I would always recommend you to follow. These are basic rules for creative work and do not exclusively apply to motion graphics. Look around and do some studying! You will notice that the best designers of the world hold on to these relatively simple guidelines. Try to keep them in mind while building your designs and I promise you will immediately improve your results!
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Eyecatcher
Let’s start with the eyecatcher that is supposed to attract the attention of your audience and gives them a starting point to look at. This is simple to explain: You need to have something that dominates your design. Something that sticks out of your work and is the first thing the viewer perceives.
Groups
The second rule I would like to mention is about groups. It is essential that you organize your designs in a useful way. Put together what belongs together, and separate elements that can act alone.
Managing time
Timing is everything! How long is my motion graphic going to be? How much information do I have to illustrate and what are the most crucial
2. Basics | The motion gr aphic c ommandments 2. Basics | The motion gr aphic c ommandments
is usually not the best idea. How much time do I give every element on screen? How long will my graphics take to appear and disappear? How fast do they move? In which order do they appear?
Asymmetry creates tension
This one is a very old rule and I’ve learned it from my favorite teacher of fine arts. She certainly did not invent it – nature did – but she was the first one to tell me about it. She was the first one trying to persuade me to dismiss my urge to keep symmetry. I loved symmetry, I still do. There is nothing more pleasant than symmetrical designs. But when it comes to creating tension and causing a sensation you have to think out of the perfectly symmetrical box: Asymmetry! Be brave and break the symmetry!
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Repetitions for recognition
The headline speaks for itself, doesn’t it? But maybe it implies a bit more than you assume: Repetitions, just like the eyecatcher and groups, help your audience to orient themselves in your designs. Stick to a certain color selection or font and use recurring elements! Repeatedly using your elements and styles not only helps your work to be recognized but will also help you to portray yourself as a confident artist who is proud of his works.
Natural and reasonable
The last rule is about the importance of motion graphics being natural and reasonable. Try to give everything you create a slight amount of imperfection, or variation. Nothing in nature follows exact, strict rules, which distinguishes nature from technology. Do not try to create your designs like a computer would, or there will always be an unpleasant
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Everything is about telling a story. And your graphic elements are your tools for narrating. So every element must absolutely contribute to telling your message. Dark and cold colors tell different stories than bright and warm colors. Fonts immensely affect your story, as well as the style of your animations. Your message is about velocity? Then adjust your animations to match that theme! Your message is about love? Adjust your colors and fonts! Keep those rules in mind from the beginning, construct your graphics accordingly and you will master the high art of (e)motion(al) graphics. Damn, I love that bracket-thing! Although it’s hard to hit the right keys at the moment. This pilot must either be drunk or he is flying through some serious turbulences. Let’s just hope he is not flying through those turbulences while being drunk.
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2.3 Fire the starting pistol
A lot of people are always struggling with the questions “how do I start” and “what should I do next” when it comes to a design process. In the following chapters we will go through an exemplary production pipeline that I figured out to be effective for motion graphics. Hopefully this workflow will help you to eliminate time wasting when pondering over your next steps.
Roughly speaking I would always suggest these basic principles: Work from background to foreground, from big and relevant elements to small and detailed elements and from static graphics to animated ones. The exception proves the rule! By working that way you will have much faster results that you can show your clients. Your clients will either approve your work and you can start working out the details or they will give you
Rough drawing of a starting pistol
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Fir
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instructions to change things or even make you reconsider the whole design. In any case you will save a lot of time while being able to present the look and style of your work in an early stage. But keep in mind that these steps depend on each other and that it is sometimes necessary to make adjustments to a previous step.
The whole design process can be split up in the great three “p”-words: Preparation, Production and Post-Production. And now prepare for the most important steps of creating exceptional motion graphics. Damn, that tomato juice has given me so much energy, I think I’m going to write during the whole flight.
2. Basics | Fir e the star ting pist ol 2. Basics | Fir e the star ting pist ol
3. Preparation
3.1 Concept
Already found answers to the four “W”-questions? Great! You will need them for developing the concept of your motion graphic design. A lot of people begin with the actual design process far too early. This is not what I would recommend you to do. It actually is crucial to have something you can always return to while constructing your graphics. Good preparation and a detailed plan keeps your head clear and allows you to effectively keep track of your next steps. Furthermore, for most jobs it is even mandatory to create an excellent concept. Its quality might actually
decide about whether or not your client will give you the job. It’s good to learn how to present a design you did not even start to work on!
Research
The first thing you will need to do is conduct some in-depth research about the subject you are working on. What is it about? What kind of people are involved? For your research, use every tool you have and expend as much effort as you need to understand who exactly has hired you and why. When working with a professional client, the message will be predefined in great detail. Then you “only” have to worry about how to transform that message into a motion graphic design. But if you are also commissioned to find the message yourself (which happens from time to time), then you have to consult your inner storyteller. Find out what fits best to your client and your client’s clients. In any case I would recommend you to do some research about your specific message and
3. Pr epar ation | Conc ept 3. Pr epar ation | Conc ept
how it has been used in other types of media in the past. Get inspired by some good movies (from which you know have that message in their theme), or pictures and try to collect some reference material that fits to your message and style. We will need this in the next step. In the end you should be ready to write down a short summary about your research work and your first outcome for the motion graphic design. This summary will be the first tool to help you present your concept to your client.
Idea
This is where the creative struggle often begins, but there’s no way around the requirements here. You need to have an idea, and it needs to involve the overall style and look of your motion graphic. This is not an easy task. How do I begin? What shall I do first? Those are the questions that artists are most afraid of while sitting in front of an empty piece of paper,
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for the last problem is still the easiest task. A lot of authors struggle with writer’s blocks, especially in the beginning of their creative process. This can also happen to graphic designers. If you don’t have the slightest idea of how to begin, you need to find some inspiration. In the best case you have already done this before working on your project. A good artist is always open to new things. Visit museums, look at architecture, read books, listen to different music genres, go to the cinema, the zoo, a theater, etc. There are millions of places where you can recharge your mind with new inspiration. The strategy behind this is of course NOT to copy someone else’s art (we have already talked about that misdeed), but to find connections between several ideas you like and think might fit to your current project.
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Mood board
Mood boards are the first manifestation of your creative ideas in a visual way. They are a collection of elements that help you keep track of your thoughts. Mood boards will become useful for at least two reasons. First of all, they function as an instrument to visualize your ideas to your clients and your co-workers (if you have some). Secondly, they can serve as a record of your initial creative decisions. Mood boards represent the beginning and summarize your inspirations. If you ever come to a dead end, it often helps to go back to the beginning and become re-inspired by it.
There are different ways to create mood boards. Find the one that suits you the most and fits your job. A lot of people like to create huge cardboard panels and pin their ideas onto them. This has the advantage that you get something you can actually touch and look at in real life.
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will also be something you can touch. I prefer a digital mood board because I personally like to use video files and audio within my mood boards. Feel free to use every software you like.
Presentation
Now with all your research work done and a final written summary of your plans and ideas, as well as a detailed mood board in your hands, you should be ready to present your concept to other people. Whether or not this is crucial for continuing your work (perhaps you already have the design job and do not have to persuade a client to get it) this step is a unique opportunity to observe other people’s reactions to your ideas.
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3.2 Format and Composition
Choose a format
In this step we will have to make a fundamental decision: What are the exact measurements of the canvas we will use to draw our design on? What is the format of the composition? In most cases it will have the standard aspect ratio of 16:9. This is the most common used format because it matches most of your audience’s screens. If you produce in 16:9 chances are high that your viewers can watch your motion graphics in full screen, with every pixel their devices have to offer. People are accustomed to 16:9 like they are accustomed to the standard format for paper. And that is why changing that format always feels kind of special.
From the beginning of human art (and by that I mean a damn long period of time) artists used the proportions of their format to support the
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message of their paintings. They have not been interested in standardized paper sizes or calibrated formats. That was the birth hour of extremely tall pictures, wide ones, round ones, triangular canvases, … each one edging its contents in the best supporting way.
I think most motion graphic designers underestimate the power of format. But why? Even when you have the guideline to produce in 16:9, you can still choose another format and in the end put it into a 16:9 framing using black bands (or even white or colored bands). Of course, sometimes you have clear orders to obey but if it is you who decides about the format, I would never just go with the 16:9 format just because it is a generally accepted standard.
The proportions of your composition can have an enormous influence on how your final work appears to your audience. The more you go into portrait format, the more dynamic your general look will get. High
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formats are restless. Extreme high formats create the impression that the whole image might fall apart, this suggests a feeling of motion. A lot of professional designers avoid the portrait format in motion graphics because it reminds us of those unprofessional smartphone recordings that emerge when you hold your camera the wrong way. Portrait formats also have the side effect that they leave a lot of blank space on a widescreen device (unless you can hold it vertically of course). However, sometimes the portrait format might be the right choice for your design.
The horizontal formats are the most common used formats in the art of motion graphics these days with 16:9 and 21:9 proportions leading the way. These broad formats have a much more passive character because they seem to comfortably rest on the screen. Today they match most people’s viewing patterns. Formats at about 16:9 have established because they are in harmony with the human eyes and are totally comfortable to
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feeling of an epic cinema screen. Of course you can also create an even broader widescreen than 21:9 like a panorama view. Force your audience to look around and let them discover the details of your design. With panorama formats you can create remarkably complex worlds. But keep in mind that your audience must be able to follow your designs so mind the timing of your animations!
Squarish formats have an extreme balanced and calm character. They represent the stage where portrait formats meet horizontal formats. The classic 4:3 format is nearly a square. If you want to capture, for example, the retro charm of a classic tube TV, 4:3 might be the format of your choice.
And again the question: What is the message and the resulting tone of your motion graphic? Choose your format accordingly!
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Arrange your composition
In the next step we divide our format into several areas and thus establish the basic, static layout of our composition. By doing this you first need to know what kind of graphical elements you have to prioritize in order to give them more space and a better positioning. Are you planning to transport a clear message through mainly text? Then your text needs to be the primary element. Are you going to tell a story with some animated characters? Then these have to occupy the perfect position. A basic design rule is: Layout follows function! So at first you need to know what you want to tell your audience and then you can outline a first sketch of your layout. I prefer to draw these sketches on real paper, but you can of course also use any software you like. I still would not use your motion graphic software at this point, as it distracts too much from the actual task. And at the beginning it’s always a good idea to work with the most basic tools to keep a clear head.
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Again: This process is just for the basic, static layout! We do not position any elements yet. We just make a first consideration about how to split up our screen into different areas in a meaningful way. This arrangement of areas can either lead to a harmonious or a disharmonious impression of your design. If you want to achieve a harmonious layout, which might well be so in most cases, you can follow two common principles: Symmetry and the golden ratio.
When things are symmetrical they are balanced. They occupy the same screen space on both sides of your composition, this leads to harmonic layouts that might even get way too harmonic. In order to build up tension I would recommend to always break up symmetry at some point, but we will talk about developing suspense in a following, incredibly exciting chapter. (See how I actually build up tension for this book? Tension is vital!) Just remember: Symmetry equals harmony!
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Arranging your composition in the proportions of the so called “golden ratio” will also result in well balanced and aesthetic layouts. Two lengths are in the golden ratio if their ratio equals the ratio of both of them together to the longer one (see figure). Many artists and architects have followed the golden ratio for thousands of years. It can be found everywhere: In paintings, in antique statues, in many buildings, in modern design, even in nature! Quantities that are based on that ratio always are aesthetically appealing. The golden ratio is the basis for perfect proportions. Try to use it as often as you can in your designs, and not only when it comes to the basic layout. The sizes of your shapes may profit by the golden ratio or the positioning of your texts and graphical elements. 3. Pr epar ation | Format and C omposition
Playing with elements
“Playing with elements”. Sounds interesting, doesn’t it? As if we were able to control the four elements! Hey, this would actually be a great idea for a TV show: Different people control different elements and then they fight against each other! Then a famous director who is known for his great mystery stories with surprising endings would make a movie out of it which will be a massive flop that finally threatens the director’s whole career. That would also be a surprising ending… I want to be part of the fire nation. Where is the lighter I wanna torch something! Just kidding. You know I’m sitting in an airplane, so playing with fire would be rather dangerous. This area is controlled by a pilot who is drunkenly flying through some massive turbulences. We will not play with fire right now. Not yet. In a later chapter we definitely will, so be ready to fetch the extinguisher! For now we will just start playing around with some temporary design elements to get a feeling of where we will position them. These elements do not have to be the final ones of course (we will
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have to keep some work for the production part) so you can use any placeholder you want. For now we are just testing which positioning will work and which we should forget, as part of that it is a good idea to put a layout grid over your composition to subdivide your format into several parts. It is a matter of taste, how detailed you want to make your grid. I would recommend a size that is not too small and not too big. A grid that you can later display in your motion graphic software for example. Your grid may consist of simple squares or rectangles or you might even divide your grid in the golden ratio for extraordinary harmonic arrangements. During the process of positioning elements a grid grants security and prevents chaos, that way you can work much faster and more systematically.
When it comes to checking out some arrangements I still like to work with analog tools: After having decided on a format, I would cut it out of
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into a basic layout and a neatly arranged grid. I would also take a pencil to sketch some shapes, filler texts and placeholders for other graphical elements. Then I cut these elements out to move them around freely on my grid. (For that just press the “c”-key on your keyboard and move the mouse around your piece of paper. Just kidding. Of course I don’t use a mouse to cut out real paper. I use a trackpad! With sharp edges!)
Now it’s time to test several positions and arrangements of the elements and to get a feeling for the one that works best according to (you guessed it) the message of the final motion graphic. Then you should have a first impression of how your static design might look like in terms of format, layout and arrangement. If you are going to produce a longer animation with many different arrangements, that shall be transitioned into each other (which normally is the case in motion graphics, except for logo animations, etc.), you should develop an arrangement for each single phase of your animation.
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3.3 Storyboard
In the final step of the preparation phase we will have a closer look on how our design might look in motion. For this we need to visualize motion and animated elements on a static medium. The headline has already revealed what I am talking about: a storyboard. Storyboards are in many regards just like comics. They consist of a sequence of several images that relate to each other in a comprehensible way.
Filmmakers love storyboards! They are the best and easiest tool to plan a scene. Every major change of a shot gets its own little drawing on the storyboard. Many notes and arrows are used to indicate what happens between the several images and which elements are moving, if the context doesn’t make all of that info obvious. There are infinite ways to create a storyboard. Some people create rough scribbles, or even full on
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masterpieces. Others outsource their drawing process to other artists or companies. Some people, mainly the ones with the rough scribbles, like to support their images by many notes and explanations about what they had in mind. These notes can be instructions for the camera, reminders for the production department, time designations for the several shots, and so on. I personally like to develop my storyboards on paper (sadly I have to number myself among the people with the rough scribbles), but there is also a lot of software that provides pre-built elements to play around with such as characters, shapes, etc. Of course this software must at least be capable of displaying all of your previous results (format, layout, arrangements).
So how do we start with the storyboard? It’s actually pretty simple: We take everything we have so far – and that should be several rough sketches (from the previous chapter) on the format of our choice with basic arrangements of temporary elements – and arrange them in the
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right order of time to get a first base frame for our storyboard. These sketches are the keyframes of our storyboard. Now we need to decide how many images we have to put between these keyframes to achieve a sequence of images that is also comprehensible to outsiders. The more images you draw the easier it will be to follow your trains of thought. The storyboard for a motion graphic designer is like the script for a movie director.
I know the process of preparation can sometimes be a bit boring, but it is exactly that process that distinguishes professionals from amateurs and beginners. After you’ve gone through this preparation process, you should have a detailed plan that will guide you through the whole production. You’ll always know what to do next which will enable you to create our own, unique motion graphic design.
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4. Production
Finally, with your concept and your storyboard at hand, we are now ready to enter the most interesting part of our motion graphic development: The production! As part of this we will first take an in-depth look at different graphical elements we can use for our motion graphics and what narrative benefits each one of them has. We will learn about different shapes and their meanings, all kind of footage, fonts and colors. Then we will blend everything together in a meaningful design and finally set everything in motion. Enough introduction – Let’s roll!
4.1 Get yourself into shape
The first thing we need to talk about are shapes. When creating graphical elements that you plan to incorporate into your design, keep in mind that – depending on shape, position and arrangement – different elements emphasize different messages. Similar to the several meanings of formats, shapes can be rather calm right up to exceptionally dynamic.
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Shapes and their meanings
The following list shows the basic shapes and their meanings:
Square:
balanced, stable, calm
Right-pointing triangle:
indicatory, dynamic, propulsive movement Rhombus:
unsettled, unsteady, dynamic, known as danger sign
Left-pointing triangle:
indicatory, dynamic, moving backward Horizontal rectangle:
equalized, comfortable, stable, calm
Circle:
balanced, closed, stable, symbol of infinity Vertical rectangle:
unstable, tall, dynamic, rising
Oval:
unbalanced, unsteady, wobbling Parallelogram:
unstable, collapsing, concurrent
Line:
acc. to reading direction either rising, balanced, descending Standing triangle:
stable, balanced, rising, the more pointy the more aggressive
New shapes:
usually a combination of basic forms and their meanings Reverse triangle:
unstable, unsteady, active, known as danger sign
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The visual weight
Whereas the look of a shape defines its narrative power, the importance of a shape (its so called “visual weight”) is determined by aspects like its position, size, brightness, contrast, complexity, velocity, distance from the center of the image, its actual weight and its color.
The object with the most visual weight will normally be the first thing your audience will see. When it comes to building a good eyecatcher (Remember the eyecatcher? Very important!), you should give it as much visual weight as possible. And remember: your eyecatcher does not even need to be the most detailed object. It just has to attract the attention of your audience and to give them a starting point to look at. After that starting point the viewer will look at the object with the second highest visual weight, then the third, and so on.
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The big circle obviously has more visual weight than the small circle
Hold the balance
Talking about the visual weight of elements, what do you think it is also good for? Correct! For counterbalancing your image! Balance is crucial! And you have to make sure that your visual weight is balanced or you will get an unstable composition. Compare your image to a traditional balance scale that is fixed in its center and that moves one of its sides up or down according to the weight of the other side. Your composition follows the same rules. Its visual appeal is depending on its inner balance. So imagine your image only being fixed with a nail in its exact center. In which direction will it turn? If it turns clockwise, then you have too much visual weight on the right side. If it turns counterclockwise, then you have too much visual weight on the left side. If it stays in place (and you haven’t heard of the importance of balance before) you either are a natural talent or you have used two nails to hang it. If your image turns, then try to adjust your visual weight according to the rules we have learned that have an influence on it. Move some objects around, change
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their sizes, brightness, contrast, complexity, velocity, color, their distance from the center (Another analogy to the balance scale! Moving one of its sides towards the pivot point of the balance scale will make that side and its content “lighter”. Yeah, physics!) and so on.
While adjusting the visual weight, pay attention to not making everything too symmetrical and that you don’t use too many similar elements. This would make your composition harmonic BUT unfortunately could also get quite boring. Your audience will tire of looking at it quickly. Balanced asymmetry is the key! You need disharmony through different elements and asymmetry to create tension! If there is a big, heavyweight element on the right side for example, use many complex, midsize elements on the left side to compensate for the big element. Nice trick, isn’t it?
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If you want to balance your objects quickly (for example you take a picture of a dog and a flower in front of a blurry background) it is better to not perfectly center your composition on your eyecatcher for the sake of balance. You get a much more exciting and professional look by shifting your shot slightly apart. With the rule of thirds you split the image into three parts horizontally and vertically and therefore get a clear, rough grid. Now you simply have to put your subject on the lines of that grid. This will result in a perfect compromise of balance and tension. I am pretty sure that you are already familiar with that grid. It is a component of most cameras’ viewfinders to simplify the process of composing a shot for the photographer. Quick and easy. In case you only have one object, I would prefer balancing it in the proportions of the golden ratio because the rule of thirds would shift your object too much apart. (Proportions of the rule of thirds: 1:2 (red grid) – Proportions of the golden ratio: 1:1,6 (golden grid) - see figure)
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4.2 The power of imagery
We have now discussed the meanings of different shapes and how to basically arrange them. Remember that these meanings do not only apply to basic forms, but also to much more complex entities that are similar to the basic forms. If a complex building represents the narrative power of a vertical rectangle, then a tent has the meaning of a triangle and an extraordinary fat cat might be compared to a lying oval. No matter how complex and detailed your objects are, they can always be reduced to basic geometrical forms that provide them with a specific message.
Now that we know how to deal with shapes, we will take a closer look at the different types of media that we can use within our motion graphics. What different characteristics does each one of them have? Where can I search for media when I don’t want to produce it by myself? Which type
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goal” now becomes more urgent than ever before, as you now have to decide upon the kind of imagery you will use. In the following chapter I will describe the advantages of the different types and help you make that decision. A picture paints a thousand words. Let’s use some words to describe some pictures.
Photos
The first media I’d like to mention are classic, real photos taken by camera that you can edit the way you like. These pictures can be incorporated into motion graphics in many different ways. They can simply be used as a two-dimensional background for your design or you can cut out certain elements of a photo and use them separately. Another method to work with photos is to cut out their foreground elements and then animate them in front of the background (which at first has to be cleaned up of course). This is an exciting and popular way to get stylized
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motion into a static picture, and this is exactly what we, as motion graphic designers, often have to do: Bringing static pictures (one frame out of a lost moment) back to life!
Photos are one of the most influential elements if you want to give your design a feeling of naturalness and realism – The two factors you will be having trouble with when working with artificial imagery. If you wish to achieve a flat and simplified design (for educational clips, etc.) you may get problems when only working with real photos. Transforming photos into a stylized drawing is a complicated task if you do not want your final work to look like it is being processed by a cheap photo-editor. In this case you might want to chose an option from the graphics category below. Again: It is YOU who has to decide the look of your motion graphic. 4. Pr oduction | The po w er of imag er y
The photographic eye
In case you plan to take your own photos I would like to give you a brief overview of what you should take care of. If you are going to buy photos from other people or libraries, it will help you to evaluate what kind of pictures are suitable for your motion graphics.
At first you need to remember one simple rule: There is a huge difference between the human eye and the (let’s call it) photographic eye! The human eye is awfully subjective. The photographic eye is always objective. A good photo is able to evoke emotions within everyone who looks at it. When taking pictures in an emotional scenery, always remember that your audience isn’t there with you. They cannot feel the atmosphere that is around your photo. So try to find ways to capture and present that atmosphere.
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Taking the photo
Now you know that evoking emotions and conveying an atmosphere are the most valuable functions of a good photo. What else do you have to keep in mind when hunting for the perfect image for your motion graphics? I will restrict myself here to the most important things (concerning motion graphics), there are thousands of books with thousands of pages about photography that I don’t want to rehash. Not to mention that I don’t want to write thousands of pages, even though this flight will still take a few hours. Is my laptop getting heavier while I write more and more words? Am I getting heavier while eating more and more of these fantastic snacks the flight attendant brings me every half an hour? They have that incredible coconut flavor. I love coconuts! Am I getting more and more tired while writing? Why is everyone asleep? I hope the pilot doesn’t sleep as well. Something strange is happening on this flight. 4. Pr oduction | The po w er of imag er y
So how do you begin? At first, you should know why you are taking the photo. Will it be the background of your design? Then you should take care that there is a constant lighting in the scene and that there aren’t too many elements that will distract from the foreground of your design. Do you plan to extract certain elements from your image to use and animate them separately? Then it might be a good idea to take the picture in front of a homogeneous background (a well lighted green-screen in the best case), so that you can extract your subjects easier. Always know what you want to produce before using the camera. It will save you a lot of time!
When taking your picture, always concentrate on your subject. Remember the rule of thirds and the golden ration to help you find the perfect framing. Light is one of the most decisive aspects you have to take care of. By changing the position and intensity of your light sources, you can dramatically change the look of your subject. By illuminating your subjects evenly, you will get flat images that might become boring on
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their own, but can have a lot of advantages for further editing. For example, in evenly lit images you can’t see where the light is coming from because there are faint to no shadows. So if you want to combine several graphical elements and images in your motion graphic, you don’t have to adjust the light source of each individual image to match the other ones.
Another form of photos you can use within your designs are textures. Who doesn’t like high-resolution textures? Flat images that depict the beauty of different elements’ structures. Wood, concrete, marble, different metal and so on. I like to use textures as the backgrounds of my designs. And even if I want to have a nearly black background, I almost never use a simple black solid. I always give my backgrounds a subtle structure. Textures are also great for title designs. You simply can’t beat a brushed aluminum title. Altogether, using textures is the best way to give your design much more realism. Their random structure is something
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essential to put as much elements from real life in it as possible. When creating your own textures, make sure that the surfaces are evenly lit and that you shoot them from the right angle. There are also infinite resources where you can get textures from. I personally use a huge library of textures where I can always choose the one that best fits the project I am working on. Having more textures at my disposal gives me the freedom to quickly test different styles.
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This is just a brief overview on how to handle and prepare photos for your motion graphics. There are infinite ways to incorporate such photos into your work. One of my personal favorites is to take static pictures and give them another level of realism by animating several parts of them. Also, when there is only one picture available, I like to separate its different elements from the background and make the picture three-dimensional. Then I animate the different elements and add some more footage to give it even more realism. For me this is one of the most exciting and appealing things a motion graphics designer can do: Giving static photos new life.
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Different looks with different imagery
In case you don’t want to use photos in your graphics or that your look aims at a more minimalist design (which actually is pretty common in motion graphics) there are a lot of other possible types of images you can create and use. Of course everything we have learned so far also applies to these. It is common to combine different looks in order to achieve a completely unique and new style. Creativity knows no limits!
Illustrations: Hand-drawn or digitally created graphics, with a real or an
abstract look, for either your background or fully animated sequences. At the cost of a more artificial look, with illustrations you can achieve highly emotional designs.
Infographics: Commonly used to transfer information with the help of
diagrams, charts, graphs, maps, etc. With infographics you can create explanatory animations that impart knowledge to your audience. They
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are often used within flat designs but can also be combined with natural looking elements. With appealing infographics you have the great power to illustrate complex issues in a way that even people who have never heard of that issue before might be able to understand.
Symbols & Icons: Simple graphic representations for a more complex
context. Symbols are used to transport a clear message where you don’t have much space. Road signs are symbols; evacuation routes are marked by a symbol; restrooms, and if they’re for women or for men have a symbol; the act of showing your endorsement for a certain post on a well-known social media platform has a symbol, and so on.
3D Renderings: 3D Renderings (of real objects or abstract designs) can
give your motion graphics a whole new dimension. Although there are many possibilities to create three-dimensional elements inside your
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program when it comes to 3D computer generated images. In these programs you have more tools that are geared to modeling, texturing, animation, etc. How to handle 3D software is a topic that by itself could fill hundreds of books. The basic design principles I mention in this book do, of course, also apply to images with the third dimension.
Plugins: Tools that artificially simulate images to your specifications
inside the motion graphic software. Plugins are great to help you produce designs that are complicated or even impossible to create from scratch. They can definitely be a time saver. However, a huge disadvantage of plugins is that they are often pretty complicated to handle and that their look – if not tweaked perfectly – sometimes is too artificial. Especially when it comes to particles I prefer to use real recordings of snow, sparks, dust, etc. 4. Pr oduction | The po w er of imag er y 4. Pr oduction | The po w er of imag er y
Footage: I’d like to highlight the last type of images you can use within
your motion graphic designs by actually underlining it: Natural and organic footage. This is something I almost always use when I’m not working on flat motion designs. Real footage is real nature captured by a real camera that you can mix with your design: Fire, light, moving liquids, all kind of moving particles, smoke and so on. Combining such footage with your design will give it a feeling of naturalness that cannot be achieved by a computer. Even if you use the most professional software (for example to create artificial fire) you will not be able to represent the feeling of real fire. The prize and the huge efforts you have to make to simulate nature is usually out of proportion with what you can do with footage. And you don’t even have to animate it. There is a reason big Hollywood productions always combine their computer generated images with real footage. There simply is no alternative yet. Even when used very subtly for a final touch, your whole work
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a real camera, combining it with your work will automatically give your motion graphics many camera features that you would normally try to simulate artificially (Noise & grain, Flares, etc.). Similar to textures, I don’t chose one element right from the beginning. I like to have a huge library of footage that serves as an inspiration and that is the source from which I can chose several elements to check out different combinations. And since you can combine various elements, you nearly get as many possibilities with footage as with simulated, artificial elements. In every art form people always strive to imitate nature in the best possible way. I personally think that we will never be able to perfectly imitate nature artificially. That simply is a contradiction. So why shouldn’t we just combine real nature with our art?
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Resources
Now that you have an overview of all types of graphics that you can use within your motion designs, the next big question would be: Where do I get these graphics from? Well, the most simple answer is: create them yourself. Things that you have created from scratch have the huge advantage that they belong to you in every detail. You can use them as often as you like (provided you don’t have a special agreement with your client and that there is not even the smallest element in your graphic that has not been produced by you, like a logo, etc.). However, producing every element on your own might get terribly time-consuming, tedious and expensive. Moreover, not every motion graphic designer has learned the skills for 3D modeling or owns the expensive equipment needed to produce footage.
If you are not working within a team of specialists that help you to create
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options where you can get your graphics from. In this context you need to understand that buying and using elements from other artists in no way means that your final work will not be unique! Simply see them as the tools you need to use to create your own piece of art by combining many different elements. So where do you get these elements from? From numerous resources on the World Wide Web, of course. There you can find free right up to highly expensive stuff. Without naming particular platforms (just search what you are looking for) I would like to list some options that you will encounter and tell you what I think of them. In general you should always pay attention to these questions: What do I get? What does it cost? What can I do with it? To whom and how long can I show my final work when using a certain element?
Option 1: You need some graphics showing different dogs. You type in “dogs” and you find some great pictures of dogs with an image search. You download them and use them within your motion graphic that you
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then upload again to show it to everyone. What a nice motion graphic with dogs! Stop! Actually you should have already stopped before downloading these images. Don’t play with fire! And with dogs! Downloading and using images that you do not own is stealing. You are not the owner of these images and so you are not allowed to download, edit, copy, upload, redistribute and especially sell them. It’s like stealing and selling the Mona Lisa. Ever tried to steal and sell the Mona Lisa? In fact I have tried until someone ordered me not to touch the bulletproof glass. Of course you can always ask the holder of rights (and dogs) of such images (for the case you find them) and ask them for permission. If you actually get their permission I would ensure to have it written down on paper and signed by them. And that this written agreement contains every permission you need to edit, copy, upload, redistribute and sell your final work. By the way: I have once written an email to Leonardo DaVinci to ask for permission to use the Mona Lisa in one of my motion
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graphics. Apparently he is pretty busy at the moment. Didn’t get an answer yet.
Option 2:
You search for some graphics showing different dogs and you find some images with a description that sounds something like “free to use”. Great! Let’s do some motion graphics. Caution! I don’t say “stop” but at least I insist on “caution”. Such offers should be examined precisely. Most times you will find in the small print that the one who offers you his graphics (and therefore his time and money) wants something in return. There’s always a fly in the ointment. Don’t rely on somebody simply doing something out of kindheartedness. I, for example, write this ebook to subconsciously persuade you to assist me in my plans for world domination (Important note: have to delete this sentence later).
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In most cases artists are giving away something to become known by more people and to attract attention. By making their art available for free, they will almost always ask you a favor in return. You sometimes have to write their names and a link to their websites in the credits of your work or you have to like their social media sites to get the permission to use their creations. Of course this can be a great deal for both the artists (who use this as a form of advertisement) and you (who is allowed to use free material). Both sides are doing the other side a favor. Unfortunately, in a professional production it is sometimes not possible to stick to the rules of the other side. For example if you don’t have the space to present the artist’s name (in TV commercials, etc.) properly. Then again (according to your silent arrangement with the artist) you are not allowed to use his works. Also double-check that “free to use” doesn’t mean that you are only allowed to use the work for non-commercial projects or that it simply means for private use. Moreover it is uncertain
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up with the idea of selling his former free works and therefore changes the conditions of use. That is of course the worst case and won’t happen that much but I simply want you to understand that you should always be skeptical towards things that are described as free. If you want to play safe, always insist on a written transfer of rights, that secures your right to use the work of other artists the way you want to.
Option 3:
The next option are large agencies that have millions of graphics you can buy. These agencies work together with several photographers and artists that want to sell their works to a broad public. Simply type in what you are looking for and you will be confronted with hundreds of elements that you can buy and download from a huge database. The price you have to pay depends on the quality you want to have (an image in a higher resolution costs more than the same image in a lower resolution) and the rights you want to possess. If you buy an image for a
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