Animation practice on the go?

[Vangald]

I was think how nice it would be to have a small sketch book that I can take to work that has fairly see through paper while still pretty sturdy so that I can practice doing some flip book animations during my lunch break. I would do it with the normal sketch books I get, but the paper is kind of thick and hard to see through. I also thought of using tracing paper but I have yet to see tracing paper pads with good binding. If I start drawing on the last sheets and work my way up many of the sheets come loose and fall out :( . Maybe I am just being to picky about this.

Anyone else had this thought? Maybe you have found a brand that suits you well?

[jeremyfries]

I know this isn't exactly what you're talking about, but here's something I've done in the past: take a small three-ring binder and tape an acme pegbar on the inside. Put a small stack of acme-punched copy paper inside, and secure the whole bundle with two rubber bands.

It's pretty low-tech, but it works. If you have a problem with the pages blowing away, you can always punch the other side of the paper with a normal three-hole punch and put the pages you aren't using in the rings.

I hope this helps.

[zanekohler]

It can be very tough trying to do animation on the go. Most of the time when I am on the go I just focus on drawings.

I do have my sketchbook set up where I can do animation on the go. I am not doing it in a flip book style but more traditional way. I have all my paper 3 ring punched into a binder. I keep a clear clip board (http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/678631/Office-Depot-Brand-Assorted-Metallic-Color/) with it. I had purchased some time a go a standard 3 ring round hole peg bar (http://www.lightfootltd.com/product_info.php/cPath/27/products_id/90). I just tape that to the clip board. Between flipping the paper and lifting up the clipboard to let some natural light through I am able see the drawings below. It is not ideal, but does work.

This is probably a little more complicated than you were looking for ;) but it is option.

[zanekohler]

I know this isn't exactly what you're talking about, but here's something I've done in the past: take a small three-ring binder and tape an acme pegbar on the inside. Put a small stack of acme-punched copy paper inside, and secure the whole bundle with two rubber bands.

It's pretty low-tech, but it works. If you have a problem with the pages blowing away, you can always punch the other side of the paper with a normal three-hole punch and put the pages you aren't using in the rings.

I hope this helps.

Ha you beat me to it.

[jeremyfries]

Haha! Great to see I wasn't the only one!

[Rodney]

Maybe you have found a brand that suits you well?

I've been fortunate to find a great little outlet store here in Japan that has what I find to be an almost perfectly sized sketchbook. It doesn't quite fit into a standard size pant's pocket but comes pretty close. It fits perfectly into the leg pocket of a military uniform.

The sticker on it says 195 x 137 mm with 184 pages. At 210 yen (roughly $2 a book) its great for taking on the road.

The paper is a bit slick and doesn't have as much tooth in it for those that like a little drag on their pencil but I find it is a happy medium that works with pencil, pen and marker too.

It's not the best for full on hand drawn peg-style animation but its got a pretty sturdy spine that makes it nice for sketching and animation tests and creating flip books.

There is a thinner version that runs about $1 for 50 pages that would be ideal for working out one short sequence. Its easier to scan the images from these than with the thicker book.

The paper in these is just thin enough to see through to the underlying drawings provided the lines are dark enough... flipping back and forth and drawing... that takes a bit of work. ;)

I found these after years of searching for any sketchbook roughly the size of a paperback novel... one that could fit in my pocket was preferred. If I would have found a paperback with all blank pages I think I would have found the perfect traveling/thumbnail sketchbook. I almost ordered a blank digest sized book without anything printed on the pages through one of those print-on-demand services but I came to my senses before I submitted the order. I guess there isn't much of a need for empty paperback books...

I'm not sure what all is available where you are but ask around at your local art store as they may know what you are looking for or be able to order it.

Don Bluth really gave me the ultimate Aha! moment when he demonstrated animating a sequence on one piece of paper. As his drawings weren't thumbnails but nicely sized images on the page you can bet I took notice. Richard Williams also expertly demonstrates this 'animate a whole sequence on one page' technique on a single surface via a dry-erase whiteboard.

As there is no flipping or rolling required, this thumbnailing technique s perfectly suited for animating on the goregardless of size of the surface you are drawing on. (Note: You'll want a digital camera if you are animating in this way on a whiteboard so you can 'scan' the drawings into your computer)

[Vangald]

I just had an idea that might compliment that binder idea. Sticking an electroluminescent board in there to act as a light source. Effectively making a portable light table. Assuming it can put out enough light. Got the idea from here (http://revision3.com/systm/kiki).

I might try that binder idea and see how it works out.

Rodney, you wouldn't happen to know the name of that brand would you?

[Rodney]

Rodney, you wouldn't happen to know the name of that brand would you?

This isn't an art store and everything in the store is given this franchise's branding. I was extremely impressed by the service of the store as they made me feel like I was their most important customer. Watching them serve other customers allowed me to see that they do this for EVERY customer. (color me impressed)

The name of the store (in romaji) is 'Mujirushi'.

...and it appears they do have stores outside of Japan:
http://www.muji.com/storelocator/

Edit: I've looked at their online stores and they have some notebooks/stationary but none are the digest sized sketch-books I like.

[Rodney]

I have purchased a few of these for storyboarding... but haven't storyboarded much. ;)

http://www.muji.us/store/recycled-paper-thumbnail-sketch-note.html

The only thing I've every storyboarded in one of these was a Don's Club weekly seminar which is a whole other story...

Note: This recycled newprint paper has some fairly good tooth to it.
Good for quickly drawing ideas and roughing out scenarios.