Animation-Making Frames

With this animation project I have gained a new appreciation of how much time and effort is really required to enliven a figure and make it move. I will never look at a Disney film the same way! Even the simplest of movements such as drinking tea, must be accurately constructed to work properly. For this project I am aiming to create a short animation, approximately only 20 seconds, based on the Lichtenstein painting of a living room. I have drawn my own sitting room in Lichtenstein style, complete with the Ben-Day dots, and am planning to integrate a figure into the piece, sitting on the couch performing simple tasks such as drinking tea, reading and talking on the phone. While in theory this seems to offer little range in movement, it is still proving to be quite a challenge for me, especially where patience is concerned! On average, each frame takes me about 30 minutes to complete, even though it is only a cut out of the moving figure and not the whole room each time, as the background stays the same for the duration of the animation. It is both an enjoyable and tedious process, which requires a lot of precision and concentration. I think once I really start to see the figure come alive, I will be pleased with my progress! I will post up some photos soon. Meanwhile, time is ticking!