How To Make A Bird Animation In Photoshop

An animation of a flying animate being is very complicated to create—flapping wings alter in perspective, all those feathers change their length and position, and there'due south a certain rhythm that must be followed.

However, there is a method to practise this without searching for a endless number of references. In this tutorial I'thousand going to show you the mechanics of flight to build the wings from scratch in any pose, how to draw feathers as speedily every bit possible using a simple Adobe Photoshop pull a fast one on, and how to build a body that follows the motion of the wings. Last but not least, we're going to pigment the creature in a simple way.

The flight brute will be a snow griffin—one-half snowy owl, half snowfall leopard. To ready for this tutorial you tin check these ones:

• How to draw wings
• How to draw large cats
• How to draw birds
  

1. Prepare the Sketch

Step 1

Before nosotros kickoff, information technology's good to practise a little warm-up. When you lot describe something for the first time, you can't await stunning results at once. If you've never drawn a snow leopard or a snowy owl from scratch before, get yourself a few references and study them before trying anything more complicated.

Report sketches are and so great because they're not about the final result, but about the process of drawing

Stride 2

When y'all feel ready, sketch your creature without wings, suspended in the air. I gave my griffin a larger beak, since the fauna is much bigger than an owl, and a slender neck to go along a more than traditional look.

2. Construct the Wings

Step ane

Flight is based on two phases: anupstroke (B) and adownstroke (A). What truly matters for flight is the downstroke—pushing the air with the biggest surface area of wings possible. The upstroke serves only as a transitional stage between ii downstrokes—information technology shouldn't push anything. Therefore, a bird tries to brand its wings as big as possible during the downstroke (wings spread) and as small as possible during the upstroke (wings folded).

Utilize this rule to ascertain the flapping in your animation. Go on the body on a single layer, and create a new layer for every other frame. You tin play with their opacity to see the previous i and base of operations the next movement on it.

1. Upstroke finished
2. Downstroke started
   
3. Downstroke in progress...
   
4. Downstroke in progress...
5. Downstroke in progress...
6. Downstroke finished
7. Upstroke started
   
8. Upstroke in progress...
9. Upstroke in progress...

Notice how the wings announced shorter during the upstroke

Step 2

We need to sympathise the construction of wings to get whatsoever further. It's pretty uncomplicated:

1. The arm is short, often subconscious in the feathers of the body.
2. The forearm is the longest part.
3. The hand is brusque, but contains more basic, which makes it more than flexible.
4. The shoulder-wrist ligament tin be expanded but to a point, and then the arm and forearm volition never brand a direct line.
   

Await at your arm. Information technology can be relatively expanded with the elbow pointing down, up, or in between without rotating the body. This is what'south going to happen during flight, as well. The position of the elbow will tell us whether we can come across the pinnacle or the lesser of a fly.

Now apply this construction to build wing-arms. Call back—during both the upstroke and downstroke we can see either the elevation or the bottom of a wing, depending on the perspective.

You can run a test animation to check how it looks.

Step 3

Do y'all recall the typical shape of craven wings? That's what nosotros need to build before nosotros adhere feathers to them.

Start with the arm-role. It's attached with one side to the body, so pay attention to what happens when the elbow is rotated.

Step 4

Add the forearm-part. It's attached to the previous part, but not directly to the trunk, and so it'southward more flexible. It besides narrows towards the wrist.

Pace 5

The last part is a simple triangle.

Pace six

Now we can commencement defining the position of the feathers. They follow the rhythm of the office they're fastened to, but at that place's a tricky affair nearly arm-feathers—though their part is fastened to the torso, they themselves aren't. They can hands be stretched out of the torso, but it'south not recommended during flight since it would break the lift.

When adding the feathers, follow the rhythm of their part of the wing. Call up about perspective and eventual foreshortening!

Step 7

Add another portion of feathers. Can you approximate what happens if we rotate the wrist the other way?

Step 8

And the concluding part.

3. Outline the Feathers

Starting time nosotros demand to understand how the feathers are fastened. We've already synthetic solid wings, so there should be no problems with it. But see how the feathers follow the rhythm of their areas.

"Hand" area:

"Forearm" area:

"Arm" area:

The same applies to another row:

There'southward a cluster of small feathers in the "thumb" area:

Finally, cover the wing with tiny, fluffy feathers:

Big wings may accept their "hand" feathers slotted:

Now nosotros can kickoff outlining the feathers.

Stride 1

We're going to work on the final outlines now, so let's brand the canvas (Control-Alt-I) as big equally nosotros need it to exist to become all the details.

Step 2

We could draw all the feathers one by ane, only it would be very fourth dimension-consuming fifty-fifty for one frame—and we've got 9! To avoid this chore, let'due south endeavour a pull a fast one on that fits the mode we're going for.

Create a New Layer and double-click information technology to open the Layer Style window. Set the settings every bit beneath:

Step 3

Create aNew Way based on information technology.

Step 4

The best brush for our purpose volition exist DP Comic Inker from DP Presets. However, any hard brush will do; this one just works more smoothly. Find it in the Tool Presets panel.

Describe a few exam strokes with the brush and use our new style on it. The outline should appear by itself.

However, if we effort to overlap strokes, they merge into each other, making one large blob. How to avert this when drawing overlapping feathers?

Step 5

The workaround is to create a new layer for every stroke, merely can y'all imagine doing it? For automatic tasks similar this we can utilise theActions console.

Start past adding a New Set, then Create New Action.

Step 6

The activity is recording now! Do all the tasks nosotros desire to have automated:

• Add together a New Layer (Control-Shift-Alt-N).
• Add the outline style for it.

Now you tin can stop the activity.

Step seven

Any fourth dimension we want to use the action, nosotros but need to click thePlay button. However, fifty-fifty this simple click may be irksome when we're painting a lot of strokes. Let's add a new a shortcut for it.

Go to Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts, select Console Menus, and detect Actions on the listing. Then assign a shortcut for thePlay button. Choose something that will be easy to use.

Step viii

Test it! With our action selected on the list:

• Use the shortcut.
  
• Draw one feather with a big stroke.
  
• Echo.
  

Stride ix

Use this method to draw the rows of feathers as explained before. When you're done with a row, Merge (Control-E) the strokes to avoid mess and slow-down. Call back about the overlapping of feathers as described in this tutorial!

Step 10

A nice thing about this method is yous can easily modify the feathers (as long as they're not merged), for example to created slotted ones. Click them with the Movement Tool (V) when belongings Control to select their layer without fifty-fifty looking at the listing.

Step 11

Draw all the wings with this method, leaving the left and right wings on separate layers. Information technology can be complicated at the beginning, simply with every wing y'all'll discover information technology easier and faster—much faster than sketching and outlining every feather manually! The good news is you don't have to count the feathers, because nobody will notice the difference. Y'all don't fifty-fifty need to exist overly cautious—it's the animation that matters, not a single frame. If you don't believe me, but look how odd some of my frames look!

iv. Arrange Body Movement

The wings aren't the only things that move during flying. As mentioned before, the downstroke really pushes the body up, balancing the constant falling of the upstroke. If the residual is kept, the bird is neither going upward nor falling downward—information technology's flying. You can see this balanced motion in this video.

However, our griffin's body isn't as balanced equally a bird's. Simply look at its back—when the torso is pushed up, the rest of the body is pulled by information technology, but not directly by the wings. We can imagine it'll crusade a slight filibuster in both phases.

To go this upshot we'll demand to build the torso out of independent elements.

Step one

Depict the elements you lot want to motility independently using the same method we take for feathers. Details aren't important now, and so focus on the outlines.

Step 2

Create an blitheness, using the same body for all the frames, and changing but the wings. Simply in case you've never done it before:

• Open the Timeline Window with Window > Timeline.
• Click Create Frame Animation.
• Click One time and change it to Forever.
• Change the time (0 sec) to 0.ane sec.
• Click the white card icon to create a new frame. Every frame has its own layer visibility and the position of its elements.
  

Hint: if you want to add a gradual change, start it on all the frames and only deselect the previous frame before changing another.

Step 3

In full upstroke, the griffin should be a little bit lower than in full downstroke. The distance between them is up to you—the bigger, the heavier the animate being will seem, but as well the more grotesque the movement.

Apply the frame with total upstroke as the starting position. Select another frame, select all the layers that are visible on it, and hit Shift-Pointer Up to move the griffin up. Every new frame should be a bit higher, until you reach the full downstroke. Afterward this, move the griffin downwards to reach the position of the full upstroke.

Step 4

It's non the end! The trunk isn't rigid and we need to show it. Permit's start with the caput. Information technology needs to be stabilized during the motility, and then that the griffin is able to observe everything efficiently, without a shaking view. To achieve this, keep the head on a like level during the blitheness. Ignore the neck for at present!

Pace five

As mentioned before, the back of the trunk is pulled by the front, not the wings, hence a slight delay. To show this, first stop the back from moving.

Step 6

Now give this part the highest position right earlier the torso is the lowest—and the lowest position earlier the body is the highest. You lot can also try other combinations—some of them will be more natural, some will exist funnier.

Mine looks funny, doesn't it? The motion of the dorsum is the clearest indicator of the weight of the body—you can see whether the creature is struggling to stay aloft, or rather floating peacefully.

Step 7

To make the back less strong, let'southward add a petty hip twist that doesn't brand much sense, but looks cool.

Pace 8

You can exercise a similar affair with the arms:

Step nine

Let's cease the body movement with the unbending of the tail.

v. Make the Line Art

Our griffin is dancing happily in the air, but the art itself is not done. We demand to make proper lines out of this chaos.

Footstep 1

Hide the groundwork on all the frames.

Open up the Timeline carte du jour and click Flatten Frames Into Layers.

Now you can delete all the redundant stuff, leaving only the essence:

Step ii

Use the method with the outline nosotros've used before to patch the spaces between the parts.

Stride three

Using the same brush, paint over the lines you don't want to come across with white.

Step 4

Do the same for every frame.

Step 5

Add details of the line art to one frame, then copy them and adjust to the residual of them.

Step 6

Double-click one of the layers and add a black Stroke to it. Then right-click on the layer, Copy Layer Style, select all the layers, and Paste Layer Style to them.

Footstep seven

Duplicate (Control-J) every layer and clip the re-create with Command-Alt-Chiliad. Every layer you add between them volition not cross the boundaries of the line art!

To remove the white parts from our line art, change the Blending Mode of every re-create to Multiply. Test information technology!

This is how our listing of layers should wait at this bespeak:

6. Add Colors to the Artwork

We're going to colour the blitheness frame past frame, and then obviously nosotros need a fast method that's easy to replicate. Of course, I'g non going to end you from painting all the frames your way; I'll just evidence you how to exercise information technology the fastest.

Footstep 1

Add together a New Layer between the clipping mask and its copy. Use the Paint Bucket Tool (G) to fill it with night blue (#2a5bba)—this will be our shadow. Repeat it for every frame.

Step 2

Create a New Layer and paint the within of the line fine art with light blue or cyan (#a0f0ff). Use the same hard brush as before, and don't come close to the edges. Paint information technology for every frame.

Pace 3

Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur to blur the shading. You can easily apply the aforementioned filter to every frame by selecting its layer and hitting Control-F.

Step 4

Create a New Layer and pigment the lighting using a very lite blue (#def6ff). To avoid dissolving of the edges, you lot can select areas on the line art with the Magic Wand Tool (W) and and so paint inside them on your layer.

Step 5

Before we start blending the lighting, we demand a hard brush. Create a New File and draw something like this, and and so go to Edit > Define Brush Preset.

Pace 6

Merge (Command-E) all the coloring layers (without the line art!) within their clipping mask. Now we can go two ways:

• CS4 and lower—use the Smudge Tool with 100% Strength and our new brush.
• CS5 and college—use the Mixer Brush Tool with our new castor and the settings as below:
  

Step 7

Create a New Layer for every frame and fill it with white. Then set its Blending Mode to Soft Lite to lighten the colors underneath.

Pace viii

Add together a new layer to every frame and colour elementary details on it.

Step ix

The body looks a bit patently, so let's add a pattern to information technology. To save some time nosotros can create a brush for it. Create a New File and draw something like this:

Step 10

Go to Edit > Ascertain Brush Preset, then change its Settings (F5) as beneath:

Pace 11

You tin now hands draw the marks. Feel complimentary to modify the settings for a while to fit the surface area better—sometimes smaller spacing or no transfer volition work better.

Step 12

The residual of the body is based on a snowfall leopard, so let'due south add its design too. Create a New Layer on one of the frames and draw the rosettes. Then right-click the layer and select Catechumen to Smart Object.

Footstep 13

Duplicate the layer (Control-J) to put it on every frame. If some adjustment is needed, use Free Transform (Command-T) in Warp mode (upper bar, on the right). If you want to learn more about this method, brand sure to check my tutorial about animating a running cheetah.

Stride 14

Utilize the aforementioned method to draw rosettes on the back, hind legs, and tail.

vii. Final Bear upon

The animation is technically washed, just we can still do something to make it more bonny.

Stride one

You can change the appearance of all the frames at once merely past adding a new Adjustment layer. You lot can do it in the panel opened with Window > Adjustments. In my case I made the griffin whiter.

Step two

Nosotros can also make the motion more than real by adding motion blur in some moments. To do information technology, beginning you need to Merge all the layers of one frame to a single layer. So select the 1 you want to change, go to Quick Mask (Q) mode and paint over the areas of blur. Go out of the mode and Invert the selection (Control-Shift-I).

Step 3

At present get to Filter > Blur > Motility Blur and adjust the settings to your needs.

Step 4

Since all the frames were based on clean clipping masks, nosotros tin can easily add any background to it. You can choose something complicated...

...or brand it more simple by applying Gaussian Blur to it.

Pace 5

When you're ready, change the size of the sheet to the last dimensions. Save for Spider web (Control-Shift-Alt-S), select GIF as the format, and play with the settings to become a compromise between size and quality (you lot tin can read more about it at the cease of this tutorial).

We've Flown to the Terminate!

No doubt information technology was quite a long tutorial, but I'm sure I managed to clasp in everything you lot may find helpful when creating a flight animation of a feathered brute. You tin can use this noesis for your ain drawing, a video game, or simply a beautiful GIF.

Source: https://design.tutsplus.com/tutorials/create-a-flight-animation-from-scratch-in-adobe-photoshop--cms-22739

Posted by: kinderfron1970.blogspot.com

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