Objective:

I can prepare my Illustrator artwork to make a Bone Tween animation in Animate CC.

Topics Discussed:

• IK Armature
• Bone Tool
• For a complete list of Topics Discussed, please see the previous weeks’ lessons.

Assignment:

• By now, you should have your completed Illustrator Web document with a front view of your original character, composed of at least six parts: a Head, a Body, a Left Arm, a Right Arm, a Left Leg and a Right Leg.
• In the Front View document, use the black selection arrow to select the different parts of your character, and use the fn+F8 shortcut to convert each part to a Symbol. Every part of your character that is going to move should be made a separate symbol! Name each of the symbols appropriately as you create them. When you are finished, at a minimum you should have symbols for your character’s Head, Body, Right Arm, Left Arm, Right Leg and Left Leg.
• Save this file as “Your Name – Your Character’s Name.ai”. We will use this file to import into Animate CC.
• Open a new Animate CC HTML5 canvas. Make the size HD, and set the framerate to 30fps. The stage color can be any color of your choice.
• Use the “File -> Import -> Import to Stage” menu command to locate and import your “Your Name – Body Parts.ai” file. Walk through the prompts to import your body parts into Animate. Make sure to select all the parts, and select “Single Animate Layer” from the “Convert Layers to:” dropdown menu.
• Use what we learned yesterday, and the in-class demonstration today to add bones to your shapes. (Remember: “Start from the heart” and work your way out to the arms and legs.)
• Make your stick figure wave! Add up to 120 frames to your animation, and use the Motion Tween-style Armature layer to animate your character’s poses to make the character wave it’s arm as if it’s saying “Hello!”.
• We will use this technique this week and next week to produce a simple animation. Save your file as “Your Name – First Animation.fla” and submit a copy to today’s Google Classroom assignment post by end of day on Friday.

Assigned: April 29th, 2025
Due Date: May 2nd, 2025

Objective:

• Using my knowledge of design and color, and the skills I acquired in Illustrator, I can produce a character “model sheet” representing how my character looks from the front.

Topics Discussed:

• For a complete list of Topics Discussed, please see the previous lessons.

Assignment:

• Now that you’ve brainstormed your character and determined his/her/its key character traits, you will finalize the visual design of the character.
• Create a single landscape Illustrator artboard, and set the profile to Web.
• Using the answers to the questions that you wrote for your character, write a character analysis paragraph. Use the Area Type tool to collect the sentences into a single paragraph that introduces your character to the reader. Include this paragraph in one of the corners of the page.
• Next, using your rough sketch as a guide, begin drawing your character in Illustrator.
• Begin by drawing a front view of your character. Use simple shapes to draw the character’s arms, legs, body, head and any other elements of the character’s design (ears, tail, clothing, etc.).
• Draw the character with arms and legs spread out (this will aid you when we begin applying animations to this character at a later date.
• Place the full text of your character’s descriptive paragraph on the same page. Remember your principles of C.R.A.P. as you do this, and make it look neat and professional.
• Your finished model sheet with the front character view and descriptive paragraph are due at the end of class on Monday, April 28th.

Assigned: April 23rd, 2025
Due Date: April 28th, 2025