Monday, July 16, 2012

Penguin App

So here's another children's story app I'm working on right now. I'm calling this the SUMMER OF APPS as I've been working on three of them with three different programmers currently. I thought I'd post some progress on my latest - the penguin app - we're still trying to figure out a name for it. It has a story component as well as a counting and simple addition subtraction theme. This one is going to be targeted towards 2-5 year olds. In the menu users will choose between story mode and adventure mode - so story time is just that and when it's time to play kids will know how to get there.


These penguins are the main characters and since we are animating them I had to start learning a little about animation. You need to know that I've been a one trick pony for almost two decades - I've only been working digitally for a few years for crying out loud.


So one of the first things I learned is that whenever you're talking animation you're talking assets. An asset is a stand alone character, object, or background element. In order for things to move over a background they can't be painted over the background - like I used to do in all my illustrations. This is why it's almost impossible to make animated apps or ebooks from classic children's books. 


When you're working with animated assets the more things you separate from the background the more powerful the property. By that I mean that if what you're working on ever does well commercially you'll probably want to follow it up with a sequel. So the more stuff you can illustrate separately the more power you have in creating another story using the same backgrounds by moving the props into different positions or removing them entirely. You can see that this beach scene could be completely reworked in a matter of minutes since every object is painted on it's own layer. Ironically I don't think I'd be going down this road if I hadn't learned to work in photoshop a few years back!


Some little fishies that appear in a few screens in the app...



The programmer on this app really likes the "Unity Framework" which he is using to format our app. It's actually designed for a 3d game environment but works great for our 2d art and animation. It allows us to dream it and build it. Looking at the smooth motion it provides is amazing to me since I've always identified myself as an illustrator. About 4 years ago a colleague of mine attended an icon conference where a speaker said that illustrators will need to start thinking about motion graphics and animation if they want to stay viable in the near future. Those words were a bit scary to me at the time for fear of the unknown. Now I'm not only unafraid - I'm so psyched about the possibilities and the sheer fun of dreaming up things that I've never seen before!


14 comments:

  1. Apps are so much fun! I'm working on one too, and you are entirely correct about painting everything on separate layers. This looks like a fun project to work on. It will be fun to see the finished product :)

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    1. Thanks! -Let me know when you get yours done Dena - I would love to see it :)

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  2. Surprise, surprise, I am working on an app as well. I was actually planning to release it as an ebook first, and an app later, just so I can get something out there. I'm also doing the programming and animating myself, so I know that's going to take me awhile to learn. I figure the book will be done by October, and the app should be ready by Christmas. I've been trying to figure out the best way to do these illustrations without having to do them twice. I knew everything was pretty much going to have to be a stand alone drawing, but as an illustrator, it's hard to get my head around the idea of not having a fully finished drawing at the end.

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    1. Good luck with your project - let me know when you're finished!

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  3. Hi Terry – as usual your work is fantastic!
    I have never worked on an app or art for ebooks, that said, you mentioned working in Photoshop, why not Illustrator? Also, since you are working in Photoshop what size and resolution do you build your files for this type of work?
    Thank you in advance for the info you so generously share. :-)

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    1. Great questions - Both Photoshop and Illustrator are good for producing art for apps. I just prefer Photoshop because it helps me render my work in my style. I've never used Illustrator believe it or not :)

      I'm working at about 3 times the resolution of the iPad - this way I have plenty for retina displays as well as future mobile devices...I hope. :)

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    2. Thank you Terry - Love your work! Your positive, generous attitude is inspiring!

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  4. Can't wait to see this and the others when they are finished Will. Looks like it's going to be lots of fun. :D

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    1. Thanks Karen - I can't wait to be able to finally say - It's DONE!!!

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  5. HI Terry, Great Job! Are you doing apps for android or mac? Which software are you using for the apps? The reason I’m asking is because I had been looking to do apps for android and I do not find a friendly program to use. Thanks Maite.

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    1. Hi Yeyo - my programmers are using phone gap and the Unity framework - for iOS and android - I don't know much about it but they said it can output to both. I wish I was more help...

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  6. Hey, I am also working on developing my own children's mobile app, and sourced a digital illustrator. Do you know which size(s) the illustrated frames need to be for the application conversion?

    Thanks,

    Abraham

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