A couple years ago I launched Cartoonists in Cahoots.  This attempt at creating an online community where animators could come together, collaborate, get help and showcase their works was short lived and the project was abandoned.  The idea itself never died, as I still wanted to create a place for animators to come together and communicate.

Well, I have now re-launched the site and am asking other animators what they would like to see from a site like this.  I decided to make things simple this time: a streamlined message board that focuses on communication.  You may be asking what the point of something like this is, that places like YouTube provide a comments section for this type of stuff.  While YouTube is great for showcasing, I think it hinders an animator’s ability to seek constructive criticism or help.  YouTube can be chaotic, I want Cartoonists in Cahoots to be more animator friendly.

Not many posts yet... that's why we need you!

So, bottom line, if you’re an animator seeking help, willing to offer advice, looking to collaborate with others on a project, I invite you to take part in this community.  Animation isn’t all visual art though.  If you fancy yourself a voice actor, music composer, screenwriter or fan of cartoons in general (it’s always good to have outside critiques), you have a place here too.  The forum is very new and therefore has minumal posts.  Let’s try to change that.  Click the link below, sign up, spread the word and let’s get a conversation going.  I hope to see you there!

Click here to go to Cartoonists in Cahoots

On January 19th, I presented a webinar that was hosted by Smith Micro on the benefits of Anime Studio for Flash Users.  The hour long webinar compared features of Anime Studio and Flash along with a host of other issues.  The video has been made public courtesy of Smith Micro and can be viewed right here:

This weekend my YouTube channel crossed the four million accumulative views mark.  This is an incredible moment for me, knowing that my videos have been played so many times.  I just want to thank you all for your continued support, it really means a lot.

And now… it’s time to set the target to five million.  Here we go!

Are you a Flash user who is curious about Anime Studio? Join me next week Thursday for this free 1 hour webinar covering the topic of going from Flash to Anime Studio. I will be going over the different features and workflow scenarios that each software provides. A Q&A session will be done at the end of the session as well.  Hope to see you there!

Click here to register!

Hey Guys,

I have redirected the homepage to go to my blog for the time being.  I am having some issues with the site.  My guess is after I updated WordPress to the new version, something went wrong with the compatibility of the theme.  So, until I resolve the issue, you will be redirected here.  You can still access everything on the site though.  There are some broken image links here and there that I will look into as well.

Thanks for your cooperation!

This week saw the return of my video tutorials, with Anime Studio being the focus of the lessons.  Also, Chad Chat is back this week, ushering in the new year of chats with Chad (hey, that’s me!)  While I strive to release a video each weekday, only four were made public this week.  But considering the tutorial released today is 45 minutes long, how about we call it even?

• Adding Text in Anime Studio
• The text tool is useful for creating written on-screen dialog, credit sequences, environmental pieces and much more. The good thing is that it acts like every other vector graphic in Anime Studio, providing an easy way to animate and make changes.
• The Timeline Sequencer
• The Timeline Sequencer in Anime Studio allows you to sequence animations and other assets on the timeline. This is useful for moving a bunch of keyframes at once, adjusting audio and timing the appearance of your assets.
• Chad Chat 06: Pushing Forward
• To start the new year off, I decided to do something a little bit different with Chad Chad. Instead of answering a question today, I will be sharing a story. I find the story inspirational and my hope is that you will too.
• How to Draw a Cartoon Character in Anime Studio
• In this 45 minute lesson, I demonstrate how to draw a cartoon character in Anime Studio. Many techniques will be used here, including layer usage, the Add Point tool, the shape tool, modifying lines and more.

Hey Guys!

I hope you had a terrific holiday season.  I am back and ready to deliver my strongest year yet in terms of digital content.  To start off, I have released a new tutorial for Anime Studio.  My plan is to continue a similar schedule like I did last fall, with trying to release one per week day.  As always, you can find the tutorial on IncredibleTutorials, my YouTube channel or the embedded link below.

Stick around, there’s plenty more coming up!

A few years ago, when my website was titled “Lilredhead Productions”, I started recapping the events of my productions at the close of each year.  I felt this allowed me to reflect back while giving viewers a chance to catch up on anything they may have missed.  Given this year was busier than most, I have decided to resurrect this tradition.  So get ready, this time travel stuff can be rough business.

Beginning with a Block Buster

The beginning of the year started off on a bit of a discouraging note.  Sabers III, an incredibly ambitious project that had a lot of excitement around it, was shelved in late 2010 due to bad weather.  But as luck would have it, a new project would soon lift my spirits back up.  A media company I co-own, multimediaGEEKS, was tasked with creating some short videos to be used for a viral marketing campaign being developed by Dickinson State University.  The ideas started out simple enough.  The initial concepts primarily featured the DSU mascot, Buster the Bluehawk, working out at the gym, practicing ballet and trying on western wear.  But some of the ideas thrown around evolved to the point of absurdity (which turned out to be a good thing).  While these videos were created for business, a lot of fun was had in creating them, even if a considerable amount of editing work was put in by our then partner Damian Winter.  But really, how can you not have fun mixing together a concoction of marshmallows, chocolate milk and brownies to simulate a massive bird turd or pretending to blowup downtown Dickinson in an exciting action sequence?  I also got to act again, which is something I haven’t done in a while.

I always cry at the sight of poop.

If you haven’t checked out these videos yet, I recommend you do, especially the three located in this post.  That post even has the unedited Buster’s Big Blowout (the one DSU showcased was edited for time and in my opinion, sacrificed a lot of the comedic value due to it).

Tons of Tutorials

Between my duties with multimediaGEEKS and other projects, I managed to release a total of 55 video tutorials for the year.  The subjects of these tutorials ranged from Flash to WordPress to Anime Studio (which was a first for any year).  This didn’t include the hours of lessons I recorded for the Youtorial platform as well.

Anime Studio was the new software I focused on this year when it came to creating video lessons.

While I wish I could have released more tutorials for the year, I am happy with this number and plan to continue with the release schedule I set forth this fall.  To see the tutorials I have released in 2011, please check out my YouTube channel.  If you search the Uploaded Videos list, and follow the videos down to the first one that was uploaded in 2011 (which is labeled “How to Create a Flash Cartoon Tutorial Series“), you should have an easy time navigating through the 55 lessons.

Raging Hard Through the Fields of Flavor

After taking a two year break from my own personal animated works, I returned with a new series.  Well, it’s not so new as the series idea is a decade old; this is more of a reboot than anything.  For whatever reason I have found Mr. Binek’s Class to be an enduring idea, which is why it made a return.  The idea to reinvent the old series sparked way back in 2006, which I have documented in a special 10 year anniversary article.  The first episode began actual production way back in January of this year.  I would slowly work on the episode in my spare time up until its release in August.  While I wanted to release more than two episodes this year, things didn’t really pan out that way.  I did however manage to release a Halloween cartoon that used a similar animation style.

Mr. Binek and his friend Zach tackled the hurdles of third grade teaching.

From a personal standpoint, I am proud of the first and second episode as it demonstrates my strongest animation work to date.  Being able to work in references to my past works, like Pakaday’s voice as the secretary and little subtle nods to the old Binek series was fun.  I’m excited about the prospect of continuing on with new episodes in 2012.

Chatting with Chad

The last major development came near the end of the year with the release of Chad Chat.  For a while, I wanted a way to communicate to my viewers in a more relaxed setting.  Sometimes a tutorial just isn’t a good venue to answer a question or discuss a subjective topic.  The idea is that Chad Chat acts as supplemental content to my tutorials, allowing me to answer questions the users may have relating to issues outside of direct techniques or procedures in the animation software I teach.

Welcome to Chad Chat!

I have a lot of fun with this new approach as it allows me to explain my ideas, reflect back on previous works and relate to my viewers on a more personal level.  So far the response has been fairly positive, which makes me feel good.  Chad Chat is meant to be a weekly video blog.  I have taken a break with the holidays approaching but plan to resume my weekly Wednesday episodes once the new year starts.  If you’re curious about this new blog series, check out this YouTube playlist that contains all the episodes.

And that wraps up my recap for 2011.  It was a busy and productive year, which is always a good thing.  I would like to thank all of you who support me and my projects.  I promise to keep delivering the best content I can into the new year.  Happy Holidays!

Writing out a screenplay is an important step when it comes to producing an animated cartoon. Sometimes it can be hard knowing where to begin or what techniques to apply. In this Chad Chat I give five tips that will help with the process.

Send me a question and I may answer it in an upcoming episode! You can send me a message on YouTube, use the form on my website, follow me on Twitter, or subscribe to my Facebook and Google+ pages.

Twitter: http://twitter.com/ctroftgruben
Facebook: http://facebook.com/IncredibleTutorials
Google+: https://plus.google.com/100204993168945032499/

How long does it take to learn Flash in its entirety? How does one become inspired to achieve a complete piece of animated work? Is the process ever finished? In this episode of Chad Chat I dive into my personal experiences to answer these questions.

This is a new format I am trying. I am using Chad Chat as a supplement to the tutorials I release. Basically these videos offer a different take on the usual tutorial format. I will be basing future episodes off of questions I recieve from viewers. If you would like me to answer something, feel free to post a comment or follow me on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.

Twitter: http://twitter.com/ctroftgruben
Facebook: http://facebook.com/IncredibleTutorials
Google+: https://plus.google.com/100204993168945032499/