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Saturday, September 17, 2016

Animated Doll

Several months ago, I decided to create an animation based on one of my dolls. I searched the web for software that I could use for free, just to find out the capabilities. I found software that allowed me to have a 30 day free trial with limited software capabilities. The doll that I chose was my Phicen seamless figure (resembling Halle Berry's Jinx character). Below is the actual photo that I used for my animation.

And my results are below. I tried to get her to lip sync to a song that I was singing. The trial version of the software did not have much in the way of hair, clothing, or background options. And I was limited to a 30 second video.


So what do you think? I thought this was pretty decent for a first attempt, so a few days later I decided to try again using a photo of my Kwanzaa Barbie doll.

You'll have to take my word for it that my second animation was way better than the first. I downloaded an add-on with more hair, clothing, and background options. Her hair was blowing in the wind, and she had realistic eyes. I was finished with the animation and was in the process of adding the song to the animation so that she could lip sync (it was a much better song recording too, but you'll just have to take my word for it). Then, my computer locked up. The trial version of the software does not allow you to save your work, so I lost over an hour's worth of effort. After that, I lost all interest and removed that software from my system.

My overall impression of this process is that animating dolls could add an interesting layer to the videos and storytelling, but it's much too time intensive for me right now. I'm not willing to purchase the full version of the software, and I'm not motivated to try any more free trials or possible free software out there (unless I get some good recommendations on free software that works well).
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12 comments:

  1. PhyllisSeptember 17, 2016 at 11:01 AM

    It was indeed very interesting! The animation was pretty good and it did look like she was actually singing. I think it would be very hard to do a full photostory with animation, but I loved that you tried it out and shared the results with us!

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    1. RoxanneRoxanneSeptember 17, 2016 at 1:42 PM

      Thanks for your comments Phyllis! I did think that the animation was pretty decent, and can only imagine what it would be like if I actually knew what I was doing and had a full blown version of the software.

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  2. MuffSeptember 17, 2016 at 4:20 PM

    I just tried the Motion Portrait app and it was no where as sensitive as the one you used. I like these types of applications as it's just fun to see your inanimate doll come to life.

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    1. RoxanneRoxanneSeptember 18, 2016 at 1:04 AM

      Hi Muff! Yes, it was fun. Maybe I'll play around with a different app one of these days. :)

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  3. Georgia GirlSeptember 18, 2016 at 1:10 AM

    Nice video and animation!! Your voice is beautiful!

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  4. BriniSeptember 18, 2016 at 5:51 PM

    That turned out really cool. It cool you tried it out and free too, sorry about losing your work.

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    1. RoxanneRoxanneSeptember 18, 2016 at 6:37 PM

      Thanks Brini! I don't think I'll ever try another app that doesn't allow you to save your work as you go along. I understand that the goal of the manufacturer is to sell their software, but for me, wasting my time like that discouraged me from ever wanting to try their software again. And I actually thought that it was really cool up until then.

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  5. InkaSeptember 25, 2016 at 12:32 AM

    Hally is the best :)))

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  6. D7anaSeptember 25, 2016 at 4:06 PM

    Thanks for sharing the results of your animation. Neat video. I like how she seemed indifferent to the boppy enthusiasm of that song. Like she was chillaxing as she sang it. "Baby I am too cool to get worked up."

    Your voice is lovely, of course ;-)

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