Here you will get yourself handful of tips and tricks from other animators on forum. It will help you a lot better in animating and some other stuffs :D

And you're welcome to share your tips/tricks here too so go ahead!

What I learned from jombo is if you do good tips then say "Bam" After everything, It sounds just thaaat much better~

Want to draw a straight line?
Just Click shift and draw!


Bam!, you just got yourself a state of the art line!

Your line onion skin thingy is a eye sore?
Just double click on this and pick a new color!



Bam!, you just got yourslef a new color!

Hate scrolling through your timeline for a certain scene for hours?
Just name your frames then! Type in the name on the thingy on the properties!



Bam!, You just named your frames!

Need to save colors on your color list thingy?
Just use the paint bucket to drop it into the color selection are thing!



Bam!, even more colors!

tip: finish it and post it even if you think it isn't up to your standards. you'll get practice and feedback and improve faster that way.

Didn't we already have a thread like this that Jeff made? Something about lifehacks?

Quote from Hewitt

Didn't we already have a thread like this that Jeff made? Something about lifehacks?

looks like this one's more animator specific. can't hurt to have an animator's tips thread

Oh okay I only skimmed the OP. I'll go rename the thread to prevent vague confusion.

Instead of the hairline box to mark the stage dimensions you could use rulers.
Rulers can be activated by going to the View Menu and clicking over the item that says "Rulers". You can click and drag guidelines from the rules to the stage, and viceversa to delete them.

You can paste an object you just copied to the exact same place by hitting ctrl + shift + v or Right Click > Paste in Place.

If you're missing "screen" space to work you can hit F4 to hide the toolbars.

If you keep the alt key pressed while you click and drag an object you will duplicate it.

Those are all I can think of right now.
bam

Actually, fuck this. Tips and Tricks from the Great.

Quote from Hidro

Instead of the hairline box to mark the stage dimensions you could use rulers.
Rulers can be activated by going to the View Menu and clicking over the item that says "Rulers". You can click and drag guidelines from the rules to the stage, and viceversa to delete them.

You can paste an object you just copied to the exact same place by hitting ctrl + shift + v or Right Click > Paste in Place.

If you're missing "screen" space to work you can hit F4 to hide the toolbars.

If you keep the alt key pressed while you click and drag an object you will duplicate it.

Those are all I can think of right now.
bam

Actually, fuck this. Tips and Tricks from the Great.

Oh shit, never knew about that alt thing

Quote from Hewitt

Didn't we already have a thread like this that Jeff made? Something about lifehacks?

The only thread I can recall Jeff ever made similar to that (even though it could apply to any work in general) was the one that stated you should keep your projects and whatnot to yourself and refrain from showing the general public until you're absolutely finished with them. I think it had to deal with already being satisfied or unsatisfied with praise or criticism and then refraining from working on that project again based on lack of motivation, which explains a lot of unfinished projects here.

Nice late reply

Also
Want to show grid? ctrl+" key, bam, you have a grid.

- Try looking at animation tutorials that are not about Flash or stickmans.
- Try to use more than one software to make an animation, it will help you to improve on other things and depending on what you are using, it will make your animation more unique.
- Read "The Animator's Survival Kit" or watch the DVDs, I didn't finished watching it yet, but It's really good.
- Use "bam" as much as you can, you'll look like a pro.

Quote from Jombo

Have bunch of layers?
Can't see most of them in the timeline?
Select "short" in the timeline drop down menu.

Bam, look at all that space saved.

---

[/HR]

Oh my god, you've just saved me sooooooooo much trouble. This has been troubling me for ages, not knowing where layers are, having to scroll through a huge mass of layers. Now it's just like... "Bam!".

Also, for people who animate with brush, using mouse (like me), it's a lot easier to draw from an anchor point. For instance, having a blank frame and then having a large dot, the head, then drawing the body. It's pretty much head first, but since I've found this out I'm animating twice as good and animation with a mouse is not a problem anymore.



#Bam

Quote from Nafter

Oh my god, you've just saved me sooooooooo much trouble. This has been troubling me for ages, not knowing where layers are, having to scroll through a huge mass of layers. Now it's just like... "Bam!".

Also, for people who animate with brush, using mouse (like me), it's a lot easier to draw from an anchor point. For instance, having a blank frame and then having a large dot, the head, then drawing the body. It's pretty much head first, but since I've found this out I'm animating twice as good and animation with a mouse is not a problem anymore.

Screenie Weenie (Click to Show)

#Bam

I've been animating my whole life with a mouse and I had to buy a tablet for my school.

Tip: Buy a freaking drawing tablet.


#Bam