Morphing Animation

Here I used Photoshop and Flash to produce a simple animation of a newt transforming into a crocodile. I began by sketching my keyframes - the initial character and the morphed character - in Photoshop using a graphics tablet (See image below the video). I then moved into Flash where I coloured and inbetweened the images, still using the graphics tablet. Once I had completed the morphing part of the animation, I wanted to add a bit of character; I did this by adding anticipation and reaction to the movement. For anticipation I had the newt's skin ripple slightly followed by a pause, just to signal that something is about to happen to him. I then gave the character a slightly gormless look by having him casually blink before and after the transformation, subtly conveying the character's apathy/unawareness to what just happened. Once the animation was complete I created some sound-effects which I added in Premiere Pro. I was particularly pleased with the morphing sound effect, which I made by stretching an inflated balloon. This video can be played in 1080p HD.

Above: Finished Morphing Animation

Above: Character Sketches Produced in Photoshop