Character Renderings

Thanks to Jake Albers' help I have been able to streamline a digital method for creating a paper-like look for the main character. Here are two tests using different paper textures - one much more subtle than the other. (A description of the process is below)


Character Texture Test 1 from Michael Spilsbury on Vimeo.


Character Texture Test 2 from Michael Spilsbury on Vimeo.

The Process:
Create the pencil outlines:
-Export the Flash animated character outlines as a PNG sequence with alpha
-Import to Photoshop and trace the outlines with a pencil-like brush using a tablet (admittedly, a pain in the ass)
-Export a new PNG sequence (with alpha) of the newly traced character outlines

Create the paper texture:
-Export from Flash a PNG sequence (with alpha) of the character's solid shape - the cutout shape of his entire body without any outlines or details
-Import the sequence to After Effects and place the paper texture on the layer below
-Choose the 'Stencil Alpha' blending option for the PNG sequence
-Use 'The Wiggler' effect on the paper texture to make it randomly jitter

Composite the two:
-In After Effects composite the PNG sequence of the outlines with the character's moving paper-texture