After playing around with the animation assistant in Procreate for a few months, I got struck with an idea around Thanksgiving to animate an Advent Calendar to put up in the Reels section on Instagram. Once I decided on that, I also came up with an idea for my friends that celebrate Hanukkah with a candle lighting animation for each night.
At first I had plenty of time and built myself a bit of a “buffer” by creating a week in advance. And then I got complacent and let that buffer dwindle to nothing, so I ended up stressing myself out every day trying to make them before noon.
The Hanukkah candles were definitely easier, because all you have to do to make a convincing flame is just draw the flame shape randomly so its slightly different each time. I did get a little carried away a few times, so some of those flames would definitely be a fire hazard in real life. Plus I only had to keep up with it for eight days.
All in all, I think I did okay. The next animation I attempt will either be shorter in terms of duration, simpler in the details, or just not have such a short deadline. Perhaps all three would be good. And I will start work on holiday things much earlier this year.
Handmade by Casey Kay 