Animate ANY Character Turnaround/Rotation in 2D (And Improve Your Drawing Skills)

Patreon - / manumercurial
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In this video I will show you how to animate an accurate character rotation. This exercise can teach you how to draw better by practicing one of its most important principles: Solid Drawing. Even if you're not an animator, animating a turn-around animation while trying to be faithful to the original character design forces you to feel its volume and can help you absorb the original artist’s style!
For this I’ll be animating turns of Gwen Stacy from Into the SpiderVerse, and Akko Kagari from Little Witch Academia.
Remember to use the hashtag #MercuRotation in any social media when posting your own results. Best of luck!
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00:00 Solid Drawing
00:31 First Steps
01:27 Base Sphere Guide
02:07 Importing Your References
02:30 Tracing
04:03 Adding Ellipses
05:12 Fixing Proportions in Keyframes
06:40 Symmetric vs Asymmetric Features
07:23 Inbetweens
08:58 Coloring
10:41 Shadows
11:13 Shading
12:03 Best Reference Sources
12:32 Final Animation
12:48 Outro
Remember: "Every line you draw, you are one line closer to your dream!"
Thanks for watching!

[@ManuMercurial]

How Pro Animators Draw in ANY Style: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f3abeZatrslojs0 If you'd like to support my content consider checking out my Patreon and its perks: www.patreon.com/ManuMercurial Thanks for being here!

[@svnsetexe7326]

thank you for everything , i wont forget this - you are an amazing intructor who went above to help '

[@notaninstrument7707]

How do you know how big to make each ellipse?

[@YNguyen-qv1yf]

Please create more tutorials about a character turning around :D

[@michaeloffner8515]

It's kinda funny, before I even really understood what solid drawing was and the 12 principles, I actually did an exercise like this because I was frustrated with not knowing how my character looked at every angle, so I just drew them at every angle and then realized I had technically animated them. It's amazing how much you can learn from this exercise!

[@ManuMercurial]

So true!! Drawing the keys is already fantastic, but I've found doing the inbetweens your brain absorbs so much about the volumes on a face, its my favorite part!

[@nani0logy]

I swear you are one of the best animation/art KZbinrs with the best tutorials. You have tutorials for things I need but can't find on youtube. You deserve this 👑

[@ManuMercurial]

Wow, thanks Nani! It really means a lot you feel this way! Hope I can keep creating content that fills those voids in YT. Thanks for being here!

[@nani0logy]

@@ManuMercurial Thank YOU for being here!! you're definitely helping a lot of us artists out here!

[@RINA_CRYZ]

What about Cool lean

[@BCGraphixArt]

Agreeeeeed😂

[@MadCreativity]

This is literally one of the most impressive things I've ever seen. When you first showed the rotating drawing, I assumed you had used a 3D model as a base and rendered on top of it. But no. You manually placed all of the curved guidelines and rendered on top. This is really well done.

[@JoyceW-Art]

Honestly I've been wanting to do more animation to practice and improve on my illustration, so this video came at a great time!

[@ManuMercurial]

That's awesome to hear JoyceW! Hope you can give it a try, and wish you the best of luck!!

[@monicamarinhoart]

This is by far the best turnaround tutorial I've seen up to date. Thank you so much for sharing! 😍

[@ManuMercurial]

Thanks for watching it Monica! Really appreciate your kind words!

[@turtlelearns3d]

Alright, you got my full attention. Your turnarounds look like 3d models!🤯Very nice!

[@brittnbee1462]

You make me SO excited to try new things, I gotta go draw right NOW 🏃🏿‍♀️💨

[@ManuMercurial]

Britt n Bee!! Your message is soo important to me, that is exactly what I'm trying to do with this channel. Thank you for taking the time to write this!

[@LordKrogy]

I don't know what to say... I always searched for someone who can make detailed tutorials and explanations for animating. And since I found you I like it really really much. My motivation to animate and improve it increased a lot! Thank you for those very detailed and good Videos and I hope for more in the Future

[@ManuMercurial]

Thank you so much 😀glad to hear its giving you motivation, time to run with it!! 💪

[@xanecosmo5061]

3D Artists: "mmmm yes, rotation"

[@ManuMercurial]

[@tendollah156]

I would like to mention that having a top down view rotate also makes a good reference for planning each angle

[@laoukhtdusang7994]

I am genuinely saying this from my heart, thank you thank you!!!Thank you , for the first I understood thanks to the way you break down in a very easy manner the process of animation! You saved me a lot of time❤❤❤

[@Muttz97]

I wish that I found this video earlier. I’ve been struggling with animation thank you for tutorial 😭 🙏

[@flavafee]

i watched this whole thing in one go and was mesmerized! an S-tier tutorial. i love how you specify what each step is intended to feel like--it helps clarify that it's not the action itself that's important, but the learning behind it! thanks for sharing

[@lobizco]

This is such a good tutorial! You are great at explaining and it looks so fun! Im definitely going to try it out!

[@ManuMercurial]

Really appreciate your comment! Glad you found it helpful. Have fun!

[@batimius]

At the beginning, when I saw Gwen and Akko rotating, I thought they were 3D models, and that you were going to use them as reference for the drawing. After finishing the video, I am absolutely amazed by how well you have animated to the point where the 2D animation **actually** looks and feels 3D. Although I personally do not know how to draw, I do tend to try to pay attention to the little details of animations, and it is usually easy to distinguish 2D and 3D animation, especially when both are blended together (after all, making an object consistent is no easy task when it spans over multiple frames and is not allowed to deform), so the fact that my brain registered the two drawings as 3D models speaks volume. Amazing job!

[@joaquinvaleri7022]

You like other names? such as Henry Marcus Enzo Bruno Christian Andreas Juan Carlos Marco Hakim Phil Adrien Nahuel among other names

[@joaquinvaleri7022]

And i also sometimes i don't like cartoonist style and i like realistic animation like my works

[@joaquinvaleri7022]

And i have a character name Martín

[@EspadaLelouch]

This is one of the coolest art tutorials I've ever seen

[@basiccomponents]

as a beginner this was really eye opening, thank you!

[@yavnrh]

OMG - Thank you for all these links! This is pure gold.

[@ManuMercurial]

Thanks for taking the time to watch the video!

[@mielthesquid6536]

vectors and digital art as a whole makes drawing a lot easier

[@daniellclary]

Really love these tutorials. So much good information, given in a nice pace, and not full of ums and blunders. Makes me excited for my first project

[@ManuMercurial]

Have fun!! (there are a metric ton of umms and blunders but I edit them out )

[@lumilyraen2630]

I've never amimated before but i really need this now for applying for colledge and you're saving me!! thank you sm for these videos, they're sooooo helpful and inspiring!!

[@Eric-yd9dm]

Great tutorial! The layer mask tip is very clever and helpful! Also, it's always mind blowing when you start applying layers for effects, these could become tutorials on their own

[@ManuMercurial]

Thanks Eric! The FX part WILL be a tutorial on its own, I just want to cover a few basics before releasing it, but I want to make a video focusing on Post-Production for Animation! Thank you for watching!

[@goldensun585]

Your video are always incredible, really interesting ! Thank you :)

[@Geezyart]

Wow this is really helpful and I'm glade I found your page

[@T-Leaf]

You are amazing at this! And I know animation takes a lot of time and work but this video confirmed to me just how much it takes!!

[@ManuMercurial]

Hehe, it IS time consuming, but also really rewarding. Hope the video also confirmed you can do it too! 💪

[@kaihatsuki3181]

Seriously, this channel need more attention. The information are really useful, even with a mediocre artist, not just beginners. I'm kinda shocked when I noticed you're haven't reach 30k yet...

[@ManuMercurial]

The sentiment is all that counts. Slowly but surely we'll get there! Thanks for the good vibes and checking out the videos!!

[@faustocarlosdeloscobossier7884]

As always your tutorials come in handy useful and to the point, thanks for sharing your knowledge with us! Keep up the good work and again, thanks King 🤴

[@ManuMercurial]

Ayy, glad you found it helpful, thanks for watching it King!

[@thehumanatelier]

Dang good turnaround tutorial! 👍

[@alberto4723]

Como siempre, buen video, lo explicas todo genial. Sigue así ❤

[@dominicapm]

Thank you so much! I'll definitely try this!!! I have been trying to learn how to animate on clip studio so thanks you so much for the tutorials!

[@ManuMercurial]

Thank YOU for taking the time to watch them! Best of luck!!

[@shadowdemonaer]

Haven't gotten far in, but this isn't my first video I watched talking about tracing for animation purposes. The pros actually do this to make sure everything is very consistent and to save time. All pros do it. They Rotoscope. They straight up trace. They use references. Only time it isn't fine is if you trace someone's art and they are a small indie artist who relies on commissions, and you're stealing bread from their table. tracing it for theft reasons is bad, but tracing official art to learn it and also to animate still images properly is completely fine. A person would absolutely be tracing their own work and also making reusable bases if they wanted to speed up animation. Always work smarter, not harder.

[@donavanjames7481]

Awesome! I learnt loads! Thanks man

[@felixhunter589]

Awesome stuff, this looks super helpful!!! Definitely going to try it out myself ✨🙌🏻 Would love to see a version where it’s the head going up and down, as a potential future video idea maybe? Idk heh

[@ManuMercurial]

Thank you Felix, can't wait to see your version! That could be a great idea, maybe you can give it a go as well when you finish the first one! 💪

[@siyonsanbaske]

This is the Best Animation Channel on KZbin Thanks For this video

[@ManuMercurial]

Thanks for the huuuge compliment Siyonsan Baskey! I hope to one day actually be that!! 🙇

[@Rayjii]

this is by far the best tutorial for head turns i wish i had when i started haha, man peak stuff!!

[@ManuMercurial]

Big compliment Rayjii, thanks a bunch!

[@joakimlofstrom8374]

Thank you for the Kronk anatomy💀 No but seriously, huge thank you for this video, got my own head spinning with ideas and things I want to try while watching these heads spinning! Great tutorial! And the turnarounds ended up amazing! And also HUGE thanks for mentioning Settei Dreams! I had no idea about that page, it's beyond fantastic! Scrolled a few centimeters and immediately found one of my favorite shows, Aim for the Top! Gunbuster! So I think I know what I'm going to work on!(or at least try) Again, thank you for everything in this video, your CSP animation tutorial has been of incredible help, and your other videos I've seen are extremely motivating and informative. Looking forward to watching and learning more from you! Hope you're doing good, take care!

[@robert_nissan]

excelente bro, gracias por compartir! 🙏🏼

[@OddlyAnimated1203]

Your channel is awesome! You explain so nicely and clearly. Your channel really helps me a lot!

[@ManuMercurial]

Glad to see you in another video Happy to hear you're finding my videos helpful!!

[@OddlyAnimated1203]

@@ManuMercurial Of course! I was thinking of watching you're newest video as well, but I keep forgetting about it, hehe 😅

[@--Paws--]

I get what he's saying. It's not about the character template alone but the main design overall to make it easy to replicate to make a consistent shape to animate. The tracing is more in part of practice.

[@coolkoreamag]

You're AWESOME man !!! Amazing tutorial !!!

[@ManuMercurial]

Appreciate the kind words, thanks for taking the time to watch it!

[@pineapplesio]

Thanks for the tutorial your channel is so nice and easy to understand one of my biggest helpers yet to become a animator

[@ManuMercurial]

Thank you for being here Pineapplesio! I wish you the best of luck on your journey. Let's get it!!

[@Whalester]

Found this tutorial on the CSP tips and posts section. Really great find!

[@ManuMercurial]

Glad it was helpful! Thank you for watching it!

[@phos3009]

Great tutorial! nwn

[@haerbit]

I love this!! Thank you sooo much ❤❤❤

[@ManuMercurial]

Thank YOU for taking the time to watch it! Best of luck with the rotation!!

[@ShadeRave]

I needed this so much thank you!!!🙏

[@ManuMercurial]

You're so very welcome! Thanks for taking the time to watch it!

[@KillerTacos54]

Glad I discovered your channel!

[@markjosephbatoon2640]

thanks for the video. I really need this💪🏿

[@ManuMercurial]

Let's get it! Thank you for watching it!

[@flux1940]

One of the best art channels on youtube right now. Im glad i can watch you blow the fuck up man.

[@ManuMercurial]

Thanks Flux! So happy you feel this way. I really appreciate the good vibes!

[@noproblemcha7240]

Awesome 👏

[@badaim9268]

wasnt looking for this but damn, nice video!

[@ManuMercurial]

thank you BadAim92! Means a lot!

[@DannyBirchTheAnimeLoverGamer]

2D hand drawn animation is amazing.

[@ADHDOCD]

Bro, you amazing!

[@bk-entertainz7081]

FUNFACT:I'm a HUGE fan of MLWA, So I'm happy you used Akko as an example/model :DD

[@AlexiaChvr]

Same it’s so underrated

[@anandhg4286]

That's AWES❤ME !

[@njnjhjh8918]

fun, Gwen and Akko are characters I like very much

[@be_me]

This is awesome! I already feel exhausted from just watching this but it's awesome nonetheless. Very helpful.

[@ManuMercurial]

Ayy give it a try! It does take some time to make a rotation , but little by little it is a really rewarding exercise!!

[@Eman02kG]

I’ve been looking for this

[@Sanuso]

this is extremely helpful, especially because i struggle a lot with boiling, thanks for such quality video and free resources

[@ManuMercurial]

Glad it was helpful! Best of luck with your own rotations!!

[@turboguppy3748]

Thank you, this is very helpful!

[@ManuMercurial]

Thank you for taking the time to watch it! Glad it was helpful

[@JoIjloL]

Excellent video Manu, it deserves at least 1,000,000 views.

[@ManuMercurial]

Thank you for the good wishes JoljloL! 🙇 slowly but steady we'll get there one day!

[@JoIjloL]

@@ManuMercurial I'll be watching your progress along with the rest of your viewers. 👍

[@MrSpaceAngel]

LWA is such a masterpiece.

[@senior_sakuga]

This was a solid vid! Turnarounds have always been tough for me and this was a very creative refresher. Also nice to see I’m not the only one who uses settei dreams to hunt down anime model sheets 😂😂

[@ManuMercurial]

Glad you enjoyed it Senior! Settei dreams is such a life saver haha. I really love this exercise and all you can learn from it!

[@SiimplyAxo]

GWEN AND AKKO TWO CHARACTERS FROM MY FAVORITE MEDIA AAAAAA

[@smokeback]

Nice this is very helpful

[@helios3445]

Yoo this is really helpful!

[@ManuMercurial]

Glad you think so! Thanks for watching!

[@Simon-et4hu]

Another very cool and unusual trick! :) I am currently studying Jinx and I will try this out! Animating works better for me than simple iterative drawing. It tricks my in just the right way I think

[@ManuMercurial]

Duuude it would be SO cool to do one of these for Arcane Jinx, best of luck!!

[@Simon-et4hu]

@@ManuMercurial thanks! It would be a victory to take this idea to the end for sure! Just yesterday I was strugling studying a bunch of screenshots and saw your video a bit afterwards. Right on point!

[@senpaidung3234]

it's very helpful to me thank you so much

[@ManuMercurial]

So glad to hear Senpai Dung! Thank you for watching the video!!

[@school7889]

THAT'S SOME GOATED CONTENT

[@ManuMercurial]

Thanks School! So glad you liked it!

[@tanisartanis]

Thank you for aways sharing knowlegde

[@ManuMercurial]

Thank You for watching!

[@the_epipan]

I'am feeling hope now.

[@Norber2007]

Thats looks useful, I try to do it with my pixels.

[@anxease]

how come you still don't have 100k sub??? you are really good at explaining and demonstrating this stuff!!

[@ManuMercurial]

thanks for your kind words! baby steps but I believe one day we'll get there!

[@Cainmak]

oh god no. I would die trying to do all of this. But yours looks amazing.

[@alexkemp7146]

Mind blown.

[@eugeny_semenov]

Огромное спасибо за такой замечательный и вдохновляющий урок!

[@bambigunawan]

Awesome😂❤

[@AuxieStar]

Yooo i love your animations

[@ManuMercurial]

Thanks so much AuxieStar!

[@ehnelhimself]

This was very helpful thank you so much. U just earned yourself a new subscribe

[@ManuMercurial]

Welcome aboard eNeL!! Thanks for taking the time to watch the video, truly appreciate it!

[@theothedestroye6565]

this makes sense to trace the character. i've heard from people that when you're learning on how to draw you can trace others drawings or animation drawings (without posting the final product do to copyrite and moral issues) so you can understand how to proportion your drawings better and create an artstyle easier

[@ManuMercurial]

I agree!! As long as you're using tracing as a learning tool and mixing it with life-studies I think its a fantastic way to increase your skill!

[@Mehdi0montahw]

woow perfect method

[@SUTAZZZ]

When you went to model sheets for more anime characters i noticed on the top a character I really love Cure Heart! :0

[@noof2892]

i like your accent, it somehow keeps my short attention span going for tutorials like these

[@ManuMercurial]

HAHA this is such a big compliment, thank you!

[@blueglacia4320]

I love you for this!! Thank you so much, definitely subscribe~ ❄️💙

[@ManuMercurial]

Welcome aboard Blue Glacia! Thanks!!

[@ib5916]

woah the part from 11:17 on blew my mind, thank you!

[@venomgold]

wow si much wonder for videos

[@YowLife]

Wouldn't it make more sense to make some reference sketches of your character, then draw the front view, add horizontal guidelines, then draw the side view by eyeballing the references/following the H. guidelines, then doing the same for all other angles? It sounds like it would be easier than trying to draw all the angles and meticulously adjust every aspect to line up with one another.

[@minhhang9772]

THANK YOU A LOT

[@ZimYT]

tbh i was on your channel for 30 min and a new vid just post holy cow

[@ManuMercurial]

haha lucky!!

[@supersaltlee7657]

This guy is awesome

[@ManuMercurial]

You are awesome for being here!

[@allmovieworlds1772]

Loved your tutorial sir .. Thanks for shearing these tips and work .. Love from Bangladesh 🇧🇩

[@ManuMercurial]

Love back from Costa Rica! Thanks for checking it out!!

[@RobertsReviews]

Thank you for the video.

[@ManuMercurial]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@robinfox4440]

Holy crap this looks hard. I think I need to focus on some more basics before I do something this involved O_o

[@maxanimation8076]

Super❤❤😊👏👏👏👏👏

[@prosperityokechukwu1503]

The best is doing it first in blender then animating😊

[@javiermansilla9303]

goood so have imprecionandt

[@neonranger1192]

I am animating a super slow motion head turn it's kinda frustrating. This will surely help me

[@micahguitar2669]

Thank you so much for your help.. From Zambia ❤

[@ManuMercurial]

Cheers from Costa Rica!

[@zypher9690]

This is a hidden gem! Thank you! Also how would this apply to a studio setting? Seems like this approach would take a real long time on just the head alone not even counting the body and the clothes on the body. Work like this deserves top pay imo!🎉🎉🎉

[@ManuMercurial]

I agree! The purpose of this exercise is to give you the tools to manage rotating a character while keeping it consistent, it is not meant to be used as a way to rotate a character when doing a character sheet as it would be extremely time consuming. Although I've had to animate things like this: i.imgur.com/xAmsf2r.mp4 So you never know!

[@SpaicyProject]

Good video!

[@ManuMercurial]

Thank you Spaicy!! Means a lo coming from you!