Animation - A Ragtime Duet

Hadn't played my piano since my first video so this seemed like a fun way to get back into it. My music-savvy friend showed me some of the rotoscoped piano animation from the anime's "Your Lie in April" and "Kids on the Slope" where every key is visibly hit, and I wanted to see if I could get that level of accuracy using a hand-drawn approach like those piano scenes from 1950's Tom & Jerry.
Tried a few new things for this one:
- Switching camera angles with each character mostly sticking to one side of the screen for readability
- Drawings hands and characters in three-point perspective with foreshortening
- Using 3D software to screenshot/trace over objects (pianos) and establish perspective lines for free-handed characters/backgrounds
- Dynamic backgrounds and lighting to keep characters in focus
Music used: Cascades (Scott Joplin), played by me and some royalty-free snare drums

[@ElbowDeepInAHorse]

99.9% of animation studios: Nobody will care if we fudge the piano playing. SirloinBurgers: Hold my fucking sasparilla.

[@georgearbuckle7029]

Legitamently most dont even settle for hitting the right notes... hell here even the piano *techniques* are correct with when to cross under with the fingerings... incredible.

[@V0idedOut-E33]

HEY I KNOW THAT @! Haven't seen you since last I was on Imgur how the HELL You doin elbow deep in a horse?

[@doomclasher9287]

I mean, most people didn't care (or notice), until it became a relatively unfunny meme that its best iteration of it is a video titled "I wrongly animated a piano out of spite" by Advos

[@vapreom]

🙏

[@AmulenEbaru2812]

Uffff WHAT A GREAT MELODY!!!

[@Raspylightining]

THIS IS SO CUTE!! I love the attention to detail where they continued bumping their leg to stay in tempo the whole time

[@PIX_THE_FOX]

Ye! As a band kid, I’d do this a lot with my Trombone and Keyboard! :D

[@Sean_Jaggers]

I was taught this as well

[@Mike14264]

Aye, I'm in a musical group, and they always tells us to keep doing that, and looking at each other, to stay on time as much as possible

[@neves5083]

My brain wouldn't have enough RAM to pay attention to my leg and playing lol

[@antitoksin8440]

@@neves5083 you don't really pay attention to your leg, it just goes to automatic mode to stay on beat after some training

[@none5020]

This is so incredible, I'm saying this as a pianist. Nobody EVER animates pianos correctly except for that one anime. This is next level, amazing!!

[@eduardojose981]

What anima?

[@none5020]

@@eduardojose981 Your lie in April

[@somerandomguy7325]

⁠@@none5020that’s just April fools

[@treywilliams1388]

Jojo also did it! …..granted it wasn’t exactly _normal_ piano playing.. but it was accurate!

[@SirKuinimutt]

Didn't "Concerto Cat" and "Rhapsody Rabbit" also have accurate piano playing animation?

[@voch123]

1:25 I love how they wind up as if they’re gonna destroy the drums and then they play so gently

[@StefonTV1]

It was funny and cute

[@bionicdragon5]

I like how at 0:53 you didn't feel like animating the sheet music going across the frame, so you just replaced it with a missing image icon! This was great! I loved it!

[@clawcakes2]

DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE THAT LMAO THAT'S SO FUNNY

[@fosstera]

thats such a fun and silly detail omg

[@TimelessTimothy]

Yeah, I laughed at that detail! Quite understandable!

[@GearHeadedHamster]

The funny part, I'm pretty sure that the piano and background are all CGI. But the sheet music are 2d drawn. If you look closely, the notes keep changing between camera angles. Also, the pages are blank at 1:42 when the camera pans up.

[@SirloinBurgers]

​@@GearHeadedHamster The pianos and benches are traced from screenshots I took in Roblox, with manually added details like the design on the front of the piano and rounded corners in a few places. All the wood texturing was done later with a bunch of individual skewed images. The background was fully free-handed using the piano as reference for the three vanishing points in perspective, and a lot of the blurred backgrounds throughout the video are just distorted snippets from the first scene :)

[@vileluca]

"hands are hard!" Sirloin: "ahaha hold my stylus charger."

[@FacelessRunes]

why does your stylus need to be charged???? tf am i not getting?

[@masontippie198]

I honestly thought they were 3D hands made to look animated at first. That's how good they are.

[@onman14]

@@FacelessRunes some styluses do actually require charging, like apple pencils

[@Shadowkey392]

Also Sirloin, afterwards: “DAMN hands are hard!”

[@doggoadexx2680]

@@onman14that’s fking stupid

[@poweroffriendship2.0]

Finally, a cartoon character plays the piano that is animated correctly, as all instruments should be.

[@fantasticbirdblue]

do you know how hard it is to animated an instrument

[@exotic1405]

Seeing accurate instruments is cool but I don't get the utter obsession people have with it

[@Pawbrew]

⁠@@exotic1405 for me, seeing an instrument and hearing it being played, but not seeing the correct notes can make the animation feel off

[@SirloinBurgers]

Animators and studios usually have to consider the "99% of the audience won't care" factor for fine details like that, on top of having deadlines to meet and a budget to stay under. I just happen to have the luxury of no supervision, financial obligation, or time frame, so I'm free to pick and choose whatever details get more care than others :)

[@BetaDude40]

@@exotic1405 Most people don't care and it's not a bad thing if the instrument is animated without hitting the exact notes correctly (though people will notice if the rhythm is not animated correctly, then you get a huge disconnect between sound and visual) It's extremely time-consuming and very difficult to keep everything in time _and_ hitting the right note. It's not so much an obsession as it is a celebration of animators who are capable of doing that. Sure, most people won't notice, but animation and music nerds absolutely adore it.

[@megaman4354]

1:41 thats some crazy perspective

[@RedRocket360-vk8se]

Yes!

[@megaman4354]

@@RedRocket360-vk8se yes!

[@raccooninthatoven]

it was nauseating how good it was. actually IT WAS ALL GOOD

[@_.Dylan._]

Apparently it’s sort of rotoscoped from a 3D piano in Roblox

[@theredstormer8078]

​@@_.Dylan._ that's pretty cool. I would've expected SketchUp since a lot of artists use that for buildings and such in backgrounds.

[@helix5729]

Lol it's really goofing with me that the pianist rabbit has 5 fingers whilst the drummer has 4.

[@Twiddle_things]

The feet having 3 toes is really messing with me

[@_BL4CKB1RD_]

@@Twiddle_things agreed

[@soogus55]

Maybe cause they used a reference for the hands. I do not believe someone can make hands so fluid. And also because playing a piano with 4 fingers would sound bad lol

[@SupercoolRadicool]

Genetic mutation that allowed them to be such a good piano player

[@usernametaken017]

​@@SupercoolRadicooldo people with six fingers have an unfair advantage at playing the piano

[@FishyBoi1337]

I love the occasional details like the sketch lines being visible. In the age of AI we're currently in, it's refreshing to see evidence of human action in a piece. Feels real and homey. Like the slight scent of decay and cigarette smoke in a beloved grandparent's house. A negative in some people's eyes, but makes it feel that much more real to those that truly care.

[@tayloredwards1675]

It reminds me of the Disney movies from the 60’s like Jungle Book, Aristocats, Robin Hood. I absolutely love that sketchy style ❤

[@chipthecomputerkatze8936]

you have the frame counting in the top left. i love seeing all those little details with the sketch lines. it honestly adds to the animation.

[@picklesplitz]

BRO THOSE PIANO PLAYING ANIMATIONS... ANF ANGLES . I ADMIRE YOUR SKILLS IN PERSPECTIVE

[@clawcakes2]

will never get over just how expressive and lively the characters in these animations are. bunny friend's little eyebrow wiggle at 1:03 is SO FUN.

[@JosRocks410]

I agree

[@shy7660]

Drawing, animating AND playing piano. What else can this man do?

[@NootTheSausage5016]

Sorry to do this, but the song is a pre made song, check the discription

[@theaveragecactus]

​@NootTheSausage5016 it says it's played by them?

[@SirloinBurgers]

@@NootTheSausage5016 Composed by Scott Joplin, performed by me :) Snare drums aren't me cause I share very thin walls with my neighbors.

[@NootTheSausage5016]

@@SirloinBurgers oooooohhh my bad

[@NobodyYouKnow01]

0:54 I love the "Image not found" gag on the sheets for this shot. Easter egg humor is top 5 in peak humor for me.

[@TimelessTimothy]

"Ok, that was smooth!" My thoughts on the short after the final C hit. Once I saw the piano audio and the animated piano playing line up accurately, particularly at 0:26 (which made me go back to check if everything beforehand was accurate), I immediately began to love this animation. Plus, I really like how the "show-and-tell" character development went here, with the drummer getting increasingly confident in his performance, while the pianist uses that confidence to fuel an even bolder, more elaborate playing style. Great work!

[@TheGoodGuy1337]

I have not played piano. I have, however, played drums. Even though the snare isn't the focus of the animation, I still loved how it was animated. It's clear a lot of effort was put into this, the grip on the sticks is perfection (especially during the rolls) and it's so much more than just 'grip tight, smack drum' like most people view it as. Fantastic job!

[@Wubbing]

90 seconds of actually correct piano playing done in four months is INSANE

[@Patricia_Taxxon]

the level of skill on display on this channel is seriously unreal, i love these boys so much

[@bluebertaj]

Ragtime ✅ Well animated ✅ Talented ✅ Instrument animated correctly ✅ Cute ✅ Yep this is now one of my favourite animations :) THIS IS SO WELL MADE YOUR SO GOOD!!!

[@L1K34PR0]

OH MY GOD THIS IS SO GOOD! THE LEG TAP TO MATCH THE RHYTHM HOW BOTH OF THEM ARE FULL OF EMOTION AND HUMAN MOVEMENT WHILE PLAYING I LOVE IT!!!

[@eractum]

1:41 - 1:43 I really like this shot. The way the camera rises up and the geometry of both hands and the piano changes accordingly is mind blowing. Almost feels like a rotoscope but I know it's not. Amazing job!

[@swadlooner2385]

Nothing makes me happier as a pianist than seeing someone animate the piano playing correctly. And on Cascades!! It's no Maple Leaf, but you've got to admit the playfulness in Joplin's pieces!

[@thatoneguywhoworksatjoespl9701]

The practice in perspective was really well done. Your focus was always apparent, and the characters rarely looked as if they didn't belong (maybe not in the panning shot, but otherwise). It's super impressive to me you could get all those super tiny keys individually shown even in shots where they're tiny. Good work all around!

[@v-buckschan111]

No one: SirLion deciding to be the next animator prodigy:

[@TheWinterfrost123]

I feel like I am watching the birth of another James Baxter. Please, PLEASE, Sirloin, I beg of you to become more popular. Your animations are gorgeous and amazing. Keep up the phenomenal work!

[@TheIrishKnight0]

"so okay here's the thing" shouted you out in his community page. Amazing animation by the way!

[@dearestreject]

dude i love the lil fake out they do so much

[@Argument_Causer]

The moment I heard Scott Joplin my heart just screamed with excitement.

[@pvmstudios599]

This is so cool!!!! And the piano is animated CORRRRRRECCTLYYY

[@itsRemco]

I got this in my feed and was like "yeah right, probably some basic animation". This is the BEST animation I've seen and I hope you will get the actual recognition you deserve! As a piano player and Ragtime/Stride Piano synthesia uploader, the accuracy is AMAZING! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@SirloinBurgers]

Your video is the one I used to learn the song, thank you for the upload :D

[@MinkCrone]

WE'RE WALKING OUT OF THE SALOON WITH THIS ONE 🔥🔥

[@Anthrolover]

Ok the animations and perspectives though they're literally so smooth like butter. They definitely explored each other's bodies after.

[@xinevhere]

EXCUSE ME LOL

[@nerdyvids1]

I like how this is one of the only times we've seen the mouse(?) shake off some of their shyness and really get into a project.

[@sandyeggo208]

The moving shots, the focus on the hands playing those keys and character acting here are probably my favorite things about this... pure eye candy

[@Mike14264]

Absolutely adorable! The attention to detail for the piana playing was stellar!

[@stifledvoice]

I was invested completely in the illusion of life, added by the deft fluid animation, right until the notes disappeared off the pages at 0:54 ! Beautiful stuff.

[@Kalmoneiros]

I adore everything you've put out so much. ❤

[@worm.on.a.string.]

your animations are insanely smooth and yummy-looking.

[@garnet1918]

I will cry of joy. I loved when the white one did the little spin and then went right back to the normal rhythm.

[@Krejii05]

Nice animation as always! (And music too)

[@YOOOOITSTYItsmeD-oe1vs]

My favorite little bit of this is when the music got more mellow and quieter and the two rabbits reactions to it. Like their having fun and they are holding back how they want to play and it BIG and LOUD

[@nyuh]

> a piano is on screen with a character sitting on the piano chair no no no no way you wouldnt > sheet music is placed oh my god are you for real > starts playing WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[@princessthyemis]

For me, what I really love about this is the sense of weight!! The way that the piece of paper falls over in the beginning so he reaches to straighten it and how the drummer struggles a little bit to reach the drum on top of the piano. Even when they're sitting there, adjusting the drumsticks, the bodies have a genuine sense of weight like they actually exist. You can imagine how heavy they are by the way they move. And the hand animation during the piano playing is absolutely incredible, but also the little motions that the hands make when they prepare to use their instruments show so much personality and of course mastery over how to animate hands!!!

[@spritethedragon5227]

The piano animation is cool, yes, but shoutouts to the character expressions! They had me invested in this- I wanted to see the emotional progression of the drummer throughout the piece and was watching with much focus Good job!

[@aviatornic2839]

These two beans are absolutely fucking adorable

[@chuchurros]

You’re crazy/pos The attention to detail in the piano, not only the hands playing correctly but the way that the character isn’t looking at their hands but at the music sheet, letting their hands take over. Everything here is amazing!!/srs

[@Roogan86]

This is genuinely one of the best piece of animation I've ever seen, right next to the gravity falls intro of smoothness

[@LordFishTheSecond]

The way the mouse's rabbit buddy was cheering him on and helped him get more confident as the song went on is so cute omg

[@cgh000]

I adore the little body language of the one on the piano he just looks so into it it’s adorable 🥹

[@domoP1]

This is seriously impressive. You've got the character hitting all the correct keys on the keyboard and everything is timed and synced to the audio. I know you kinda went over how you did it in the description but this is almost wizardry to me. Absolutely amazing. Great piano playing btw. Also "Your Lie in April" and "Kids on the Slope" are two of my favorite music anime and those are great examples to shoot for. Again, fantastic work!

[@thegibusguy4969]

Wow, amazing work! I love how you captured the different ways you'd contort your hands to play chords, you don't see that very often.

[@infermitori1248]

There would be a random bystander tapping from joyful tunes those two brought about.

[@kenkune55]

The attention to detail on the piano playing is immaculate

[@user-vd4sz2vi6y]

Holy shit. You have been blessed with the power of years of practice dedication and passion and it is beautiful

[@sprites4ever482]

I like the sytlized construction lines, taking cues from Lackadaisy. You even went one step further and kept in the scene and frame counts.

[@theusher2893]

Scott Joplin will never not be delightful.

[@angelnavarro553]

The art style on the amazing piano playing close ups is epic

[@SamiChenVA]

OMG this is adorable! i've had to play this piece for my grade 8 piano exam when i was younger, so this brought back a bunch of memories. amazing animation!!!

[@Swing_Bonnie]

I am graduating in a couple of hours, so this is a phenomenal graduation gift. ;)

[@vantablacc3264]

I can already feel that Amosdoll would make a video about the piano animation part lmao.

[@charlottemabury1164]

As an artist and pianist, this is absolutely amazing, and super underrated (hopefully not for long) Here are some things I liked, separated so you don’t have to read a big block of words: The piano was animated correctly!! :D The metronome animation was in sync with the metronome audio The piano was even animated from multiple angles, while still keeping it accurate! At one point both hands were even animated on the piano! They drew the sheet music! Sheet music is so hard to draw, and I’m pretty sure it was accurate I love this animation so much, thanks for reading my rant lol

[@BABYBLUEPROTO]

As a musician, I can confirm I can't wait to play with someone not as experienced as I am

[@effanineffables]

that was a real delight to watch. i hit replay and watched it all over again. You brought so much life into those two: i loved their little glances back and forth

[@woofn5918]

Splendid. Wunderbar! Magnific! With all the details and angles you've experimented with in this one, It's like I'm watching the classic cartoons from way back all over again!

[@kpj769]

HOW DID YOU… DO THIS😭😭😭 MY ANIMATION BRAIN IS FRIED. So many perspectives every note is accurate even the rhythm of the hands, the multiple moving instruments just wow

[@ireallydidntwanttomakeanac575]

This is scarily good. The attention to detail is absolutely incredible and even with that detail, you still have some incredible character moments in there as well. This is more than just a well done animation, this should be a standard for animation that requires characters to play instruments.

[@Feathertheanimator]

I have watched you since the textures video, it’s insane how far you’ve come, absolute insane perspective and animation skills, hope you reach 100k soon

[@MrToastBTW]

You can tell this animator has actually been a musician before.

[@Ashvee72-from-Thewildguess]

BEAUTIFULLY ANIMATED I love when pianos are animated correctly and GOD DANG THIS IS SO SMOOTH

[@tragicreeze]

BROO THIS DETAIL IS CRAZYY I WOULD'VE JUST WROTE SCRIBBLES ON THE MUSIC SHEETS ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC WORK

[@thereallegendarytrip7888]

As a pianist I LOVE THE PIANO ANIMATION ITS PERFECT EVEN THE FOOT PEDELS

[@monstrosity598]

Grippers

[@sarkoncovasko5239]

Absolutely incredible! Never stop animating!

[@mariacargille1396]

Absolutely bonkers. The attention to detail and the shifting emotions were so engaging, and we love to see a precisely animated piano! I immediately sent this off to my ragtime-loving pianist brother, knowing he'll absolutely love it. I'm so glad this made it onto my recommended page today!

[@JoTheJo93]

I like how you can see some of the animation process. Like how in a few frames you can see glimpses of the sketches below, and the top left showing the scenes and frames. Really good piano playing animation btw, it must have taken a while.

[@plarcurander260]

This is sooo goood dude!! Awesome job Sirloin, you're a legend!

[@JBTC13]

Absolutely adorable, I love how the one playing the drums gets more into it the more they play, it’s adorable!

[@Crab_Masher]

INCREDIBLE piano animation, as a pianist my respect is earned. Bravo!

[@plusah1268]

amazing, amazing, amazingggg!!! the animation on this is unreal what the actual hell, I love how you animated the piano accurately thats so damn good. came for the vinnyot stayed for the pure talent my god you are truly special

[@damonminnix4660]

This is absolutely phenomenal and the world is better for having this exist. Thank you, and well done

[@joshuas.4531]

i like the reassuring smile the rabbit gives the squirrel(?) when they hand the rabbit the notes

[@antekpaztek]

This is incredibly smooth, with a subtle but present character interaction between the two showing a great attention to detail.

[@BurnerWah]

As someone who has played the piano for years, this animation brings me immense joy

[@reubenbailey7491]

love these little guys, the teeny tiny cymbal is something I NEED.

[@tankthomus]

This is spectacular! The animation, the music, literally everything! Being a big Scott Joplin fan makes me love this cartoon so much more!

[@Koubles]

This is such a massive showcase of a breadth of skill mastery by one person in under 2 minutes. It's criminal how good this is. Bravo, this is a masterpiece.

[@UltraGamerAustin]

Very nice much better than corporate animation studios

[@cloroi71826]

I love how you made the drummer get more confident as they got into the song

[@giha.3347]

The skills on display here are on another level! this is amazing

[@spenceduggs]

I audibly said "OOO!" when I saw the notification for this - your work is always a pleasure to see in my sub feed, and goodness was this one was delightful! The amount of effort on display, between the more dynamic camera angles and some genuinely accurate (to my knowledge) finger placement was really something to behold. Good work, keep it up ^^

[@JonasClark]

Wonderful animation, great emotion from these two, and it's nice to hear a less-common rag, this one written about the great fountains and waterfalls fronting Festival Hall at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904.

[@Odinnyb13]

This really made my day better. Beautiful animation work! Well done!

[@Wince_Media]

Literally everhthunf about this animation is perfect. The fluidity, the subtle character acting AND the piano animation is accurate!? How can this be!? You deserve every drop of praise you get and more

[@clater00]

What an absolute banger dude! Glad to see you again and it's a pleasure to see another of your animations, they're really amazing.

[@PhD_in_sarcasm]

I want to live in the atmosphere that your impeccable animation creates 🎩🪄💫

[@elliotgandersen]

This animation is beautiful, and smooth with fun dynamic angles and all around charm.

[@pigeonpeck1111]

another beautiful animation!!! i can’t explain how much i love these!

[@gn4rls1sth3m4n]

Damn, this animation is so smooth. This was the cutest thing I've seen in ages❤❤❤

[@Pogney]

I love your animations so much. Can't wait to see what you do next!

[@bubblegum03]

You are ridiculously talented, your hard work inspires me so much!!!

[@RenariWolf]

I follow you channel for some time and I just want to say your animations are really impressive! Hope to see more!