EVERYTHING You Need to Animate with Blender Grease Pencil (Beginner Guide)

After a LONG time, it's here!! Links are below and leave any questions in the comments and I'll do my best to answer :) One of my goals next year is to try out some basic 3D to mix with grease pencil!
Thanks for all the support this year - looking forward to working on more animations soon!
-----
⚡Blender Brushes - kdsketch.gumroad.com/l/evdn
⚡Shortcut List - tinyurl.com/2p8f6v4s
⚡How To Animate Series - tinyurl.com/kdsketchH2A
⚡TeamMiracles - tinyurl.com/y7p76bnd
⚡Dedouze - tinyurl.com/3s8kre3r
------
⚡Discord - / discord
⚡Instagram - / kdsketch
⚡Patreon - / kdsketch
⚡WHAT I USE TO ANIMATE + FILM⚡
Animation Software - TVPaint 11 Pro
Audio software - Audacity
Editing Software - Davinci Resolve
Drawing Tablet - geni.us/I2B55
Blue Yeti Mic - geni.us/AwcvKuT
Foam Muffler - geni.us/LpCU4
Filming Camera - geni.us/2j1nk
⚡STREAMING @kdsketch on KZbin⚡
Streaming software - OBS (free)
Wave 3 Mic - geni.us/S5B3a
Microphone Arm - geni.us/QG10zA1
Webcam - geni.us/THwy
⚡TIMESTAMPS⚡
00:00 Animating in Blender Grease Pencil
00:26 Where to download Blender
00:46 My PC Specifications
00:51 What Drawing Tablet am I using
00:58 Opening Blender for the First Time
01:58 My Blender Setup
02:34 Layer Panel (Part 1)
03:15 Preferences
03:48 Importing Brush Packs
04:21 Adding The Sidebar Panel
04:38 Brush Settings and Stabiliser
04:59 Canvas Size and FPS
05:28 Save As Default, Reset and Save As
05:47 Viewport Shading
06:15 Draw Mode
07:11 Drawing with Materials
08:44 Drawing with Colour Attribute
09:10 Creating Colour Palettes
09:46 Brush Stabiliser Shortcut
09:59 Importing a Reference
10:21 Object Mode
10:46 Adding Panels + References
11:37 Erase settings + Shortcut
12:12 Fill Tool
12:41 Colouring Tips
13:56 Timeline Layout and Tips
15:33 Layer Panel Blend Modes + Masks
16:19 Onion Skin
16:47 How to Change Mode
16:53 Add New Grease Pencil
17:17 Object Mode Tools
17:44 Moving Grease Pencils in 3D Space
18:25 Add Multiple Views
18:54 Can’t edit Grease Pencil Objects?
19:17 Edit Mode
19:50 Sculpt Mode
20:49 How to interpolate frames
21:45 My Animation Process
22:00 Rough Animation
23:27 Lining
24:40 Colouring
25:25 Boundary Strokes
25:54 Multiframe Option
26:22 Texture, Blend Modes and Masks
26:50 Boiling Line / Noise Modifier
27:36 Loops / Time Offset Modifier
27:40 Symmetry / Mirror Modifier
28:00 How to Copy Modifiers
28:24 Adding FX like Glow
28:45 How To Export
Links used in this description may be affiliate links, which means if you decide to purchase through one of those links, you won't pay any extra but I will get a small commission that helps support the channel! Thank you so much!

[@kdsketch]

My last video of 2023! Really hope you like this one -- if there's anything I've missed LET ME KNOW and I'll put it top of the list for 2024

[@vickyrodriguezbrum9960]

this is literally the most complete and usefull beginer blender tutorial for 2D! I dont usually comment because of my english, but thank you!

[@kdsketch]

Your English is great! And thank you! There’s a few more things I want to cover in other videos too but I’m SO glad you found this video helpful ✨🙌✨

[@camryncline3161]

I don't use Blender but here's a comment for engagement!

[@kdsketch]

Thank you so much that’s so kind of you 😭✨

[@burgeryoufoundbehindthegrill]

How engaging!

[@michisato9653]

That's what I actually need about grease pencil and blender! Thank you! Thank you so much kdsketch!

[@SymbolCymbals2356]

18:00 If for whatever reason individual grease pencil objects isn't an option, specific layers can be moved in a similar fashion by using relations>parent set to an object, empty, or bone. Parenting layers to a bone is extra useful when drawing faces or effects (like tears or whatnot) onto animated 3d characters

[@LawrenceAaronLuther]

Thank you for sharing this. With grease pencil, even though I've used it for years now I'll still watch beginner guides as I almost always learn something more about this complex tool

[@kdsketch]

No problem I’m so glad it helped!! I’ve always found everyone’s way of working is slightly different so it’s always good to have a look :) thanks for commenting ✨

[@kianusteve9633]

I've waiting for this for a while. thank you and merry Christmas

[@kdsketch]

Hope it was worth the wait 😅🤞lots more to come in the new year ✨ Merry Christmas!

[@ivansivakART]

Allow me to express my love for doing this tutorial. The synchronicity is simply perfect.

[@kdsketch]

So glad you enjoyed the video and that it helped! I'll be doing more walkthroughs of projects in 2024 :)

[@ErrorNotFound-jt2eq]

holy crayapppp, wish i had found this video a few weeks ago when I was first starting. You've easily condensed 50+ videos without having to dig through the timeline. Thank you soooo much!

[@kdsketch]

Amazing! Thanks so much I’m so glad you enjoyed the video ✨

[@monicaokami]

This is so wonderful, THANK YOU! I'll definitely implement the Gap Closure tips immediately after this. Can't wait to try your brushes.

[@kdsketch]

Thank you so much!! Really glad the video helped and hope you like the brushes :)

[@MammaBlueSpeaks2Me]

I have been WAITING for this tutorial 😭😭😭 I’m so happyyyyy THANK YOUUUUU

[@kdsketch]

Thank you so much I hope it helps!!

[@HarrietRoses]

Merry Christmas, KD! ❤

[@kdsketch]

Merry Christmas!! 🎅 🎄 ✨

[@elpipi_]

Thanks, rly. U saved me. I've been working on an animation for days but the other programs I used with were very limited, I thought about doing it in Blender and your tutorial saved me. When the animation is finished I will share it here.💓

[@kdsketch]

So glad I could help!! Good luck with your animation ✨

[@Magnic0]

This video is incredibly helpful! Amazing work!

[@kdsketch]

Thank you so much! I’m so glad the video helped ✨🙌✨

[@SynovexH001]

Thank you for this, I'm trying to get started figuring out Blender and this is being a huge help. Looking forward to seeing more from you!

[@kdsketch]

So glad it helped! More to come with blender GP soon :)

[@beetent]

Super helpful rundown, grease pencil looks easier than I assumed! Thanks kd

[@kdsketch]

Thank you!! So glad you enjoyed the video ✨

[@izaakbecker4263]

Such a great breakdown, thanks for such a great video, especially as someone already familiar with animation, other parts of blender, and illustration, this was great.

[@kdsketch]

Thank you so much I’m so glad you enjoyed the video!! ✨🙌✨

[@DailyWord18]

Really love this… thank you for sharing this detailed and clear explanation… I really love animating… I’ve tried other alternatives software but there’s always something missing features… wanna use blender… I’ve tried to install it on my laptop but its spesification did’t meet the standar required 😢. Hopefully I can afford to get it one day..

[@vonnie0_0]

This is so awesome!!! I love blender, thanks for the tutorial.

[@kdsketch]

Thank you! So glad the video helped!

[@jeffeeeer]

thank you for these videos, keep doing this style, about grease pencil, thank you very much

[@kdsketch]

Thank you so much!! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the videos ✨ definitely making more animations in this style next year 🙌

[@psychocrazyanimations809]

Merry Christmas KD.

[@kdsketch]

Merry Christmas!! 🎄 ✨

[@bappity]

Blender being able to do 2d animation too is AWESOME!! you made masterpieces with it

[@kdsketch]

Thank you!! going to see if 3D is for me next year and mix the two 👀

[@hammerheadcorvette4]

It's 2D. . . but in 3D !

[@brandonjacksoon]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

[@kdsketch]

Np! Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@nkanyisoinnocentkhwane3752]

😊 Always appreciate your process videos

[@kdsketch]

Thank you! So glad you enjoy them ✨

[@awesomeali112]

Thank you! This was incredibly helpful :)

[@kdsketch]

Amazing! So glad you enjoyed the video!

[@fernandosouza9607]

Absolutely awesome! Thanks for that! :)

[@kdsketch]

So glad you enjoyed the video!!

[@ValuStudios]

Amazing as always. Thanks for sharing

[@kdsketch]

Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it ✨🙌✨

[@IVAN_ILIN]

Thank you so much. This is the best and most complete lesson on this topic

[@kdsketch]

Thank you! Glad the video helped!

[@philipcaddy2469]

This gives me more confidence to try it out again! Thank you

[@kdsketch]

Good luck!!

[@ninja2be]

If I ever use blendr this will be a good rewatch! Thanks for making it!

[@kdsketch]

Thanks for watching I’m so glad the video helped!!

[@nilspahlman]

This is the grease pencil tutorial I always needed, many thanks!

[@kdsketch]

So glad you found it helpful!! ✨🙌✨

[@robfrydryck127]

just wonderful. thank you

[@kdsketch]

Thanks!! Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@spleenvitals]

Great video. This'll help a lot. Learned to work around Kritas animation space thanks to you, as well.

[@kdsketch]

Thank you!! I’m so glad the videos have helped ✨🙌✨

[@austine6269]

Hi kdsketch thank you i really learnt alot from you and i dont know how you manage to make your videos so easy to understand Thank you again

[@kdsketch]

I’m so glad the video helped!! ✨🙌✨

[@lostidolsco]

Outstanding.

[@kdsketch]

Thank you! ✨

[@catklu]

Thank you very much for sharing. Now it will be easier for me to start with Blender Grease Pencil. I always wanted to learn. 🙃

[@kdsketch]

No problem!! I hope the video helps!!

[@DefNotYa]

this video really helped me. thx

[@kdsketch]

Glad the video helped!

[@divgandhi4355]

amazing video thank you so much!!!

[@kdsketch]

Thank you! So glad the video helped!

[@matthewwilson3673]

Perfect tutorial!

[@kdsketch]

Thank you so much! Means a lot :)

[@SleepingVikingStudio]

Thank you so much for creating a video about Grease Pencil animation in Blender 4.0.2. I am just starting the video and will comment once I am through it.

[@kdsketch]

No problem! Hope it helps :)

[@mastermill79]

You're great doll, many thanks!

[@kdsketch]

No problem 😅glad you enjoyed the video!

[@psyche4722]

i have just downloaded blender, was looking something like this, thank you.

[@kdsketch]

Amazing!! Really hope it helps ✨🙌✨

[@moonshine.melody]

thanks so much for this!

[@kdsketch]

So glad you enjoyed the video ✨🙌✨

[@dimbles2350]

how did you know this was just the thing I wanted to watch? merry christmas!

[@kdsketch]

It’s been requested for AGES 😅 finally managed to finish this beast of a video ✨ hope it helps!! Merry Christmas!

[@kojimaakihiro-if3sz]

I once tried to make an animation with Blender but I failed. With this introduction, I feel I can make something impressive.

[@tltlhaole]

Thank you for your content

[@kdsketch]

Glad you enjoyed the video! ✨🙌

[@TheVanillaLog]

As someone starting a horror animated project in Blender partially using grease pencil, this is pretty useful! Didn't know you can just turn off any lighting effects in the object properties tab.

[@kdsketch]

Good luck with your project!! Glad you enjoyed the video! ✨🙌✨

[@mynameiskarenandilltalktoy3111]

Thank you for the free brush!!!

[@kdsketch]

No problem!! Hope you like them!

[@yussufabukar32]

This is a great tutorial for beginners! I wish I had this when I started grease pencil. I’d like to watch a video where you just make an animation in realtime.

[@kdsketch]

Thank you! So glad you found the video helpful, im planning on making an animation in real time with grease pencil soon!

[@blendergamelearner1812]

Can you please tell me how to blend two color in blender using grese pencil or any other method 🙏

[@DavidJulianAckley]

can you tell me why when i try out the eraser tool, the big red ball is stuck on the last position and there's a tiny dot roaming around my screen doing nothing?

[@YudaDwitama97]

i just started to learn animation using greasepencil, 😅. Nice video, hope your channel getting more recognition

[@kdsketch]

Thanks!! So glad the video helped ✨ good luck with your animations!

[@PersonManManManMan]

Nice tutorial

[@kdsketch]

Thanks!

[@MIKKSDH]

10:09 images as planes from my memory (which is often unreliable) in order to use "images as planes" you first have to activate the addon under "Preferences→addons →images as planes" and tick the check box to activate it. It's also possible blender added it to their list of default activated addons at some point (again my mind is flawed)

[@kdsketch]

That's right! I mention this around 3:15 :)

[@gamesdog9067]

Great channel. Can I ask what software you use most of all? And why did you choose TV paint over something like Adobe Animate? Thanks.

[@kdsketch]

Thanks! I use TVPaint for my freelance work and blender/TVPaint for my personal stuff - I learnt to animate with TVPaint at university and bought it much cheaper with student discount (and it’s got a lot of great features), also I hate subscription models so I try to avoid them as much as possible so I don’t use any Adobe products if I can help it

[@gamesdog9067]

@@kdsketch Ah nice. Yes, I get where you're coming from re subscriptions. I'll give TV a whirl.

[@Videosrgd]

This is an amazing tutorial chock full of information thank you so much! I had a quick question about the fill tool if that’s okay? I’m using Blender 4.0 on a Mac and I find the Fill Tool is extremely inconsistent, I spend most of my time wrestling with it double clicking to try and get it to fill a shape for an animation and it keeps just saying “Unable to close gaps.” when my drawing doesn’t have any gaps. Is there anyway to avoid this or just make it happen less?

[@kdsketch]

Thank you! I'm so glad you found the video helpful! Blender is consistently inconsistent. I've had projects or saves where the fill tool wouldn't work, or only sometimes work. Try switching to wireframe mode and see if you can find any gaps on the grease pencil, sometimes changing the zoom (trying to fill while zoomed out) helps. Saving the project under a new file (v2) and restarting can help. You can also try expanding the size of the gap closure in the advanced menu. Really hope one of these helps!!

[@Videosrgd]

@@kdsketch Ah good to know I'm not alone with my Fill tool struggles. Thanks again! Liked and subbed for sure, can't wait to see what you make next! :)

[@kdsketch]

Thank you so much! I’m looking forward to making more stuff ✨

[@Beryesa.]

14:40 you can click the clockwatch icon right there to set a preview frame instead, so you wouldn't need to mess with renders 😅

[@kdsketch]

😂 perfect! Thanks!

[@felsemheimer]

I want to learn to teach myself animating. Would you reccomned this program to start with?

[@kdsketch]

I’d say blender is a great free option and there’s plenty of tutorials and community support for it (planning to make a walkthrough of a basic animation soon). Krita has good brushes and is a lot simpler but you can’t animate to audio since it doesn’t always sync up well.

[@SkyeReim]

blender is probably the most powerfull free software

[@kdsketch]

It's hard to believe right?? 🙌

[@Shadedemons]

hi, imagine if u have drawn what u needed, but now u need a new scenery or just a blank page to fully draw again, what do I do?

[@theonlycatonice]

15:05 Me then: painstakingly did 1 by 1 frame inversion Me now: S KEY BAYBEEEE

[@kdsketch]

S key really out here saving lives 🙌✨

[@ILLRICARDO]

Thank you for this, i sm not having much luck wirh blender 4.0 it keeps crashing

[@kdsketch]

I think you can install earlier versions from the blender website - personally I’ve found steam to have fewer crashes! Make sure to double check the blender requirements against your pc/laptop specs too :)

[@tomaszkubiak6887]

Thank you for fantastic tutorial! One question, but i'm not sure if it was already covered in one of the previous videos. Because you are using drawing tablet, could you please add some notes about your preferences/settings when using it with Blender? And Happy New Year!

[@kdsketch]

So glad you enjoyed the tutorial! Happy New Year! For the settings on my tablet I’ve got the most common shortcuts I use (up and down arrows, ctrl tab for switching modes, one for the stabiliser toggle) and have the settings set to softer on the pen pressure section since it helps reduce scratching on the screen and pressure on your wrist when drawing for a long time :) hope this helps!

[@tomaszkubiak6887]

@@kdsketch have you changed any settings on pen buttons? or they stay as default?

[@kdsketch]

@tomaszkubiak6887 they’re currently default :) could switch them to the zoom or pan around the canvas though right click is very useful! As you use it more you can figure out what shortcuts or tools you reach for and pin those there :)

[@tomaszkubiak6887]

@@kdsketch thank you

[@madhavaar7597]

When we animate a character is there any way in blender to colour all the key frames of that character to be coloured at once or we have to colour complete character frame by frame?, need help with that😶😶😑

[@kdsketch]

25:54 Mult Option :)

[@madhavaar7597]

@@kdsketch in mut option do the moments of the characters will also be colored according? That is suppose, I have a movement of hair changing from frame to frame will the colour be applied according?

[@madhavaar7597]

No worries got it! 😶

[@SlickDiecast]

This is so cool! Can I use an image generator by AI to animate using this method?

[@kdsketch]

Not sure since I’ve never used AI to make an animation 😅

[@leoleonid5400]

I have a problem with grease pencil on newer versions of blender. It doesn't show the stroke i am drawing until i let go of m1. I am on windows and it works fine on blender 3.2 . Loading default setting didn't help. If anybody knows how to solve this issue, please help. I couldn't find any answers on the web.

[@kdsketch]

I use the version of Blender from Steam - currently on version 4.0.2 - might be worth seeing if an update to the software helps? or going back to a previous version where the software did work with grease pencil for you?

[@leoleonid5400]

@@kdsketch As i mentioned. It works on version 3.2 I'll try getting the Steam version, for a chance that it might help.

[@leoleonid5400]

@@kdsketch Downloading Steam version didn't help...

[@sabojezles]

Thank you for doing God's Work.

[@kdsketch]

The Blender Gods compelled me 🤣

[@k4gi]

wow there's, a lot of information here,

[@kdsketch]

I tried to cover as much as possible 😅hope it helped! ✨🙌✨

[@lv99redchocobo37]

I don't use a tablet. I could never get into them. I use a rollerball mouse instead. Have you ever used one of those?

[@kdsketch]

I’ve used a trackpad and a regular mouse before but I much prefer a drawing tablet for animating! :)

[@joenesstudio5119]

do u test procreate dream already?

[@kdsketch]

I’ve done a walkthrough of how to animate in procreate dreams with the new features - it’s on my channel! :)

[@vrajwanshi]

Excellent tutorial, just one complaint, background music is loud and disturbing

[@kdsketch]

😂 I’ll be sure to tone it down for the next one

[@israelfv]

T H A N K S

[@ECCreative474]

I tried to follow along, but it was just going way too fast for me to understand the process. There is a lot of good information, but I could not keep up.

[@kdsketch]

Yeah this is a long one! Though you can reduce the speed or pause whenever I’m working on a real-time walkthrough for making a 2D animation in blender to make things easier:)

[@neyvioney7757]

nice content , but sincerely hope all tutorial could be recored without BGM , very distracted

[@kdsketch]

I’ll be sure to do that for the next one!

[@Piasays]

Do you have to know how to draw in real life to use blender?

[@Piasays]

You pretty much answered my question when you showed you use a tablet to draw lol nvm 😅

[@kdsketch]

😂 glad I could help

[@nicolemcdonald2298]

Promo`SM

[@kdsketch]

✨🙌✨

[@byAndreasEkberg]

🎅: )

[@kdsketch]

🎄🎁✨

[@eneeesss]

Turkish language please. Thanks ❤ fallow you

[@shawnmichaelis1609]

FUN FACT, south park is made in maya

[@kdsketch]

✨👌✨

[@Regna]

I must give it a go

[@kdsketch]

Good luck!!