MLP Animation Analysis: Applejack Throws a Hay Bale

[@OldSocksVideos]

I think the reason is that because the characters have less detail than other shows, that people forget that it isn't the most important thing in good animation. The simplicity of the characters makes them much more dynamic, and much cuter.

[@Patagonicus42]

It’s always amazing how much thought and work goes into a seemingly simple animation. And your videos make the show even better.

[@DatTheDat]

i had neer noticed how much time and effort is put into mlp fim, now i think i can enjoy it even more! I always just thought mlp was very nicely drawn, but scenes like these truly help to the whole show.

[@sonofwiseii]

Once again, love your analyses! They show the animators' process of thought that goes behind a finished scene (or at least your best guess at that thought process) and makes me appreciate the hard work that the animators put into the show. I'm looking forward to when you post your next analysis.

[@GoblinXXX]

Really interesting, and it helps me appreciate just HOW well-animated MLP is. I could see it's well done, of course, but something like this points out the real craft put into it.

[@blakejwc]

Thank you again for taking the time to analyze MLP. It makes the show even more enjoyable now that I have a couple basic ques to look for in each scene.

[@iTheDashy]

seeing this shot broken down literally blew my mind. never saw this when I first saw it

[@TwiWriteFlare]

This shot really caught my attention in that episode too. I was delighted to see that you were giving it a breakdown as well. I just loved the conveyance of power and motion and it is good to see how that was attained from someone who actually knows what they are talking about. Thank you.

[@puppyhowler]

not sure where you are now grant, but thanks for making these analysis videos, they've helped me a lot in my journey into learning animation, you were a huge inspiration to me. thanks again man :)

[@dispatchrabbi]

Any time you make one of these, I will be there to watch it. These are so so so cool, and they help me learn to see things in my art. Thank you for taking the time and putting the work in for these!

[@TakaraPOV]

Will you ever do something like tear animations (ponies crying, like in Hurricane Fluttershy)? I always loved those, for some reason, and could never really get it quite right...

[@i.s.9451]

Same I love when the tears trail with clumps follow, I say its the flowing you see it, it gives a soft refinement in the frames each glop like a special snowflake.

[@Cons-Cat]

I agree it looks really cool

[@JedielDaniel]

I already know that they are putting lot of hard work to the show (and that shows!), but You made me realize, how much of planning and care is needed for even the smallest details to achieve that good effect. Respect for all Hasbro animators. And for You, why not ^_^

[@Blairaptor]

I always try to appreciate all the hard work that goes into animation, but thanks to your videos, I've been looking even MORE closely. And not just on MLP:FiM, either. I spot details on just about every cartoon now. :)

[@kain5056]

These videos are excellent, especially for those just starting to learn Animation like me. I'm still not good at analysing animation, but even I can see how great the animation is in this series. Please keep them coming, they are really appreciated. :-)

[@PixelPumpkin]

I love your videos. And they work (appreciation-inducing-wise)! Never stop doing them!

[@Ollipq0qbe5]

Wow, these are so engaging and informative. I learned so much about animations from these. You're completely correct gbeaudette, the analysis of the technical and artistic aspects can absolutely strengthen one's appreciation for the quality of the show. I never noticed that very clever technique before. Man I love MLP. It is tiers above the slews of other crap that endlessly reruns on daytime television. (looking at you new chibi marvel superhero show that I will never forgive the existence of)

[@FangornTiger]

After watching your breakdown videos I have come to the conclusion that it is impossible to really appreciate the amount of work going into these animations. It's like you need to watch it on many different levels, remembering that at least one of those should be to just enjoy the show, get the jokes, see the references, and geek out at the awesome.

[@Sidnoea]

I try my best to just enjoy the ponies, but damn these breakdowns really make me appreciate the work that goes into literally every second of the show.

[@ABusFullaJewz]

awesome videos! Having an understanding of animation and flash (little of which i have) can definitely change how the show is viewed and appreciated. i like your use of BGM from the show too!

[@KalamityKaijuu]

I really like these videos, they help me appreciate the animation even more. I really hope to see more in the future!

[@AlderanZ]

My mind explodes when watching this. It's amazing the work they put into the animations of this show.

[@Rosewaver]

Watching videos like this help me appreciate the art of animation a lot more. Thanks! :)

[@LostVioletLotus]

*chews on your channel* You plan these breakdowns out carefully, from what I can tell. A mix of light humor and the right show clips to emphasize your points. You're clear, both because of how long you dip into each topic and how you talk over all. Brilliant. Hope to see more soon~?

[@TakeWalker]

I know jack all about animation and Flash: why are these videos so fascinating? Please keep at them!

[@nicolebrophy1447]

In the end, she looks like she is yelling at someone. xD

[@LOLHAXGUN]

Now I see how hard Hasbro works on the series, just for our entertainment. Thank you, gbeaudette, and thank you very much aswell as you, Hasbro. ;)

[@spyrofan6789054]

thank you for making this, it helped me understand animation a little bit more

[@TheCodemasterc]

Wow this shot appears to be even more complicated than the smile smile smile walkcycle. I have to say I am really enjoying this breakdowns and feel like I'm actually learning something new about animation the process. As a future teacher I respect that immensly. I hope you continue to do these videos. Consider me subscribed.

[@gbeaudette]

That's what the layout department handles. They set the overall composition and the basic posing to fit.

[@pockuinator]

Animation is not my thing, but you did a good job making something like this very interesting for anyone. I'd recommend this to my friends.

[@Samadar1]

you sir are amazing. it doesn't take much to know how this happens if you've been trained to do this. it completely another thing to explain it to others who have no idea how these things happen and make them understand.

[@DeadlyChinchilla]

I love these, they're enlightening and simplify the animation/Flash process to its necessary bits. Love me my 2D Flash animation!

[@paulec252]

These are awesome. I know very little about animation, but I like how you break down the shot.

[@TheJboy88]

@gbeaudette I'm glad to see that there are more people out there who understand the kind of work and skill that's gone into the animation of this show. Many people tend to consider flash animation to be both a cheap and therfore inferior form of animation. But i know from first-hand experience how hard it is to get it right, even more so to get it to look good. I'm glad that this show's creators have taken to such lengths to make their animation as good as it can be.

[@DementedDoctor5]

Subed, never really been big into animation but watching these has been oddly intriguing. Hope to see more in the future.

[@DeviousVids]

Man, I love these videos. Please, keep these up!

[@Malmberger]

These videos are support entertaining for me too watch, guess I'm a huge nerd aswell ^^ Keep up the great job man! :D

[@TheUkeUkeable]

Ha, I'm a huge ner- er...I mean geek who tries to pay attention to the little details in cartoons. After all, not only does the crew work crazy hard on ever minute of the show, but it's interesting too. I've always paid more attention to the writing and storyboarding side of things though. Thanks for making these and reminding me and everyone else to pay attention to the animation details! Oh, and this is super helpful too. Now I wanna learn some Flash.

[@LinkEX]

Your animation analyses are really interesting! I'll also keep that "Animator's Survival Kit" in mind.

[@MrHeesman]

Awesome sauce work there, bud. Please keep doing these things, they are so freakin' awesome. Sure, animating is something I dunno squat about, but like you said, it helps bronies to appreatiate even the little things in the series.

[@gbeaudette]

One of the key issues when animation pops is too much change from one frame to the next. Either through adding more inbetweens or just adjusting current ones, try to ensure a certain amount of overlap between subsequent drawings.

[@blackattack1840]

All of these are so amazing and informative! Thank you!

[@Sanctuary_269]

I 've never done anything in animation and I'll propably never will. But your channel is quite entertaining. Thank you!

[@dogman15]

Nice timing with the music edits, too!

[@TheScriptKittie]

I love you and I love your voice :) Never stop making these!!!

[@EnvoyOfFabulousness]

Great video! I suck with Flash and you make it look very easy. I'll definitely come back to you if I ever take an animation class or something.

[@CFKceoofworld]

im not watching because i want to be an animator but because i think it's interesting to see all these bits and pieces in a cartoon.

[@wierdogazebo]

Please do more of these!!!! These are amazing!!! And sooo helpful :D

[@thornberry14]

Proves how good their animators are. :D

[@EzioAudacityTheRefrigerator]

Don't you love when a troll falls back on the good old "hurrdurr u have no friends loser" insult after they get beaten at their own game?

[@LattieraMyOC]

thank you so much for making videos like these, I am starting to work with animation and this is all very helpful ^_^

[@lameboy7439]

I always see this "what program are you using?" Questions each time I see a tutorials on EVERY channel... Seriously why ask when what ya'll should be doing is paying attention.

[@RockManOki]

Seriously. He says it like what, three times a video? At LEAST?!

[@stuartrockin]

Piccalo from a distance: NEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRDD

[@redsunflower24]

I love everything about your lesson, but particularly your comments about her hip and leg and hoof positions, because I'm a huge nerd. No, wait, the other thing. I'm a yogini. So I'm an anatomy geek. Thanks again for these!

[@Zergsays]

I love these clips. keep it up man

[@ThisJustOne]

never stop doing these

[@TheDragonman104]

DARN IT!!! I want to know how to animate like MLP FIM!

[@asante5979]

Flash, cutout and a lot of time

[@Espionok]

PLEASE DO MORE OF THESE. :D you earned yourself a sub

[@bonetonelord]

About that scene: On a forum for an airline sim game, one of the threads in the community section was about MLP, and after Sweet and Elite, where the party cannon first showed up, I posted in that thread that the fact that cannons were now... er, canon, probably meant that there would be a war at the end of the season. 17 episodes later, I was looking at the old comments on that thread and spotted that one. By that time, I had seen the battle in the finale, and the party cannon was indeed used.

[@gbeaudette]

@StrixMoonwing I usually either take the clip into Premiere and export it as an image sequence, or more often (because I'm lazy) just use Print Screen and paste each frame into Flash.

[@fireandchutes77]

"Buck you, I can toss ALL this hay!"

[@Wentoxx]

seriously! one of these videos and i'm learning more about flash than an entire month of study in school oO and i started laughing so bad at the "because i'm a huge nerd" comment that i started caughing xD

[@7kautzschies7]

They're probably just jealous about how good the animation actually is.

[@vashner]

I have no Idea how this is so interesting!!

[@gbeaudette]

The stuff in this video was just done with the basic Flash brush tool.The actual pony models are all done with the line tool.

[@ANewShadeOfBlue]

Great videos. I'm trying to learn flash, but certain concepts I was never able to get a handle on on my own. A break down of how the professionals do it goes a long way in helping me understand how Flash is suppose to work. Thanks.

[@elyssapoor]

YOU ROCK DUDE!! I love your videos

[@LordDopePope]

Subscribed! really informative content and im already looking forward to viewing more of your material tonight :) i did some brief animation on my I.T course but im considering it a viable career path, do you work in animation or is it more of a hobby for you? Also, thanks very much for uploading :D

[@LCDRformat]

this was a pretty cool story, bro.

[@Balthazar2242]

I think the throw looked really stiff because the bale doesn't change orientation. They just clicked and dragged to make it smaller without drawing it more than once. It's like a carboard cutout (as with most Flash rigged animation). Also, it looked like she turned a tiny head motion into a huge throw without much strain or sense of weight. The bale just...goes ahead of her even when the rope didn't quite pull it. Also, the thing you mentioned, the leg that switches sides. blech

[@rede513]

These are great. Please keep them up

[@byakuya9444]

YOU SIR ARE A GENIOUS! well done! ^^

[@1Celebrindor]

You sir just got another subscriber Keep up the good work

[@mayanightstar]

You have to do more of these this is amazing

[@Crosshill]

I always wondered over just how much that goes into animation.. Ive seen a timelapse of a whole little animation from Guy Collin, and its a shitload of work.. Makes me appreciate it at bit more

[@saldownik]

Interesting. It sure makes me want to see some short documentary about how do they do MLP.

[@fourswords77]

I meant it probably took him about five minutes to draw all that. And those five years would be an investment

[@of4950]

there was a channel from around this time made by one of the animators of mlp who had a few videos of the process of animating after stages of feedback until the final aired version. wish i remembered it but either it's deleted or the youtube search sucks

[@gbeaudette]

Having a download you can frame through in Quicktime makes things a lot easier.

[@StrixMoonwing]

Excellent video! As a fellow animation student, I can't help but love this to death! But, out of curiously, how were your able to get the clip to play in Flash? Were you able to find a site to convert the clip into a FLV file?

[@plainlake]

I have never heard that, but quite a few people think hand drawn is better, and it usually have more details, but in MLP the expressiveness and movement are smother and more "realistic" througout each episode than any other animated series I have seen.

[@THISISYOUTUUUUUUUUBE]

*watches video* Challenge accepted *much later* Oh, so THAT'S how I open Flash...

[@SakiMcGee]

See, this is a perfect example of why I feel like I could never be a good animator. All the in-between poses...I can't figure out how to make them. I can't figure out when this leg should go up or when the head should move to the side or whatever. I guess it's something you really have to dedicate yourself to...

[@ABW941]

Very interesting, the motion of the ponys looks very smooth. What i always wanted to ask about the show: Are the background ponys randomly mixed Instances of standardized body parts, and is this the reason how derpy came to be?

[@ybhynn]

What software did you use?

[@basingismagic8816]

adobe flash

[@SailorDee]

wtf dude

[@TheLastBrony]

I'm view number 98... but I guess that number has been skyrocketting since I clicked the video. These are amazing and helpful. Thank you.

[@gbeaudette]

Yes. anything I provide, you can do whatever you want with.

[@werewolfwebsite]

And now I can animate Applejack throwing Applebloom by her tail. Yay!

[@sheenufilms]

The line tool? Like you basically outlined the body, even the outlines, and filled it in?

[@fourswords77]

Looks like he did that in about five minutes. And it would be an investment

[@TheGreatGYROFLUFF]

props to the animators

[@Tuiteyfruity5756]

yeah, after I took an animation class in 5th and 6th grade I pay much more attention to animated shows and movies, and notice the beauty of some shots even if the scene is not good.

[@Pwnzorcat]

I want an entire episode in season three dedicated to applejack trying to get her hat back from somepony

[@SourMech]

in this episode applebloom is holding her hat during her warm up

[@ScoreManUnder]

I love your videos! Please keep it up! :)

[@gbeaudette]

Cost mostly. If you already have Flash 8, there's not a huge amount worth spending the money on upgrading. CS4 added some useful things, but they're not essential.

[@gbeaudette]

It really doesn't matter. I still use CS3. I don't think there's anything I've shown that couldn't be done in at least Flash 8.

[@Upbeat_Jess]

he didnt even notice that applejack had no hat

[@gbeaudette]

@IIDXTrick Agreed. It's a much denser read, but still very informative.

[@MrCheesedogim]

Subscribed! MOAR animation stuffs like this please.