My Animation Teacher Tried to Tell Me...

Simple shapes make it easier to repeat your drawing for comics or animation and moving the character around in 3D space.
Check out the full video:
• 7 Ways Simple Shapes C...

[@LishaV81]

Where were you 2 weeks ago when I started this extremely overly-complicated project?! 😂

[@ProkoTV]

Hope this helps for the next one, at least!

[@koiifsh]

keep it simple, stupid!!

[@whannabi]

​@@boiiiigodofboiiii I forgot how to be a billionaire, can you help me?

[@noimsquidward7327]

​@@whannabiI forgot how to type, can you help me?

[@jade_illustrations]

⁠@@noimsquidward7327I forgot how to use my fingers, can you help me?

[@sufiafnan2673]

Japanese animators: You're not going to see your families again.

[@men_del12]

Orphan animator who is single: Wait, I have a family?

[@MARIALOPEZ-eo8lz]

Fr 💀

[@threecheeseburrito]

​@@men_del12People who live in abusive households: fine by me

[@Yoru-nami]

@@threecheeseburritoreal

[@Lavender_isaweeb]

​@@threecheeseburritoZhongli...what are you doing here?!

[@brandilynn2017]

Wait... you had an animation teacher in HIGH SCHOOL?! That's awesome 😍

[@makintoshxd]

Thats what i say. Bro was lucky

[@changbinmybeloved]

Idk I want that too😭

[@seanpaulson9098]

Yeah like wtf

[@hypno5690]

proko didnt exactly come from a poor household lol

[@AydensVids]

Yah! I was gonna comment this like dose this guy live on another version of this world? 😂

[@willmfrank]

And that, children, is why we create model sheets.

[@venzarez-ili680]

Thanks mister!

[@pixelzebra8440]

Ye I thought he was gonna talk about that but then talked about something completely different

[@moonwatcher4047]

Is a model sheet the same as a reference sheet/character reference sheet?

[@willmfrank]

@@moonwatcher4047 Yes; also known as a "Turnaround," because you include views of the character from several different angles.

[@moonwatcher4047]

@@willmfrank Cool!

[@hobistinyheartbag]

Our graphic design professor said it as “Keep It Simple Sweetie!” and I still adore her for that after years :D

[@ImmacHn]

I learned the phrase as Keep It Stupid Simple.

[@ItalianCountryball11]

@@ImmacHn😂

[@quaso7558]

My professor literally said it as "Keep It Simple Sweetheart."

[@sasvkeee._]

“keep it simple, sweetie!” “keep it simple, stupid.”

[@tonymcgrew2774]

​@@sasvkeee._the middle ground is sweaty

[@thethinender5800]

Teacher: Kiss it.. KISS YOUR ARTWORK

[@doggoadexx2680]

💀

[@ConflictingJumps]

... 💀

[@Thishandlestaken.tryLunaSqueen]

K - Keep I - It S - Simple S - Stupid 🤓 But imagine if the teacher actually meant that💀

[@MinisodaMinnesota]

*FBI, OPEN UP!*

[@yourlocal_nonbinary678]

I love how I read that in peri's voice- I js find it funny bc ur pfp is Peri and- yea nvm ill stop-

[@ABS288]

I can imagine a college professor screaming at his students to KISS.

[@N95j]

😂

[@Dice-Z]

IT APPEARS THERE'S BEEN A BIG MISUNDERSTANDING-

[@sadman3515]

I once had a teacher who also really liked KISS. Sucks he told me i was stupid and would be a failure in life. Never understood why when I aced his class and just wanted to ask him questions to learn. Him evading them and telling me I should understand on my own made no sense considering I was a student and he was the teacher.

[@ProkoTV]

Some teachers carry on the ways that they were taught/treated by their teachers and those things aren't always the right fit for every person type. I hope you still got something from his class despite it.

[@capncookie1110]

Lmao my art teacher was they exact way. While he did make some good points when teaching and gave good advice and lessons, he unfortunately spended most of the class constantly yelling and berating us all, calling us failures, and throwing stuff over the most trivial things. He also tended to vehemently spout a lot of outdated beliefs that would often make a good portion of the class uncomfortable, one of them being beating kids with ADHD (Something I have, which I kind of saw as a threat when I first heard that). He was also a little racist, but then again, he was one of the oldest teachers in the school at the time. One of my classmates described him as a watered down John Kricfalusi, which after doing research of the latter, I can somewhat agree on that to some extent with the behavior. Thankfully, he retired last year, so no one will have to put up with his bull anymore.

[@Random_alien.]

I also have a teacher that likes to say KISS but it was in primary school and he wasn’t that bad although he did make some remarks about people in the class being stupid

[@__mrworldwidemr305]

when i read this comment i hadn't watched the whole video and i thought your teacher just really liked the band kiss 💀💀

[@zoegovopoulos9032]

Narcissist threatened by your potential take it as a compliment

[@stupidandrandom5540]

“Great advice, hurts my feelings every time.” -Dwight Schrute

[@Kangahrooo]

first thing i thought of lol

[@soup3620]

exactly what that reminded me of lmao

[@Chair_0809]

I came straight to the comments to find this comment. Thank you! I was having a hard time remembering it.

[@Cederlof_Ink]

I dont remeber where I learned KISS, but it's always been in my head, and I hear it constantly whenever I overcomplicate a drawing or even doing complicating finish carpentry, I hear it lol..

[@tochi1582]

I remembered it from a short-lived show on Cartoon Network called Tower Prep. I think a kid had a parent that worked in tech and that was a common motto.

[@GoldenLeafsMovies]

I can see it being used to hinder a project too. One of the writers for Fallout 4 mentions KISS, but the game was criticized for it's story that left a lot to be desired.

[@laurendavis4584]

I learned it from The Office 😅

[@DeathnoteBB]

@@GoldenLeafsMoviesYeah sometimes things are too simple

[@Bookliker]

@@laurendavis4584same

[@ChronoMune]

Your animation teacher just watched this in his favorite chair, laughed, smiled, and took his last breath

[@kiarakal8669]

Why am I crying.

[@McStruggles]

Damn how old you think their teacher is lmfao

[@emkayart]

Hey! Those are Aaron Blaise animations! I love Aaron Blaise!

[@ProkoTV]

He's great! We have a demo from him coming out in my Drawing Basics course that was so interesting to watch back, long after it was recorded.

[@pleasegetoffofmyaccounttho1356]

Hot

[@rahhhdawg]

@@ProkoTVanny ways keep it up stupid yea you owned all of us one u called ua atupid first 🗿

[@Thusia]

​@@ProkoTVLets KISS

[@pingpong5877]

How can you make complex drawings look simple? That's what I'm always thinking about when watching 80s & 90s anime OVAs.

[@Silburific]

I was thinking that, too. People who talk about shape language pretty much always use super-stylized, cartoony characters as an example, but like... what if you're not drawing something where every character has a different unique shape? I want to see this applied to characters like Ami from Sailor Moon or Rei from Evangelion.

[@McStruggles]

I remember when I took a more advanced art class in high school and had to do still lives and portraits. Our art teacher still told us to break it down into shapes. Sometimes it'd have more or less shapes than the one in the video. Then from there you'd gradually add more detail. So I'd guess they still break it down to shapes. Maybe they look at a wooden mannequin, reference images, or act it out themselves for poses or a complex emotion. It's worth looking into behind the scene stuff or interviews of animators you like for inspiration.

[@pookieluh]

​@@Silburificfr

[@gandjusks]

Was just about to comment this

[@samy7342]

​@@Silburific Or more realistic characters like Leon from Resident Evil or Ellie from TLOU

[@Ninjacatmuffin]

It's interesting to see advice be placed in multiple industries. KISS is also used in the tech sector as a guide on how to write clean code

[@SobbingDoodles2.0]

Imagine if the class did a group animation and they overcomplicated it so somebody says “Guys, we have to kiss”

[@MunchyMakesStuff]

This is why I have at least 2 versions of many of my characters. A detailed version for close ups and posters and such...and a simple versions which portrays the character correctly with less details and more emphasis on the shapes themselves

[@maxwelljiang4729]

KISS is also a mantra in software development. It's universal!

[@irkendragon]

American animation says keep it simple Japanese and South Korean Animators: No

[@Bushwhack-lmao_xD]

yeaaaaaaah uhh those guys go haywire in all the ways...

[@moommooo]

They still use the same foundation tho. Many anime characters can still be distinguished by shape, color or gestures. There's also different standards for western and eastern animation too

[@xarityfan4370]

Yeah, it gets to the point that some characters either are ridiculously overly designed or impossible to be told apart cause the artist draws the same face and body shape, only differing in eye and hair color/cut

[@Kittsuera]

well, at least at the sketch level. the reason is simply to make it easier and quicker to reproduce. but if ya got an army of animators with bread crums for pay, ya can prob get away with more complex designs layered on top of the basic sketches. or be like those few people who spend half their life to make a single comic so slowly because they made too much work for themselves and were in too deep to start over.

[@muntu1221]

Stop thinking of the final designs and just really look at the characters, robots, monsters, etc. You'll notice basic shapes reoccurring throughout their artwork.

[@WellduhJustTakeTheL]

Man, never in my life have i wanted to download a short so much.

[@lsdxiii]

Simplification is a core concept to art, no matter the style. You build all of your art on simple, basic foundations.

[@xyackhart]

"My animation teacher in high school" and then I remember the fact that other people get better opportunities and I shouldn't hate myself over that

[@janaekelis]

this is why i like cartoony styles, i can really rely on shapes to manage my workflow

[@Pavitr_prabhakar_soup]

Luca Hass to be one of my favorite Disney movies. It has every summer vibe and it makes me feel like I’m back in summer especially when it’s winter. Good job Disney and Pixar you really made my life a lot more easier.

[@CAC1Aimer]

Luca is the perfect to movie to just kick back, relax and just chill.

[@azzythesmol]

Luca is an amazing movie tbh

[@Wiiguy1606]

I quite agree

[@ariel12131]

That puppy run at the beginning is too cute.

[@jhiinrex]

keep it simple student but your teacher is so sweet :)

[@mndlessdrwer]

The other really important thing for animation is to remember that the most memorable characters should be identifiable even if all you see is a silhouette. Their body shape should be unique enough in your work that even just the silhouette is enough to tell who they are. It's why Minnie Mouse wears a dress and has a bow, instead of relying on less obvious tells like a different color or facial features that may not show all the time.

[@Capriasda]

Bro is out here saving my life

[@Maxi-Gonz.]

_“Keep it simple, stoopid”_ is the greatest line I've ever heard from any teacher. Ill remember it for ever.

[@wolf-rot]

I see soooo many people make really complicated characters with intricate markings/design and while they look cool, they are so hard to make art of. this is why i like keeping my characters markings/clothing/design simple and iconic

[@nudimane_]

mfw my general art style and characters I design have realistic proportions and shapes making simplification more difficult :pensive: Just a reminder that I need to try developing a secondary simplified art style to animate with. That or I can try learning animation on hard mode xd

[@PeptoAbismol]

I always liked the idea that less is more when it comes to character design

[@luciafantin]

He called me stupid... but I felt nothing but respect

[@Frozen-Ice]

My problem is, when i keep my drawing simple, transforming that simple into something more complicated is harder than deez nuts. For example, when i draw an anatomy for a pose, i want to see how my character looks in that pose, so i tried to draw my character above the anatomy to keep the consistency. But when i tried to draw my character, no matter how many times i tried to keep the consistency of the pose, the characters outfit and body, i just cant draw it.

[@ari_40ari_40]

How dare you put a deez in your comment IM CALLING THE GODDAMN POLICE

[@DoctorKidemonas]

You should also keep a reference sheet handy so you can keep sizing consistent relative to the world and to other characters

[@Yippiebloob]

Easiest character I created was a veil over her head and a long dress that covered almost everything except her hands. Easy to draw, easy to remember. I love to draw her

[@lmfz4800]

His animation teacher would kiss him on the mouth to remind him how complicated things can be

[@ProkoTV]

😑

[@tjtjmich16p]

I really needed this 😂 I'm still working up to character animation but still lack keeping things consistent 😔

[@alejandromunoz6335]

The best advice I have ever heard

[@slightlyexpiredyoghurt]

"Keep it simple, stupid!" Genshin animators would beg to differ

[@thelonelydutchjester6229]

Isn't that all 3D models though?

[@azzythesmol]

It's not really that the designs are complicated, the simple shapes and identifiers are there! The _details_ are what make them seem complicated

[@PS3PCDJ]

KISS is such a good mantra for basically everything

[@fryeonaga]

Im gonna start using this 😍

[@ShastriGuy_85]

THANK U SO MUCH U ARE AMAZING

[@chanyolee531]

“Keep it super simple” is better

[@nodwolf]

Your high-school had an animation studio? 🥺 Mine didn't even have enough teachers and classes to put students into appropriate lessons.

[@annalise9011]

Japanese anime really waved goodbye to that tip didn't they

[@RustyLeguito]

That's because they typically animate fewer frames than other animations.

[@Nikki0417]

I needed this reminder.

[@ramens]

dude that’s the acronym that my teacher constantly used years ago.

[@colonelfrogs]

Excellent

[@DiscoMechanics]

Thank you so much! I'm trying to become an animator myself and have a story a ready thought out so I just need to design characters. I have so many of them so it's hard to keep track! This will help a lot!

[@WYD28]

The dog animating in the beginning is so cute!! I love them!!

[@c.c.865]

This is really helpful to keep in mind for whenever I feel ready to try my hands at animating, thanks🙂

[@Random64]

Thank you for fixing all of my issues with just one video

[@terraincognita3749]

I do not know who came up with the idea of KISS, but one early user war legendary aircraft designer Kelly Johnson. He was the lead engineer behind the SR-71 Blackbird, the U2 and the first leader of Lockheed's legendary Skunk Works advanced design department. Fun detail, he was also directly involved in starting up Area 51 for testing designs!

[@626-CHI]

omg that bulldog is killing me ! So cute !!!

[@INTENTIONPEACE3]

I still always feel bad when he said the stupid part lol.

[@hyaenidaes]

This is definitely helpful not only for animation, but also for drawing. Personally, I prefer to start with basic shapes before applying more complex details to my work.

[@catofjudgememt]

I understood K.I.S.S as "Keep It Stupidly Simple"

[@BTSPRO]

Love Aaron Blaise. The animation of the dog and the drawing of the bear is so cool of his.

[@NalaChan0_0]

*"Just kiss it!"* -The teacher

[@macaroll]

The KISS is very helpful! Thank you! ❤

[@Errorwolf6670]

Man he just made me rethink my entire time drawling

[@ProkoTV]

🤯

[@SaiDinesh752]

Best explanation ever❤️

[@tinygoatanimatesstuff]

Wait why is ghis actually one of the best pieces of advice I've heard for animation? Its so simple and logical but also a game changer! This actually makes me less scared to try more complex animations with different angles!

[@Small_Hope]

This helped a lot! Thank you!

[@DarthVaderRules203]

"What's so fun about animating?" "I love to kiss!"

[@nikkiej.5875]

Omg, that is very good to know. I'll keep that in mind when I start to work on my Entertainment Design in Animation portfolio. Thanks for sharing! 😊

[@armanmaratuly1349]

Oh, breads... I forget about this simple thing but *VERY* important thing of drawing Thank you for you reminded it

[@Dreamy_sweet_dragon]

I’ve been drawing for a long time and I never really understood the shape thing people were talking about but this actually helped me understand the shape thing and is going to help me in the future a lot

[@OVNI-Present]

Love the work of Aaron Blaise, Brother Bear is one of my favorite animated films

[@Lolbama2012]

"No." -James Baxter

[@HoloTheDrunk]

KISS is also a very common saying and principle in software engineering!

[@_Beelun]

I'm thinking of making a comic someday so this is actually helpful!

[@monkeydluffy-fu3vj]

thanks! your actually so awesome and i love these drawings and animations i hope someday ill be on your level

[@thearoaceinvadingspace138]

I had a band teacher that had the same KISS motto for improvised jazz solos

[@saphirestorm7952]

Meanwhile me, having a mostly anime-ish artstyle that I can just memorise the design easily even if it's complicated and can easily recreate any reference photo:

[@user-mi5im1ne9l]

As a teen who would like to become an animator, this really helps. Thanks!

[@elijahemmer]

Big animation studios do the same thing, they have a reference sheet for all the artists, and they know the characters very well

[@xaniraja8706]

I love how u came in my shorts outa nowhere and i love it 😂❤

[@suomingstar]

That KISS at the end was all 😂😂

[@SeanPetitt]

I need to remember to 'kiss' my artwork often.

[@krei-ations]

I fine it funny how this pops up when I start thinking of making a comic Thankfully the characters are very simple Circle heads

[@mjlpbn]

That'll definitely help me remember my characters... But the thing that helps me the most to remember how handsome and attractive I find you is when I get a notification of when you've posted a new video 😍🤣

[@MOREME-rl7mg]

Thank you for your advice iv'e been struggling with animation

[@arandomanimator9020]

Honestly that’s what I’ve gotten DRILLED into my breath. Break stuff down into shapes then add repeative details like how much fluff to add to a fox’s check. And now I’ve been doing animation for several years and both my animations and art are very consistent

[@JimAlgar]

I absolutely needed to be reminded of this! Thanks.

[@monkeeeeyt]

I suck at art, but I have a character I make all the time bec I use it for drawing games and stuff, but I somehow learned what my character's bacic shapes are

[@iamsongforsomeone994]

Thus the reason why I recently decided to simplify my art style.

[@user-ck3bo8wd4p]

I first learned kiss in Army basic. Blew my mind.

[@cyancyborg1477]

Omg is that Brother Bear? Most underrated Disney movie.

[@hamstreak5591]

_Cal-Arts:_ *"And I took that personally."*

[@GhostLeadGaming]

The worst she can say is "No" Her : "KISS"

[@burningcole2538]

I learned this the hard way when my old design teacher had me do 5 characters, 3 difference dynamic poses with one A pose as my first character project and I almost missed my first deadline with 2 that had clearly more work put into them than the others and he gave me this same lecture in front of the rest of the class

[@rockylilypop951]

This also helps me learn angles 👀 sweet!

[@SubscribeOrIThrowShinyObjects]

This gives me motivation!! Thanks!!

[@deletedOM]

Absolutely! Learned this and I only started animating last October!

[@capncookie1110]

I have three characters that I mainly draw, one’s mostly triangular shaped, second’s rounded, and the third is rectangular, which makes it easy for me to draw them

[@MelonLemon007]

Back in 2001 my tutor kept repeating K.I.S.S too. Thank you Mr. Trey.

[@Xx_Stormadoodle-ofChaos_xX]

I was thinking of making a comic for fun and I'm glad i saw this before i start

[@magnet8185]

cartoon style is personally, better than realism because of how effective and quick it is

[@cheesydawg371]

Never heard that phrase but my art teachers had the same idea.