Animation Supplies [Archive] - Don Bluth Animation Forum

Seth

08-26-2009, 08:09 PM

OwenWelsh

08-26-2009, 09:02 PM

http://www.cartooncolour.com/catalog/

http://www.lightfootltd.com/index.php

http://www.chromacolour.com/store/welcome_usa.htm

Seth

08-26-2009, 09:15 PM

Thanks. I have bought some paper a long time ago from Light Foot before.
I know this sounds like a silly question, but does animation supplies usually run at such steep prices? Things like a $400 hole punch make my wallet scream.

OwenWelsh

08-27-2009, 12:18 AM

Traditional animation supplies are a niche market and are priced as such. There just aren't a ton of people buying this stuff so the prices have to be marked up. The hole punchers have always been ridiculous, because I think they want you to buy their paper instead. I've seen hole punchers at the $600 range and up. $400 is actually a deal. :)

Seth

08-27-2009, 08:32 AM

I guess the bottom line is I need to just break down and spend the money, huh? I remember a few years ago I bought paper from Light Foot and by time I got it shipped all the way to New York it was like $35. I mean it was great paper...just cost me a lot.

OwenWelsh

08-27-2009, 11:24 AM

All animation students have to pay these prices unfortunately. Unless you're creating a short film or feature film, stick with just buying the paper instead of the hole puncher.

DNethery

08-27-2009, 03:28 PM

Where do you buy your animation supplies from? I've been to all my local art stores, and even traveled to big city's and the employees usually chuckle when I mention animation. Does anyone here buy them online?
Thanks.

Seth,

If you're still in New York City, ask around . There may be a small studio that would let you come in to punch your own paper using their punch for a nominal rental fee (or they might even just let you do it for free if you could do some work for them in barter for using the punch. Doesn't hurt to ask.) Buying an Acme punch is expensive. I just buy the paper pre-punched from ChromaColour or Cartoon Colour. Some people have resorted to using standard 3-round hole punch. If you're primarily working on your own (i.e. not taking on freelanced work from established professional studios) then there's no law that says you have to use industry-standard Acme peg holes. You can make your own round pegs from brass tubing or even dowels . Solder or super-glue the round pegs to a thin strip of metal (a flexible metal ruler would work)

"the employees usually chuckle when I mention animation."

Wow, such customer service ... (not) If I requested a specialty item at an art store and the employees laughed at my request I think I'd ask to see a manager and let them know that this is one of the main reasons retail brick-and-mortar art stores are in trouble and are closing down, losing business to the internet stores because of rude customer service and lack of selection. I don't need some rude employee chuckling at me when I ask for an item. I think if I managed an art store I'd see if maybe I could offer to special-order the item or at the very least give a polite response : "Sorry, we don't stock those type of items because there's just not enough demand."

As far as supplies the three big ones in North America are Chromacolour, Cartoon Colour Co., and Lightfoot which Owen already posted links for.

Check out my blog for more sources of traditional animation equipment:

http://animation-studio-stuff.blogspot.com

-DN

---

Seth

08-27-2009, 05:32 PM

Wow, DNethery...you went above and beyond on that post. Thank you so much for all the advice. Very, very helpful.

jeremyhopkins

08-28-2009, 01:28 PM

Another option is to buy resusable header strips (http://www.lightfootltd.com/product_info.php/cPath/31/products_id/249) and 11x17 inch paper (http://www.staples.ca/ENG/Catalog/cat_sku.asp?CatIds=&webid=761525&affixedcode=WW). I don't like buying expensive paper either because it makes me nervous about making a mistake. If you go this route, you'll have to be very careful about applying the header strips because placing them in the wrong spot can cause issues when flipping large scenes. It's a bit more hassle but if you're looking to save some money, maybe this will help and you won't have to worry about punching paper.

Moneyguns

08-28-2009, 01:39 PM

jeremyhopkins

08-28-2009, 01:56 PM

Reusable headers need some form of adhesive.. tape or glue.. to stick to the paper. If I'm very careful, I can peel the tape off without ripping the paper. Though, by the time I'm ready to removed the tape the drawing really isn't that useful anymore anyways so I don't really care what happens to it.

Moneyguns

08-29-2009, 12:51 AM

jeremyhopkins

08-29-2009, 02:49 AM

Oops, my bad. No usually the header strips don't tear for me. They're made from heavier paper so they don't rip easily but it's always a possibility. A bigger problem might be having the peg holes wear out after a few repeated uses. I haven't tried the laminated ones (http://www.cartoonsupplies.com/product_info.php/cPath/31/products_id/93?osCsid=86620b7b92b38c588a790cf5f1bb3f1b) but they might be a better option if you're worried about rips.

OwenWelsh

08-29-2009, 11:09 PM

Does anyone know if there is a schematic or specifications for building your own ACME hole puncher? I'm very interested in building one. I wonder what it would require...

Poulpette

12-10-2009, 02:27 AM

Hi there,

Could someone help me please? I looked for a Ticonderoga pen on Dixon's website, but I can't manage to know which one of those pens (https://www.dixonusa.com/index.cfm/fuseaction=shop.product/prdIndex=56) is a 2B (for the moment I use a Staedtler 2B pen).:( I checked out Wikipedia for US equivalences but didn't find the one I want, and I wouldn't like to buy something like a 9H, you know?

Could someone help me find a 2B? That would be nice.

Seth

12-10-2009, 07:26 PM

Hi there,

Could someone help me please? I looked for a Ticonderoga pen on Dixon's website, but I can't manage to know which one of those pens (https://www.dixonusa.com/index.cfm/fuseaction=shop.product/prdIndex=56) is a 2B (for the moment I use a Staedtler 2B pen).:( I checked out Wikipedia for US equivalences but didn't find the one I want, and I wouldn't like to buy something like a 9H, you know…

Could someone help me find a 2B? That would be nice.

I'm not an expert on this, but I'm pretty sure all those pencils listed will be plain "HB". The numbers (No. 1, 2 Etc.) should mean how hard, or how soft the lead is.
I hope this helps.

Poulpette

12-11-2009, 01:42 AM

Yep, that helped a little bit, thanks.:)
But if those pencils are exclusively HB? where are 2B, H, etc. (actually for ?H? there's the No 3H)?
On Dixon's website, there's just one page for the ?original? Ticonderoga? would a No. 2 Soft - Dz/Bx be good?

Well, otherwise I'll still use a Staedtler, as I'm sure I'll find a 2B (and they're not that bad anyway).

Anyway, thank you Seth.

smo

02-20-2010, 06:01 PM

through college and my early career i would just buy a ream of 20lb printer paper and punch it at the school, or when i went back to visit. if there's a college in your area with an animation program you might be able to get in and use their hole punch and do a ream or so for free, ask around!

i bought the sampler pack of paper from lightfoot back in the fall though and honestly paper makes a HUGE difference. i wrote a snarky little review on my blog: http://www.smomotion.com/2009/10/28/new_software_pt1/. i'd never tried anything but normal say, hammermill paper before and had assumed i would need a lighter weight to make a difference in visibility. the truth is, the ingram paper [and even the mohawk just not to the same extent] have fewer visible fibers making up the sheet itself making the paper less murky [for lack of a better term] when it's back lit.

i'd really like to find a quality of paper similar to ingram bond to punch myself, but i have no idea where to find such a thing.

but honestly most of my friends who aren't on cintiqs or the computer use normal printer paper they punch themselves.

pencils are another ordeal entirely.

if you're getting a standard stock dixon ticonderoga they're probably 2 HB which is dead in the middle for softness/darkness. the staedler are art pencils and come in different grades, any art store will carry them and other pencils of different grades, but the different brands make a big difference.

i've done a bit of asking around on this and it seems a lot of animators use darker/softer leads, you can draw more fluidly and faster and make bolder strokes. the eberhard faber blackwing 602 (http://www.pencils.com/collectors/pencil-library/eberhard-faber-blackwing-602) had been really popular among animators in the 40's but it was discontinued in the 90's. it apparently was smooth and ranked in softness similar to a 6b. people have been looking for replacements for them and one that comes up a lot is the : Palomino (http://pencils.com/store/palomino-orange-graphite-pencils-grades-2b-b-h-2h).

i've always been a fan of prismicolor colerase (http://www.dickblick.com/products/prismacolor-col-erase-pencils/) pencils, especially blue. i used to think they were "animator pencils" and that you drew different characters in different colors, but a lot of larger productions use these colors to mean different things like tracebacks or red for cleanups etc.

for drawing pencils in general but mostly in the 6B and 4B grades i reccomend the Tombow Mono (http://www.dickblick.com/products/tombow-mono-professional-drawing-pencils/), Staedler Mars Lumograph (http://www.dickblick.com/products/staedtler-lumograph-drawing-and-sketching-pencils/), and the Palomino (http://pencils.com/store/palomino-orange-graphite-pencils-grades-2b-b-h-2h) which is listed as a 2B but draws like a much darker lead and is still very smooth.

i'm apparently very good at making obnoxiously long replies. hope this helps somehow.