Raising the Quality of Animation

Fred Coince

Company
freelance

Occupation
Illustrator / storyboarder / 2D animator

Location
France, Petit Mars


Biography

Born in Caen (France) in 1972, Fred Coince is a self-taught artist. He works as a freelance illustrator and 2D animator at home, in the countryside. He’s married and has two children.

My animation quality has improved since I’ve started using Toon Boom. Before, I worked with Macromedia Flash but I was facing lots of limitations. I needed to evolve so I tried and bought Toon Boom. Wow!

Watch The Moustoks

How long have you been in this profession?

Since 8 years

What are your most important accomplishments?

Children's puzzle books (Albin Michel and Auzou editor) and a short animation film Once Upon A Time based on the Charles Perrault’s tale little red riding hood.

Do you create your animations using Toon Boom Animate Pro only?

No, I draw the backgrounds in other applications. For animation, I only use Toon Boom Animate Pro.

If not, what other applications are you using?

I draw the backgrounds on Procreate’s Painter 7 and rarely, I use Photoshop.

Why did you choose to combine these products?

Painter is better for a realistic rendering which I need for some animation like Little Red… or The Moustok. I can use tools like pastels or chalk.

Watch "Il était une fois..."

Please describe your workflow

First, on Painter, I create a little storyboard with the most important scenes. Then I create the backgrounds I need for the animation. And I prepare the character’s model sheet. I compose and mix the musicals parts (I play keyboards and bass. I use Magix’s Samplitude Music Studio for recording music). I import the backgrounds in Toon Boom Animate Pro then I vectorize the characters and start the animation.

What kind of animation do you create?

I like to create “Cartoon” animation but I would like to produce a “darker” animation film like the Tim Burton’s movies. My little red riding hood was a first step.

What animation technique are you mostly using (i. e. cut-out, paperless, traditional)?

I use the traditional animation technique…Frame by frame

What are your top five favorite features in Toon Boom Animate Pro:

Camera 3D (great !!!)
Some filter (Blur, Focus…)
The Top and Side views
The pivots
The morphing

Watch "Le Pommier"

What Toon Boom Animate Pro’s features allow you to distinguish your animation productions?

The animation quality is improved by the different tools that Toon Boom Animate Pro offers.

Are you more efficient today compared to your production toolset used previously?

Yes. My animation quality has improved since I’ve started using Toon Boom. Before, I worked with Macromedia Flash but I was facing lots of limitations. I needed to evolve so I tried and bought Toon Boom. Wow!!

Is it possible to get the same results with other digital animation software?

I don’t know the other digital animation software. I always used Flash and now, I work with Toon Boom!... But I know we can’t get the same results with Flash…

How do you feel about Toon Boom Animate Pro?

I love it! It’s a full software which I haven’t finished to learn but I like working with it!

How was your learning curve? Have you used the video tutorials?

Yes, I used the video tutorials and sometimes, I still watch them to complete my knowledge.

Equipment used:

PC, Windows XP and Pen tablet