The key to produce animation with no budget is by getting all the resources for free, like software or training.
Production Workflow
Of course, to produce animation you need to understand the complete process. Here is the summary of what is needed: Script, Storyboard, Audio Dialogue Recording, Music, Sound Effects, Sound Editing, Animatic, Character Design, Animation, Scene Compositions and finally, the Editing.
And if you want to achieve this, you need software. Don’t worry, at the end of this article you will find the names of the programs and applications that you can download for free.
Script and Storyboard
Before the script, you need the idea for your next story, once you have that, you can start writing. The best way to do this is by using a professional Script Writing Application that can be accessed online for free. I recommend Adobe Story.
Then, after the script, you continue to visualize your project in a Storyboard. How can you do this for free? Well, simple. Does pencil and paper ring any bells?
Audio
A word of warning for those who have projects with dialogue. you need a couple of dollars to at least buy a microphone. That’s why if you have no budget at all, stay out of stories with dialogue.
Now, if your project doesn’t have dialogue, then you need an Audio Software to mix all the sound effects and the music. I recommend Audacity, because it’s free and it has a lot of tutorials on YouTube.
Animatic
The animatic is a video of the storyboard with music and sound, maybe even some dialogue. This video can be edited in a Video Editing software. For that, you can try Avidemux.
Animation and Editing
Now that you have your animatic, you can do all your animation with Synfig, which is also free. Of course, it will not have all the features that any professional software has, but it will do the trick.
Once you have your animations ready, you can put all the scenes together using your Video Editing Software, click Render and you have your animation.
Final thoughts
You should know that everything free comes at a cost. In this case, because you are not spending a dollar, it only means you are going to work harder and invest more time because all the free software has limitations.
My suggestion is to go for two Adobe Products, one for animation (it can be Flash or After Effects) and one for video editing (Premiere Pro), which means spending $40.00 USD a month, saving a lot of time thanks to the great features they have.
And if you are a teenager reading this with no credit card, then you can try the free alternative, just keep in mind that this will mean more investment of your time.
Free Resources: Here are the names of the all the Software you can download for free. Look for them in Google.
Script Writing Online Apps
Adobe Story
Celtix
Drawing Software
Alternatives for Adobe Photoshop:
Gimp
Seashore
Alternatives for Adobe Illustrator:
Inkscape
Apache OpenOffice Draw
Animation Software
Synfig Studio
Audio Recording and Editing Software
Audacity
Video Editing Software
Avidemux
Royalty free music
Incompetech
