Uploaded February 2019 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
From writing a script to animating keyframes, this longform tutorial goes deep into every stage of the process for creating an animated "explainer" style video with a cartoon narrator character. So this is a behind the scenes look at how I created the recent "Game Subscriptions Are the Future" video ( youtu.be/rzzXqKTC5bI ). We'll record and edit the audio in Audition, build our character in Photoshop, rig and animate him in Character Animator, and finally composite everything together in After Effects.
Sections:
0:00 Intro
1:00 Part 1: Writing & Recording the Script
12:26 Part 2: Creating Your Character
26:46 Part 3: Rigging for Animation
50:21 Part 4: Performance Recording & Editing
1:23:27 Part 5: Supplemental Asset Creation
1:27:08 Part 6: Compositing in After Effects
1:34:23 Part 7: Animating in After Effects
1:48:10 Part 8: Render & Review
1:53:25 Outro
Links:
Narrator Dave puppet: okaysamurai.com/puppets
Audio Library: youtube.com/channel/UCht8qITGkBvXKsR1Byln-wA
Arm IK Tutorial: youtu.be/9xdHjcIeg8I
Advanced Rigging: Leeta: youtu.be/ezGbFqmyPG4
The Noun Project: thenounproject.com
Download Character Animator: adobe.com/products/character-animator.html
Get free puppets: adobe.com/go/chexamples (official adobe puppets) / okaysamurai.com/puppets (okay samurai puppet pack)
Check out the official forums: adobe.com/go/chfeedback
Share your creations on social media with #CharacterAnimator!
Subscribe on YouTube: youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=okaysamurai
Twitter: twitter.com/okaysamurai
Website: okaysamurai.com
Music:
Come Home by Declan DP soundcloud.com/declandp
Creative Commons — Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported — CC BY-ND 3.0
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0
Music promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/MZ3HGnH50Zw
-
Flying High by FREDJI soundcloud.com/fredjimusic
facebook.com/fredjimusic
Music promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/RYgKd-6_Fc4
-
Adventures by A Himitsu youtube.com/channel/UCgFwu-j5-xNJml2FtTrrB3A
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
Music released by Argofox youtu.be/8BXNwnxaVQE
Music provided by Audio Library youtu.be/MkNeIUgNPQ8
-
Buddha by Kontekst soundcloud.com/kontekstmusic
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
Music promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/b6jK2t3lcRs
-
Cold Funk - Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100499
Artist: incompetech.com
Music promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/Vhd6Kc4TZls
From writing a script to animating keyframes, this longform tutorial goes deep into every stage of the process for creating an animated "explainer" style video with a cartoon narrator character. So this is a behind the scenes look at how I created the recent "Game Subscriptions Are the Future" video ( youtu.be/rzzXqKTC5bI ). We'll record and edit the audio in Audition, build our character in Photoshop, rig and animate him in Character Animator, and finally composite everything together in After Effects.
Sections:
0:00 Intro
1:00 Part 1: Writing & Recording the Script
12:26 Part 2: Creating Your Character
26:46 Part 3: Rigging for Animation
50:21 Part 4: Performance Recording & Editing
1:23:27 Part 5: Supplemental Asset Creation
1:27:08 Part 6: Compositing in After Effects
1:34:23 Part 7: Animating in After Effects
1:48:10 Part 8: Render & Review
1:53:25 Outro
Links:
Narrator Dave puppet: okaysamurai.com/puppets
Audio Library: youtube.com/channel/UCht8qITGkBvXKsR1Byln-wA
Arm IK Tutorial: youtu.be/9xdHjcIeg8I
Advanced Rigging: Leeta: youtu.be/ezGbFqmyPG4
The Noun Project: thenounproject.com
Download Character Animator: adobe.com/products/character-animator.html
Get free puppets: adobe.com/go/chexamples (official adobe puppets) / okaysamurai.com/puppets (okay samurai puppet pack)
Check out the official forums: adobe.com/go/chfeedback
Share your creations on social media with #CharacterAnimator!
Subscribe on YouTube: youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=okaysamurai
Twitter: twitter.com/okaysamurai
Website: okaysamurai.com
Music:
Come Home by Declan DP soundcloud.com/declandp
Creative Commons — Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported — CC BY-ND 3.0
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/3.0
Music promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/MZ3HGnH50Zw
-
Flying High by FREDJI soundcloud.com/fredjimusic
facebook.com/fredjimusic
Music promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/RYgKd-6_Fc4
-
Adventures by A Himitsu youtube.com/channel/UCgFwu-j5-xNJml2FtTrrB3A
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
Music released by Argofox youtu.be/8BXNwnxaVQE
Music provided by Audio Library youtu.be/MkNeIUgNPQ8
-
Buddha by Kontekst soundcloud.com/kontekstmusic
Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
Music promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/b6jK2t3lcRs
-
Cold Funk - Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Source: incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100499
Artist: incompetech.com
Music promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/Vhd6Kc4TZls
