For trying out some animations in After Effects, I decided to do something with Robin Hood doing some target practice.

For the original idea, I thought of having the target say "ouch" when the arrow hit it, and Robin would turn his head and shrug his shoulders. However, I learned that would require a great deal more knowledge of After Effects than I had.

The first thing I needed to do was to create a story. I sketched out a storyboard, using a storyboard template I had created for videos, and I found it very helpful in identifying where I wanted my assets to be as well as mapping out their movements.

As you can see, I still had the idea of having Robin turn around, looking perplexed. From here, I was able to get started on creating the assets. I needed Robin, the bow and arrow, the target, a tree, a cloud, a bird and some grass, as well as the sky and ground.

I found it very different from creating a static design in Illustrator. I had to constantly have in mind what needed to move and how it was going to move, so I could make sure they were in different top-level layers.

The first draft of assets went fairly well. However, I found myself struggling tremendously with the arms. Trying to get the proportions right was one thing, but getting them right for the angle he's standing, plus matching that with the z-space and keeping the parts of the arm separate gave me plenty of headaches.

Aside from that, I found myself going back to the drawing board deciding how I wanted to show his reaction without having him turn his head.

Also, I changed my mind about having the target dummy say anything and came up with a new idea. In the background, I had added a bird flying in the sky. My idea was that when the arrow hit the target, the bird would fall from the sky, causing Robin to look shocked.

With my new idea lined up, I was able to finish creating the assets.

Since the different parts needed to be in separate layers, I tried to find the most natural movements possible for my current skill level, without making it too complicated.

First, I decided I could have Robin's left arm holding the bow and notched arrow and keep that arm pretty static. To do this, I needed to have his right arm be more flexible in order for him to be able to grab the arrow and pull the string.

I also made his lips, eyelids, and eyebrow movable so he could squint while aiming and show surprise when the bird falls.

I did add one challenge to myself, and that was that I wanted the bird to fly in 2.5D, coming on-screen from the foreground left and flying towards the background right, while flapping its wings.

All in all, I think this went well, but I'm still not completely satisfied and would like to make improvements on this. I think some more detail in the background and on Robin's face and arms would make a big difference.

Also, I'd like Robin to show more surprise when the bird falls and add some sound effects. However, for a first shot at After Effects, I'm satisfied.