How To Create A Walking Kitten

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ANIMATION
How to Create a Walking

Kitten Animation In
Adobe Photoshop
by Monika Zagrobelna
28 Jan 2015
2 Comments
58
135
This post is part of a series called Animation in Adobe Photoshop.
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Create a Flight Animation From Scratch in Adobe Photoshop
What You'll Be Creating
Creating frame animations in Adobe Photoshop is simple, but the real power of it
isn't in the tool, but in the way you use it.
Today I'll show you how to create a six-frame animation of a quickly walking kitten.
The most intuitive way to create an animation would be to draw it frame by frame,
but with Photoshop there's no need for that. I'll show you a set of little tricks that will
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make animating easier and faster, and the animations themselves smoother.
First we'll draw a kitten from scratch, and then we'll convert it to simple shapes,
understand the movement, and adjust the shapes to the movement to give them
life.
This is a beginner-friendly version of Create a Run Cycle Animation From Scratch in
Adobe Photoshop.
1. Sketch a Kitten
In this part we're going to sketch a kitten in a simple, side view. If you're not a
beginner at drawing, feel free to skip it and draw your own sketch.
Step 1
Open Photoshop and create a New File (Control-N). Use 2000 px for Width and
1500 px for Height.
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Step 2
Create a New Layer over the background. You can use the shortcut Control-AltShift-N, or click the icon as shown below:
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Select any Brush (B) you like for sketching, and roughly draw the idea from your
head. Do it quicklydon't think too much, and don't erase the lines.
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Step 3
Set the Opacity of the layer to 20%.
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Step 4
Create a New Layer the same way as before. Now we're going to build more
thought-out shapes on the base of the sketch.
Start with a "6" that will imitate the chest and the back.
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Step 5
Add another 6-like shape for the head and the back of the neck.
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Step 6
A little "C" will make the snout.
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Step 7
Two elongated "S"'s will make the legs. Add a short line for the tail.
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Step 8
Add two flattened domes for the paws.
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Step 9
We need to work on the legs some more to get the shape right. These lines will be
the elbow and the heel of the cat.
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Step 10
Add more guide lines to divide the legs into parts.
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Step 11
Our "skeleton" is done. You can now delete the sketch, and change the Opacity of
the skeleton to 20% as we did before.
Step 12
Now we'll be building the actual body. Use the guide lines on the legs to create the
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chunks as shown below:
Step 13
Now add the paws.
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Step 14
Use straight lines to build the shape of the head.
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Step 15
Now take care of the lower part and connect the head with the chest.
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Step 16
This shape will make the eye socket:
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Step 17
Put the eye inside.
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Step 18
"Stick" a triangle on the headit will be the base for the ear.
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Step 19
Sketch the ear.
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Step 20
Finish the picture with any other lines you can find.
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Step 21
Delete the previous layer, leaving only the background and the line art. Our kitty is
done and ready to have fun!
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2. Split Up the Body

We need to cut the body into separate chunks to animate them individually. Don't
worry, no kittens were harmed in the making of this tutorial!
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Step 1
Again, lower the Opacity of the layer and create a new one. Can you see any
circles/ovals in the body? Draw them!
Step 2
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Try to show the contours of the body by using only straight lines. Just imagine
you're drawing a constellation!
Step 3
Take the Pen Tool (P). It doesn't only draw paths for selection, it can also draw
editable, vector shapes. Change the mode to Shape and pick any Fill color you like.
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Step 4
Click the points ("stars") of your "constellations" one by one, until you've closed the
shape. Every shape creates its own layer automatically. For ovals use the Ellipse
Tool (U) in Shape mode.
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This is what you should end up with:
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Step 5
A lot of layers have been added to the list! To avoid a mess,Control-select them,
and then Group (Control-G) and label them.
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Step 6
Test the body! If you Control-click the shape, the group it's in will be selected. You
can move a whole body part, and rotate or scale it (Control-T). Because these
shapes are vector, they don't lose their quality no matter how strongly you modify
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them.
Don't forget to undo the changes!
3. Prepare the Movement

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There are three basic gaits of a cat. Cats can walk, and they can run with great
leaps, but there's also a middle way. It's called the pace, and it looks like a fast
walk. Do you recall your cat running to you when it hears the "sound of noms"?
That's the gait.
The funny thing about this gait is that it's literally based on two frames:
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Left side legs to the front, right side legs to the back
Right side legs to the front, left side legs to the back
To make it smoother, we're going to add two frames between those, giving us six in
total. That's going to be easy!
Let's take a closer look at the frames we'll need:
1. Left side legs go to the front; right side legs to the the back;rump goes
up, head goes down.
2. Left side legs are landing; right side legs take off.
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3. Left side legs are pushing the ground to the back; right side legs get pulled to
the front.
4. Left side legs go to the back; right side legs to the the front;rump goes
up, head goes down.
5. Left side legs take off; right side legs are landing.
6. Left side legs get pulled to the front; right side legs are pushing the ground to
the back.
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It's still quite complicated, isn't it? Luckily for us, it's a fully symmetrical gaitone
side repeats the exact movement of the other, with a slight delay. So we can
actually create only one side, and then copy it to the other!
Just see how a one-side movement looks:
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1. Legs go to the front; rump goes up, head goes down.

2. Legs are landing.
3. Legs are pushing the ground to the back.
4. Legs go to the back; rump goes up, head goes down.
5. Legs take off.
6. Legs get pulled to the front.
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This is exactly what we need to do with our kitten. Let's get started, then!
Step 1
Some kind of ground is necessary to create a proper movement. We don't need to
draw anythingjust use the Control-R shortcut and drag the top ruler down, under
the kitten's paws.
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Step 2
We're going to play with all the body parts now, so duplicate C
( ontrol-J) all of them
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and store them in a new group (Control-G) for a back-up. Hide the group by
clicking the eye icon next to it.
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Step 3
We're starting the actual animation now, using the first frame as a reference. Select
the front leg group and press Control-T. This runs the Free Transform Tool that
you can use to scale and rotate the object. Can you see the "cross-hair" in the
center of the box? You can drag it anywhere to define the real center of rotation.
Do it nowdrag it to the place where the arm is attached to the chest...
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... then rotate the leg. Hit Enter when you're done, or Escape if you want to cancel
the change and try again.
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Step 4
In the first frame of the animation our cat is reaching out far with its arms, paws
included. Rotate the front paw so that it's ready for landing.
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Step 5
In this step both front paws are in the air, so the chest, neck, and head aren't
supported. Select the head layer, hold Shift and press Arrow Down to move the
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head down. In the next frame you'll move it two Arrows Up (which means "a bit
higher"), and then Shift-Arrow Up ("back to the base position"), and after that the
cycle will repeat.
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Step 6
To reach so far with the forelimbs, the chest must be rotated a little.
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Step 7
In this step the hips are a bit higher, so just like with the head, holdShift and press
Arrow Up twice.
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Step 8
The hind leg imitates the movement of its front counterpart, so rotate it properly.
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Step 9
The paws need to prepare for landing too.
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Step 10
We're going to move the tail too during the animation for a bit more aliveness of the
whole.
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We did it! Our cat has the same position as the reference.
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Step 11
Select all the parts and duplicate (Control-J) them. Group (Control-G) the original
and name it 1 . Hide it.
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Step 12
Now do the same with the second frame as a reference. Rotate the front leg...
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... put the paw on the ground...

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... rotate the hind leg, put it a bit lower...
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... place the paw properly...
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... move the head up...
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... rotate the chest...
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... and straighten the tail.
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If you change the Opacity of the previous frame (group), you should be able to see
something like this. You can use it as a base for the next pose.
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Step 13
Do the same with every frame. Make sure to keep a half-transparent first frame on
when working on the last onethey should be consistent.
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when working on the last onethey should be consistent.
Step 14
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There is a three-frame delay between the movement of one side in relation to the
other. In order to show it:
Duplicate the legs of Frame 1 and move them to Frame 4.
Place the copied layer at the bottom of the group.
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4. Run a Test Animation

Before we go any further, we need to check if the animation looks OK.
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Step 1
Delete every layer except the frame-groups and the background, if there are any.
Step 2
Right-click every layer and select Convert to Smart Object. This way the group
will be converted to a layer, but if you ever want to get to its content, just doubleopen in browser PRO version
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click it.
Step 3
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Open the Timeline panel (Window > Timeline). We want the animation to go on
endlessly, so set the looping option to Forever.
Step 4
To create an animation, just open the panel's menu and selectMake Frames From
Layers. Tadah!
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Step 5
That's not all. First Delete the redundant frame made by the background.
Step 6
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Select all the layers by clicking the first and the last one while holdingShiftyou
will now modify them all at once. Click the Frame Delay and set 0.1 seconds.
Step 7
With all the frames selected, Show the background layer.
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Step 8
Hit Space and enjoy!
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Step 9
If you didn't enjoy it, don't worry, we can fix everything! Just double-click the layer
you'd like to change, modify the content (rotate or move what you wish) and Save
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(Control-S). The change will be automatically applied to the animation. When you're
done, open the Timeline menu and Delete Animationwe don't need it for now.
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5. Draw Animated Line Art

We've got a perfect base for an animation now! Time to add lines to it. Curious how
to keep them consistent across the frames?
Step 1
We're going to use a special brush for the line art. Go toWindow > Tool Presets to
open the panel below. Then, with the Brush Tool (B) active, open the menu and
select DP Brushes. My favorite line art brush is DP Comic Inker of this set.
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Step 2
Create a New Layer above the first frame. The head is the only element that
doesn't change during the animation (it only changes position), so we can draw it
only once. Here's how I did it:
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At the very end, hide the base for a moment and fix the shape, if you don't like
something about it.
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Step 3
Duplicate the head and place a copy over every frame. Adjust their position to the
base.
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Step 4
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Draw the back, and then make the layer more transparent (lessOpacity), go to
another frame and repeat.
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Step 5
Do the same with every element of the body. The smaller the area you re-create on
every frame, the more chance the lines will be consistent.
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Step 6
Use the Magic Wand Tool (W) on the outside of every frame. If it does select the
inside of the body too, locate and fix the gaps in the outline, and try again.
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6. Color the Animation

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Step 1
Now, make the selection once again. Make sure to select everything outside the
body.
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Step 2
Invert the selection (Control-Shift-I). The inside of the body should be selected
now.
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Step 3
Create a New Layer and drag it under the sketch. Fill (G) the selection with any
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neutral color. Repeat for every frame.
Step 4
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You can now delete the vector basesthey did their job. The filled shapes will be
our new bases, but we need to link them with their line arts first. To do this, place
your cursor between a base and its line art, hold Alt and click. It will create a
Clipping Mask.
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Repeat with every frame:
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What do we need Clipping Masks for? Place a New Layer between the base and
the line art, paint something, and see for yourself!
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1without Clipping Mask; 2with Clipping Mask
Step 5
Create a New File for a moment. We need to choose colors for our kitten. You can
paint them with a brush, but I suggest you draw them with the Ellipse Tool (U) in
Shape mode, so that you can change their color easily. This is what I've chosen:
1. Main fur color: # e38016
2. Secondary fur color: # ffead3
3. Eyes: # 1ecc78
4. Nose: # ffa2b8
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Step 6
Open the Window > Swatches panel. To clear your list, hold Alt and click the first
swatch quickly until they're all gone. Then pick (I) the color you want to add, hold
Alt and click the empty area.
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Step 7
Create a New Layer clipped to the first frame. Use theDP Comic Inker brush and
the secondary fur color to paint the underside. Sharp edges are easier to re-create
on other frames than soft ones. Do this for every frame.
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Step 8
Grab the Lasso Tool (L) and draw a ragged selection with it. ThenCut the inside.
This way we'll fix the edges. Repeat it for every frame.
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Step 9
Create a New Layer for every frame and paint the eye and the nose.
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Step 10
Let's see how to add stripes to every frame without painting them one by one.
Find the frame where the front leg is as vertical and straight as possible. Then
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create a New Layer and paint thick stripes on it.
Step 11
Use the Lasso Tool (L) to draw "furry" edges on the bottom of the stripes.Fill them
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with their color.
Step 12
Use the Lasso Tool again to cut the top part.
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Step 13
Right-click the layer and select Convert to Smart Object. Now the stripes will be
easier to modify. Duplicate them, clip if they got unclipped, and drag to the next
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frame. Adjust the rotation to the next position.
If needed, use the Warp Mode to adjust the shape without re-painting it. When
you're done, come back to the frame where the original stripes are, duplicate them
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once again and go to another "stripeless" frame. Do this with every frame, always
using the original to create a copy.
Step 14
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You can use this technique to create stripes on the whole body!
Step 15
Let's redo the animation. This time we've got too many layers to use the Convert
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Layer to Frames method. However, the alternative is still simple:

Create a New Frame by clicking the white card icon.
Show the Clipping Mask with its content, and hide others.
Repeat!
The content of a clipping mask can't be shown without it, so you only need to hide
the mask to hide everything that's clipped to it.
Step 16
Test the animation. Check if the stripes work as intended, and fix anything that
seems wrong.
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7. Shade the Animation

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Step 1
Create a New Layer and paint shadows with dark blue (# 112e6a ).
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Step 2
Cut their edges with the Lasso Tool as before.
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Step 3
Change the Blending Mode to Multiplyit will make the layer transparent and dark
and lower the Opacity to 20%. Do the same for every frame. To keep
consistency, you can duplicate the head as a separate part.
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Step 4
Create a New Layer for the light. Use unsaturated orange (# ffd790 ) to paint the
light with the same technique as the shadow.
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Step 5
This time use Overlay for the Blending Modeit has a brightening effect. Change
the Opacity to 30%.
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Step 6
White should reflect more light, so let's add it. Create aNew Layer and paint plain
white stripes in the illuminated area.
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Step 7
Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and select the Radius that makes the stripes
blend with the body, but without losing their brightness.
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If you want to apply the same filter to another frame, just hitControl-Fit will be
applied with the same settings as before.
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8. Finish and Save the Animation

Step 1
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We're going to add waving whiskers now. Create aNew Layer above all the frames
and paint them, using black, white, or a creamy color.
Step 2
Duplicate the whiskers twice. Leave the original as it is. Select the second one and
go to Filter > Liquify, and use the Forward Warp Tool (the one on the top) to
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change the shape of the whiskers. When you're done, do the same with the third
layer.
Now, show the first layer of whiskers for frames 1 and 4, the second for 2 and 5,
and the third for 3 and 6. They should be waving now!
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Step 3
Add a New Layer on the top and Fill it with black.
Then go to Filter > Noise > Add Noise.

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You can make it brighter by adding Filter > Sharpen > Sharpen a few times.
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Step 4
If you change the Blending Mode to Overlay, you'll see a nice texture applied to
the kitten.
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Play with the Opacity to get the effect you like.
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Step 5
Ready to finish it? Use the shortcutControl-Alt-I to change the size. The smaller it
is, the more detailed it will seem.
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Step 6
Use Control-Alt-Shift-S to Save for Web. Since we've used very flat shading and
few colors, the overall size of the animation should be less than 200KB, which is
perfect for most sites. If it's not, reduce the amount of Colors and play with other
settings.
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Meow!
Phew, that was a lot of work! But our kitten is finally alive and happy, ready to
explore the world. You're now more advanced in Photoshop, so if you liked this
tutorial, make sure to check the ones about creating flight animation and the run
cycle of the cheetah.
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I also would like to hear from youif you're having problems with any of the steps,
let me know in the comments section. I read all of them!
Did someone say "tuna"?
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About Monika Zagrobelna

I'm a Polish artist with a long experience in
doing useless, but creative things. Since I
Create a Flight Animation From

Scratch in Adobe Photoshop
realized how bad I was after all these

years, I decided to take fate into my own hands and
actually study things in order to draw them properly.

My tutorials are the result of thorough studies - I
hope they help you as they helped me!
From Speed Paint to Detail: Paint a

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Feik Bbs
2 months ago
Yes, I did! [tuna]. Monika, it is fantastic! Congratulations.

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Nallaikumaran
2 months ago
Good work.
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How To Create A Walking Kitten

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Design & Illustration

How to Create a Walking

This post is part of a series called Animation in Adobe Photoshop.

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Create a Flight Animation From Scratch in Adobe Photoshop

What You'll Be Creating

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open in browser PRO version

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chunks as shown below:

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2. Split Up the Body

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This is what you should end up with:

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