kdog
02-15-2008, 10:40 PM
OK, I just got back from a former employer (a gasket factory) and I was able to get a 16 3/8" disc of translucent white plastic with a hole punched in it, for free. The piece I got happened to be scrap, just like when I built my light table, but with this disc, and a piece of masonite cut to fit my table, I'll have myself a nice animation table that came for a small fraction of the cost of most animation tables.
I'm planning on perfecting the table & disc (they work damn good as-is but some tweaks I can make) but I'd like to put feelers out there & see what people might be willing to pay for such products.
In short, my final table has a 2ft x 3ft x 1/4" translucent white drawing surface, plus it will come with a sheet of 1/8" thick masonite (still 2'x3') that has a 16 3/8" hole cut in it (wherever you want the disc to be) with a 1/8" thick disc that fits right in the hole & rotates. You can get peg bars on line for about 5 bucks, or I can get them ahead of time & factor them into the final product. Either way, I can provide a full fledged animation desk for a fraction of the cost that similar desks run for. I'm not trying to pass it off as high end equipment, but I can say with all honesty I'm pretty handy & I really think I can provide an affordable alternative to commercially made drawing/animation desks.
If anyone has opinions or thoughts I'd really like to hear them, I won't waste my time if there is no demand, but basically I have access to the most expensive (overpriced) part of an animation desk (the translucent polyethelene) for very very cheap prices. The place I used to work makes gaskets from the stuff & they give me scrap pieces for free. Even ordering sheets through them would only cost a few bucks per disc on my end. I'm sure there are people who would love a better traditional style setup - I can provide it for much much less than animation supply places would have you think. Please let me know if there is a demand out there. I like having side projects like this to keep me busy & I think it can definitely be a win-win situation. If I find the right person I might even make one for free if they will give it an honest & fair evaluation & spread the word. I'm not pulling punches here, I'd like to make some money, but I think I can do that while providing a very cost effective solution to cartoonists.
Looking for feedback....
Pat
I'm planning on perfecting the table & disc (they work damn good as-is but some tweaks I can make) but I'd like to put feelers out there & see what people might be willing to pay for such products.
In short, my final table has a 2ft x 3ft x 1/4" translucent white drawing surface, plus it will come with a sheet of 1/8" thick masonite (still 2'x3') that has a 16 3/8" hole cut in it (wherever you want the disc to be) with a 1/8" thick disc that fits right in the hole & rotates. You can get peg bars on line for about 5 bucks, or I can get them ahead of time & factor them into the final product. Either way, I can provide a full fledged animation desk for a fraction of the cost that similar desks run for. I'm not trying to pass it off as high end equipment, but I can say with all honesty I'm pretty handy & I really think I can provide an affordable alternative to commercially made drawing/animation desks.
If anyone has opinions or thoughts I'd really like to hear them, I won't waste my time if there is no demand, but basically I have access to the most expensive (overpriced) part of an animation desk (the translucent polyethelene) for very very cheap prices. The place I used to work makes gaskets from the stuff & they give me scrap pieces for free. Even ordering sheets through them would only cost a few bucks per disc on my end. I'm sure there are people who would love a better traditional style setup - I can provide it for much much less than animation supply places would have you think. Please let me know if there is a demand out there. I like having side projects like this to keep me busy & I think it can definitely be a win-win situation. If I find the right person I might even make one for free if they will give it an honest & fair evaluation & spread the word. I'm not pulling punches here, I'd like to make some money, but I think I can do that while providing a very cost effective solution to cartoonists.
Looking for feedback....
Pat