Mouth Shapes

[weeblrock]

When i animate speech i just want to stick a different mouth on each type (for each letter or sound)

only problem is i dont have a clue how to start, is there any special software that can do mouth shapes? or do i have to make them myself and if so how do i do that?

[ElusiveMoose]

Yeah, you're going to have to draw them yourself. Some programs like ToonBoom will help automate the process of lip synching once you have your basic shapes drawn.

Here's a quick reference image I found through a Google search that should get you started:



The page I pulled it from has some good advice for lip synching too.

animation.about.com

Good luck.

[vicjperry]

Doing expressions of sounds in the mirror is good practice. Pronounce your sounds and make basic sketches of your mouth shapes.

Something I do often is, I use different mouth shapes for the same sounds. I attached a sketch to explain what I mean. The top two rows are saying the word "Hey". The top three say it as it's pronounced. The next three say it with a different mouth shape at the end.

The next set of diagrams shows the word "Too". The bottom row is the same pronunciation with a different variation. Mix them up in your dialogue and you'll get better results. It makes the speech movements more interesting as it exagerates the pronunciation a bit and isn't repetative. Do this with a few different sounds and you'll have a great animation that doesn't look "built".

I hope this tip helps.

[kdog]

Great stuff guys. Really good references there, & I like your point about varying some of the mouth positions, Vic. That can definitely give a more natural feel & help provide emphasis on certain sounds.

Here is another reference page of pheonomes, its basic but still very usefull. This one also happens to jive with the mouth positions used in TBS's automated lip synch feature(which isn't perfect, but helpful).
Rob Campbell's Mouth Chart