Now that I have the whole animation roughed out, I need to add the subtle bit of movement that will make "bubbles" come to life! I started by making his eyes move as he talks. I spent a lot of time in front of a mirror speaking his lines to see what my own face would do. I also spend a lot of time watching other people talk and interact in everyday life. As an animator you need to pay attention to the world around you so that you can bring some of it into your imaginary worlds. Even though your cartoons are fictional characters that often do not represent actual beings (such as a talking submarine!) You want your audience to be able to relate to them. Your viewers need to feel that your characters are alive.

Bubbles lives under water so I had to make him move around as if he was being pushed around by currents. I also added bubbles rising around him as he talks and moves (after all, his name is "Bubbles"!).

If time permits I may add other elements that will move in the background such as weeds, sea weed, fish etc. For me this is the most time consuming task because I will never feel as though the animation is finished!