Multi-sketch

Multi-sketch is an animation method of story-telling where a sequence of hand-drawn sketches are created simultaneously while narrating it with voice. To achieve this a Tablet PC or digitizing tablet can be used to create improvised progressive line sketches which are captured to video.

Such types of cartoons are created in a freestyle unscripted manner, which makes them original, since the whole cartoon does not need editing after it is completed. Originally invented by Renat Zarbailov when he combined two software applications—sketching software with screen capturing one. One of the pioneers of Multi-Sketch cartoon creation is Kenly Dillard, who, at the age of twenty four held the title of the world’s third champion in speed sketching competition. The final multi-sketch can be sent to various formats, HDTV, DVD, streaming media, or WMV/FLV/QuickTime/MPEG4.

The multisketch package aims to make it as simple as possible to create multiple Processing sketches each sitting in their own window. Existing sketches can be placed in their own windows with minimal change of code. Sketches in separate windows can communicate with each other with minimal use of system resources when windows are not active or visible.

Any embedded sketches are created inside a parent sketch, getting multiple sketches to communicate with each other is easy. Simply create methods in the embedded sketch that send or receive any messages that need to be passed between sketches. Additionally, built-in variables associated with a sketch such as width and height may be addressed directly by prefixing them with the name of the EmbeddedSketch object.

While most sketches require little modification to be embedded in their own window, there are a few exceptions that need to be dealt with differently.

Multi-sketch has been used in television campaigns by companies such as Tower Insurance. Animations in this format take the form of an extended infographic.