How to Create a Doodle Video Inspired by "Where Are Now"

In this tutorial we'll take a video clip from Envato Market and transform it into a doodle-filled video inspired by Skrillex and Diplo's Where Are Ü Now with Justin Bieber. We'll extract frames from a video clip, purchased from VideoHive, in Adobe Premiere Pro CC, draw over them in Adobe Photoshop CC, and compile the images into a finished video in Adobe After Effects CC. Let's have fun and get doodling!

1. Extract Video Frames

Step 1

First things first, you need to select a video. For this tutorial, I'll be using stock footage from Envato Market entitled "Break Dancer Isolated On White BG". There are so many fantastic video clips that I encourage you to shop around and have fun. Download your purchased stock footage, and let's openAdobe Premiere Pro CC.

Step 2

Create aNew Project and give it whatever unique name you want. Go toFile > Import and select your downloaded video clip file. I've dragged mine from theProject panel to theSource panel. This way I can quickly and easily grab the frames I want for my project.

Step 3

In theSource panel, drag the blue arrow to where you'd like your video clip to begin. Hit theMark In (I)icon below. Repeat with theMark Out (O) icon to define the end of your video clip. I've opted for a10 second clip.

Step 4

In order toExport your clip as a series of frames, go toFile > Export and use the following settings:

• Source Range: Clip In/Out
• Format: JPEG
• Export As Sequence: Yes
• Frame Rate: 10

The rest of my settings were default. You can choose to export smaller images or adjust other settings if you wish. HitQueue when you're done.

Step 5

You'll find your images in the same folder (unless you specified a different output) as your source video. I specified a frame rate of 10 frames per second simply so this project would be smaller. If you want a smoother video with a longer run time, opt for a longer clip with a larger frame rate of 24 or 30.

2. Draw on Your Video Frames

Step 1

Open one of your video frameJPGs inAdobe Photoshop CC. Create aNew Layer in theLayers panel. Use the drawing tool of your choice to start drawing whatever you want on your image.Every time you complete an image,Save As aJPG, keeping the file name so it's easy to compile them into a video later.

Step 2

Draw colorful designs around your dancer. Below I used theBrush Tool (B) to draw in the negative space of my image. Fill up your entire image or simply draw a small amount around the dancer.

Step 3

Another option for your project is to incorporate your dancer's position into a small and simple scene.

Step 4

Or create a whole scene that includes creating a new outfit for your dancer friend. I've never seen Mario go down a pipe like this, but I thought it was time he boogied on down.

Step 5

Because I had 100 frames to fill with doodles, I got some help from my fellow Envato Tuts+ instructors and editors. Our editor in the Design & Illustration section, Sharon Milne, filled up the space around the dancer with colorful scribbles.

Step 6

Kirk Nelson, fellow Envato Tuts+ instructor, got humorous with his design, allowing it to interact with the pose of the dancer.

Step 7

Melody Nieves, another fantastic instructor here on Envato Tuts+, focused her entire design on the dancer himself versus the rest of the space. The goal of drawing over these frames is just to have fun. Create silly designs with whatever sort of brushes or tools you want.

3. Compile Your Frames Into a Video

Step 1

Let's compile our doodle frames into the final video. Create aNew Project inAdobe After Effects CC.Import (File > Import > File) all of your doodled frames into the project.

Step 2

You'll find your newly imported images in theProject panel.SelectAll (Control-A) of the images in the panel.

Step 3

Right-Click and selectNew Comp from Selection. This will sequence your images in the order they appear in the Project panel (this is why their file names should not have been changed).

Step 4

Because we used a low frame rate, theStill Duration will have to be longer than a standard video. If you want it to be very smooth and quick, go to0:00:00:01. This would render our video at3 seconds long.

For the purposes of this tutorial, however, I want to get close to the frame rate that we had exported the images. I opted for0:00:00:04. Make sureSequence Layers is selected.

Step 5

You'll find your new composition sequenced and ready to go in yourTimeline.

Step 6

Select your composition in theProject panel andAdd to Render Queue (Control-M). Let's make sure our settings are just right in theRender Queue panel.

Step 7

Click on Output Module and change the following settings:

• Format:AVI
• Resize to:1280 x 720

You can opt for a different video format or size if you wish, but these were my settings for the final video.

Step 8

Click onRender Settings and choose your videoQuality,Frame Rate, andResolution. I kept my settings at their default. HitOK and then hitRender on the right side of theRender Queuepanel.

Great Job, You're Done!

Wait for your video to render and play your final video file when it's complete.What sort of other fantastic videos can you create fun, animated doodles over?Share your result in the comment section below!

Many thanks to those below from the Envato Tuts+ team involved in creating an assortment of doodle frames for this project:

• Sharon Milne
• Neil Pearce
• Yulia Sokolova
• Kirk Nelson
• Asher Benson
• Jenny Le
• Melody Nieves
• Miss Chat*Z
• Monika Zagrobelna
• Lidija Paradinovic Nagulov
• Nataliya Dolotko
• Ian Yates
• Bart Jacobs
• Adam Brown