Flipnote Studio, also known as うごくメモ帳 (Ugoku Memochō) in Japan, was a user-friendly application that allowed users to create short animated sketches or "flipnotes" using the DSi's stylus and touchscreen. It offered basic drawing tools and the ability to add audio to the animations, which could be played back frame-by-frame or in sequence. The app quickly gained popularity for its ease of use and the creative possibilities it offered.
Launched alongside Flipnote Studio, Flipnote Hatena was an online service that enabled users to share their flipnotes with others, discover new content, and engage with a global community of animators and artists. Users could access Flipnote Hatena through the Nintendo DSi's Wi-Fi connection, where they could browse, download, and rate animations, as well as participate in themed contests.
The combination of Flipnote Studio and Flipnote Hatena led to the emergence of a vibrant and creative community. Users across the world shared their animations, developing their own unique styles, stories, and characters. The platform also became a space for collaboration and inspiration, as artists learned from one another and built upon each other's work.
Despite its popularity, Flipnote Hatena was shut down on May 31, 2013, due to the upcoming release of the Nintendo 3DS and the subsequent launch of a new version of Flipnote Studio called Flipnote Studio 3D.
Despite the closure of Flipnote Hatena, the community's passion for flipnotes has persisted. Various fan projects have emerged to fill the void, providing platforms for users to share their animations. One such is called Sudomemo. You may also know of the artist Kékéflipnote, who makes really impressive animations to this day using the Flipnote Studio line of software.
https://twitter.com/Kekeflipnote/status/780831847215407105?s=20
https://twitter.com/Kekeflipnote/status/1613221716901396480?s=20
Flipnotes generally come with a limited set of colors. The original Flipnote for the DSi came with only four: black, white, red, and blue. Meanwhile, Flipnote for the 3DS came with six: black, white, red, blue, yellow, and green.
I want to see how well both styles are emulated, so I plan to implement both versions.
The lines in Flipnote animations have a pixelated look due to the low resolution of the DSi and 3DS screens. Therefore, we should turn off anti-aliasing in our shader, opting for hard, pixelated edges.
Flipnotes are typically created using the DSi's stylus, giving them a hand-drawn appearance. I plan to incorporate a bit of line jitter and variance in thickness to achieve this effect.
Flipnote animations often use simple shading or patterns like dithering or hatching to create depth or texture. I want to try adding these as options for my shader.