Using Animator 0880225440, 9780880225441

Citation preview

Using Animator®

Craig Sharp

Technical review by

Jamie Clay Animation Tools Developer Autodesk, Inc.

QUe® CORPORATION LEADING-COMPUTER KNOWLEDGE

Using Animator

Library of Congress Catalog No.: ISBN

89-64229

0-88022-544-0

Using Ani11ato1·

ii

®

is based on Version

1.0

of Autodesk Animator.

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to Walt Disney, whose vision and dedication enriched my childhood and inspires my adulthood.

iii

Publishing Director Lloyd J. Short

Acquisitions Editor Karen A. Bluestein

Editorial Assistant Patty Brooks

Book Design and Production Dan Armstrong Bill Basham

Product Director David Maguiness

Claudia Bell Brad Chinn Don Clemons Sally Copenhaver Tom Emrick

Production Editor Gregory Robertson

Dennis Hager Tami Hughes Bill Hurley Jodi Jensen

Editors Joseph P. Goodwin Daniel Schnake

Larry Lynch Lori A. Lyons Jennifer Matthews Cindy L. Phipps Joe Ramon

Technical Editor Jamie Clay

Dennis Sheehan Mae Louise Shinault Bruce D. Steed Mary Beth Wakeield

Indexer Joelynn Giford

Composed in Gaamond and Excellent No. 47 by Que Corporation.

iv

Nora Westlake

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Crig W. Shap

C

raig W. Sharp was a coauthor of AutoD d­ vanced Techniques and a contributing author of

Using AutoD, both published by Que Corporation.

He has used Autodesk products or five years and has prepared

numerous

computer-generated

animations

and presentations or his architecture business. During a visit to SIGGRAPH

'89, an international con­

ference on computer graphics, he reviewed Autodesk Animator, intending to include it in a book on presen­ tation techniques or AutoCAD. He was so impressed with the user interace and capabilities of Animator, however, that he proposed a book on Animator itself. Using Animator is the result of that interest. hs to the cooperation of Autodesk, Craig has been

using Animator since June

1989 and hs instructed

others in applying Animator to presentation and busi­ ness graphics.

v

CONTENTS AT A

Introduction

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Chapter 1

GLANCE

.... .. ..... ........... ... ...... .. ....... . . .. Production Facilities .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The

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1 5

·-:::�er:mrs-w :,�::=:.;;:::::::«.

Part I

he Art Department 2

Chapter

Using the Artist's Tools . .

Chapter 3

4

Chapter

Part II

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Applying the Color

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41 77

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Chapter

Setting Up the Film

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Chapter 6

Creating Special Efects . ..

Chapter 7

Titling with Animator

Part III

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139 161

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At he Movies

Chapter 8

Managing the Filmmaking Library ............... 213

9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11

. . . ... . 231 Camera, Action! ........................ 2 67 Sitting in the Director's Chair ..................311

Appendix A

Post-Production Assistance .

Appendix B

Other Resources and Equipment.

Chapter

Understanding Animation

Problems and Errors

Appendix D

Animator Tips and Tricks

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Lights,

Appendix C Index

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Understanding the Color Palette

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353 359 365 . 369 .

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375

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1

What Is Animator? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

What You Need To Use This Book and Animator ...........

1 2 2 3 4

The Production Facilities........................ .

5

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6 8

Who Should Read This Book............................. What Is in This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How To Use This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1

New Terms in This Chapter

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What Animator Can Do . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . Setting Up Animator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

IO

Instlling Animator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Visiting the Filmmaking Department . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

11 12 15 15 16 17 22 23 23 24 27 27 30 33

Chpter Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

37

Starting and Coiguring Animator...................... Touring the Animator Studio............................. Getting around the Studio Lot. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Cursor, Mouse, and Screen ........................ he Menus and the Panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Meeting the Key Players................................. The Art Department.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Production Department .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Filmmaking Department.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 1 Tutorial.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Visiting the Art Department. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Visiting the Production Department. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I

he Art Department

2

Using he Artist's Tools .......................... .

41

New Terms in This Chapter ............................

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The Drawing Tools Section .............................

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42 42

Tool Selection Window ............................... Tool Slots ............... :

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Help Box

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Filled Option ....................................... . Two Color Option ................................... Drawing Tools ...................................... .

43 44 44 44 45 45

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Chapter

2

3

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68 75

Tutorial.

Chapter Summary

Understanding the Color Palette .

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77

New Terms in This Chapter . . .. .

. ... . . . .. . . . .. . . . . .. . ... 78 . ... ... .. . 79 Relected Light ... . . .. . .. . . .. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 80 Source Light.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 RGB Monitor Colors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HLS: Hue, Luminance, and Saturation .. . . . . . . . .. . . . .. ... 82 Palette Dynamics...... . .. . . . . ...... ... . .. . ..... ...... 82 The Palette Panel... . . . . ... . ..... . ..... . . . .. .. . ... . .. 82 The Palette Screen Menu Bar . .. . . . ..... . .... . .. . .. .... . . 87 The Palette Menu .. . .... . .. . . . . . .. . . ... . . . . . ... . .. ... 87 The Cluster Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 The Arrange Menu ... . . . . . . . . . . ... . .... . . .. . . . . . . . ... 94 The Value Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... . ... .. .. . . . . ... ... 95 Chapter 3 Tutorial.. . ..... . . . . .. . .. . .. ... ... . .. .... . . ... 99 Chapter Summary . ... . . .. . . . . .. .. . . ... . . .. . . . . ...... . . . 104 Understanding Basic Color Theory. . . ... . .. .. . ..

4

Applying the Color. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 New Terms in This Chapter ............................. The Ink Types Section of the Home Panel . . ... ........ . . . .

Ink Types ....

. .. ... ... .. . . . . . . . . .. . . .. . . . . . . . . . . .... .. . . . ... . ... . .. .. . .. . . .. . .. 4 Tutorial. . . . .... . .... . .. . ..... . .. . . .. . . . . . .. Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . ... .. .... .. .

Masking. . . . . . ... .. . ... . . . Chapter Chapter

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II

he Production Department

5

Setng Up he Film . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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1 06 108 11O 124 126 135

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New Terms in This Chapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Frames Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Frame Icons .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . . . Frame Panel Slider Bars ... ...... . .. .. . ........ ... . . . Frame Boxes .. . . .. . . .. . . . . . ... . . .. . . . . ... . . .. . .... . . Frame Buttons . ........... .. ... ... . ... . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . The Time Select Panel . . .. . ... . .... . . . . . .... .... . ... ... . Chapter 5 Tutorial.. . .......... ... ... ... ... . ..... .. . . .. . Chapter Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . ... . . . ... . .. . ... . .

viii

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140 140 141 142 144 145 147 154 160

6

Creating Special Efects New Terms in This Chapter

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161

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162 .. he Optics Panel.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

The Optics Screen . .

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The Many Dimensions of the Special Efects Department . .

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The Optics Menu Bar ................. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Chapter 6 Tutorial. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter Summary

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186 192

Titling wih Animator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 193 .

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i94

The Text Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194

E1tering and Editing Text. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

195 198 The Titling Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 .

Using Text Options. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Text Buttons

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Movement Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

201 203 Justiy Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204 . . .. . . . . . 206 Chapter 7 Tutorial Chapter Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209 Scrolling Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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III 8

At he Movies Managing he Filmmaing Library .............

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New Terms in This Chapter ............................

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213

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Types of Files.......................................

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The File Selector ....................................

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The File Panel

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File Action Buttons................................ ! .. 222

The Browse Flies Option ...............................

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Tips or Using the Library ..............................

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223 226 228

Chapter 8 Tutorial ...................................... 229

9

Chapter Summary ..................................... .

229

Understanding Animation .......................

231

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New Terms in This Chapter ............................

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The Animation Department .............................

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The Pie Menu ......................................

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232 233 233

235 The Swap Menu..................................... . 243 The Cel Menu ......................................

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ix

The Trace Menu

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246

Chapter 9 Tutorial. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. 256

10

Chapter Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

265

Lights, Camera, Action! .....................

267

New Terms in This Chapter The Flic Menu New

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268 269 270 270

Composite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Efects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 280 Backwards Files

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The Extra Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . Mask Grid

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Chapter 10 Tutorial. Chapter Summary

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288 288 289 289 290 292 294 295 297

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309

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Sitting n he Director's Chair. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311 New Terms in This Chapter

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Improving Perormance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

313

File and Memory Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 314 Keyboard Entry

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Hardcopy Input and Output

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Image Format and Quality.

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Video Capture .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . Audio Capture

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323

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Making Videotapes or Your VCR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

325

Scanning.

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Printing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

326

Converting Files or Animator Use . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

326

The Converter. Flimaker

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335

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340

Playing Movies without Animator .

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Using AAPAY Interactively. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using AAPAY with Scripts Creating Storyboards.

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340 345 348

Chapter

11 Tutorial-The Future. .. . .. .. . . .... . . . . .... . . 350 . . . .... .. . . . . . . . 351 .

Chapter Summary

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A

Post-Production Assisance .

B

Other Resources and Ep ment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359

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CompuSeve . .. .. . . ...... . . .. . .. . . ... . . . . . . ..... ... . ... . . .. . . . . . . ..... . Image Processing . . . .. . ... . .... . . .... . . . ... . .. .... . . Audio Capture , ................................ Hardware . . ... . . Image Capture. . . . . . .. . . ... . .. . . . . ... . .. . . . . . .... . . . . Scanning . . . . . . . . Video Output. .... . . . . . .. . . .. . . .. .. . . .. . .. .... ...... .

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C

Problems and Errors.

D

Animator Tips and Tricks Index

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353

359 360 360 36 1 362 362 363 363

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375

xi

xii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I

owe special thanks to the following irms and their personnel, who supplied some of the tools I used to create this book: Micro Synergy Associates, Inc.; Palm Harbor, FL; Videotex Systems, Inc.; Dallas, X; U.S. Video, Inc.; Staford, CT

I want to thank the many people who helped me write this book, including Jamie Clay and Bob Bennett of Autodesk; Gary Yost of the Yost Group; Lloyd Short, Dave Maguiness, Greg Robertson, and the editors and production staf of Que Corporation; Ford Bond of Ford Bond Photography and Computer Art Services, Inc.; Kevin Krell of Computer Support Associates; John Pinazo of Image Resources, Inc.; and Joe Tully of Tully-Menard, Inc.

xiii

xiv

TRADEMARK ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Q

ue Corporation has made every efort to supply trademark information

about company names, products, and services mentioned in this book.

Trademarks indicated below were derived from various sources. Que Corpo­ ration cannot attest to the accuracy of this information.

Amiga is a registered trademark of Commodore-Amiga, Inc. Apple and Macintosh are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Atari is

a

registered trademark and ST is a trademark of Atari Corporation.

Autodesk is a registered trademark and Autodesk Animator is a trademark of Autodesk, Inc.

CompuServe is a registered trademark of CompuServe, Inc., and H&R Block, Inc. Microsot and Microsot Mouse are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

xv

'

IN THIS BOOK CONVENTIONS USED

T

he conventions used in this book have been established to help you learn to use the program quickly and easily.

1. Menu names and options and Animator commands begin with capital letters (Flic menu, Underlay Opaque option). Often, the user is told to select a menu option (Render, for example) and then that word is used elsewhere as a verb, but without the capitalization ("Save the changes and render the

motion.")

It is understood that this usage means to

select Render rom the menu. 2. Screen messages appear in a

3.

Words the user should type are in italic on a line by themselves: CD \ANIMAT

xvi

special typefacB. type,

or all uppercase and put

Introduction �

nimator is the most exciting new program or the IBM-compatible com­

� puter market that I have had the pleasure of working with.

Part of that

opinion is due to my own likes and dislikes, but I am confident that many of you will share my enthusiasm for this new program after you have used it. Similar programs arc available or Macintosh and Amiga computers, but Auto­ desk Animator is the irst one of its type that I am aware of or the PC. Why is Animator so exciting? The answer is simple: it's fun. Animator has many practical uses, but it is still fun. You will find that a whole day has gone by seemingly in the blink of an eye as you were whiling away the hours using Animator. If you haven't used Animator yet, you may be wondering what has me so excited.

What Is Animator? Animator is a new graphics program from Autodesk for 8086-, 80286-, and 80386-based IBM-compatibles with a VGA graphics card. Animator enables children, students, professional illustrators, teachers, artists, and businessper­ sons to create animated graphics by using a wide array of techniques and

drawing tools that are near-professional quality, and that approach some of the capabilities of mainframe computer graphics programs. And because of its relatively low cost, Animator enables anyone to experiment with com­ puter graphics and have fun expressing his or her own creativity. Many of the commercials and graphics that you see on television today are created by means of computers. Animator enables you to create graphic efects similar to the graphics prepared by commercial illustrators. The dif­ ference is that the requir.d'computer is probably already on your desktop,

and the cost is less than l/400 the cost of even the most economical of the

programs that are used tor the television commercials.

1

2

Using Animator

Imagine ... any business report that you want to make can be animated. Stu­ dents can use Animator to provide exceptionally creative projects for school art classes. Businesspersons can create videotapes about tpeir company that can b� played on any VCR, with exciting and attention-getting results.

Who Should Read This Book Autodesk is known or its CAD (computer-aided drafting) programs, such as AutoCAD, which is the most popular PC-based CAD program on the market today. Animator, however, does not require you to have exceptional techni­ cal or artistic skills. It does require that you have some imagination and a desire to express your thoughts and ideas in a new way. When you were a kid, you may have drawn stick igures on consecutive pages of a pad of paper, and then anned through the pages to create an animated cartoon. When you were in school, you may have prepared charts to explain a business concept, or experimented with advertising concepts, or taken a photography class. As a business owner, you may hire an advertising agency, but have a better idea of how you want your company's advertising to look. As a graphics professional, you may want to experiment with com­ puter graphics so that you can explore the possibility of ofering this service to your clients. Animator and this book present exciting possibilities or all these people and many more.

What Is in This Book You may be interested in purchasing Animator, or you may have been using it for some time. In either case, this book is or you.

Using Animator will

explain, in clear and concise terms, how to master the dynamic capabilities of Animator in an organized, step-by-step procedure. This book deines the commonly used terms in computer graphics and ani­ mation and reviews each of the commands and techniques available with Animator. In addition, you will be able to experiment with all the Animator commands by working through a variety of tutorials.

Introduction

How To Use This Book This book is organized diferently from the Animator Reference Manual and is based on how you will use Animator, rather than the speciic order of commands in the program menus. This organization will enable you to learn how to use Animator more easily and quickly. Using Animator is divided into three parts and is organized like an actual

movie production studio, which is exactly what Animator is (in a comput­ erized orm). The book is organized in the same order that you will com­ plete activities to create a movie. Each chapter is organized as ollows: 0 A brief description of what will be discussed in the chapter 0 Definitions of terms that are unique to the computer graphics

world and that apply to what you will be learning in the chapter

0 A discuss i on of the Animator tools and techniques covered in the chapter

0 A brief tutorial that will help you learn how to use the commands explained in the chapter Ater you have taken a tour of Animator's "studio lot" in Chapter 1, "The Production Facilities," you will come to Part I, "The Art Department," which begins with Chapter 2, "Using the Artist's Tools," and you will be drawing right away. Chapter 3, "Understanding the Color Palette," and Chapter 4, "Applying the Color," will develop your drawing capabilities and explain how color works. Part II, "The Production Department," begins with Chapter 5, "Setting Up the Film," which explai ns the basic concepts behind the use of animation. Chap­ ter 6, "Creating Special Effects," will introduce you to many of the exciting features of Animator (the really fun stuf... ). Chapter 7, "Titling with Anima­ tor," will show you how to put your

name

up in lights, or explain the growth

of your business in animated words. Finally, Part III, "At the Movies," will have you creating your own animated films. In Chapter 8, "Managing the Filmmaking Library," you will lean how to manage the files that Animator can use in creating movies, and you will learn the iner points of animation in Chapter 9, "Understanding Animation." Chapter 10, "Lights, Camera, Action1," will take you through a tutorial and help you create your first movie. Finally, Chapter 11, "Sitting in the Direc­ tor's Chair," will explain some advanced concepts anl show you how to get your movie onto vileotape, with sounl'

3

4

Using Animator

Appendix A provides information on obtaining professional post-production assistance, if needed. Appendix B discusses other resources that can be used in conjunction with Animator. Appendix C is a list of Animator error mes­ sages and what they mean. Appendix D supplies some more Animator tech­ niques and tips.

What You Need To Use This Book and Animator The secret to Animator's design is that it is written specifically or a VGA­ compatible graphics card, and no other. The VGA is the current workhorse of the PC graphics industry, and is readily available at reasonable prices, if you don't have one already. The act that Animator only works with VGA graphics boards is what enables a program with the dynamic capabilities of many mainrame animation programs to work on a desktop PC. Animator will work on a minimum system disk), but is happiest on an

(8 MHz 8086 XT or compatible with a IOM hard 80286 or 80386 computer with a relatively fast

hard disk of 40M or so. Extended memory will make the program run more smoothly when playing movies, too. I am sure that Using Animator will lead to many hours of enjoyment or you.

So turn on your computer, begin reading Chapter 1, and be ready to unleash your creativity.

The Production Facilities � nimator has a number of � your personal computer

on (PC). This book is structured as a tour of a

acilities or creating striking visual images

production studio, and these program facilities are grouped into "depart­ ments." Beore

you begin visiting

the Art department or the Production

department, or example, you need to know what is

on

the

studio

lot. You

also need to learn some new terms before using Animator, especially if you haven't worked with graphics sotware beore. Each chapter contains a set of definitions. Learn these words so that you can better understand the topics being discussed. In Chapter 1, you will take a guided tour of the studio lot and receive an introduction to AninJator. Specifically, this chapter covers the followi ng: 0 What Animator can do 0 Setting up Animator

0 A tour of the Animator

studio

0 How to get around the studio lot 0 The menus and the panels 0 The key players At the end of the chapter is a tutorial that you

can use to

practice getting

around the studio lot. After you become amiliar with the studio lot, you will be turned loose in the Art department.

5

6

Using Animator

New Terms in This Chapter You may be amiliar with many of the definitions presented in this book, but you should make sure that you are amiliar with their meanings in Animator. Take a look at each deinition to ensure that your understanding of its mean­ ing is correct. The following definitions are used

throughout the book because they

concern the overall use of Animator. Learning them now will help you understand the book more easily. is

(X, Y, and Z).

Mathematics and graphics use axes to describe

two-dimensional (2-D) and three-dimensional (3-D) space. On Animator's screen

(working surface), the x-axis is the horizontal

direction from left to right. The y-axis runs from top to bottom. The z-axis is "in to" or "out of" the screen surace. Figure 1.1 shows the x-, y-, and z-axes. Each axis is divided into

coordinate values. Any

point in space has a location that is deined by a listing of each of the coordinates.

�-

�-

r Fig. 1.1. Animator's axes.

z-

o·o·

0 t_

t.

The coordinates are listed in a combined ormat that expresses the coordinate value for each axis. For example, the coordinate 20,32,10 is a location or a point that can be ound by proceeding along the x-axis 20 distance units, then proceeding along the y-axis 32 distance units, and inally along· the z-axis 10 distance units. The Animator

Chapter I : The Production Facilities

screen is divided into distance units that are pixels (see the following defintion ). The starting point or the combination of all of the axes is known as the origin, where the coordinate value is

(0,0,0).

0

or each of the axes

Coordinates can be in the positive or negative direction rom

the origin. In Animator's case, the origin of the three axes is the upper left corner of the screen. In Animator, the screen is divided into an invisible grid of

320

x

200

pixels. Thereore, the lower right

corner of the screen has a coordinate of

320,200,0

when the

described point has the same z-coordinate (is in the same plane as) as the screen. The maximum z-coordinates are from

-

500

to +

500.

(Refer to "Getting around the Studio Lot," elsewhere in this chapter, or a graphic explanation of the axis concept.)

Pixel. The word pixel is derived from picture element. Any graphics card/monitor combination has a resolution value, which is the number of pixels, both horizontally and vertically, that can be displayed by the monitor. In the case of Animator, the VGA (Video Graphics Array) mode that allows x

200

256 colors has

a

resolution of 320

pixels.

Input Device. An input device is the computer peripheral that you use to execute commands and to draw on-screen. At the present time, you can use an input device compatible with a Microsoft mouse or a Summagraphics MM series digitizing tablet. A digitizer is like an electronic pen and paper set, enabling the artist to draw directly "on" the computer. Digitizers also can be fitted with a puck, a device similar to a mouse. Digitizers oten are used in graphics and drafting applications.

Coniguration. Most programs that work with a variety of devices must be configured so that they communicate correctly with the computer, display, input, and output devices that make up the computer system. In Animator, you can define such things as the input device and the amount of extra memory on the system in Animator's coniguration so that the program knows what device you are using. You will learn more about configuring Animator a little later in this chapter.

Port (Comm Port). Peripheral devices, such as a mouse, printer, or digitizing tablet, are connected to your computer through what is known as a communications port. Communications ports usually are added to your computer by means of a special plug-in board that contains one or more ports. Each of these ports must have an address that does not conflict with the addresses of other devices connected

7

8

Using Animator

to, or placed within, your computer. The computer knows the address of the connected devices by using switches on the plug-in board or what is called a device driver, which is contained in the CONFIG.SYS ile. Refer to your computer's manual or more information if you want to know more detail about addresses. The communications port you are concerned with when using Animator is the one to which your digitizing tablet or mouse is attached. The use of the communications port is discussed, along with Animator's coniguration, later in this chapter. Frame. Movies and videotapes are made of a series of individual pictures. Each picture is known as a frame. Think about the animation you created as a kid by lipping through a pad of paper: each piece of paper contained a drawing slightly diferent from the preceding one and the ollowing one. The single sheet of paper is the same as the rame of a movie. Cel. The word eel is short for celluloid. A eel is used in animation to create an image that is photographed or use in a rame of the movie. If the eel doesn't change from frame to frame, it is used in more than one frame of the movie. This technique was developed to save time in creating animation. Cels are painted on transparent ilm so that they can be combined in a variety of ways, overlaid or underlaid with each other, to create multiple frames in a movie. Animator enables you to use the same technique to create animated movies on your computer. Those definitions are enough or now. Read on to see you can do with Animator.

What Animator Can Do The section heading

above actually is slightly misleading, because the cre­

ativity of the program is based on the way that you use Animator, rather than its speciic capabilities. Animator has a tremendous amount of t1exibility, and you can incorporate a number of tools and techniques in any combination of ways to

create

efects

that are

limited

only by your imagination.

basically, you can use Animator to create the following products: 0 Hancl-lrawn animated movies 0 Animated or single-rame presentation graphics 0 Cut-and-paste graphics and print image processing 0 Video image processing and animation

But

Chapter 1: The Production Facilities

Know what Animator cam do before you start using it; visualize what you may want to do with Animator's capabilities as you learn how to use Anima­ tor from this book. Some of the advanced techniques are discussed in much more detail in Chapter 11, but for now look more closely at each of the products listed above. Animator enables you to create or import ull-screen, 320 x 200 resolution, 256-color VGA images that you can compile into movies, which can be played as fast as 70 rames per second. The entire palette of colors in Anima­ tor is 262,144 colors, but a standard VGA graphics card can display only 256 of these colors at a time. The use of 256 colors makes or a well-defined screen image even at the "apparent" low resolution of 320 x 200. You may think at first that you need a higher resolution monitor, such as 640 x 480, but this is not necessarily the case. The hardware-specific relationship between Animator and the VGA card is what permits the existence of sophis­ ticated capabilities on a PC-based system. The VGA image is more than sui­ cient for the Animator products that you will learn to create. Hand-dawn animated movies arc created a rame at a time, using Animator

capabilities that are generally the same as a screen paint program such as Dr. Halo or EGA Paint. Animator provides what are called blue guides, which enable you to view the location of your hand drawn objects in the adjoining frames. You will learn more about blue guides when you visit the Animation department in Chapter 9. This feature assists you in creating professional animation. Animated

or

single-rame presentation graphics can aid you

in clearly

explaining a project, or in presenting graphs, charts, text inormation, and other graphics to enhance a business or school presentation. You can create title frames to merge into a video presentation about your subject or com­ pany, and you can overlay text and other graphics with a videotape of "live" action. Cut-and-paste graphics and image processing make it easy for you to do

creative layouts from images that are captured from video cameras or scan­ ners. Captured images can be ound on many computer bulletin boards and information networks, such as CompuServe. Image processing amounts to taking a picture (or group of pictures), text, and graphic images-much as an advertising consultant would do-and creating images that bring out a ·point or idea. Many magazine and television advertisements that you see are created via image processing, using what are called "stock" photos that have been kept on file. Part of a phoro may be used with other photos and text to present a product. None of these images originally was intended for the specific prod­ uct

r

idea that it ends up representing. With image processing, you also can

9

10

Using Animator

spin, twirl, whirl, or ly images and text around the screen just like many of the television commercials that are currently in vogue. Video processing and video animation are sophisticated activities that, at

their most advanced level, require expensive equipment to accomplish. For­ tunately, many companies have the equipment to do advanced video produc­ tion and will do it for you for a reasonable fee. You can create animated sequences in Animator or final output at a professional studio, or you can create your own video presentations at home or at the ofice with the right graphics card, a cassette tape deck, and a videotape deck, without investing extravagant sums of money in the equipment. In conjunction with hardware that performs video capture and gives NTSC output, Animator enables you to edit a series of videotape rames and send them back out to a videotape machine. Capturing a set of videotape images in your computer requires a special image-processing card, some of which are airly economical. (See Chapter 11 and Appendix A or more information.) Now that you know what you can do with Animator, you need to get the program up and running on your computer. If yqu already have installed Ani­ mator, you may want to review briely the next section and then proceed directly to the section ater that, "Touring the Animator Studio."

Setting Up Animator Animator is simple to install, as long as you have the ollowing minimum equipment: 0 IBM-compatible, 8086-based personal computer with

a

minimum 8

MHz clock speed 0 PC DOS or MS-DOS 2.0 or later 0 640K of contiguous main board memory. (All 640K is dedicated to

the main memory board of your computer. Any extra memory that you have will be discussed later in the book.) 0 VGA display board and compatible monitor with 256 colors and

320 x 200 resolution 0 lOM (megabyte) hard disk 0 Microsoft-compatible mouse or Summasketch-compatible input

device

i

Chapter 1: The Production Facilities

In addition to the minimum equipment, you may want to consider the ollowing: 0 Animator runs much faster on an 80386-based system, such as an

IBM PS/2 Model 70. 0 Animator can use extended memory in the form of a RAM disk

0 Animator reads a ile rom the hard disk. Some advanced movies can get quite large, so a ast hard disk is a nice feature to have. 0 A 16-bit VGA graphks card is aster than an 8-bit VGA card. In

addition, some VGA cards are considerably faster than others due to the type of graphic chips that are used and the amount of memory on the card. 0 Animator will use

64k of expanded memory (EMS), if it is

available.

Installing Animator To install Animator on your computer, follow these steps: 1. Create a directory on your hard disk or the Animator files. A directory such as ANIMATE or MOVIE will suice. To create this directory, type the ollowing at the DOS prompt from your root directory: MD ANIMATE and press Enter. Later, you may want to create subdirectories for each movie or project that you are working on. To create project subdirectories, type something like the following at the DOS prompt: MD \ANIMATE\MYEPIC and then press Enter (substitute a descriptive name for MYEPIC). If you want to learn more about DOS, MS-DOS User's Guide, Special Edition, and Using PC DOS, Third Edition, both published by Que, are excellent guides. 2. Change to the Animator directory by typing

CD \i.TIMATE and pressing Enter.

11

12

Using Animator

3. Place Disk 1 of the Animator sotware ("Executables") in drive A, type COPY A:*.* and then press Enter. Repeat step 3 or the remaining disks, until you have copied all the iles, including the sample movies, to your hard disk in the ANIMATE directory. Note: You should be able to press F3 and then Enter to avoid typing the

COPY command each time. Also, when you have become more amiliar with Animator, you may want to delete all but the executable iles rom your hard disk.

Starting and Configuring Animator To begin Animator, follow these steps: 1. From within the Animator directory, type A

and press Enter. If you haven't conigured Animator before, the following message appears: ANIMATOR ISN'T CONFIGURED ASSUMING DEFAULTS [CONTINUE]

If you have a mouse, click the left mouse button once to proceed; if you don't have a mouse, press the space bar. If you don't have a mouse, you also receive the message

NO MOUSE INSTALLED USE ARROW KEYS TO MOVE CURSOR

LEFT SHIFT IS FOR LEFT BUTTON/RIGHT SHIFT IS FOR RIGHT BUTTON

2. Press the space bar to continue. The main screen of Animator appears now (see ig. 1.2). You can use the deault coniguration if you have a mouse and don't want to change the deault directory or use a RAM disk. If you are using the keyboard, take a moment to jump ahead to Chapter 11, "Sitting in the Director's Chair," and read

about

the

single-key commands

described in

the

section

called

"Improving Performance." If you have a Summagraphics tablet or a mouse other than a Microsoft mouse, use the applicable sidebar that ollows.

Chapter 1: The Production Facilities

13

Fig.

1.2.

he

main

Animator screen.

Usng nimator with a Summagraphics Tablet

If you want to use the Summagraphics tablet, follow these steps: 1. Ater checking to make sure that the tablet is installed in accordance with its installation guide, press E (which brings up the Extra menu) and then C to select Conigure rom the Extra menu. The Adjust Animator Configuration menu should appear (see fig. 1.3).

Fig.

1.3.

he Adjust Animator Configur­ ation menu.

2.

Press 4, and the Select Graphics Input Device menu appears (see ig. 1.4). Fig.

1.4.

he Select Graphics Input Device

menu.

14

Using Animator

3. If your digitizer is connected to any serial port other than communications port 1 (COM 1 ), press 3 to select Set Serial Port for Tablet. The Select Comm Port for Tablet menu appears (see ig. 1.5). SELECT COM PORT FOR TABLET

Fig. 1.5.

1

Selecting the

2 3

communic· ations port

COM

!OM 3 COM 4 ·

4 '

for the tablet.

1

ECQM 2

CANGE.

Type the number of the port to which you have the digitizer connected, and the main screen reappears. Repeat step 1.

4. The Select Graphics Input Device menu lists option 2 for the Summagraphics MM 1201 12

x

12 tablet. Press 2, and the

Select Summagraphics Pointer menu appears. Press either 1 or 2 to select the Puck or the Stylus, respectively. The main screen menu reappears, and you can now proceed to use Animator.

Using Animator wih a Non-Microsot Mouse

If you don't not

be

use a Microsoft mouse, the cursor movement may

equal

to

the

Microsoft

mouse

cursor

niovement.

Changing Animator's clock driver may corect the problem for you.

To change

the

clock driver configuation,

follow this

procedure:

1. Press E to activate the Extra menu, and then press C to select the Adjust Animator Configuration menu. (See igure 1.3 in he previous section or tablet configuration.) 2. Press 3 to bring up the Adjust Clock Coniguration menu (see

fig. 1.6). Fig. 1.6. Adjusting Animator's clock.

Chapter 1: The Production Facilities

3.

Press 2 to select a slower clock, and the main menu reappears. Check o see whether the perormance of your mouse has improved.

You can perform some more

detailed configurations, too.

If you have

extended memory set up as a M disk, you will find that Animator's perfor­ mance is greatly improved. If you feel comfortable in doing so, go to Chapter 11 and read the section on

memory management ("Improving Perfor­

mance"). Additional congfiguration specialties, such as a deault movie, a default palette, and so on, can wait until you are a little further along.

Touring the Animator Studio Now that you have your studio pass all straightened out, it's time to get on with the tour. First, take another look at the main screen (see fig. 1.2 again). If you are running Animator on your computer, you should see a white cur­

sor that you can move about with your mouse or digitizing device. If you don't see the cursor, make sure that Animator recognizes your mouse or dig­

itizer when you start the program. To check whether Animator recognizes your device, you must exit the program. To exit Animator, press A, then Q. If upon restarting Animator the cursor still ails to perform, check to be sure that 0 The mouse driver is installed in your CONFIG.SYS ile according to

the mouse installation instructions 0 The mouse or tablet is plugged in 0 You have conigured the proper COM port

If all else fails, contact the dealer rom whom you bought Animator.

Getting around the Studio Lot Beore you can go anywhere on the studio lot, you need to know what is on the lot and how you can move around to visit each department. To help you get your bearings, you are first introduced to two parts of Animator: 0 The cursor, mouse, and screen

0 Menus and panels

15

J6

Using Animator

The Cursor, Mouse, and Screen The cursor consists of four white lines called crosshairs, with a center that is one pixel in size. The crosshairs actually contain an area that is

3 x 3 pixels,

but the active area of the cursor is only one pixel with a ine brush size. This one pixel is important when you are drawing with Animator because a pixel represents the smallest drawing increment of Animator. The cursor also selects menu items when this pixel is somewhere on the item you want to select. Use the mouse to move the cursor around the screen to get the feel of the distance the cursor travels when you move your hand. This book uses the following conventions or you to ollow when you are using your mouse in Animator. 1. You are asked to left-click or right-click, which means to press and release the left or right mouse buttons, respectively. This same terminology also means to pick the let or right (#2 and #3) button on the digitizer puck, or to press the stylus point or barrel button, respectively. 'hen you are asked to select an item from a menu or panel, put the cursor on the item to be selected and left-click your mouse, puck, or stylus. 2. You also are asked to bold down or drag the let mouse button, which means to continue pressing the button until you have achieved the desired results. 3. Finally, you are asked to double-click the left button, which means that you should press and release the left mouse button twice in rapid succession. At the top of the screen you see the menu bar, which contains the words Animator, Flic, Pie, Cel, Trace, Swap, and Extra. Notice that if you place the

cursor over one of the words, a pull-down menu appears (more about pull­ down menus in a moment). At the bottom of the screen is

Home panel. The Home panel has a number

of features that you use almost continuously when you work with Animator. The contents of the Home panel are the default configuration of Animator, with the default drawing tools, inks, and colors already set up to go to work. Try it out. Put the cursor on the black screen and left-click Move the cursor and see whether you have a light blue dot in the middle of the screen. The black part of the screen between the menu bar and Home panel repre­ sents most of the area that you can draw on. What is meant by most of the area' Move the cursor onto the black screen and click the right button. The whole screen goes blank Don't worry. Click the right button again, and the menu bar and Home panel return. You can draw on the entire screen, but

Chapter 1: The Production Facilities

17

sometimes you need to make the menu bar and Home panel disappear to use the entire area. No matter where you are in Animator, if you continue to right-click in the drawing area, you eventually return to the Home panel. As you read in the first part of this chapter, the screen is divided into pixel­ based axes of x-, y-, and z-coordinates. Figure 1.7 shows how this coordinate system relates to your screen (drawing surace). The surface representing the screen has been tilted to help clariy the concept.

0

Fig. 1.7. he X·, y-,

\

00 0

and

I

I

I

Anytime you are working with a coordinate display when locating objects with the cursor, you are actually concerned with the pixel coordinate from igure l. 7. The screen always shows one rame of a movie that you are working on. If

you are creating a single image or use in other movi es or as a panel in a

videotape, then it is a pie instead of a flic, but in this book a pie is still called a frame. Flies and pies are discussed in detail in Chapter 10.

The Menus and the Panels All the Animator commands and tools are available through the menu bar and Home panel. The menu bar and Home panel lead to other menus and panels, and it makes a diference whether you left-click or right-click many of the items displayed in the panels. The order of the menus and panels has a

logical hierarchy, which will become clear to you as you use Animator.

z-s.

18

Using Animator

All the commands and tools also are available rom the keyboard, and using the keyboard can speed up your Animator productivity. If you want to look ahead to Chapter 11 and start using the keyboard, feel ree. Move the cursor to the Animator option in the menu bar. Select About Ani· mator rom the pull-down menu that is displayed. (Remember, select means to left-click the desired option.) Figure 1.8 shows what you should see ater making this selection.

AUTODESK

V.

1.0

BNIMA�OR

S'N 47-101606 19S9 ev ..IM KENT 9" 1S,Si

COPVR IGHT

Fig. 1.8. he About Animator dialog box.

PROOUCEO

EXCLJSIVELV

tJTOOES K

ev

GR1UP

VOST

IN:

•

FOR

•

INC.

(

coNTIN.IE

]

Right-click the drawing area to clear the display of the About Animator dia· log box. Many menu selections cause this type of dialog box to appear. To exit a pull-down menu without making a selection, move the cursor out of the menu. The menu disappears. Animator's menus contain three types of options, which are the ollowing: 0 Options that cause an action to occur when selected. The About

Animator selection that you just perormed is an example of this type of option. Quit is another example rom the Animator pull· down menu. 0 Options that can be turned on or of, which are also called toggles.

An asterisk appears next to an option that has been turned on. If you try to carry out an option that is toggled of, nothing happens. 0 Options that lead to more options without causing any command

to be executed or any efect to be applied. These options are the options on the Animator pull-down menu between the dashed

.

lines, and any menu items ollowed by an ellipsis ( .. ). Move the cursor over the menu bar to see whether you can pick out exam· pies of each of type of option. You have to look a little or a toggle option. Move the cursor to the Animator menu, select Optics and then select Move· ment. You should see that Complete is toggled on. ight-click the drawing screen to remove the menu.

Chapter 1: The Production Facilities

19

You also should notice that some options have a letter to the right (see ig. 1.9). These options are single-key entry commands that you can execute sim· ply by entering the appropriate character. The options that use letters to activate them are insensitive to the case of the letter, so you can type 0 or

o

to activate the Optics menu.

Fig. 1.9. he Animator menu.

Animator's panels have our types of selections, which are the ollowing: 0 Slots. An example of a slot is the one that has the word DRAW in it

down at the bottom left of your screen. 0 Butons. A button is a small square that turns white when it is

turned on, and returns

to th e

panel color when it is of. An

example of a button is the small square containing the letter K in

the lower right corner of your screen. 0 Icons. An icon is a symbol that can activate another panel or

execute a particular command. Examples of icons are the arrows in the lower center of your screen. 0 Slider Bars. A slider bar enables you to adjust or select options by

let-clicking the slider or the slider arrow, or by dragging an icon within the slider bar. You will get practice using them elsewhere in this chapter. Slider bars are of two types: a numeric slider bar, which is horizontal, and a window slider bar, which is vertical and has a selection window to its right.

2Q

Using Animator

The main Animator panel is called the Home panel (see ig. 1.10), which has several diferent types of selections. The Home panel is made up of our main areas, along with some miscellaneous functions. This panel is one of your main interaces with Animator, so spend some time getting acquainted with it. Fig. 1.10.

he Home panel. The Home panel provides access to drawing tools, the palette of colors, the rames of the movie, and the types of ink. It also enables you to turn on and of some special features that are discussed later in the book. The irst section of the Home panel, the Drawing Tools section, contains a series of slots or boxes. The deault coiguration slots contain a grayed slot with the word Home in it, plus slots with Zoom, Undo, Draw, Poly, Spray, Box, Text, and Fill in them. Each slot is a drawing command, which you will learn more about in Chapter 2. Place the cursor on the Draw slot and right­ click. The Drawing Tools panel appears. Right-dick the drawing screen to return to the Home panel. Place the cursor on the slot marked Home and let-click. Notice that the panel disappears and is replaced by a dotted-line box attached to the cursor. Move the box to the middle of the screen and left-click again. The Home panel should now be positioned in the middle of the screen. To return the

Home panel to its original position, right-click the word

Home. You can use

this method with all the panels in Animator. The next section of the Home panel is the Palette and Frame Control area, immediately to the right of the drawing tools. This area gives you access to any frame or group of frames in the Flic you are working on. You also use this area to select a color to draw with, and it gives you access to the color

palette. In the Palette and Frame Control section, you see a single black box in the upper let part of the section, then a series of seven diferent color boxes in the upper right part of the section. You use these boxes to pick a color to draw with that may or may not be included in the color bar that you see directly below them. The reason that you can use either area to pick a color to draw with will become more apparent to you as you develop your Anima­ tor capabilities. The upper boxes are known as the Mini-palette, and the color bar in the middle is known as the Current Color cluster.

Chapter 1: The Production Facilities

21

The color cluster i n the middle o f the Palette and Frame Control section enables you to select a color rom the entire group of colors displayed in the cluster. To try out this feature, place the cursor on the color cluster and let­ click. Notice that the color in the top right box in the Home panel has changed to the color that you picked rom the color bar. This color change means that you are currently drawing with the color you picked. Right-click the color cluster. The Palette panel appears (discussed in more detail in Chapter

3).

Right-click the drawing area to return to the Home panel.

The lower part of the Palette and Frame Control section contains a set of Frame icons. The far-let arrow (an up arrow) sets the current movie rame to the start of the movie. The next arrow (a left arrow) sets the current rame back one rame. The center icon shows which frame is the current rame, which should be I right now. If you want to see the Frame panel, right-click the rame

number icon. Remember

to ri ht-click the drawing

screen when you're inished, so that you can get on with the tour. The next arrow

(a

right

arrow)

advances

the

movie

one

frame.

The

double

right arrows play the movie from the irst frame to the last. Finally, the down arrow sets the current frame to the last rame of the movie. At this point, all these arrows afect only one rame. You will see the importance of this icon later in the book when your movies contain multiple frames. The next section to the right, the Ink Types area, enables you to select an ink type from the six ink types that are displayed. The deault coniguration displays the ink types Opaque, Glass, Soften, Vgrad, Scrape, and Tile. If you right-click any of these ink types, the Ink Type panel appears. The Ink Type panel is discussed in Chapter

4.

The final area, the Mode section, has a little dot in the upper let corner. This dot is an icon that indicates your current brush size, which can be rom

1 to

11 pixels wide. The brush size can be switched between two values by let­ clicking the brush icon. To set the brush sizes that you want to use, right­ click the brush icon. The slider bar you read about earlier appears. The slider bar should look like the one shown in figure 1.11, which is a numeric slider bar. Place the cursor on the right arrow in the slider bar and let-click. Notice that the brush size icon now is a

2. Fig. 1.11. he brh icon slider bar.

Another way to adjust this type of slider bar is to place the cursor within the slider bar and let-click. The brush size icon should jump to the location that you clicked. Finally, put the cursor on the brush size icon and drag the icon

22

U sing Animator

to another size. That's how you use a numeric slider bar. Set the icon to a brush size of 10. Right-dick the drawing screen to return to the Home panel. Notice that a much bigger dot is now showing on the panel. Let-click the dot. A slightly smaller dot should appear. To see how many pixels comprise the dot, right-dick the brush icon again. You can change it to 1 if you like. Right-dick the screen to get back to the Home panel. To the right of the brush icon in the Mode section is a box that shows the color you currently are using. (This box was mentioned earlier.) You can right-dick this box to get to the Palette panel. This box is called the Current Color box. Below the brush icon and the Current Color box are our buttons. These buttons represent modes that you can use while creating a movie or screen image. These modes are discussed in much more detail later in the book. The ollowing are the mode buttons:

0 F. Filled: Drawing tools that can use this option completely ill a shape with ink when this button is turned on. 0 T. Time: Certain actions take place over a range of rames when

this mode is turned on.

0 M. Mask: This mode enables you to create and use a mask that excludes the masked areas of the screen rom the application of ink. 0 K. Clear Key Color: This mode, when turned on, makes the

background color of a rame clear, i.e., celluloid. If the button is turned of, the background color becomes opaque. The toun is over. Now it's time to find out a little bit more about what each department does.

Meeting the Key Players This book is divided into three major departments: the Art department, the Production department, and the Filmmaking department. These departments represent, in general terms, how you use Animator. As the director of a major ilmmaking studio, you must know who to call on, when to call on them, and what to call on them for. In the tutorial at the end of this chapter, you can go on a tour of these departments. You also should keep in mind that the secret to good ilmmaking is how well the director is able to get everyone to work together as a coordinated unit. The quality of your ilm, thereore, is based on your knowledge of all of the departments.

Chapter 1: The Production Facilities

The Art Department The Art department consists of the Drawing Tools, the Color Palette, and the Ink Types. The Art department's responsibility is to create the images that are used in the movie, place them on the right frame, and to make sure that the artwork is suitable for the desired efect. The Art department has 22 drawing tools, 256 colors (at any one time), and 26 ink types, all of which can be combined in a variety of ways, and many of which have adjustable size, intensity, and types of application technique. The variety of options available to the Art department creates a vast range of possibilities in ere· ative products. For the most part, the Art department is ound within the Home panel. The Art department also must work closely with Filmmaking to do animation, especially when it comes to creating eels, but most of the work done by the Art department is with drawing tools, the color palette, and ink types. You also can get to the Art department options via the Animator menu bar selec· tion. Place the cursor on Animator in the menu bar and you see Frames, Palette, Drawing Tools, and Ink Types. Remember, you can tour the Art department in the Chapter 1 tutorial.

The Production Department The Production department is responsible or manipulating the rames that the Art department creates and provides the special efects that the Art department oten needs. The Production department spends a great deal of time working with the Frames panel, which, as you already know, is acces­ sible rom the Home panel or the Animator menu. The Production depart· ment also works extensively with the Optics option on the Animator menu. Put the cursor on Animator in the menu bar and then left-click Optics in the Animator menu.

Figure

1.12 shows the Optics screen that you should

see now. The Optics screen is the Special Efects group and represents a type of

option

was briely mentioned earlier in this chapter. Instead of a diferent

panel, or a pull-down menu, you have a whole screen of options to work with. Put the cursor over each of the menu bar options (Presets, Movement, and Element) and take a brief look at each. Also, take a moment to look at the Optics panel. You will learn much more about this panel, and the amaz· ing things that the Special Efects group can do, in Chapter 6. Right-click the drawing screen to return to the Home panel.

23

24

Using Animator

Fig. 1.12.

he Opics screen.

The Production department also is responsible for the text or titling of your movies. Whether you want lying logos, explanatory text in graphics, or credits or the making of the movie, the Production department has the capa­ bility to display text in a number of onts and in a variety of ways. Titling is done by using the Text option rom the Drawing Tools slots, and then using the Titling option from the Animator menu to create special efects. Select Titling rom the Animator menu. Notice that the Titling panel contains the option New Text, which serves the same purpose as the Text slot in the Drawing Tools section of the Home panel. You also can see that a number of text manipulation options are available to the Production department. You will learn about Titling in Chapter 7. Again, right-click the drawing screen to return to the Home panel.

The Filmmaking Department The last part of this book, "At the Movies," is about the Filmmaking depart­ ment. This department is the one that pulls everything together. The Film­ making

department ofers

a

broad

base of

services,

including editing,

management of the film library, and control of animation. The Filmmaking department is where the director spends most of his or her time. Many spe­ cial image manipulation techniques are available, as are film-merging capa­ bilities, such as creating dissolves, ades, wipes, and a host of others that you will learn about. From the director's chair, you can request special conigura­ tions of Animator, set the overall tone of the movie, and determine the out­ put format of the ilm.

Chapter 1: The Production Facilities

The Filmmaking department is ound in the Flic, Pie, Cel, Trace, Swap, and Extra pull-down menus. Many times the Filmmaking department works in unison with the Art and Production departments to create the desired efect. Certain features of the Filmmaking department, such as masking, applying ink in special ways, and animation creation, may seem to rely more on the Art department than on the Filmmaking department. The distinction is that the Art department is responsible for single-rame creations, and multiple-rame work is managed by the Production department, under the direction of the Filmmaking department. A team that works well together tends to blend its skills into one single iclen· tity. The distinction between the departments you are working with will be important only until you have mastered your directing responsibilities. If you are ready to jump in, use the Chapter 1 tutorial to cruise around the lot. Certain portions of the tutorials in this book are step-by-step procedures. This approach is used when your options are limited or when you shouldn't be making changes on the options just yet. A step-by-step tutorial oten has an illustration accompanying each part of the discussion so that you can ver­ iy that you are in the right place at the appointed time. In addition, com­ ments directing you to study speciic parts of the Animator program are acidel. Other parts of the tutorials are general discussions of certain aspects of Ani­ mator. These general discussions occur when it is appropriate for you to browse around and experiment a little bit. The Chapter 1 tutorial begins with a browsing tutorial and proceeds with a step-by-step tutorial. To start your tour, you must have Animator up and running. Turn on your computer and start the program, if you don't have it on-screen already. Place the cursor on the Flic menu bar and select Reset rom the Flic pull-clown menu. You then see a dialog box asking whether you want to return to the deault settings. Select Yes. This choice resets everything to the deault set­ tings. You are asked to complete a reset many times in this book so that

everything starts from a uniform basis. Start the tour with the most fun part: looking at a movie. Place the cursor on the Animator menu bar and select Browse. Your screen should fill up with the sample lies that were supplied with Animator. Each frane on the screen represents the irst rame of the movie whose file name is displayed directly below the rame. Figure 1.13 shows the Browse Flies screen. On the let side of the Browse Flic screen is a vertical slider bar. To display more flies, you can select the up-arrow at the top of the slider bar. The dis­ played flies move up one line or each click Rapidly left-click twice a rame that looks interesting to you. This action loads a lic. After the tlic has loaded,

25

26

Fig.

Using Animator

1.13.

he Browse Flies screen.

you are returned to the Home panel. To play the flic, select the double right arrows rom the Control section of the Home panel. If you want to stop the lic, right-click. Browse as many movies as you want. The tour can wait. You also can place the cursor in the slider bar and click to move the ile block icon in the slider bar. The ile block icon is the black box within the slider bar. The movies that are displayed change as a group or by one line of movie choices at a time, depending on how far down the slider bar you place the cursor and click. Ty selecting the bottom of the slider bar when the file block icon is at the top of the slider bar. This action should change your file selection options to the very end of the selection of lies that cur­ rently are available or viewing. Finally, you can drag the ile block icon in the slider bar by holding down

the

left

button

and

dragging the ile block around and then releasing the

mouse button. Practice manipulating the slider bar in a number of diferent ways until you feel comortable with its use. .Notice that you also can select a movie rom a frame on the Browse Flies screen by using a let-click, which makes the first frame appear in the win­ dow at the bottom of the Browse Flies screen. Select View rom the slots at the bottom let of the screen. The movie plays through once, and then the Browse-Flies screen returns. Select Info to review information about the lic, then select Load to load the lic into memory (which is the same as double­ clicking the frame on-screen). The rest of the Browse Flies panel is covered in a later chapter. The important thing aqout this part of the tutorial is that

Chapter 1: The Production Facilities

27

you get to see a movie in action and you learn how to use a vertical slid­ er bar. If you are still on the Browse Flic screen, select the Cancel button to return to the Main screen. Place the cursor on the Flic menu bar and select Reset. Select Yes rom the resulting dialog box to return to the deault settings.

Chapter 1 Tutorial This chapter's tutorial actually is divided into three short tutorials. First you will visit the Art department, then you will tour the Production department. The final stop is at the ilmmaking department.

Visiting the Art Department Next, you will take a look at ll the Art department's acilities. Don't worry about ully comprehending what these facilities can do right now, and don't iddle with anything just yet. You may end up with ink all over you! The purpose of this tour is to amiliarize you with your surroundings. To start this part of the tour, ollow these steps: 1. Place the cursor on the Animator menu bar and select Palette. The Palette screen appears (see ig.

1.14).

1.14. he Palete screen. Fig.

28

Using Animator

Notice the new menu bar at the top, which contains the menus Palette, Cluster, Arrange, and Value. Place the cursor over each of these words, one at a time, to view what each pull-down menu contains. These menus enable you to adjust and arrange the colors that you draw with. Take a look at the Palette panel at the bottom of the screen. Notice that the B button is highlighted in white. This highlighting indicates that the colors in the cluster bar adjacent to the B button will be displayed in the Home panel.

2. Place the cursor on the frame number icon in the top of the panel and right-click. What are you doing over in the Production department? You're getting ahead of the tour, but you're here anyway, so look at figure 1.15 to see what you can expect when you visit here later. You

often will use this shortcut to the Production department ater you become more proicient with Animator.

Fig. 1.15.

he Frames panel.

3. Right-click the drawing screen once to return to the Palette screen. 4. Place the cursor on the Palette panel title slot (Palette). Let-click

and move the panel to a new location; let-click one more time when you have the panel where you want it. Right-click the title slot again to send the panel to its home position. You can move all panels this way. 5. Take a moment to notice the variety of slots and buttons on the

Palette panel, and the horizontal sliders in the middle of the panel. Also note that some of the slots and buttons are highlighted (turned on) and others are not.

6. Place the cursor on the left arrow on the first horizontal slider bar (next to the button labeled HLS). Select the let arrow and notice that the number displayed in the slider bar is reduced by one. Click several times and notice that the color in the Current Color box in the upper right corner of th,panel changes with each click. You also can move the number back up to a higher number by let-

Chapter

1:

The Production Facilities

29

clicking the right arrow, and you can drag the number icon in the slider bar, or point and move the number icon, just as you did iri the vertical slider bar on the Browse Flies screen. Ty it if you want. 7.

Right-dick the drawing screen to return to the Home panel.

8. Place the cursor on the Animator menu bar and select Draw Tools.

The Drawing Tools panel appears (see ig.

1.16).

Fig. 1.16.

he Drawing Tools panel.

Notice the vertical slider bar on the left of the panel and the six slots that contain the same drawing tools that are displayed on the Home panel. The help box in the upper right corner of the panel is displaying a description of the drawing tool that is currently highlighted. 9. Select Box rom the upper right drawing tool slot. Notice that the

description has changed and that Box is now highlighted. 10.

Right-dick the drawing screen to return to the Home panel.

11. Place the cursor on the Animator menu and select Ink Types. The

11k Types panel

appears (see ig. 1.17).

Notice that this panel is very similar to the Drawing Tools panel, and that it works in the same ashion.

12.

Select each of the ik types rom the six slots and read the description that is displayed.

Fig. 1.17.

he Ink Types panel.

30

Using Animator

13. Select the ink type Dark rom the ink type selection window of the vertical slider bar on the left of the panel. Notice that the highlighted slot in the upper let corner of the panel (one of the six slots that you used for step

12) is now displaying

Dark and the help box contains an explanation of the Dark ink type.

14. Right-click--the drawing-screen to return to the Home panel. 15. Reset the flic to the default settings. (If you orgot how to reset the lic, go back and reread the start of this tutorial.) Now that your tour of the Art department is inished, go over to the Produc­ tion department or the next tour.

Visiting the Production Department Many of the Production department's capabilities are mathematically ori­ ented and look complex. After you have used the techniques a few times, however, you become accustomed to them and can handle special efects with professional results. Try some of the Production department's acilities by following these instructions: 1. Place the cursor on the Animator menu bar and select Frames. The Frames panel appears. This panel is accessible rom any bther panel that displays the rame icon, which is on the Home panel, the Palette panel, the Time Select panel, and the Files panel. Look familiar? The Frames panel is the same one you took a shortcut to rom the Palette panel in the Art department tour. This panel is important in Animator, which is why it's accessible rom so many diferent places. 2. Put the cursor on the slot to the let of the Insert slot, which is the

Total Frames slot. Right-click. Figure 1.18 shows the message box that appears.

Fig. 1.18.

Setting the total number of frames in alic. 3. Type JO or change the slider bar to read Total Frames slot should now say

10.

10, and select OK. The

Chapter

1: The Production Facilities

31

4. Right-click the slider bar in the top of the Frames panel to activate the Jump to Frame dialog box .. Place the cursor on the number icon in the slider bar that appears and drag the number icon to

1. Select

OK rom the message box. Note: ter you press the let-click button, you can move the cursor

of the icon to make it easier to read the number that appears in the icon. The message box shown in igure

1.19 shows what you should

have ound.

QW MaNY FRA14S: OC• YOU ll!T IN 'HIS F,,I::?

1

�201

i

i

I

1.19. he Current Frame message box.

Fig.

I

l

CANCE :

5. Right-click the drawing screen to return to the Home panel. 6. Use the let arrow in the Home panel to move th� f:ame number back 1. Use the right arrow to advance one frame.' Use the down arrow to set the frame number to 10. Use the up arrow to reset the rame number to 1. ·

7. Right-click the Frame icon to return to the Frames panel. 8. Right-click the Time Select slot. You should see the Time Select

panel (see ig.

L20).

1.20. he Time Select panel. Fig.

Notice all the options: Ping Pong, Out Slow, Reverse, and so on. These options are explained in Chapter

5.

9. Select Cancel rom the Time Select panel, and right-click the drawing screen to return to the Home panel.

32

Using Animator

10. Place the cursor on the Animator menu bar and select Optics. The ' Optics screen appears (see fig. 1.21). Look over the Optics panel at

the bottom of the screen.

Fig.

1.21.

he Optics panel.

11.

Place the cursor over each of the menu bar entries: Presets, Movement, and Element. Take the time to look over the contents of

each of the pull-down menus. 12.

ih t

13.

Activate the Animator pull-down menu and select Titling. The Titling

-

c

l ic k

the drawing screen to return to the Home screen.

panel appears (see ig.

Fig.

1.22).

1.22.

he Titling panel.

You use this panel to create all the text-handling special efects. You can use either the Text option in the Drawing Tools section, or you can use the New Text option rom the Titling panel to create text. The text is stored in memory until you are inished with it.

14.

Let-click the Load Font option. You see a slider bar and a font

selection

window

that indicates some of the text styles that are 1.23).

available for your use (see ig.

Fig.

1.23.

he Load Font panel.

Chapter

15.

1:

The Production Facilities

33

Right-click the drawing screen twice to return to the Home screen.

You have finished the Production department tour. Now go on to the Film­ making tour.

Visiting the Filmmaking Department At irst, you may think that Filmmaking has many more options than either the Art or Production departments. Strictly speaking, you are correct, but in terms of use,· the Filmmaking options are selected to accomplish major tasks in creating the movie, and often you need to select an option only once to accomplish its purpose. In other words, the Filmmaking options have ar­ reaching efects, but are not constantly used and adjusted. The competent use of this department has a dynamic efect on the overall quality of the movie. Try the ollowing steps:

1.

Activate the Flic menu from the menu bar and view the options for a moment (see fig.

1.24).

The Flic menu shows the main techniques

·or merging lies. Merging lies is one of the inal editing unctions that the Filmmaking department often perorms in putting together a movie. Select Files.

Pig. 1.24. he Elie menu.

Figure

1.25

shows the main library function of the lic files. You

should see, in the ile selection window, some of the flies that you reviewed with the Browse Flies option. In act, many of the functions

34

Using Animator

that were on the Browse Flies screen also are on this panel. Notice that a great number of slots contain many diferent ile type options. Notice also that Flic is highlighted. You can change the type of ile by left-clicking a diferent slot. Animator �ill list the appropriate ile type in the ile selection window. Select Cancel or right-click the screen.

Fig.

1.2;.

he Files panel.

2.

Activate the Pie menu rom the menu bar and view the options (see

ig. 1.26).

Fig.

1.26.

he Pie menu.

Figure 1.26 shows the Pie menu and some of the commands that are available or working with single screens and single images. If you select Files rom the bottom of the menu, you arrive at the Files panel, just as you did in the previous step. Select Cancel or right­ click the screen.

3.

By activating the Cel menu, you can see the Filmmaking department's eel editing capabilities (see fig.

1.27).

Chapter 1: The Production Facilities

35

Fig. 1.27. he Cel menu.

4. Place the cursor over the Trace menu in the menu bar. Review the menu briely, and note that this menu has some options with terms that may not make sense to you. These options are techniques for animation, and you will learn about them in Chapter 9 (see ig. 1.28).

Fig. 1.28. he Trace menu.

36

Using Animator

5.

Activate the Swap menu

( see

fig.

1.29).

Fig. 1.29. be

Swap

menu.

The Swap menu is used to store an image in memory while you work on another image. You can switch the images back and orth. In this way the Swap menu serves as a temporary drawing file cabinet. You will learn more about the Swap menu in Chapter

6.

Finally, activate the Extra menu

( see

ig.

1.30).

9.

This menu is the

catch-all menu, but it has some important features that are discussed in Chapters 10 and 1 1. Your tour of the studio

lot

is

now

inished.

If

you want to continue reading

and haven't quit Animator, remember to reset the lic to the default values.

Chapter 1: The Production Facilities

37

Fig. 1.JO. he Extra menu.

Chapter Summary Chapter 1 took you on a guided tour of the Animator studio lot and intro­ duced you to some new deinitions, explained what Animator can do, and helped you set up Animator. You also learned how to use your mouse or digitizer to activate Animator's menus, panels, message boxes, slider bars, buttons, slots, and icons to implement a host of Animator commands. Finally, yo u as the director, were introduced to all the departments at your disposal ,

and toured the Art department, Production department, and the Filmmaking department via the Chapter 1 tutorial. With your introduction to Animator complete, it's time to move on to the Art department and start drawing! And don't worry, even if you don't think

you're an artist, Animator can help you become a better one than you might think.

38

Using Animator

Part I

The Art Department Includes

Using the Artist's Tools Understanding the Color Palette

Applying the Color

�T ow that you have completed your tour of the studio lot, �I it's time to visit the department that starts the ball rolling in the creation

of a movie. The Art department has three main

capabilities: You can select a drawing tool, as a dratsperson does when starting a project; you can mix colors to get the desired palette or your artwork; and you can select the way you want to apply the color by picking an ink type. During your visit to the Art department, you will learn the spe­ cics of using the available drawing tools, and you will learn a little bit about color theory and how to mix colors or use in Animator. You also will learn how you can change the charac­

teristics of the color application by selecting various ink types when creating the image.

40

Part I: The Art Department

Using the Artist's Tools F-

�

his chapter describes the use of each of the drawing tools that the Art department has at its disposal, and shows you how to access those tools

rom the Animator menus and panels. You get a chance to practice using the Animator drawing acilities, and learn how to create some very simple anima­ tion using a concept called tweening (deined below). At the end of the chapter is a tutorial you can work through that teaches you how to draw all sorts of things, and helps you think up some experiments that you

might like to try with Animator's drawing tools. Speciically, you

will learn about the ollowing features of Animator: 0 The tool selection window 0 Tool slots 0 The help box

J The Filled option 0 The Two Color option 0 The drawing tools

41

42

Part I: The Art Department

New Terms in This Chapter Here are the deinitions you need to know to understand this chapter and the following chapters:

Polygon. A polygon is a shape with at least three sides. It can be a regular polygon (Rpoly) such as a square, or it can be an irregular polygon (a igure with three or more sides of unequal length).

Spline Cuve. A spline curve is constructed by passing a curve through a number of points (called

vertices). Certain mathematical

ormulas are applied to the curves to determine the amount of curvature created when the line passes through the vertices. For example, if you pull a piece of string tightly around some nails stuck in a board at random points, the string looks as if you drew a series of straight lines through the nail heads. On the other hand, if you use a thick rope and pass it around the nails, the rope curves around the nails. If you don't pull the rope too tight, the curves are very large. As you pull harder on the rope, the curves become smaller. The amount of pull on the rope and the resistance to the efect that the pull will have (the rope thickness) are determined by the mathematical properties applied to the spline curve.

Satus Line. The status line appears in place of the menu bar and provides you with coordinates, distances, angles, and other useful inormation about the position of the cursor. If you want to see an example of the status line, select Box rom the Drawing Tools section of the Home panel, then select a point on the drawing screen. Note that the menu bar has been replaced by a status line that changes as you move the cursor. Right-click to cancel the Box command.

Tweening. Derived rom the word between, this process calculates all the steps of transormation between two deined shapes. Also known as polymorphic tweening, Animator's tweening process can

be used to perorm a metamorphosis rom one polygon shape to another.

The Drawing Tools Section As you learned in Chapter 1, the far let portion of the Home panel is known as the Drawing Tools section. This section contains six currently available drawing tools, the Undo slot, and a Zoom slot, plus the panel title slot, which contains the word Home. Figure 2.1 shows the Home panel.

Chapter

2: Using the Artist's Tools

43

Fig. 2.1.

he Home panel. You can access all the drawing tools by right-clicking one of the six tool slots or by selecting Drawing Tools from the Animator pull-down menu. The active drawing tool is highlighted, and you can pick any one of the six tools by using the mouse to select the one you want. The drawing tools, or the most part, work in conjunction with the current ink and the current drawing color that is displayed in the upper right corner of the Home panel. Further­ more, the size of the drawing tool application oten is afected by the size of the brush (indicated by the brush icon, next to the current color box). Now take a look at the Drawing Tools panel and get a closer

look at using

the drawing tools. Right-click one of the drawig- tool slots. You are pre­ sented with the Drawing Tools panel (see ig.

2.2).

Fig. 2.2.

he Drawing Tools panel.

The Drawing Tools panel contains a variety of elements that perform difer­ ent functions relating to the use and selection of the drawing tools. In the next section, you will look at each part of the panel and review what each drawing tool does. You will get to practice the use of each of these func·

tions, along with each of the drawing tools, in the tutorial at the end of this

chapter.

Tool Selection Window The far left portion of the Drawing Tools panel contains a vertical slider bar and a tool selection window. The

22 drawing tools are listed in alphabetical

order in this window, but you can see only 10 of them at a time. To move down the list one tool at a time, select the down arrow at the bottom of the slider bar. To move up the list one at a time, select the up arrow at the top

44

Part I: The Art Department

of the slider bar. To move through the entire list, move the ile selection icon in the slider bar to the bottom of the slider bar, either by dragging it there or by selecting the bottom area of the slider bar. Veriy that you have reached the bottom of the list by selecting the down arrow and making sure that the list does not change. You can change the drawing tool displayed in the highlighted tool slot (to the right of the tool selection window) by placing the cursor on the name of one of the tools that appear in the window and then selecting the tool. Try selecting a new tool then moving to a diferent place in the list of tools by using the slider bar and selecting another tool. The order of the tool listing in the window never changes, and the tools displayed in the tool slots do not disappear rom the window.

Tool Slots You can select the tool you want to change by highlighting the slot contain­ ing a tool that you don't currently need, and then picking the desired tool rom the tool selection window. Highlighting certain tools places options in the lo,wer right corner of the Drawing Tools panel, which is called the Tools Options box. Select Spray as the current tool. Notice that slider bars for the Air Speed and the Spray Width appear. You oten must make adjustments to options to achieve the desired efect.

Help Box To the right of the tool slots in the Drawing Tools panel is a brief explana­ tion of each of the drawing tools. This description helps you remember what each tool can do. These descriptions probably will not be necessary ter you gain familiarity with Animator. Select

a

few diferent tools and read the

descriptions or them.

·

Filled Option The Filled option, directly beneath the tool slots, is a toggle that causes Ani­ mator to ill any shape with a continuous color, using the current color. This option works or all tools and all fillable shapes

(circles, polygons, and so on)

while it is turned on. Turning on this option is the same as selecting the F button on the Home panel.

f

C

2, Using the Artist's Tools

Two Color Option When you select the Two Color option and have the Filled option on, all shapes are outlined with the color in the ar right box of the Mini-palette. The outline is drawn in a line width the size of the brush setting. The shapes are then filled with the current color. If Filled is not turned on, the Two C_olor option has no efect on the shape. The Filled option is helpful when you want to separate a shape rom the color that it is placed on. You also can leave the outline of the shape in place and replace the solid illed portion of the shape with something else later. You will get the opportunity to use this technique in a later chapter. The explanations of each of the drawing tools contained in the next section tell you which tools can use the Filled and Two Color Options. Next, you will learn about the tools themselves.

Drawing Tools As you know, Animator has 22 predeined drawing tools that help you create the images that you need to make your movies. Some of these tools are very straightorward and have limited variety in their use other than in the Ink used or the width of the brush. Some of them, on the other hand, have the capability of being adjusted and can be used in combination with ink types that also are adjustable. Tools with flexible applications can create a nearly

ininite variety of efects for your use and creativity. In this section, you will

learn about the capabilities of each of the drawing tools and have an oppor­ tunity to try them out. The time to start playing with Animator is drawing near. Box Tool. The Box tool is any rectangle, square or otherwise. You

draw the rectangle using the current brush size and the current color (all shapes are drawn under those conditions), and you begin to

create it by irst selecting one point on the screen. This point sets the first corner of the box, and a dashed-line box appears, attached to the cursor. You can use this box as a guide to see what your box will look like. To set the other corner of the box, simply left-click again. To cancel the command, right-click anywhere o� the screen before the ink is applied. When you are drawing a box, the status line displays something like

27 38 (60 40) 87 78

45

46

Part I: The Art Department

The irst two numbers are the x- and y-coordinates of the corner that. you already have established. The second two numbers (in the parentheses) are the current x- and y-lengths of the rectangle's sides, and the last two numbers are the x- and y-coordinates of the current cursor position. The status line helps you set the size and placement of the box. (If you ever need to move the box, you can; more about that in a moment.) Because the Box is a shape, you can use Filled and Two Color options with it. Figure 2.3 illustrates the creation of a box.

Fig. 2.J.

Selecting the second coner of the Box tool.

Circle Tool. The Circle tool applies the current ink color in the shape of a circle, using the current brush width. You can create a circle by let-cli cking or the center, dragging the radius of the circle to the desired size, then let-clicking to set the circle size. To cancel the command, right-click before m king the size selection. The Circle shape can be used with the Filled and Two Color options. Figure 2.4 shows how to create a circle. Draw Tool. The Draw tool is used to apply the current ink in the

current brush width in reehand fashion. You use the Draw tool by holding down the let button and moving the mouse to create the shape you want. Releasing the button stops the application of the ink. Ink can be applied one pixel at a time,

or

in a

ntinuous stream of

co

Chapter

2: Using the Artist's Tools

47

Fig. 2.4. Draging the size of a circle.

pixels in any direction that the mouse is moved, and in any brush width. Driz Tool. The Driz (Drizzle) tool applies the current ink in a varying brush width, based on the speed of the mouse movement. The current brush width must be greater than

1 pixel or the Drizzle

efect to be noticed. To use the Drizzle tool, hold down the left button and move the cursor at varying speeds, just like you use the Draw tool. The slower the speed of movement, the closer the application is to the current brush width. The aster the movement, the iner the width of the line. Figure

2.5 shows the Drizzle efect.

Edge Tool. To outline every instance of a selected color with the current ink, use the Edge tool. The Edge tool outlines continuous groups of pixels of the selected color with the current ink. Single­ pixel-width groups of the selected color will be replaced with the current color. To use the Edge tool, select the color rom the screen that you want to outline. To outline all the objects on the screen, select the background color of the screen. The width of the outline is always a single pixel. Figure

2.6 displays the efect of the Edge tool.

Notice that this efect is similar to using the Two Color option, except that random shapes are outlined, too. Also, the outline is only one pixel wide when you use the Edge tool.

48

Fig.

Part I: The Art Department

2.;.

Using the Dzle tool.

Fig.

2.6.

Using the Edge tool.

Fill Tool.

Fill is used to change the color of all the adjacent pixels of

the selected color to the current color. For pixels to be adjacent, one or more sides of the pixel must be touching the side of a pixel of the same color. Pixels whose corners touch are not adjacent. The efect is to change the overall hue of an area without deleting scattered pixels

Chapter 2: Using the Artist's Tools

49

of the selected color. The color to be filled with the current ink can be selected by let-clicking the color _on the screen or in one of the Mini-palette or cluster box colors. Figure 2.7 diagrams pixels that are adjacent or nonadjacent.

Fig. 2.7.

Diagram showing ajacent and nonadjacent pxes.

Fllto. To fill areas bounded by a border color, use the Fillto drawing tool. Ater selecting a color on the screen, the Fillto tool ills the area in a closed boundary with the current ink, or it ills the entire screen between the selected border color if the boundary is not closed. This efect works the same as using the Filled and Two Color options together, except that the filled shape can be irregular. Figure 2.8 shows some examples of- the_f.illto drawing tool efect.

Gel. Use Gel to create a gradient line of color with increasing transparencies in con=entric circles. Gel has a sotened efect and works best with brush sizes of 2 to 5 pixels. Gel looks just as it sounds, as if you were writing or drawing with gel toothpaste. To apply Gel, hold down the left button for continuous application, or place dots of Gel with single selections. The type of ink that you use greatly varies the appearance of Gel, including the use of gradient inks, Soften, Scrape, and Glass. In addition, the color cluster can have an interesting influence on the efect, with Dither on or o. Figure

2.9 illustrates the basic efect of Gel.

50

Part I: The Art Department

Fig. 2.8. Using the Filto drawing tool.

Fig. 2.9. Using the Gel tool.

Lne. You can draw straisht lines in Animator, too. The Line tool applies the current ink in the current brush width in a straight line, starting where you irst let-click and ending at your next let-click. While you are drawing a line, the status screen reports statistics about the line that you are actively dragging around the screen (in

Chapter

2:

Using the Artist's Tools

51

between your irst and second click). You can right-click in between the first and second point selections if you want to cancel the command. The status line looks similar to the ollowing:

(20 20) WID 28 HGT 37 (48 57) DEG 127 RAD 46 The status line above shows the starting x-y coordinate

(20 20),

the

width and height of a rectangle created by the current cursor position

(WID 28

( 48 57).

The status line also shows the degrees of the current cursor

HGT

37),

and the current cursor x-y coordinates

location rom the starting location, and the length of the line rom the starting point to the current cursor location. Refer to figure or an example of using the Line drawing tool and igure

2.11

2.10

to

understand how Animator reports the degree location of the cursor.

Fig. 2.10.

The Line tool, showing the use of the status line.

Note that the starting position can have x· or y-coordinate values less than those of the current cursor position, but the width and height of the rectangle are still expressed as a positive amount. Move. This drawing tool is one of the tools that actually doesn't draw anything. You can use Move to relocate the pixels within a rectangular area to another location on-screen. To select the rectangular area that you want to move, let-clitk the screen once to select the starting corner of the rectangle, and let-click again to set the other corner of the rectangle. Let-click

anwhere on the screen

52

Part I: The Art Department

Pig. 2.11.

The way Animator determines the degrees for the status line.

to pick up the box of pixels, and left-click again to pste the pixels that you were moving to the new location. Note that the area rom which you move the image will be replaced with the screen, or key, color. You may leave an opaque or a clear area, depending on the setting of the K button (Key color). You will learn more about the K button in Chapter 3. Figure 2.12 shows the use of the Move tool.

Pig. 2.12.

Using the Move tool.

Chapter 2: Using the rtist's Tools

53

Oval. Use Oval to apply the current ink in the current brush width in the shape of an oval. To draw an oval, you must first create the minor axis (the narrow direction of the oval width). Left-click to set the starting point, and left -click again to set the length of the minor axis. Next, you drag the length of the major axis out rom the center of the oval (the center of the minor axis), and then drag clockwise or counterclockwise to set the curvature of the ellipse. Left-click to set the oval. You can use the Filled and Two Color Options with Oval because an oval is a shape. Figures 2.13 through 2.15 illustrate the creation of an oval.

Fig. 2.13.

he first oval selection for the minor xs.

Pel. The Petal drawing tool creates a lower-shaped object with petals placed symmetrically around a center. Left-click to set the

center of the petals, drag the radius of the circle that the petals will ill out rom the center and then drag the rotation of the petals around the center, let-clicking to set the petal shape. You can right­ click during the procedure to cancel the command. You can use the Filled and Two Color options with tht'\Petal tool, and you can set the Inner Radius Ratio and the Number of points (petals) with two slider bars that appear in the Drawing Tools panel (see fig. 2.16).

54

Part I: The Art Department

Fig. 2.14.

he second oval selection for the major axis.

Fig. 2.1;.

Draging the oval curvature for the final selection.

The Inner Radius Ratio sets the size of the inner radius as a percentage of the outer radius, rom O (the petals meet in the center) to 100 (a circle of dots). The Number of available points, or petals, is rom 2 to 32. Figures 2.1 7 and 2.18 show the procedure for creating a basic petal.

Chapter 2: Using the Artist's Tools

55

Fig. Z.16.

The Petal drawing toos panel.

Poly. The Poly drawing tool applies the current ink in the current brush width in straight lines between the selected points to create an irregular polygon. Poly can use the Filled an d wo Color options. In

addition, you can create an automatically closed polygon by turning on the Closed option in the Drawing Tools panel beore you use the polygon tool. If the Closed option is not turned on, you must manually close the polygon. To create a polygon, let-click to select the irst point, and continue to click until you have deined all of the points you want t6 use in creating the polygon. ight-click to set the polygon in the current ink.

Fig. Z.17.

Draging the peal size for the first pick.

56

Part I: The Art Department

Fig. 2.18. Draging the petal rotation for the second pick.

Reuse. You also can turn on the Reuse option, which redraws the

last-drawn shape as a pattern of points. You can then apply the shape by right-clicking, or you can edit the location of any of the points by let-clicking near them and dragging the point to a new location. When you incorporate Reuse, the points rom the last-used shape will be used, but the type of shape that you are currently working with will be created. To understand how Reuse works, you need to learn about splines, tweenable shapes, and tweening. The Tween option is described next, and the Spline tool will be discussed shortly. Figures 2. 1 9 and 2.20 show the creation of a polygon by using the Poly

drawing tool.

Fig. 2.19. be Poly drawing tool panel.

Chapter 2: Using the Artist's Tools

57

Psg. 2.20.

Creaing a poygon.

Tween. The Tween option enables you to select various options (from the Tweening Options menu) that will create what is called a polymorphic tween rom one tweenable shape to another. First you need to know about tweenable shapes. Tweenable shapes are shapes that are a series of uertices through which pass a set of lines or curves. The tweenable shapes are Oval, Petal, Poly, Rpoly, Shape, Spiral, Spline, and Star. Circle and Box are not tweenable. Shapes are tweenable because Animator can use the vertices to calculate the polymorphic changes in the shape rom rame to rame, even if the number of points is reduced. However, Animator cannot do tweening and create more points as the shape changes.

Return or a moment to the Reuse option. You can create any of these shapes from a diferent tweenable shape with the same number of vertices by using the irst shape as the original shape and selecting Reuse while another tweenable shape is the active drawing tool. For example, you can use eight points to create an octagon, select Reuse, change the location of the points, and end up with a our·pointed star or a four-pointed petal. This example is an elementary form of polymorphic tweening (called tweening from this point on). Some more advanced forms of tweening are described in the ollowing paragraph. The Tweening Options menu is shown in igure 2.21.

1

58

Part I: The Art Department

Fig. 2.Zl. he Tweening Options menu.

The basics steps of tweening ollow. Note: This list is not a step-by­ step outline. 1. Drawing a tweenable shape 2. Selecting the Set Start Position option rom the Tweening Options menu, which sets the shape you drew in step 1 as the start position

3. Drawing another tweenable shape or using the same shape or the next step and then adjusting it

4. Selecting the Set End Position option from the Tweening Options menu, which sets the second shape you drew as the inal position

5. Selecting the Do Tween option from the Tweening Options menu 6. Selecting Render rom the Time Select panel (see ig. which appears after you select Do Tween

Fig. 2.22. I he Time Select panel.

2.22),

Chapter 2: Using the Artist's Tools

You also can edit the starting and ending positions, plus copy the ending shape to the starting shape. The ollowing paragraphs describe the Tweening options in more detail.

Set Start Position.

The most recently created tweenable shape is

used as the starting shape, and an outline of the shape appears on the drawing screen, with a dot or each vertex. To accept the displayed shape as the starting shape, right-dick. You also can edit the location of each point by let-clicking near the point that you want to move, moving the point, and left-clicking to set the new location. If you decide tha: you really don't want to move the point you just picked up, then right-dick to cancel the current move. When you have inished moving all the points you want to move, right-dick to proceed with the shape that you have deined.

Adjust Start.

This option enables you to move the points as

described in the Set Start Position option above. You can use this option to view the starting position without replacing it. ight­ click to proceed in either instance.

Set End Position.

The Set End Position option uses the most

recently created shape as the ending position for the tweening. You use this option in the same way as the Start End option. Ater the ending position has been deined, it remains in memory until you select the Set End Position option again.

Adjust End.

The same option as Adjust Start, except that it afects

the ending position.

End to Start.

Copies the current end shape to the start shape,

making both the start and end shapes identical. This option enables you to continue a tween to another shape.

Do Tween.

When you select Do Tween, the Time Select panel

appears, which enables you to render the tween over a series of frames,

creating a polymorphic

tween. Tweening also can be

combined with the Optics menu from the Special Efects group to create additional efects on the tweening. ter you have used Do Tween, you can edit the starting or ending positions, or both, with Adjust Start and Adjust End so that you can create another tween.

Files.

The Files option displays the Files panel and enables you to

load, save, or delete polygon iles rom disk. Polygon ile names have the extension PLY. Note that this activity does not afect the starting and ending positions that are stored in memory. You can use polygon iles as paths or the Special Efects group, too, or you can use the paths that have been saved as a tweenable shape or

59

60

P art I: The Art Department

Art department purposes. Figure

2.23 shows a Start or Ending

position screen.

Fig. 2.23.

stating or ending position pQfygon. A

Figure

2.24 indicates the method or editing a starting or ending 2.25 shows a simple tween.

position. Figure

Fig. 2.24. Editing a starting position.

Chapter 2: Using the Artist's Tools

61

Fig. 2.25.

An example of a ween.

Rpoly.

This drawing tool creates a regular polygon with the current

ink and brush width. To create the polygon, left-click to set the center of the polygon, drag the radius of the polygon to the desired size, let-click to set the size, and drag the rotation of the polygon. Let-click to set the final image. As with most other drawing tools, you can right-click along the way to cancel the command up until you have created the image. You can use the Filled and Two Color options with Rpoly, and you can set the number of points with a horizontal slider bar on the Drawing Tools panel, as shown in igure 2.26.

REGULAR POL�: 5lt1E L.NGTH. SET PO:NTS

9£..04.

Fig. 2.26.

he Rpoy drawing tool panel.

62

Part I: The Art Department

Sep. The Separate tool applies the current ink in the current color to a color that you can select rom the screen or rom the palettes or cluster. You can select a single color by let-clicking once on the color, or you can hold down the let button and drag the cursor over a number of colors that you want to change to the current color. Some options apply to the Separate tool; these options are discussed next. Figure 2.27 shows the Separate options on the Drawing Tools panel options.

Pig. 2.27. he Separate drawing tool panel.

The Separate options are the ollowing:

Single. When Single is turned on, then all instances of the selected color on the screen will be replaced with the current ink color. Note: If the color palette contains two instances of the same color, then Near must be turned on if you want to ensure that all the color will be replaced. If Near is turned of, only the color on the screen that was applied using the color rom the speciic location in the palette will be replaced.

Cluster. Instead of using a single color, Separate uses the active cluster as a range of colors to change to the current ink color. Click the drawing screen to apply the efect.

Near. Separate uses a range of colors that are j udged to be near the selected color(s) based on the setting of the Near Threshold option.

Near Threshold. This option sets the test or the values near the selected color that Separate will change to the current color. A low value or the Near Threshold option causes Separate to pick colors that are very close in value to the selected color, and a high value enables Separate to use colors that vary in value by quite an extent in selecting what colors to change.

Chapter 2: Using the Artist's Tools

Box. Box enables you to place a box around a portion of the screen that you want Separate to work within, just as you do in using the Box drawing tool. Ater you have placed the box, you can select a color and only the instances of the selected color within the box will be changed.

Shape. The Shape tool enables you to apply ink to create a closed reehand shape. To create the shape, hold down the let button in the same manner as you use the Draw tool. Ater releasing the button, Animator closes the shape for you. The Shape tool can be used with the Filled and Two Color options.

Spiral. To apply ink in the current color and brush width in the shape of a spiral, let-click to set the center of the spiral. Move the cursor out rom the center to drag a line representing the radius of the spiral and let-click again to set its starting location. Move the cursor clockwise or counterclockwise around the center rom the starting location to set the direction and number of turns of the spiral, clicking again when the results of the dragged image on screen are acceptable. You can move the mouse out rom the center again to adjust the radius of the spiral beore you click to apply the ink, if you want to adjust the final radius of the spiral. When you are setting the first radius of the spiral, the status line , displays the same information that is displayed when you are using the Line tool. The status line then indicates the number of degrees of the spiral

s

you move the cursor clockwise or counterclockwise.

Figure 2.28 shows the use of the Spiral tool.

Spline. The Spline tool is used to create spline curves in the current ink and brush width. To set each point for the spline curve, let-click the location on the screen where you want to set each point, dragging the spline curve through the points you have previously set. You can set up to eight options on the Drawing Tools screen (see ig. 2.29). Spline can be used with the Filled and Two Color options when the spline is closed. (See the Closed option described in a ollowing paragraph). Tension. Tension works just like pulling on a rope that connects

the points it passes through. The tension range is from

-

20 to 20.

A tension of 20 creates straight lines between the points. A tension of

-

15 creates curves that orm

of a square.

a

circle through the our corners

63

64

Part I: The Art Department

Fig. 2.28.

Creating a spiral.

Fig. 2.29.

he Spline drawing tool panel.

Continuity. This option adjusts the approaching angle of the lines with respect to the vertices of the spline. A positive value causes bulging curves and a negative value causes concave curves. The higher Tension is set, the more diminished is the efect of Continuity, until Continuity has no efect when Tension is set to 20.

Bias. This option increases the curvature of the spline on one side of the vertex and decreases the curvature on the other side, creating a bias to the curve. Bias responds to the setting of Tension in the same way that Continuity does.

Chapter 2: Using the Artist's Tools

Closed.

65

When Closed is on, the irst and last points of the spline

are connected. Note that the last segment will

be

drawn based on

the setting of Tension, Continuity, and Bias, and the number of vertices that the spline goes through, just as if you drew it yoursel.

Reuse

and

Tween.

These two options work the same as described

under the Poly tool and the Tween tool, respectively. When the Reuse option is selected while Spline is active, the last shape that will be reused has its curvature set based on the values of Bias, Continuity, and Tension. Figure

2.30

shows the efects of

Continuity, Tension, and Bias on a spline.

Fig. 2.JO.

Examples of Tension (T), Continuly (C), and Bias (B).

Spray. The Spray tool works just like a

and applies

spray gun or an aerosol

can,

the current ink color in the current brush width in a

circular pattern. To activate the Spray efect, hold down the left button. Two options on the Drawing Tools panel are available or use with Spray (see ig. ir

Speed.

2.31).

Air speed sets how fast ink is applied when using

Spray. To adjust the air speed, you manipulate the slider bar rom

1

to

100.

The space between the dots in the spray is sensitive

to

the spe ed at which you move the mouse. If you want to move the mouse rapidly, but put down plenty of ink, then you need a fast air speed.

66

Part I: The Art Department

Fig. 2.31. he spray drawing tool panel.

Spray Widh. The Spray Width adjusts the size of the circular area within which Spray applies the ink. The slider bar adjustment or Spray Width is rom 1 to 320 pixels. 320 pixels covers the entire screen. Figure 2.32 shows a Spray application.

Fig. 2.32. An example ofa spray application.

Sar. Using this tool, you can create a star s.hape of up to 32 points. To create the star, left-click to place the center of the star and drag away from the center to set the radius. Finally, drag the cursor clockwise or counterclockwise to rotate the star, and click to set the inal location. You can right-click beore the inal click to cancel the application.

Chapter 2: Using the Artist's Tools

67

You can use the Filled, Two Color, Inner Radius Ratio, and Number of Points options just

s

you do with the Petal tool, except that the

star must have a minimum of 3 points. The options are shown in igure 2.33.

Fig. 2 H. . .

The Star drawing tool panel.

Streak. Streak applies the current ink color in the current brush width in a "dribbled" line. The amount of dribble is afected by the speed at which you move the mouse. To apply the ink, hold down the let mouse button. Figure 2.34 illustrates the efect of Streak.

Fig. 2.34.

Using the Streak drawing tool.

Tet. This tool is quite extensive and is covered in Chapter 7, "Titling with Animator." That concludes your introduction to the drawing tools. Now that you know what they can do, why not try them out in the Chapter 2 tutorial?

68

Part I: The Art Department

Chapter 2 Tutorial Well, it's time to get out the Animator equivalent of crayons and inger paint. Remember that many of the capabilities of Animator can be combined with each other, so this tutorial begins with the simplest of techniques, and you can add to them as you proceed through the book Try to have some patience, and make sure that you explore each aspect of Animator. You will save time by greatly reducing any backtracking you might have to do later. Start Animator, and make sure that you are using the deault settings by com­ pleting a reset, as you learned to do in Chapter 1. Animator remembers where you were when you quit the last session. If you create a movie, Ani­ mator loads the last movie that you were working on, instead of starting out with the default settings. That's why you must do a reset at the beginning of

each tutorial, so that everything starts rom the default p osition. Now you can start using the drawing tools to create some original artwork. You're going to go through the drawing tools in the order of their placement in the selection window on the Drawing Tools panel. To do this, you have to change the tools in groups of six by replacing the active tools in the slots in the Drawing Tools section of the Home panel. To set up the irst six tools, do the following: 1. Right-click one of the drawing tools slots in the Home panel, which

takes you to the Drawing Tools panel. If Draw is not highlighted and in the upper let slot, then you did not reset Animator, and you should go back and do so. Select Box rom the tool selection window. The Draw slot should now say BOX. Next, select Poly from the slot so that it is highlighted. Select Circle so that POLY is replaced by CIRCLE. Select Spray from the drawing tools slots to highlight the slot, and select Draw to place DRAW in the slot. Follow this procedure for the Box and Text slots. replacing them with Driz and Edge. Fill is already in the right location. You should

end up with the irst six drawing tools in the drawing tools slots, rom top to bottom, right to let, in order of their appearance in the tool selection window. Right-click the drawing screen to return to the Home screen. Note that the Home panel now shows the six tools that you selected.

2. Right-click Box from the Drawing Tools section of the Home panel. Make sure that the Filled and Two Color options are not highlighted. Right-click the drawing screen to return to the Home screen.

"\.

Chapter 2: Using the Artist's Tools

3. Select a point on the screen to start a box. Notice that you now can drag a dotted box out from the starting point, which indicates the size box that you will create if you select another point. ight-click the screen to cancel the Box command, and select another point to start your box. Left-click another point to set the box you want. You should end up with a light blue box outlined on the screen in a one­ pixel-wide line.

4. Place your cursor over the brush icon and left-click. The icon should become larger. Draw another box. This time you see a light blue box outlined with a much wider line. 5. Left-click the Brush icon and then right-dick the Box slot. Left-click

both Filled and Two Color to highlight their slots, and then right­ click the screen. Draw another box. Notice tllat you now have a box

illed with blue and outlined with white. You can go back to the Drawing Tools panel and turn Two Color of if you want to create a solid illed box of one color.

6. Select the Clear option rom the Pies pull-down menu on the menu bar. 7. Right-click Circle from the Drawing Tools slots on the Home panel.

Select the Filled and Two Color options to turn them of. Right-click the drawing screen to return to the Home screen. Let-click the screen once to set the center of the circle and let-click again to set the diameter of the circle. If you want to try Filled and Two Color circles, right-click Circle and select the options. Right-click the drawing screen and draw more circles. 8. Clear the screen again by using the Pies pull-down menu and

selecting the Clear option.

9. Select Draw rom the Home panel and then hold down the let

button on the mouse while moving the cursor around on the screen.

Practice using Draw or a while. Draw single dots, lines, and shapes, write words, and so on until you get the feel of the mouse. If you have a digitizing tablet, you may ind that a stylus is more comortable for drawing in Animator. 10. Left-click the Brush icon to make the brush size larger, and then

select Driz rom the Home panel. Hold down the left button to apply the ink and vary the speed of the mouse movement. Practice moving the mouse until you can get an even change in the Driz efect, rom

69

70

Part I: The Art Department

continuous to drizzled. Select Clear from the Pies menu. Write your name on the screen using the Driz tool, making sure that portions of the writing are continuous lines. Left-click the Brush icon again when you are finished.

11. Select Edge rom the drawing cools. Select a color diferent rom the curreik rom the Mini-palette in the middle of the Home panel. Select rom the screen the color you used to write your name in when using the Driz tool. You should now have an outline around the lines in your name. Note: Some instances of the Edge tool change completely the selected color to the new color, and other instances make no change. Th is diference depends on how many pixels wide the line is, and how many adjacent pixels are present in the image.

12. Select Fill from the Home panel. Select the remainder of the original light blue color in your name on the screen. Fill changes all the adjacent pixels of the light blue to the same color that you used with the Edge tool.

13. Clear the screen as you did previously, and switch the current drawing tools with the next six tools, Fillto, Gel, Line, Move, Oval, and Petal, as you did at the start of the tutorial. 14. Skip the Fillto tool or a moment, and select Gel rom the Home panel. 15. Right-dick the Brush icon and change the brush width to 7 with the slider bar. Right-dick the drawing screen. Select the dark blue color from the Mini-palette to change the current color to dark blue.

16. Practice drawing with the Gel tool by holding down the let button and varying the mouse speed. Change brush widths as you experiment with Gel. Ink types other than Opaque provide even more interesting results with Gel, but you will get to that in

Chapter 4. 17. Let-click the Brush icon to set it back to 1 pixel and clear the screen. 18. Select Line rom the Drawing Tools section of the Home panel.

19. Draw a few lines by selecting the starting point and dragging the line to a second location and left-clicking again. Notice the contents of the status line while you are dragging the cursor. When you are inished practicing, clear the screen, and draw a closed shape with the Line tool.

Chapter 2: Using the Artist's Tools

20. Select the Fillto tool. Select light blue rom the Mini-palette. Select part of the dark blue line that is on-screen and then pick the screen area inside of the closed area you drew with the Line tool. If you closed the shape when you used the Line tool, the light blue ink should ill the inside of the shape. If you didn't draw a closed box, the light blue ink should fill all the screen except where the dark blue lines are.

21. Clear the screen. Using the Line tool, put some random lines on­ screen. Select the ·Move tool. Left-click to start a box to use to select the area you are going to move. Drag the box until it encompasses part or all of one of the lines that you drew. If you don't like where the box is, right-dick to cancel the command and start over. Ater you have placed the Move box on the screen, let-click to pick it up

and then drag it to a diferent location on the screen. Left-click to set it down again. Notice that if you put only part of a line in the box, then tha: is all that was moved. The Move tool picks up pixels, not objects. Practice moving other parts of the screen until you can predict exactly which pixels will move. Try to align the moved pixels with some existing ones that are on the screen. To cancel the command, you can right­ click before you paste the box to a new location.

22. Clear the screen. Select Oval from the Home panel. Left-click to set the start of the oval on the screen, let-click again to set the first axis ater dragging the diameter of the axis out rom the start point. Drag the second

:

is to change the shape �nd orientation of the oval and let-click to paste the oval. Try a number of diferent sizes and

orientations.

23. Clear the screen. Right-click the Petal drawing tool. Using the slider bars in the Drawing Tools panel, set the number of points to 8 and the inner radius ratio to 15. Make sure that the Filled and Two Color

options are turned of. 24. Right-click the screen. Select a starting point or the center of the petal and drag the petal out from the center, rotating the petals as you want. Left-click again to paste the petal. Try a few diferent petals, changing the number of points and the inner radius ratio. Clear the screen when you're finished.

25. Select Poly rom the Drawing Tools slots. Select points on the screen, noting that the polygon starts dragging on the screen after you have selected two points. Practice creating diferent polygons,

71

72

Part I: The Art Department

right-clicking Poly and turning the Closed option on or of or diferent polygons. Clear the screen.

26. Right-click Poly and turn on the Closed option. Right-click the screen to return to the Home screen. Draw a polygon with 10 points in the upper-let corner of the screen. Try to use only about 1/10 of the screen. 27. Right-click Poly and select the Tween option. From the Tween options menu, select Set Start Position. Right-click to accept the polygon you just drew, and .then select Adjust Start and left-click near any point you want to move. Stretch the polygon into any shape you want and right-click when you are inished. Note: You could have adjusted the shape beore right-clicking to accept the starting position. Next, you will set the end position and make adjustments beore accepting the inal results, just to practice this procedure.

28. Right-click twice to return to the Home screen and clear the screen. Draw a ive-point polygon in the lower right corner of the screen, again trying to use about 1/10 of the screen.

29. Right-click Poly and select the Tween option. Select Set End Position and make any adjustments to create the final shape of the ive-point polygon. Right-click to accept the position. Right-click the screen twice to return to the Home panel and clear the 'screen.

30. Right-click the Frames icon in the Home panel. You should see the Frames panel (see fig. 2. 35). Right-click the Total Frames box (to the let of the Insert box) and set the total number of rames in the Flic to I 0, using the slider bar. Right-click the screen to return to the Home screen.

31. Right-dick Poly and select the Tween option. Select Do Tween rom the Tween Options menu and the Time Select panel appears. Select Preview rom the Time Select panel and watch your irst animation. If you like what you see, select Render and Animator creates the movie. If you don't like what you see, right-click the screen and use the Tween Options menu to make any necessary adjustments to the start or end positions. Repeat the preview and render procedure. Right-dick until the Home panel returns to the screen

32. Page through your animation by using the arrows in the Frames icon rom the Home panel. When you're inished, select ·Reset rom the Flies pull-down menu.

33. Get up, stretch, and take a break. You have earned it!

Chapter 2: Using the Artist's Tools

73

Fig. 2.35.

he Frames panel.

34. Replace the current tools with the Poly, Rpoly, Sep., Shape, Spiral, and Spline tools.

35. Right-click the Rpoly tool and use the slider bar in the Drawing _Tools panel to select the number of points that you want to create. Right-click the screen, select the center of the polygon on the screen, and then drag the radius and rotation, clicking again to paste the polygon. Put our or five diferent polygons on the drawing screen. Note that you can use Rpoly to create a tweenable shape that can be used with the tweening option in the Poly or the Spline tool options.

36. Right-click the Separate drawing tool and select the Boxed and Single options. Right-click the screen and then select the color white rom the Mini-palette. Select a point on the screen and drag a box out rom that point to encompass all or part of a polygon on the screen. If you don't like the box location, right-click and start over. After you have set the box, select part of the blue polygon inside the box. Note that the parts of the polygon inside the box turn white.

3 7. Right-click Sep and turn Boxed o. Right-click the screen and then select part of the remaining blue polygons to turn all of them white.

If you miss the polygon, the whole screen turns white, except or where the polygons are. This aspect of Separate works just like Fillto. You will get a chance to work with the Cluster and Near options later in the book.

74

Part I: The Art Department

38. Clear the screen and set the current color to red rom the Mini­ palette. Select Shape and hold down the left mouse button on the screen as you do when using the Draw tool. When you release the button, Animator closes the shape for you. You also can try the shape with the Filled and Two Color options. Draw a number of reehand shapes to get some practice.

39. Clear the screen. Select the Spiral drawing tool, and select a point on the screen. Drag a line out rom the center and set a line with a let­ click. Drag the spiral clockwiseeor counterclockwise (once around the center for each revolution that you want the spiral to "wind" around the center) and out rom the center or the radius that you want. Let-click to paste the spiral. Try drawing spirals, setting diferent starting line lengths and orientations. 40. Clear the screen. Select Spline rom the Drawing Tools slots and draw a spline thorough ive or six points by selecting each of them on the screen, dragging a curve as you go. Right-click Spline and adjust the Tension option to

-

15. Right-click the screen and draw

another spline similar to the first one. Notice the efect of the Tension option on the shape of the curves around the vertices of the Spline. 41. Reset the Tension option to 0, and set the Continuity option to

- 15. Draw another spline. Repeat this exercise or the Bias option. Use each of the Tension, Continuity, and Bias options, individually and combined, at diferent settings. Make sure that you understand the efect of these options beore moving on. The spline is tweenable, and the settings of the Tension, Continuity, and Bias options afect the appearance of the tween. Clear the screen. 42. Create a Petal and then, using the Spline tool, change the Tension, Continuity, and Bias settings. Select Reuse rom the Spline panel, and note the efect of the settings on the shape of the Petal. If you aren't completely worn out yet, experiment with the Spline tool, the bias settings, tweenable shapes, and a tween or two. Clear the screen. 43. Change the current drawing tools to include the last three tools that you will use in this tutorial, the Spray, Star, and the Streak tools. Clear the screen.

Chapter 2: Using the Artist's Tools

44. Select the Spray option rom the Home panel. While holding down the left mouse button, spray the screen with your Animator aerosol can. Vary the speed of the mouse movement and hold it over one spot. It works just like spray paint! Clear the screen. Right-click

Spray and adjust the Air Speed and Spray Width options. Right-click the screen and try some more spray can graiti. You also can

experiment with the brush size.

45. Select the Star tool. It works just like the Petal tool. If you want to adjust the number of points or the inside radius ratio, right-click the

Star slot and change the settings accordingly. Try a tween between a

petal and a star. Just make sure that the ending position has an equal or fewer number points than the starting position.

46. Clear the screen. Select the Streak tool rom the Home panel and set the brush size to 4. Write your name using the Streak tool, varying the speed of the mouse to vary the efect of the tool. Ch�nge 'the

brush size to 7 and try again. Right-dick one of the current drawing tools and make the Edge tool a current drawing tool. Use the Edge

tool to change the edge to a diferent color. Change the current ink

color and select the color of the original streak image. Change the

current color again, and select the original color again. You should ' have a multicolored band around your signature. This concludes the Chapter 2 tutorial. Make sure that you experiment with

the drawing tools until you have a clear understanding of the range of possi­ bilities in using them.

Chapter Summary In this chapter, you were introduced to the drawing tools that are part of the

Art department's bag of tricks. You learned how to use the panels, the verti­

c al slider bars, the horizontal slider bars, set the brush size, and you even got to change the deault color!

You covered a great amount of material in this chapter, and it is a good idea to let what you learned sink in

a

little bit by using a tried and true technique:

practice. The better you know your tools, the better your work will be. You may have never thought about it, but color is a very complex and dynamic subject. To use Animator properly you should have a good grasp of the basics. Chapter 3, "Understanding the Color Palette," will bring you up to speed.

75

76

Part I: The Art Department

Understanding the Color Palette �T ow that you know how to draw with Animator, you need to enhance � your artistic talents with a splash of color. Animator depends on color to overcome the limitations of the resolution of the VGA monitor in 256-

color mode, so the more you know about color, the more realistic your images can be. You will learn about the ollowing subjects in this chapter: 0 Some color theory basics 0 The Palette panel 0 The Palette Menu Bar 0 Restore 0 Cycle Draw 0 One Palette 0 Menu Colors 0 Palette Files 0 Clusters: Ramping, Arranging, Sorting, Cutting, and Pasting 0 Values: Ramping, Blending, Tinting, and Squeezing

As usual, a tutorial concludes the chapter. Use the tutorial to learn how to manipulate your color palette.

77

78

Part I: The Art Department

New Terms in This Chapter The ollowing terms are very important in using Animator. Make sure that you understand them. Ditherin g. Dithering is a process in which the pixels on the screen

are "averaged" with the pixels around them to create the illusion of a single diferent color. The pixels are blended together by the human

eye, resulting in a color that is seen as diferent rom the colors of the individual pixels. Dithering is the reason a screen that displays

256 colors can present an image that looks like a real photograph, or example. Gradient. A gradient is a gradual, incremental change rom one value

to the next. When a number of shades are created of one color (hue), the range of those shades is said to be a gradient of the color. Hue. Hue is the speciic color of the pixel that is being displayed. All

hues are a combination of basic colors, depending on which color system you are referring to. Your monitor, which is a light·based

color system, creates its colors rom combinations of red, green, and blue. The primary colors in the painter's arena, however, are red, yellow, and blue and rely on relected light. Luminance. The degree of lightness to a hue is called luminance.

The amount of white light added to the color determines the luminance of the color. Saturation. The saturation of the hue measures the intensity of the

color. The less black added to a color, the more saturated, or pure, the color is said to be. Value. Value is the shade of a color, and depends on how much

black or white is added to the basic hue (i.e., light pink and dark pink are diferent values of the same hue). Animator uses a numerical value to represent a hue, and the Animator manual sometimes refers to the value of a hue. For example, 63,0,0 is the numeric value of red on the red, green, blue color scheme. The combination of hue, luminance, and saturation determines the value and the color.

Chapter

3: Understanding the Color Palette

Understanding Basic Color Theory Beore you start having some un with Animator's colors,. you need a good oundation in understanding how color works. As ar as Animator is con­ cerned, you will be involved with two color sources, a light source and a relected light source. You will b,e portraying objects that monitor that

relect light on a

genrates light.

Relected Liht Suppose that you want to create a picture of an orange. The properties of the orange are such that it absorbs all light excepi'the wavelength that lets you see the object as the color orange. Your monitor, on

th:: other hand,

uses

light to create the color that you are seeing, and sends out a color of the wavelength that you see as orange. This distinction is important because someone who is painting the orange with watercolors or oils is working in a medium that reflects light just like the orange does. The paint relects only orange light and absorbs the rest of the spectrum. Light relected rom an object gains its color in a

subtactive ashion. What is

meant by subtractive? Sunlight contains all the colors of the visible spectrum (and some of the invisible spectrum, too). When an object absorbs sunlight and relects the color that you see, the colors you don't see are subtracted rom the spectrum when they are absorbed by the object. Following the same line of thinking, a white object reflects all light and a

black object absorbs all light. If you want to make sure that what you paint remains the same color as the paint you apply, you must paint over a white surace so that no light is subtracted rom the newly applied paint by the color it is painted over. The primary colors of relected light are red, yellow, and blue. The second­ ary colors (the colors obtained by combining any adjacent

wo of the pri­

mary colors) are orange, green, and purple. If you mix the three primary colors of relected light together, you get black, because all relected light is absent (i.e., everything is subtracted rom the relection). If no primary color is present, you get white, because all the colors are relected.

79

80

Part I: The Art Department

Source Light Light created rom a light source gains its color in an additive ashion. Blend­ ing colors of light (adding them together) creates a diferent color that rep­ resents the addition of the two wavelengths together. This type of color manipulation is what you do with Animator, and it is important to under­ stand the diference from the subtractive (relected) light sources. The total absence of source light is blackness, as you probably guessed. The moment that you turn on a light, you add light to the spectrum, and this light is independent in color rom the blackness that preceded it. For this reason your Animator drawing surace is black. You will be adding source light to the black screen. As in relected light, source light has primary colors. The primary colors or source light are red, green, and blue. The secondary cok>rs that are created rom the mixing of any adjacent two of these primary colors are yellow, magenta, and cyan. (Red plus green is yellow, green plus blue is cyan, and blue plus red is magenta.) For convenience, red, green, and blue systems of source color are called RGB displays.

RGB Monitor Colors Color is created on your screen by the illumination of a pixel with a mixture of the primary colors: red, green, and blue. The value of any of these three colors determines what color is displayed in the pixel. The 256-color mode of VGA has a resolution of 320 x 200, or 64,000 pixels, each of which is illuminated independently of the others. Look at an example. The Animator Palette screen (see ig. 3.1) has three sliders that control the value of the red, green, or blue light mixed in the current color (RGB sliders). If you increase the value of the red all the way to the right and decrease the value of the blue and green all the way to the let ( 0 ) you see the "pure" red that your monitor displays. If you put all ,

three sliders to the highest value, you see white. If you put all three sliders to the let, you see black. If all three sliders have the same value, you see diferent shades (values) of gray. The value range of each of the RGB sliders is rom 0 to 63, or 64 diferent values for each of the three primary colors. In computer display terms, sup­ pose that your monitor can display only two values of the RGB colors: on or of. This setup means that the total number of combinations available using the three primary colors is 8 (2 values each, multiplied times each other is 2 x 2 x 2

=

8). This arrangement is, in act, all the primary and secondary

Chapter 3: Understanding the Color Palette

81

Fig. 3.1. he Animator Palene screen.

64 values, the total num­ 64 x 64 x 64, which is 262,144

colors plus white and black. Because Animator uses ber of colors you have at your disposal is possible colors!

To create the image you see on-screen, your computer stores the three values for the RGB colors in a color register. This register is called the dis­ play register, and the amount of

memory available for the display register

determines how many colors can be active in the color palette (displayed).

a 256-color display register. 256 colors on-screen at one time, but the next screen image can contain a unique set of 256 more colors. At least 1,024 unique screens would be needed to display all of Animator's col­ The VGA graphics card has enough memory for

This limit means that you can display only

ors one time each.

in Animator is to set up the display register 256 colors that you want to work with or the current rame of

The purpose of the color palette with the

your movie. When you select a drawing tool and a current color, all you are doing is asking your computer to display the RGB combination that is stored in register number so and so

(0-255) at pixel number so and so (0-63,999).

You can have diferent register settings or individual movie rames. If you change the value in the register used by the current frame, the color dis­ played on the screen is changed, also. Iryou didn't notice, the palette on the Palette panel has

256 squares at the bottom of the screen. Each of these

squares represents one of the registers.

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Part I: The Art Department

HLS: Hue, Luminance, and Saturation The Animator Palette panel contains two buttons to set the method that you can use to adjust the color with the slider bars. The RGB button activates the sliders in the ashion described earlier in the chapter. The HLS button changes the unction of the slider bars so that the colors are adjusted by hue, luminance, and saturation. The Hue slider changes the cur­ rent color, based on the setting of the Luminance and Saturation sliders. Luminance sets the brightness of the hue. If the luminance slider is all the way up, the color you see is white, and if the slider is all way down, or to the left, the color is black. The Saturation slider sets the purity of the hue. If the Saturation slider is all the way to the right, the hue is the purest representa­ tion of the color available in Animator. If the Saturation is low, or to the let, the color is very dull in appearance. You will get to play around with the RGB and HLS sliders in the Chapter 3 tutorial.

Palette Dynamics The deault Animator palette is a wide range of colors intended to acilitate the incorporation of a variety of images that have independent sources. You may use images that are captured by a video camera, stored on CompuServe in the graphics orums, or captured by scanning an image electronically. The default palette does a reasonable job of accommodating the colors that are captured in the image. For you to obtain the best results, however, you have to be able to adjust the palette, and thereby the display registers, to create an image that looks as close to the original as possible. In addition, when you create your own ani· mation, you will want to set the color tone of the image by selecting speciic color ranges that you will be working with. When images are combined rom diferent sources, you have to provide a palette that represents a good com­ promise between the colors represented in each of the ima ges. Now that you have a basic understanding of color, you need to develop your skills at man­ aging the color palette.

The Palette Panel The Art department has to mix its own paints. When the artists at Disney Productions created the animated classics that you are amiliar with, they mixed the paint and stored it in racks, with the uses of paint cataloged as the work progressed. Each paint had a unique designation and formula. For-

Chapter 3: Understanding the Color Palette

tunately or you, you don't have to keep umpteen bottles of paint around your workspace. All you need is Animator's Palette panel. Animator lets you store a record of the palette so you can reuse it, too. You don't need the rows of racks that Disney had to use, either. All you have to do is create a ile on your hard disk. Now, take a detailed look at the Palette panel. To access the Palette panel, right click the cluster bar or the current color, or select Palette rom the Animator pull-down menu. You see the Palette panel. The Palette panel, at the bottom of the screen, contains a number of features. These features are the ollowing: Undo. The Undo slot works the same as the Undo slot on the Home panel. You will ind Undo very convenient here because you will

have to experiment to get just the right colors. Fit. To the right of the Undo slot is a Fit slot, which can be toggled

of or on. Oten you will be mixing images rom diferent sources, or you may want to make changes to the color register ater you have created

n

image on the screen. If Fit is turned on, Animator

remembers the values are stored in the display registers. If you have an image on-screen and you make changes in the contents of the display registers, Animator does its best to maintain the original image colors. If Fit is turned of, when you change the contents of a register that has been used to draw something on the screen, the color on the screen changes to match the register. The default setting for Fit is on. Fit afects all the unctions on the Arrange pull-down menu (rom the Palette menu bar), and the Ramp, Tint, Negative, Use Cel, Deault, Paste, and Blend options on the Value menu bar. Fit also iluences the importing of an image into your movie. If Fit is turned on, the color register of the image is merged with the existing color register, leaving the used registers intact. If it is turned of, the imported image is changed where register conlicts occur. Frame Icons. To the right of the Fit slot are the Frame icons. The

frame icons have the same unction as in the Home panel, discussed in Chapters 1 and 5. Time. The Time button enables you to implement palette changes

over a range of frames. The Time button will be explained in detail in Chapter 5.

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Key Colors. The Key Color slot is the same as in the Home panel. The key color is not really a color but a register that has been set aside or managing the background of your Animator images. The purpose of a background color is to enable you to draw or paste images on the screen without the influence of the underlying color. When you paste an image into Animator, the key color ceases to exist where you have pasted the image. The key color can be any one of the 256 colors available in the cluster. The key color button has important ramiications in the use of composite images. If the key color is not transparent, you cannot overlay one image with another and have portions of one image show through the second image. You will learn more about this concept as you learn about the pasting of cells and joining movies, in later

chapters. Mini-palette. The Mini-palette unctions the same as the Mini-palette in the Home panel. The benefit of accessing the Mini-palette in the Palette panel is that you can right-dick a Mini-palette color and select a color from the entire 256-color register to replace the selected color in the Mini-palette. You will ind that you oten use the Mini­ palette to store the accent colors that you are using in creating a drawing.

Current Color. The Current Color slot can be used from the Palette panel to set the current color rom the 256-color register. When you adjust a color with the HLS or RGB slider bars, the resulting color is actively displayed in the Current Color slot. (If the color being adjusted is on the drawing screen, it is adjusted actively also.) The current color is displayed a number of ways. In addition to appearing in the Current Color slot, a black-and-white dot appears in the cluster window if the color is displayed in the cluster_ In

addition, if the current color is in the Mini-palette, a red outline appears around the corresponding box in the Mini-palette. Finally, the current color is always outlined in the 256-color register by a red box.

Cluster Boxes. The Palette panel contains an A and a

B cluster box,

either of which can be active. The active cluster box is the one that appears on the Home panel. The cluster box can contain a range of colors, based on how you use some of the Cluster, Arrange, and Value pull-down menu options, discussed elsewhere in this chapter.

Chapter 3: Understanding the Color Palette

Both cluster boxes are used in the same way but only one cluster is active at a time. To switch between clusters, select either the A or the B button. You can use the cluster box as a convenient way to paint a speciic range of colors in a frame. You can change the current color to one of the colors in the cluster by left-clicking the desired color in the cluster box on the Home panel or the Palette panel. The gradient inks, the Glow ink, the Separate tool, and Cycle Draw each use the colors that are in the Current Cluster box. You will learn about Cycle Draw in this chapter, and the gradi ent and Glow inks in the next chapter. The clusters used in the cluster boxes are grouped together on the Main Palette at the bottom of the Palette panel. The active cluster has a white outline around the entire range of colors that are in the Current Cluster on the Main Palette.

l/Cluster Buttons. The All and Cluster buttons determine how ,the color registers are adjusted, whether across the entire palette (All) or in the cluster only (Cluster). These buttons are used in conjunction with the Luma Sort, Spectrums, and Gradients options (from the Arrange pull-down menu) and the options on the Value menu (excluding Ramp). The active choice is highlighted when you left­ click one or the other.

RGB Slider Bars. The RGB slider bars enable you to adjust the current color or a selected color by varying the amount of red, green, and blue light in the color. The changes that you make are dynamically displayed in the Current Color box and dynamically changed on the screen where the selected color appears. Suppose that you decide a particular blue on the screen is too light, or too green. If you select that color as the the current color, you can use the RGB slider bars to change the color. When the RGB

button is highlighted, the red portion

of the current color can be

changed with the left slider bar, the green portion with the center bar, and the b.lue portion with the right slider bar. Each slider bar represents the entire 64 values that can be used or the red, green, or blue component. When you select a color, its red, green, and blue components are displayed by number in th� slider bars. To help explain how this works, table 3. 1 lists the red, green, and blue components of the primary and secondary RGB color system.

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Table 3.1 Components of the RGB Color System

Color

Red

Green

Blue

63 0 0

0 63

0 0

0

63

Yellow

63

63

0

Magenta

63 0

0 63

63 63

0 63

0 63

0 63

Red Green Blue

Cyan Black White

Note that the component values are rom 0 to 63 or the 64 values that are available, because registers are numbered starting with 0 instead of 1. This table also shows that you can create a single color gradient of 64 values. If you want to have 64 red values, or example, you can set the Red RGB slider bar to 63 and create 64 gradients by increasing both the Green and Blue components by 1 each time

(63,0,0; 63,1,1; 63,2,2; and so on). HLS Slider Bars. The HLS slider bars work similarly to the RGB

slider bars except that they use hue, luminance, and saturation to create the current color. To activate the HLS slider bars, highlight the HLS button instead of the RGB button.

The left slider bar provides access to 256 colors, each with the luminance and saturation that the middle and right slider bars are set to, respectively. The middle slider bar (luminance) at the lowest setting makes all colors black, and at the highest setting makes all colors white. The right slider at the lowest setting makes all colors gray, and at the highest setting makes all colors pure. The choice between HLS and RGB slider use is dependent on the type of color ranges you are trying to achieve. Generally, RGB is easier to use if you are trying to create gradients, and HLS is easier if you are trying to create a spectrum of colors with the same strength. All the 262,144 possible colors are available rom either set of slider bars. he 256-Color Palette. The Main Palette is arranged in 8 rows of 32

colors each, each row representing a color register. Any of the 256 bmces can contain any of the 262,144 possible colors, and all the boxes can contain the same color. The registers are numbered from 0

Chapter

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3: Understanding the Color Palette

255, starting in the upper let corner, continuing across the row,

and then down to the next row. If you right-click any one of the

256 registers, the color in that slot

changes to a second color that you left-click. While you are making changes to the register, the status line displays the register number that is beneath the current cursor position. Remember that if you change the contents of any register used on the drawing screen, the color on the screen changes, too. Also, the color that has been in the register you change is lost from the register memory. For these reasons, Animator lets you save a palette to a file, which you will learn how to do a little later in the chapter.

The Palette Screen Menu Bar At the top of the Palette screen is a menu bar that works very similarly to the Home screen menu bar, except it has fewer pull-down menus, and the menus apply oly to the palette unctions. The menu bar contains the Pal­ ette, Cluster, Arrange, and Value pull-down menus, each of which has its own dynamic efect on the color palette. Each menu is discussed in detail in the ollowing sections.

The Palette Menu Figure

3.2 shows the contents of the Palette menu. The Palette pull-down

menu enables you to restore the current rame to the state it was in when you entered or loaded the current frame. This Restore option works the same as the Restore option on the Pie menu on the Home screen. You also can use a special efect called Cycle Draw, set all the panels in a lic to one cluster, and set up menu colors. A palette ile maintenance aciliy also is located here. Here is a more detailed description of these options: Cycle Draw. This option can be toggled on or of and is used to

cycle through the colors contained in the current cluster. All Animator functions that apply the current ink color cycle through the cluster colors, and the inks that use the current color cycle also. Drawing tools use Cycle Draw in diferent ways, and some tools, such as Move, don't use Cycle Draw. The applied color generally is cycled with each left-click of the mouse, or each completion of the use of a drawing tool. Shapes, circles, boxes, and so on, cycle through the cluster colors one color at a time for each shape created. The draw

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Part I: The Art Department

Fig. 3.2.

he Palete menu.

tool constantly cycles colors. If you change the Current Color, Cycle Draw is turned o.

One Palete. The One Palette option enables you to set all the rames in a lic to the same palette. This capability generally becomes important if you combine two or more lies and the appearance of the image changes due to minor discrepancies in the palette for each lic. One Palette also corrects major discrepancies between palettes, but these discrepancies may be the result of int�ntional deviations on your part, so you should be careul in your use of this option. One Palette its all the colors in a flic into a single palette regardless of the status of the Fit button. The itting is perormed based on the requency of use of the color in the flic. Thereore, if the One Palette option uses up all 256 colors beore getting to a single use of an accent color, or example, the accent color will be changed to match Animator's best estimate of a color near in value to the accent color. The result, therefore, may be unpredicatable sometimes. When you select One Palette, the ollowing message appears: MAKE ALL FRAMES USE ONE COLOR MAP? TAKES A WHILE ... YES

NO

Chapter

3:

Understanding the Color Palette

To continue the option, select Yes; to cancel, select No. If you select Yes, then you see XXX TOT AL

COLORS USED,

PACKING ...

where XXX is the number of colors that you used in the lic. A maximum of 21,000 colors can be itted to a single palette. If your lic has more colors than that, you receive the error message: TOO MANY COLORS TRY FEWER FRAMES CONTINUE

Menu Colors. This option changes the menu and panel colors rom the deault black, dark gray, light gray, near white, and red used by Animator. The deault menu colors are stored in the last ive registers of the palette. If you want to change the menu and panel colors, select Menu Colors after changing the value of the last five colors in the Main Palette. Animator displays the changes you have made and the message: USE THIS COLOR SET FOR MENUS? YES

NO

Select Yes to change the colors permanently and No to cancel. After you have changed the menu and panel colors, you cannot undo the change. You must perform a reset to remove the changes. If you select colors that make it diicult or you to click panel options, use the keyboard commands described in Chapter

11

to perform the

reset. Files. This option enables you to load, save, or delete palette files, which have the file extension COL. By selecting the Files option, the Files panel appears with the file selection deaults set for palette files (see ig.

3.3).

If you load a palette, it is loaded only into the current

rame, unless you are using the Time option, which enables you to insert a palette to a range of frames.

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Part I: The Art Department

3.3. he Files panel. Fig.

- · -"- -H·): .

f

.0AO .

{

SAVE

J ( J (

·EXlT

:

OE CETE

)

K

Ii QPTIC I I !SETTINGS! t I PO!VGON I I MASK t CEb I I F·A LETTE I l PATH . I I RECORD I -. FLIC H I I PICTUfE 11

TEXT FONT

� = ==- ·=---- - ··."--�-- - -----� - �---- � .-�.. .,.--

·

�

When you select a palette ile to load, the ollowing message is displayed: COLOR FIT SCREEN? YES

NO

If you want Animator to try to maintain the colors on the existing screen, select Yes from the message box. Animator tries to use colors from the imported palette to create the image on the screen, and selects near colors to make the screen image comply with the palette. If you select No, Animator makes the current image change to reflect the values of the colors in the palette registers, even if the correct color appears in a diferent register. Saving a palette stores the current palette to disk, using a name that you designate. Plan ahead and name your palettes in conjunction with the movie you are creatin g or in a way that designates the content of

the palette. Examples of names might be EPICl.COL or BLUERED.COL.

The Cluster Menu The Cluster menu is used to afect the arrangement of the colors in the active cluster box (see ig. 3.4). The colors on the screen and the Main Pal­ ette are not afected, but the placement of the outlines of the Current Clus­ ter in the Main Palette are changed to match the colors in the cluster. The capabilities made available to you rom the Cluster menu make life easier when you are constructing clusters to paint with. The Cluster Menu options are described in detail in the following paragraphs.

Get Cluster. The Get Cluster option enables you to deine a range of contiguous color registers as the Current Cluster. To create a cluster, execute the following procedure: 1. Select Get Cluster from the Cluster menu. The active cluster is

deined by a red outline. You also see START XX

Chapter

3:

Understanding the Color Palette

Fig.

91

3.4.

be Cluster menu.

on the status line, where X is the number of the color register the cursor is over.

(Note:

Anything on-screen is created from

the current Main Palette. Thereore, no matter where your cursor is, a color register number appears and you can use that color to start the cluster.)

2.

Let-click the color you want to use to start the cluster. The status line changes to START XX COLORS 1 STOP XX which means that the cluster has one color, starting and ending with color register number X. Move your cursor over another color and the status line changes to START XX COLORS YY

STOP

ZZ

where Y is the number of colors currently in the cluster, and ZZ is the color register of the color that your cursor is positioned over. (Y can be a maximum of 82 colors or

64

shades.) 3. Let-click the color that you want to use to end the cluster. The Current Cluster contains the start color at the far let and the ending color at the far right, with all the colors displayed between them. Note that it doesn't make any diference that the colors in the registers between the start and stop colors have no relationship

92

Part I: The Art Department

whatsoever to each other. The Main Palette color slots are outlined in white to relect the active cluster. You also can use the Get Cluster option by right-clicking the active cluster to change the Current Cluster, or you can right-dick the inactive cluster to change the colors in the cluster box. In the latter instance, the active cluster outline in the Main Palette remains the same. Unused Colors_ This option places into the Current Cluster all the

colors not currently used in the drawing screen or the panels and menus. When you use this option, the message box shown in igure

3.5 appears.

Fig. 3.5. he Unused Colors message box.

The number displayed in the slider bar is the total number of unused colors, which you can accept by selecting OK, or you can use the slider bar to set the number lower. The unused colors are placed in the Cluster box. You can use the Squeeze option (discussed later in this chapter) rom the Value menu to place the unused. colors at the end of the Main Palette before you use the Unused Colors option. Line Cluster. The Line Cluster option places in the Current Cluster all the colors that are under a single pixel line. ter selecting the Line Cluster option, the full screen is displayed and you can draw a line in the same manner that you use the Line drawing tool. When you left-click to place the second point of the line, the Current

Cluster is filled with the colors that are under the line. The let side of the cluster starts with the color under the start of the line and the right side of the cluster ends with the color under the end of the line. Colors that are duplicated under the line are included as duplicates in the Current Cluster, but the outlines of the cluster colors in the Main Palette designate only the registers that are in use. Find amp. This option is used to create a cluster that is a gradient between two colors. The colors used to create the gradient are selected rom the available Main Palette registers.

Chapter

3: Understanding the Color Palette

The procedure for creating a ramped cluster is similar to the Get Cluster option. The start and end colors can be selected rom any colors visible on the screen, but the RGB number of the color under the cursor is displayed instead of the register number. The contents of the status line look something like: START

(XX YY ZZ)

where XX is the red component, YY is the green component, and ZZ is the blue component. The same is true or the second selection, which is displayed on the status line as STOP

(XX YY ZZ)

The quality of the ramp that is derived rom the two colors is dependent on the available colors in the Main Palette. You may end up with only three colors in the ramp if 253 colors are already in use that do not fit the gradient's requirements. Animator uses only the colors it inds with values that

it between the two selected colors on

the RGB scale. Near Colors. The Near Colors option enables you to set a threshold that determines how near the selected color the RGB values of the cluster colors must be to the selected color. When you select Near Color, the status line displays NEAR COLOR

(XX YY ZZ)

This message designates the color under the cursor, and after you select a color, a message box appears (see fig.

3.6).

Fig. 3.6. The Near hreshold message box.

Ater you set the base color and use the slider bar in the Near Threshold message box, the cluster box is filled with any colors that are in the 256 registers with RGB values within the threshold above and below the RGB values or the selected color. The cluster colors are outlined in the Main Palette, scattered throughout the panel. Invert. Invert replaces the colors in the Current Cluster bo\ with all the remaining colors in the Main Palette that were not in tee f cluster box.

93

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Part I: The Art Department

Png Pong. This option places the let-end color in the Active

Cluster at each end of the box, puts the right-end color in the center of the box, and places all the other cluster colors in between the center and each end of the box. If the colors in the cluster are red, yellow, green, and blue, and you select the Ping Pong option, then the colors in the cluster bqx become red, yellow, green, blue, green, yellow, red. To return the cluster to the original arrangement, use the Invert option twice. Repeating Ping Pong continues to divide the cluster into more mirrored colors. Using Ping Pong twice on the previous example would create two mirrored sequences of the same colors in the cluster. Depending on how many colors are in the Current Cluster, you may be able to use Ping Pong more than once, up to a maximum of 82 colors or 64 shades. Reverse. Reverse does just what the name implies: reverses the order

' of the colors in the Active Cluster box, placing the right-end color on the let and the let-end color on the right.

The Arrange Menu The Arrange menu (see ig. 3.7) enables you to manipulate the placement of colors in the Main Palette, the Current Cluster, or both, depending on the setting of the All or Cluster buttons. However, Cycle and Trade Clusters work only on the cluster box.

3.7. he Arange menu.

Fig.

Chapter

3: Understanding the Color Palette

Depending on whether Fit is on or of, the screen colors change with the rearrangement of the Main Palette. If �it is turned on, the screen colors remain the same. The efective use of the Arrange menu makes the creation of clusters with the desired range of colors much easier. The Arrange menu options are dis­ cussed in detail in the ollowing paragraphs. Luma Sort. Luma Sort is used to sort all the colors in the Main

Palette or cluster box by value, rom the lightest to the darkest (based on luminance). Spectrums. This option sorts the colors in the Main Palette or

cluster box by spectral groups (by color). Gradients. The Gradients option sorts the colors by placing them in

order of similar values in the Main Palette or cluster box, whichever is being used. The Gradient sort starts with a color, finds the next nearest value to the color, then uses the most recent color and inds the next nearest value to it. The efect is a collection of shades of a color in groups on the palette. Cycle. Cycle shits all the colors in the Current Cluster to the right

one register, placing the end color at the beginning of the cluster. Cycle is unafected by the All and Cluster buttons. Trade Clusters. This option swaps the contents of one cluster with

the other cluster, both in the cluster boxes and in the Main Palette.

The Value Menu The pull-down Value menu (see ig.

3.8) is used to change the values of the

registers in the Main Palette. Each option in the Value menu has a varying efect based on the status of the Cluster, All, and Fit buttons. Each option on the Value menu has a specialized efect, and some practice with them is warranted. The ollowing paragraphs describe basically what the options do: Squeeze. Squeeze is used to eliminate all colors in the Current

Cluster or the Main Palette that are not contained on the screen. The removed colors are changed to black

(0,0,0).

A message box with a slider bar appears when you select Squeeze. This box displays the number of colors currently contained in the

Main Palette that are on-screen when the All button is active. When the Cluster button is active, the message box displays the number of colors on-screen that are contained in the cluster.

95

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Part I: The Art Department

Fig. 3.B.

he Value menu.

• ••••••••••••••• ••••••••••••••••

To accept the screen colors, select OK from the message box. You also can alter the number of colors from the slider bar to a number greater than the number of screen colors, in which case some of the cluster or Main Palette unused colors remain, or you can reduce th. number of colors, which changes the screen image to fit the reduced number of available colors. Squeeze is unafected by the Fit button and always makes any required changes to the screen. Rmp. Ram� creates a gradient in the Current Cluster. The gradient is based on the selection of a start and stop color, and is as smooth as the distance between the two colors allows, up to

64 increments.

To create a 64-value ramp, the start and end colors must have a value

64 colors to be displayed on the VGA range of colors. The ramp can be 64 values of the same color (a monochrome gradient) or 64 colors between two diferent distance between them that allows for

colors that is a mix of both value and hue changes. Ramp is used by selecting a start and stop color from anywhere on­ screen. The status line indicates the RGB numbers of the colors under the cursor in the same fashion as many other options rom the Palette screen. ter you have selected both colors, the start color is placed at the left side of the cluster box and the end color is placed on the right side of the cluster box, with a smoothed gradient in between. Ramp works independently of the All and Cluster buttons.

Chapter 3: Understanding the Color Palette

97

Tnt. Tint applies a color to a cluster, the Main Palette, or both, adjusting all the colors to an adjustable tint of the selected color. Tint changes the screen image if Fit is turned of. The Cluster and All buttons determine where the tint is applied, either to the cluster or to the Main Palette. If you select Tint, the status line displays TINTING SOURCE (XX YY ZZ) which indicates the RGB numbers of the color that are being used for the tinting. Ater you have selected the tint, the message box shown in igure 3.9 appears.

Fig. 3.9. he Mximum Tint Pecent message box.

By adjusting the slider, you determine how much efect the tint has on the colors that are to be tinted. If the tint percentage is 100%, then all the destination colors are changed to the source color. Tint can be applied over a range of rames when the T button is turned on, and many special motion efects can be used to determine how Tint is applied. You will learn more about the motion efects when you visit the Special Efects department. Some acts must be taken into account when using Tint. VGA cards can create snow on the screen when more than 64 colors are changed at once. To eliminate this efect, you can use Squeeze to reduce the number of colors to 64 or fewer beore performing a tint on multiple rames. You also may notice that when you are creating movies, one of your screens seems to flash bright momentarily, in between rames. Flashing can arise when you are tinting to black (ading out), and you can eliminate the efect by placing a black screen with a normal color menu at the end of the Tint rames. Notice that Tint also tints the menus, because their colors come from the Main Palette too, if no suitable colors are ound or menu use.

Negative. The Negative option substitutes the opposite color on the RGB scale for all of the colors in the Main Palette or the Current Cluster.

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Part I: The Art Department

Turning of Fit allows the colors on-screen to be changed by the Negative option, which makes the picture look like a color negative. Black becomes white, red becomes cyan, and green becomes magenta, or example.

Use Cel. The palette information used to create an image is kept in memory along with the image (which is called a eel). If you want to replace the colors in the Current Cluster or the Main Palette with the colors contained in the Cel palette, you can select the Use Cel option. The contents of each color register are placed in exactly the same location as in the eel's palette. You will learn more about eel images and their use in Chapter 9.

Deault. Deault restores the entire palette to the original Animator deault palette colors, bypassing the deault settings in the customized deault ile that you can create or Animator1s basic use. You will learn about making a customized deault lic in Chapter 11. You can use All or Cluster to select the areas that you want to change.

Cut and Paste. These two options are used together to copy colors into the color bufer and then to paste them into a cluster or the Main Palette. The color bufer is a special area of memory maintained by Animator or this purpose. Cut and Paste enable you to copy colors rom one section of a palette to another section of the palette, or to a diferent palette entirely. If fewer colors are in the bufer than in the section designated to receive the�, the colors are illed in, starting with the far let color, and the surplus colors remain at the end of the section. If more colors are in the color bufer than in the section designated for them, the ar left colors in the bufer are placed into the designated section up to the point that no more colors can be used. The Cut and Paste options use the Current Cluster as the manipulation area or the color bufer transfer. To use the Cut and Paste options, set the Cluster button to on. With the desired cluster as the active cluster, use the Get Cluster option rom the Cluster menu and then left-click the Cut option. Next, select the other cluster or go to a diferent rame and make sure that the cluster you want to replace is active, and select Paste. You can use the same technique to move a cluster around in the Main Palette by getting a cluster, cutting it out, redeining the cluster in the Main Palette, and then using Paste to put the color bufer into the new location.

Chapter 3: Understanding the Color Palette

99

Blend. The Blend option blends the colors in the color bufer with the colors in the Current Cluster or the Main Palette, or both, depending on the setting of the All or Cluster buttons. You must irst use the Cut option to place a cluster in the color bufer, and then, ater selecting Blend, a message box with a slider appears (see ig.

3.10). Fig.

3.10.

he Mximum Blnd Percent message box.

Using the slider bar, select the percentage of impact that you want the color bufer to have on the Active Cluster or the Main Palette, and then select OK. The colors in the Active Cluster or the Main Palette, as appropriate, become tinted by the colors in the color bufer. An imbalance in the number of colors in the bufer has the same efect as the imbalance in the Paste option. The same technical cautions that apply to the Tint option apply to the Blend option. Also, like Tint, Blend can be applied over a series of rames using the move efects.

Chapter 3 Tutorial By now, you should be starting to comprehend the true potential of Anima­ tor's capabilities, and you haven't even read about the ink tye es and a host of special efects and editing tools! Remembering all this information is not easy, because there is so much to know about the options and potential com­ binations, not to mention special techniques that you happen to chance upon. Writing down your favorite techn�ques is one good idea to help you to master the ull range of Animator. Making notes about observations you make rom time to time can help remind you of special discoveries. The manipulation of the color palette is most susceptible to a "one time and it's gone" scenario. When you are experimenting with color, you may want to record the RGB or HS settings or the special colors that you found to your liking, and the percentage of the maximum tint or blend that you used. Saving important palettes and using the Record option can help you retain and develop your mastery of color. You will Jearri how to use the Record option in Chapter 10.

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Part I: The Art Department

Try the ollowing activities to practice your use of color in Animator. 1.

Select Reset rom the Flic menu to set up Animator in its deault state.

2.

To change a color in the Mini-palette, right-click one of the colors rom the Mini-palette and select a color rom the Active Cluster. Notice the change in the black-and-white dot location in the Cluster box. Replace all the colors in the Mini-palette in this ashion, making sure that you can pick the specific color you desire from the Cluster.

3. Select a color rom the cluster box to change the Current Color.

4. Right-click the Current Color slot or the cluster box to display the Palette screen. 5.

ight·click the Key Color slot and select a color from the Main Palette. Select the screen color ater right-clicking the Key Color slot to restore the key color to black

6. Right-click in the Mini-palette and select a color rom the Main Palette. Change all the colors in the Mini-palette if you want to practice the use of the Main Palette. 7.

Let-click any color in the Main Palette or the cluster. Notice that the current color is changed to relect your selection.

8.

Let-click the B Cluster button. Right-click the drawing screen. Notice that the Active Cluster box is now illed with a gray gradient. Right-click the cluster box. Note that the B Cluster button is highlighted on the Palette panel.

9. Select the left arrow on the irst RGB slider. Notice the change in

the color in the Current Color slot. Drag the icon up and down in the slider bar and note the change of the color when red is added or removed rom the color. Do the same thing for the green and blue sliders. 10. Select the HS button and again adjust the sliders to learn how to control the current color with hue, luminance, and saturation. 11. Select Restore from the pull-down Palette menu. All the changes you have made to the palettes should be undone. 12.

Select Cycle Draw rom the pull-down Palette menu and right-click the drawing screen. Using the Draw, Box, and Circle drawing tools; note that Cycle Draw cycles through the Current Cluster colors automatically.

Chapter

3: Understanding the Color Palette

13. Right-click one of the last five colors in the Main Palette, and then select a diferent color rom another part of the Main Palette, cluster box, or Mini-palette. Change all the last five colors in the Main Palette. Select Menu Colors rom the pull-down Palette menu. Answer Yes to the message box prompt and note the new menu colors. Right-click the drawing screen and select Reset rom the Flic menu.

14. ight-click the cluster box in the Home panel to return to the Palette screen. Select Get Cluster from the pull-down Cluster menu. Select the second color rom the irst row (register

1) in the Main

Palette) and note the status line as you move around the panel. Select the last color in the second row (register

63). Note the

contents of the Current Cluster. (Note: The color from register 0 is used as the Animator border color.) 15. Right-click the drawing screen and use the Draw tool to place a

sample of most of the colors in the cluster on the screen. Right-click the cluster box to return to the Palette screen and select Unused Colors from the pull-down Cluser menu. Notice that the message box tells you how many unused colors are available. Adjust the slider bar to contain

32 and select OK The Current Cluster should now 32 of the colors that were available from the Main Menu as

unused colors.

16. Select Line Cluster from the pull-down Cluster menu. Draw a line on the screen across some of the colors that you placed on the screen. The Current Cluster changes to include the colors that you crossed over, and also includes instances of the background color. 1 7. Use the Find Ramp option rom the Cluster menu and select a light

color (light yellow, cream, or light blue) rom the Main Palette. Note the status line and select a dark color from the Main Palette. Animator creates a gradient cluster from the available colors in the Main Palette. Practice creating other ramps rom diferent colors in

the Main Plette. 18. Select Near Colors from the Cluster menu. Beore you select a red

hue from the Main Palette, note the status line, then watch the status line as you place the cursor over diferent reds. When the Near Threshold message box appears, use the slider bar to set the threshold to 25. Note the contents of the Current Cluster. Repeat this technique with diferent starting colors and thresholds. Leave a cluster with a large range of colors after you have finished experimenting.

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Part I: The Art Department

19. Select Invert from the Cluster menu. Notice the efect on the cluster, and then use Invert again to return the cluster to the previous contents. Note that Invert places the screen colors in the cluster after the use of Unused Colors. This feature is handy when you are working with movies.

20. Use the Ping Pong option from the Cluster menu and note the appearance of the color range. Use Ping Pong again and see whether an additional efect is noted. The result depends on the colors in the cluster. Change to the B cluster and select Ping Pong again. Notice the efect on a smoothly ramped value range. 2 1. Select Invert twice rom the Cluster menu, and then select Reverse rom the Cluster menu. Notice that the gray ramp now goes from dark to light instead of from light to dark. 22. Select All rom the Palette panel, and then select Luma Sort from the

pull-down Arrange menu. The Main Palette is rearranged into a palette sorted by the value of the colors.

23. Select Restore rom the Flic menu and repeat step 24 with the Spectrum, Gradients, and Cycle options rom the pull-down Arrange menu. 24. Use the Trade Clusters options rom the pull-down Arrange menu to swap the A cluster with the B cluster. Notice the change in the location of the colors in the Main Palette. Use Trade Clusters again to make the gray scale the B cluster. 25. Use the Draw tool to place on-screen samples of a variety of colors from the Active Cluster. When you are inished, return to the Palette screen and select Squeeze from the pull-down Value menu and select a number that is about one-half the number shown in the slider bar that appears in the message box. Review the changes to the screen, cluster, and the Main Palette. Select Undo and then select the Cluster button. Select Squeeze again and note that only the cluster is afected. Select Undo.

26. Select the Ramp option rom the pull-down Value menu and select white from the Main Palette or the Mini-palette. Note that the status line now displays the RGB values or any color that your cursor is over. Select dark red or dark blue. Note that the cluster now has a smooth gradient of values or the second color you selected. The number of shades in the ramp is equal to the number of colors that were in the cluster. Select Undo.

Chapter

3: Understanding the Color Palette

If you want to create the smoothest gradient possible, use Get Cluster and define a cluster using two rows of the Main Palette. Use the RGB sliders to deine a pure color (such as

63,0,0) in one of the

squares on the Main Palette. Next to the red square you created, create pure white

(63,63,63). Using Ramp, next select the white and

then the red squares that you created. Select Undo ater inishing this exercise. 27. Turn of Fit and select All. Select Tint rom the Value menu and then

select blue. Set the slider bar to

50%. Select OK. Review the changes

to the entire screen, select Undo, then 'select Cluster and Tint, using the blue color again. Notice that only the colors in the Current Cluster and the colors on-screen that were in the cluster are tinted. By using Get Cluster, Near Colors, Find Ramp, and Tint you can selectively tone your images. Experiment with a combination of these options to learn the potential of palette manipulation.

28. Select Negative rom the Value menu and notice the change in the screen image and the cluster. You may have to select All to notice a change in the images on-screen if none of them were

in the cluster.

29. Select the Deault options rom the Value menu. The entire palette panel should be returned to the Deault panel.

30. Select the B Cluster button, and then use Ramp from the Value menu. Create a ramp that you like (refer to step 28 in this tutorial if you need a reminder). Select Get Cluster rom the Cluster menu and then Cut from the Value menu. Select the A Cluster button. Select Paste rom the Value menu. This sequence of commands pastes the ramped cluster to the A Cluster's location in the Main Palette. When you make movies, you can use this same technique to copy the cluster to the palettes in other rames, or all of them if you are using the Time feature. You will learn more about that in Chapter 11. Select Undo to reset the cluster.

31. Make a note to try the Use Cel option rom the Value menu and the One Palette option rom the Palette menu ater you have practiced creating eels and multiple rame movies later in the book.

32. Make sure that the Cluster button is active in the Palette panel. Select Blend rom the Value menu and, when the Maximum Blend Percent Box appears, select

50 rom the slider bar. Select OK to

execute the blend. You also can experiment with the Blend option when the All button is active and colors on your drawing screen.

10 3

10 4

Part I: The Art Department

33. Create a 63-color gray ramp by using the technique described in step 28, using pure white (63,63,63) and pure black (0,0,0). Select the Files option rom the Palette menu and select Save. Left-click the period between the suggested file name and the XXXX.COL ile extension and type gray. Select OK, and you save a palette that has a ramped 63-color gray scale. Figure 3.11 shows the Files panel that is displayed or this step. Note: If you want to use 64 colors or the gray ramp, use the entire second and third rows of the Main Palette. You probably will want to avoid changing register 0 rom black so that Animator's border color doesn't change.

Fig.

3.11.

he Files

panel.

·- 1-�-)J���� ( .OIO l ( EXIT? ) ( SAVE ) ( O::ETE .)

You have come to the end of your practice session with Animator's color capabilities. You should spend extra time on your own to improve your understanding of color theory and the Animator Palette screen. Many of these techniques are inluenced by the Special Efects department. You will get a chance to try out some of them when you visit that department in Chapter 6. Remember to come back to this tutorial and try out your new special efects skills in combination with the palette options when you feel ready.

Chapter Summary In this chapter, you learned about the use of color in Animator. If you haven't spent much time learning about art before you started reading this book, you have opened up a whole new way of thinking about what you see. If you were already amiliar with the various �spects of color theory, then you may not have known how color theory applied to the use of your com­ puter's monitor. You will begin to use what you learned about color immediately in the next chapter, "Applying the Color." With 262,144 colors to choose rom, Anima­ tor's color capabilities should keep you busy or a while and ofer many hours of discovery and creativity for your enjoyment and use.

Applying the Color � he Art department ofers a variety of ink mixtures and methods of � applying inks (using Ink Types), as well as a set of drawing tools and the use of color. In this chapter, you will learn about the Art department's

ink types and their use in combination with the drawing tools that you already have learned about. Topics covered in this chapter include the ollowing: 0 The Ink Types section of the Home panel 0 Ink selection 0 Ink slots 0 The Help window 0 The Dithering option 0 Ink Strength slider bar 0 Ink types 0 Masking

The tour of the Art department concludes with a tutorial that shows you how to use the ink types to create more imaginative applications of color in the Animator images.

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Part I: The Art Department

New Terms in This Chapter The ollowing terms are very important in understanding the application of color in Animator. Make sure that you know what they mean.

Aliasing.

Aliasing, sometimes known as "jaggies" to us regular olk,

describes the display of the edges of the pixels on lower-resolution screens, making diagonal lines and arcs look jagged. To counteract aliasing, a process called anti-aliasing mixes the pixels on each side of an edge or line to smooth the appearance of the image.

Exclusive

XOR. The use of an exclusive XOR is common in

determining the base colors of many displays. This technique ensures that the oreground is always a diferent color rom the background so that you can see what is on-screen. An XOR analyzes the results of two statements

(1 )

or false

(0)

and returns either

true

as a reply. The analysis performed by XOR operates

under a simple rule: if the statements disagree (only one is true), then the reply supplied by XOR is true, and if the statements agree (both are true or both are alse), then XOR's reply is false. However, the computer prefers these responses as a

1

or a

0.

Another way to

look at an exclusive XOR is agreeing to disagree. XOR always tells you when things aren't equal. In Animator, the use of XOR is incorporated by adding the binary value of the key color's register to the binary value of the current color's register, and using the results of the XOR addition to pick a third register or display. Binary numbers are numbers expressed as either

0

or

1

(of or on, false or true) and can be translated to the

normal decimal system. Table

4. 1

shows examples of the application

of binary numbers to a series of decimal numbers.

Table 4.1 Binay Equivalents of Decimals Decimal

Binay

0 1

0000 0001 001 0 001 1 01 00 01 01 01 1 0 01 1 1 1 000

2 3

4 5

6 7 8

Chapter

4: Applying the Color

If you are interested in learning more about binary numbers, a book at your library can explain how the binary system works. Using Animator is more concerned with what happens when these

numbers are added together using an XOR. Remember that the XOR

1 when adding 1 + 0 or 0 + 1, and returns 0 when adding 1 or 0 + 0. For example, if you add register number 5 to register number 2 using an XOR, the following occurs: returns

1

+

XOR

0101 (Register 5) 0010 (Register 2) 0111 (Register 7)

Adding register

XOR

112 to register 48,

1110000 (Register 112) 0110000 (Register 48) 1000000 (Register 64)

In the above examples, if the irst color is the Key Color and

the second color is applied over an image that contains the Key Color, the resulting third color appears. If you want to experiment with XOR in Animator, remember that the first register is register number

0, not register number 1. You will get an opportunity to use XOR in this chapter. XOR has many important applications and uses, so understanding how XOR works makes the use of XOR seem a more natural process to you.

Masks. Masks are used in photography, printing, and making ilms to protect a portion of an image from the application of an ink, light, paint, or chemicals. If you paint a room in your home, you mask of portions of the wall or the wood trim to keep paint rom spreading into the masked area. The opposite of a mask is a stencil, which is the area to which you want to apply ink, paint, or liht.

Modula. A modula is an arithmetic unction that uses the remainder of a division as its result. For example, if you add the series 15 + 72 + 18 + 24, which equals 129, and apply a modula of 100 to the sum, the result is 29 ( 129/100 1 with a remainder of 29) . Animator uses a modula of 256 or the Spark ink, which you will =

learn about in this chapter.

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Part I: The Art Department

The Ink Types Section of the Home Panel Artists use diferent tools, diferent colors, diferent mixtures and types of paints, and diferent techniques to create a wide array of efects. Animator doesn't separate the Art department's capabilities in quite the same fashion, but the result is the same. Creating images in Animator is still an artistic endeavor. Complete mastery of the management of the Art department includes a ull comprehension of the subtleties in the combination of ink types and drawing tools. Repeated applications of an ink type using the same drawing tool or a diferent drawing tool can each yield diferent results. Experimentation and practice are

the best ways of learning

what you can create with Animator.

The Ink Types section of the Home panel is used to access

26 diferent inks 4.1 shows the

and to ine-tune the application or mixture of inks. Figure

Home panel. The Ink Types slots are to the right of the Current Cluster and Mini-palette.

Fig.

4.1.

he Animator Home screen.

Chapter

4: Applying the Color

109

To access the Ink Types panel, right-click one of the Ink Type slots. Animator displays the panel (see ig.

4.2).

4.2. he Ink Types panel.

Fig.

The Ink Types panel contains a Selection window just like the window on the Drawing Tools panel, six active ink slots, and a Help window, and pre­ sents a Dithering slider bar and an Ink Strength slider bar for certain ink types. Take a closer look at each of these features beore moving on to the various ink types.

Ik Type Selection. To set up the six active ink types, let-click the slot whose ink type you want to change, and use the slider bar to page through the available inks until you ind the one you want. Left­ click the ink type you want and it appears in the active (highlighted) ink slot. The use of the Selection window is exactly the same as the Selection window in the Drawing Tools panel.

k Slos. To set the active ink type, left-click the slot that you want to activate. The active slot is highlighted. You can select the active ink type while the Home panel or the Ink Types panel is displayed.

Help Window. When an ink type is selected as the active ink type, a Help window appears in the Ink Types panel. The Help window briely describes for new visitors to the Art department what the active ink type does. Dithering Option. Some ink types have a Dithering option that

alters the visual efect of the ink type. The Dithering button enables you to toggle Dithering on or of or each ink type. Dithering must be set or each ink type; it cannot be set globally the way the Drawing Tools options are set.

11 0

Part I: The Art Department

Ik Strengh Slider Bar. Ink Types that are transparent or that modiy the existing image's colors can be applied in varying strengths. The Ink Strength can be set with the slider bar from 0 to 100 by left-clicking the slider bar or by dragging the slider bar to the

desired strength.

Ink

Types

The Art department has many ink types in stock You can combine them in dynamic fashion with the drawing tools. Manipulating the Active Cluster also afects the application of some of the inks. To use the ink types properly, you must make sure that you understand the use of the Cluster and Fit buttons,

which were discussed in Chapter 3Inks generally are applied in the current color. (Gradient inks, however, are not.) Multiple application of some of the ink types produces an increase in the ink strength in the areas where it is applied over the previous applica­ tion. Take the ink types of the shelf to see what they do.

Add Ik. Add ink computes the addition of the register number of the current ink and the ink on the screen, and replaces the displayed ink with the ink rom the computed register. Add ink afects only the colors on the screen to which it is applied, and it works on the background ink as well as on the pixels that are displayed. For example, if the current ink is rom register number 10 and the ink in an afected pixel on the screen is rom register number 12, then the color displayed after applying Add ink is rom register number 22. If the total of the addition of the registers exceeds 256, then 256 is subtracted rom the total and the remainder is used as the register number. The image on the right in figure 4.3 shows the efect of Add ink on the image on the let.

..J. he Add ink efect­ before (L) and ater (R).

Fig

•

Chapter 4: Applying the Color

111

Bright Ik. This option increases the value (the amount of light) in the colors to which it is applied, depending on the range of colors available in the Palette and the Ink Strength setting. Bright ink increases its efect when you use multiple applications; Bright ink ignores the current color setting. If ink strength settings are low and the palette does not contain many values of the selected color, Bright ink oten has no apparent efect. Figure 4.4 shows the application of Bright ink, with the beore image on the left and the ater image on the right.

Fig.

·.

he Bright ink efect­

before (L) and ater (R).

Close Ik. Close ink is used to ill in single-pixel gaps in single-pixel­ width lines that are the same color as the current color. Figure 4.5 shows the use of Close ink on the image on the let to create the image on the right. Close ink ignores lines that are not in the current color.

Fig.

4.;.

The use of Close ink­

before (L) and ater (R).

112

Part I: The Art Department

Dark Ink. Dark ink is the opposite of Bright Ink; it reduces the value of the colors on-screen that are selected or application. Dark ink also is afected by the range of available values in the Palette and by the ink strength setting. Dark ink ignores the current color and increases its efect with multiple applications. Both Dark and Bright inks, set to an ink strength of 10, for example, amount to an ink strength setting of 30 with three applications. Figure 4.6 shows the use of Dark ink to create an apparent shadow in the image.

4.6. An example of Dark ink.

Fig.

Emboss Ik. Using this option creates lighter or darker one-pixel edges on the upper and left edges of contrasting colors and applies the opposite efect to the lower and right edges of the same colors. If the image has a light color on a dark background, the upper and left edges are a lighter color than the image and the lower and right edges are a darker color than the image. he opposite is true or a

dark ima ge on a l i gh t background. Consider the image on the left in figure 4. 7 and the results of using Emboss ink shown in the image on the right. Note the diference in the highlights and dark edges based on the relationship of dark or light image to the background. The ink strength setting determines how light or dark the edges are, and multiple applications add more edges. The efects of Emboss ink on nongeometric images vary.

Chapter 4: Applying the Color

113

Fig. 4.7. An example of Emboss ink-before (L) and ater (R).

Glass Ink. This option applies the current color to the screen transparently. The amount of transparency is based on the ink strength setting, with less transparency corresponding to a higher strength setting. Multiple applications of Glass ink decrease the transparency of the ink. Figure 4.8 shows the use of Glass ink.

Fig. 4.8. An example of Glass ink.

114

Part I: The Art Department

Glaze Ik.

To apply the current color transparently and decrease

transparency of the ink as the let button is held down, use Glaze ink instead of Glass ink. You can tell the diference between Glaze ink and Glass ink only when you apply the drawing tool 'while continuously holding down the let button. Glaze ink creates a transparent gradient in such instances. Figure

4.9

shows the use of Glaze ink.

4.9. he use of Glaze ink.

Fig.

Glow Ik.

Glow ink cycles the colors on the screen in the Current

Cluster to the next available color in the color palette that are also in the cluster. Screen colors excluded rom the Current Cluster box are not afected by the application of Glow ink. Glow ink repeats its application of cycling with each use. The image on the let in figure

4.10

the image on the riht ater the application of Glow ink.

becomes

Chapter

4: Applying the Color

115

4.10. he use of Gow ink -before (L) and ater (R). Fig.

Gray Ik. Using Gray ik reduces the saturation of the colors on the screen to which it is applied, depending on the contents of the Palette and the ink strength setting. Gray ink was used on many of the color images supplied with Animator that appear in this book, to ensure that the· images retain their contrast and value relationships. H

Grad Ik. Horizontal Gradient ik creates a gradient using the

Current Cluster or the colors, which are applied in a horizontal gradient from let to right across the screen. Using Hgrad ik creates a banding of the colors that can be reduced by the use of the Dither option, which appears in the Ik Types panel when the Hgrad ink is active. The current color has no efect on Hgrad ink, and the boundary of the gradient varies depending on the applica· tion of the ink. For example, the entire range of the gradient can be contained within the edges of a shape, but Hgrad ink applies to the entire screen when you use such tools as Draw, Drizzle, Edge, Gel,

Line, Spray, Streak, and Separate. Figure 4.11 shows the application of Hgrad Ink.

116

Part I: The Art Department

Fig. 4.11. sample Horizontal Gradient.

A

Hollow Ink. Hollow ink replaces all the adjacent pixels of the same color with the key color, except or a one-pixel border that remains. Hollow ink creates a nonilled shape from a illed shape and ignores the current color. The image on the left in igure

4.12 is changed to

look like the igure on the right using Hollow ink.

Fig. 4.12. he use of Hollow ink-before (L) and ater (R).

Jumble Ink. This option randomly selects colors from the screen and replaces the existing colors with other screen colors. The use of Jumble ink ignores the current color, and the higher the ink strength setting, the more the colors are scattered. Jumble ink "explodes" an image at high-strength settings and gently smoothes

Chapter 4: Applying the Color

11 7

hard edges at low-strength settings. Figure 4.13 shows the efect of Jumble ink.

Fig. 4.13.

he use of Jumble ink.

L Gad k. Line Contouring Gradient ink creates a horizontal gradient that ollows the outline of a few of the drawing tools. The only diference between Lgrad ink and Hgrad ink is that Lgrad ink creates an outline gradient with the Circle, Fill, Fillto, and Gel tools. The current color doesn't afect Lgrad ink. You can use this ink with the Dithering option to reduce the deinition of the color bands in the gradient. Figure 4.14 shows an example of Lrad k.

Fig. 4.14. A sample

Line Gradient.

Opaque Ink. Opaque ink is the most basic of inks and applies the current color to the screen as a solid color.

118

Part I: The Art Department

Use Opaque ink to paste Cels and overlay other movies when you want the images to remain exactly as you drew them. You will learn a little more about the use of Paste and Overlay in the next chapter and in Chapter 10. Pull Ik. Use Pull ink to smear the pixels on-screen as if the ink

were wet. Pull ink drags the colors on the screen in the direction you move the mouse. Use Pull ink with medium-width brush settings and the Draw, Drizzle, Gel, Spray, and Streak drawing tools. Pull ink has a greater efect

when applied over previously smeared areas. Figure 4.15 shows an example of the use of Pull ink.

4.15. Using Pull

Fig. ink.

R Grad Ik. Radial Gradient ink applies ink in a concentric circular gradient using the colors in the current Cluster.

Rgrad ink requires the use of the Center option. To set the origination point (the center) of the gradient and the distance that the gradient ills beore repeating itself, set the center of the gradient and use the size of the circle to set the ill area. For example, if you want the gradient to ill the entire screen as a single gradient, you must drag the circle rom center so that it fills the entire screen. The color at the ar let in the Current Cluster starts at the center of the gradient, and the color at the ar right is at the edge of the circle that you draw with the Center option. Once the gradient has illed the Center option circle, the color at the ar let starts the gradient again. The only dificulty in using this ink is that the Center option circle doesn't remain on the screen to show the gradient alignment. Figure 4.16 shows the use of Rgrad ink to create a spherical highlight.

Chapter

4:

Applying the Color

119

4.16. Using grad to create highlighs. Fig.

Scrape

Ik.

Use this option to reveal the contents of the Swap

screen as if it were underneath the current image. You can place an image in the Swap screen and use Scrape ink to combine the current screen image with the Swap screen image to obtain a peek-a-boo efect. You will learn how to use the Swap screen in Chapter 9. Figure

4.17

shows the results of combining wo images

using Scrape Ink

4,17, Using Scrape ink to reveal an image.

Fig.

12 0

Part I: The Art Department

Smear Ink. This option is similar to Pull ink; it drags the pixels on the screen in the same fashion. The diference is that Smear ink does not have as much strength as Pull ink; consequently you have greater control over its efect. As with Pull ink, Smear ink works best with medium brushes and the Draw, Drizzle, Gel, Spray, and Streak drawing tools. The efect of Smear ink is additive with each application to the same drawing area. Smear ink ignores the current ink color.

Soten Ik. You use Soten ink to blend pixels in a controlled ashion to reduce the efect of hard edges in an image, creating a soft­ ocus efect. Soften ink works to anti-alias the pixels throughout an image rather

than just at the edges of two colors. Soten ink is additive to a certain extent and increases the blurring of an image over a limited number of applications. Soften ink is great or adding depth to images by putting distant backgrounds behind them. If you soten a background image and then paste over it an image that you haven't softened, the background looks further away. Soften ink is also good or blending images into each other. Figure

4.18 shows the beore and after efects of a Soten

ink application.

..18. he efect of Soten ink­ before (L) and ater (R).

Fig

•

Spark Ink. Spark ink adds the register numbers of the pixels above, below, to the right, and to the left of a screen pixel and changes the center pixel color to the register number equal to the sum of the other our registers with a modula of

256 applied to the sum.

Spark ink produces a seemingly random efect that changes or each application. In a way, Spark ink cycles the colors on-screen through a constantly changing series, sometimes called a cellular automata. The

Chapter 4: Applying the Color

121

evolution of the colors on the screen is not totally random, however, bequse the modula 256 always is used to determire the new register number.

Split Ink. You can use Split ink to shift each horizontal line of pixels irst to one side and then the other. Each shift is made to the right or left of the center of the screen the number of pixels corresponding to the current ink strength setting.

Split ink is not aected by the current color, and it is additive for each application. If the ink strength is set to 2 and you apply Split ink, a line of pixels shifts two pixels to one side and the line of pixels beneath it shits two pixels to the other side. If the ink strength setting is high, then the image is much more distorted than it would be with a low-strength setting. Figure 4.19 shows the use of Split ink.

Fig. 4.19.

Using Split ink.

Sweep Ink. This option does just what its name implies: cleans up isolated pixels and changes them to the adjacent pixel colors. Sweep ink changes only single pixels surrounded on all our sides by a color diferent rom the isolated pixel. The surrounding pixels must

all be the same color. Figure 4.20 shows the use of Sweep ink to clean up the image on the left.

12 2

Part I: The Art Department

4.20. Cleaning up with Sweep inkbefore (L) and ater (R). Fig.

Tile Ink. Using the contents of the eel bufer, Tile ink fills the screen with a grid of images, creating a repetitive, or tiled, pattern. Tile ink uses the eel bufer image's current size and location and divides up the screen into a pattern that repeats the image as many times as will it on the screen. Tile ink doesn't care what the current color is. Figure

4.21 shows a tiled image.

4.21. Creating a Tiled image.

Fig.

Unzag Ink. Unzag ink is used to anti-alias the edges of color on the screen, softening the appearance of jaggies. Unzag ink relies on the contents of the current palette to provide colors and values that create a good blend of the edges be ing

Chapter

4: Applying the Color

12 3

smoothed. The range of colors available determines the quality of the efect of Unzag ink Unlike Soten ink, which massages all the pixels in the image, Unzag ink tries to select major boundaries of color to smooth. You can achieve the best results with Unzag ink with a ramped cluster that uses the two colors that create the boundary as the ends

3.) Figure 4.22 shows the efect of Unzag ink on the image on the let to create

of the ramp. (You learned how to ramp clusters in Chapter the one on the right.

4.22. he Unzag efect­ before (L) and ater (R).

Fig.

Vgrad ik. Vertical Gradient ink creates a gradient of horizontal bands that use the color farthest to the left in the Current Cluster at the top of the boundary and the color arthest to the right in the Current Cluster at the bottom of the boundary. Vgrad ink can use the Dither option to smooth the edges between the bands, and you can create a ramped cluster to achieve a smooth gradient. The current color does not

ffect Vgrad ik. The entire

range of the gradient is contained within the edges of a shape, or example, but Vgrad ink applies such tools as Draw, Drizzle, Edge, Gel, Line, Spray, Streak, and Separate to the entire screen. Figure

4.23

shows an example of Vgrad ink

XOR Ik. This option performs an XOR addition to the color register numbers of the current color and the screen color. If you read the deinition of an Exclusive XOR at the beginning of this chapter, the use of XOR ink should be clear to you. A good example of the use of the XOR ink is pasting one image over a very

12 4

Part I: The Art Department

4.23. A Vertical Gradient. Fig.

similar image. XOR ink changes all the colors that match between the two images to the color in the O register, and the colors that don't match will be changed in color. You can use this technique to create a mask of the images where they are alike or where they difer. You can combine Animator's 26 ink types with its 256 colors and 22 draw­ ing tools. The many possible combinations should keep your imagination stimulated for a while, and you have just started to look behind the doors of the Animator studio. Next, you will learn how to mask of completed por­ tions of your masterpieces to protect them from your its of experimental zeal.

Masing Now that you have learned about the drawing tools, the use of color, and the ink types, you can focus on drawing aids to help you achieve a desired efect. One of the most important and most basic drawing aids is masking. You use masking to create complex or combined images. You also can use masking to protect multiple rames of a movie while you add a single image to each rame. You can display the Mask menu by selecting Mask from the Extra menu in the menu bar on the Home screen, or by right-clicking the M button just to the right of the current ink slots on the Home panel. Figure 4.24 shows the Mask menu.

Chapter 4: Applying the Color

MASK MENJ 2 3 4 s

USE CREATE CLIP INVERT VIEW

e PASTE 7 "RELEASE s FILES• • • e

Fig. 4.24. he Mask menu.

E'IT MENU

A mask protects the areas of the screen it covers rom the application or pasting of any color or image. The unprotected area responds normally to .

the application. Take a look at the functions on the Mask menu and what they can do.

Use. If you select Use rom the Mask menu, the mask stored in the mask bufer is turned on. You can turn on a mask by selecting the M button rom the Home, Optics, and Time Select panels. When a mask is turned on, an asterisk appears next to the Use option in the Mask menu and remains there until the mask is turned of. To turn a mask of, select Use again or select the M button. Only one mask is kept in memory at a time and any mask currently in memory is deleted automatically when a new mask is created, loaded, or clipped rom the screen. If no mask is in memory, then selecting Use has no efect.

Create. Create constructs a mask rom any ink applied to the screen in any ashion. The removal of any ink by using Undo does not remove the ink rom the mask. Turning on Create displays an asterisk next to the Create option in the

Msk menu. To turn of Create, either select the option from the menu again, select Use or the M button, or select the Release option from the Mask menu. It's easy to orget to turn of Create, and if you aren't care­ ful the mask ills the entire screen rom all the ink applications you have completed after turning on the Create option.

Clip. Clip selects all the pixels on-screen that are not the key color and uses them to create a mask. After you choose Clip, the mask appears on-screen or

a

moment in light gray and then remains on­

screen in the Current Color. All you need to do to continue is to select any spot on the screen with the let mouse button.

12 5

12 6

Part I: The Art Department

Invert. To reverse the masked and nonmasked areas on the screen, use the Invert option. You can switch between the masked and the nonmasked areas as many times as you like by selecting Invert to flip back and orth. The mask appears in light gray and then the current color, just as it does when you use the Clip option. Select any point on the screen to continue with what you were doing before you created the mask

View. This option displays the mask in light gray and then the current color. Left-click any spot to continue with Animator.

Paste. Paste paints the mask in the bufer on-screen using the current color and ink type. An important use of Paste is to update, add to, or subtract rom the current mask If you paste a mask on the screen, change it, and then use Clip again, you don't have to try to recreate the mask If you have Use turned on, the mask isn't pasted on-screen because the area you are trying to paste to is protected by the mask

Release. Using Release clears the mask rom the bufer. You must make sure that you have retained a copy of any mask you want to keep before you use Release. The Files option tells you how to save masks.

Files. Use Files to display the Files panel and to save, load, or delete a mask Figure 4.25 shows the Files panel.

4.25. he Files panel. Fig.

( SAVE

D£LETE

1

xit. The Exit option removes the Mask menu rom the screen, as does right-clicking the screen. Ater you get the hang of using the Mask menu, you will be amazed at how valuable masks are. Imaginative uses of the Mask options can save you count­ less hours of extra work

Chapter 4 Tutorial In this tutorial, you will review examples of combinations of the Art depart­ ment's capabilities. You should pursue additional variations on your own until you have tried all 22 drawing tools with all 26 ink types, including vari-

·Chapter

4: Applying the Color

ations in ink strength, Dithering, Fill and two Color options, and brush sizes. Trying so many possibilities may seem like a great deal of work, but when you realize how much un experimenting is, your only problem will be find­ ing the time to do everything you want to do with Animator. I. Reset Animator to the deault conditions. Right-click one of the ink

slots to display the Ink Types panel. Leave the Opaque ink in the irst slot and put the Add, Bright, Close, Dark, and Emboss inks in the remaining ive slots. Add the inks by choosing them rom the Selection window, just as you did when you set up the drawing tools. Review the contents of the Help window and the Ink Types panel as you add each ink. Right-click the screen to return to the Home screen.

2. Select Add ink as the current ink and use the Apply ink option rom the Pies menu to paint the screen with the current color. Select the Box drawing tool and change the current ink to a color diferent from the Mini-palette and the Current Cluster. Draw a box on the screen and note the actual color that is applied. Try diferent colors and draw diferent boxes. To veriy that Add ink sums the color register numbers, change to the Palette menu by right-clicking the Current Cluster and right­ clicking the current color. Select the various colors rom the screen to make them current colors, and select the colors that you used as the current color when you drew the boxes. The register is outlined in a red box or each of the selected colors. To determine what register number you are using, remember that each line of the Main Palette has

32 registers and that the irst

register is register number 0. If you are wondering why the screen color was painted with the current color and the other colors were not, remember that the screen color starts out as color register 0, and you were adding 0 to the register number of the current color. Right-dick the drawing screen to return

to the Home screen.

3. Select the Bright ink and the Apply ink options rom the Pies menu. Note that the colors on-screen become a lighter shade. Select Undo. Try alternating between Apply ink and Undo, using various ink strengths to verify the efectiveness of the Main Palette in the deault Animator screen. If you don't like what you are seeing, create a ramped cluster using the colors on the screen. Continue to modiy the Main Palette using Get Cluster and Ramp until you have a set of ramps in the Main

12 7

12 8

Part I: The Art Department

Palette that displays lighter shades of each of the screen colors. Next, use Bright ink and notice the sensitivity of the ink strength setting. 4. Select the Clear option rom the Pies menu. Draw a box on the screen using Opaque ink and a light color. Set the Spray drawing tool as one of the current tools, and set the current color to the key color (the screen background). Lightly spray a few single-pixel holes in the box you drew on-screen. Set the current color back to the color that you used to draw the box and select the Close ink type. Either use the Apply ink option rom the Pies menu or draw a box that covers the one you just sprayed ull of holes. Note where Close ink illed in the holes. If you need to, bounce back and orth using the Undo option and reapplying Close ink to verify the results. Close ink is great for cleaning up images you hit with a little "overspray" when using the Spray tool and for making sure that you have a closed boundary beore using the Fill tool. 5. Select the Clear option rom the Pies menu. Create a 64-shade ramp in the Current Cluster using the key color (register

O)

and white as

the ends of the ramp. Change to the other cluster and create another 64-shade ramp using white and a dark blue, green, or brown. (If you need to, refer to Chapter 3 to review how to make the ramps.) Set the Current Cluster to the gray ramp and use the Apply ink option and Opaque ink to paint the entire screen with a light gray. Using Dark ink with the ink strength set at 30, draw a 20 by 20 filled box on the screen. Increase the ink strength setting to 40 and draw another 20 by 20 box. Repeat the process four more times, increasing the ink strength by 10 each time, spreading the boxes around the screen. Set the Current Cluster to the color ramp and select one of the

medium-light shades of the color that you used to create the ramp as the current color. Select Opaque and draw some 20-by-20 boxes on the screen, setting them of arther rom the lighter boxes that you previously drew, drawing them closer to the darker boxes. You should end up with a set of shadowed boxes that look something like the ones shown in igure 4.26. 6. Select Clear rom the Pies menu. Use the Opaque ink and Apply ink from the Pies menu to paint the screen with a light shade from the ramped color cluster. Draw a rectangle in the middle of the screen using the Box drawing tool and a dark value from the Current

Chapter

4:

Applying the Color

12 9

4.26. sample of Dark ink. Fig.

A

Cluster. Next, set up the Gel drawing tool in an active slot and a medium-value current color rom the Current Cluster. Write your name inside the box using a brush width

of 4-6. ( Use

a larger or

smaller brush width if it is more appropriate or the length of your name or your

handwriting style.)

If you don't like what you see with

Gel, try the Drizzle or the Streak tool.

Select

Emboss and use the Apply ink option rom the Pies menu. You

should end up with an embossed screen image that looks something like figure 4.27.

4.27. Using Emboss ink. Fig.

130

Part I: The Art Department

7. Leaving the Opaque ink in the first slot, place the Glass, Glaze, Glow, Gray and Hgrad inks in the current ink slots. 8. Select Glass and apply a box over the one you just created containing your name. If the result is too dark, select Undo, right­ click the Glass ink, and change the ink strength to 25. Use Undo and the ink strength setting until you get a panel over the box that looks as if you are peering through a glass at your name.

9. Select Glaze and use the Spray drawing tool to apply the same color over the entire screen. Notice that the longer you hold down the

button, the darker the ink gets.

10. Clear the screen rom the Pies menu. Create a current cluster of about ive colors. Select the Hgrad ink and create a series of three

horizontal rectangles on the screen, each in approximately the same part of the screen and of approximately the same width. If you create rectangles that almost span the screen, you should end up with three rectangles having bands of color that correspond to the Current Cluster. 11. Select Glow and draw a box over the top rectangle. Note the shit in the colors in the rectangle. Draw another box over the top two rectangles and note that both of them shit again. Try creating a cluster with 19 diferent registers in the Current Cluster that are all the same color and one register of a diferent color, using the cluster as the Current Cluster. You can paint 20 squares on the screen, one rom each of the same-color registers, and one rom the unique color. By applying Glow ink, the unique color shits between squares in the order that you drew them, one square for each application of the Glow ink 12. Go to the Pies menu and select Files. From the Files panel, select Load, pick Amber from the Selection window, and then choose OK

to load the Pie. Create a 64-color gray ramped cluster using the menus on the Palette screen, and set the gray cluster as the Current Cluster. Select Gray from the current ink slots and Apply ink rom the Pies menu. Amber should now be rendered in black and white. If you don't have a suiciently large gray ramp, some of the colors on-screen may not change to gray. If you have a low ink strength setting, you may ind that some of the colors are gray and others ar e not. Alternate between Undo and Gray, using diferent ink strengths to experiment with the use of Gray. Notice that you can use Gray to

Chapter 4: Applying the Color

subdue the appe aranc e

of an

131

image as well as to render it

completely black and white. Many of the images in this book were created with the help of Gray ink

13.

Load the next five ink types-Hollow, Jumble, Lgrad, Pull, and Rgrad-into the current ink slots, again leaving the Opaque ink in place.

14.

Select Clear rom the Pies menu and then draw three diagonally overlapping

rectangles

or squares, using Opaque ink Select Hollow

and Apply the ink using the Pies menu again. You should end up with something that looks like figure 4.28.

Fig. 4.28. Using Holow ink.

15.

Use the Spray drawing tool and Opaque ink to apply four or ive adjacent bands of color from the current color cluster, using diferent colors for each band. Select Jumble with the ink strength set to about 10. Spray the screen

to

mix

and

use

the

colors between the

bands.

16.

Select Clear

ro m the Pies

menu

Spray

to apply the Lgrad

ink to the screen in a zigzag pattern. Start in the lower let section of the screen and inish in the upper right section. 17. Select the Files option from the Pies menu and load .Amber again. Experiment with Pull ink, using diferent brush sizes and ink strengths on various parts of Amber's picture. 18.

Select

Clear from the Pies menu. Create a 64-register ramped cluster,

using white at the let end and a dark value of

your avorite color

at

the right end. Using Opaque ink and the Circle drawing tool, draw a medium-sized circle with the darkest value

Current Cluster.

of

the color from the

Dra w another circle using white Opaque ink,

132

Part I: The Art Department

placing the new circle slightly of-center from the irst circle. Make the radius small enough that the white circle fits within the dark circle. Using Rgrad and the Sep drawing tool, select Dither and Center rom the Drawing Tools panel, and set the center of the radial gradient at the center of the white circle. Drag the radius of the gradient so that it is equal to the radius of the white circle. Select the white circle on the screen. You should end up with a highlighted ball of your avorite color that looks similar to igure

4.29.

4,29, Using grad.

Pig.

19. Place the Scrape, Smear, Soten, Spark, and Split inks in the current ink slots.

20. Select Clear rom the Pies m enu and put Amber back on-screen. Select the Swap menu and choose Clip. (You will learn more about the Swap menu later in the book) Now, paint the screen with an Opaque ink, using a color you like. Next, select Scrape ink and experiment with a variety of drawing tools to reveal the Swap screen bufer.

21. Clear the· screen and select Paste rom the Swap menu. Amber appears again. Use the Smear and Soten inks with a variety of drawing tools and ink strengths to learn the subtleties of their capabilities. Make sure that you try the Spray, Drizzle, Gel, and Streak drawing tools.

Chapter 4: Applying the Color

22. Use Clear rom the Pies menu and Paste rom the Swap menu again, and apply the Spark ink to the screen. Repeat the applications to view the color shifts on the screen. To review a more basic application of the Spark ink, change the Main Palette to contain all gray shades and then use the Apply option rom the Pies menu. 23. Load the Amber GIF or another sample GIF rom the Pies menu Files option and apply the Split ink to the image, using varying ink strengths and Undo to test the efect. 24. Add the remainder of the inks-Sweep, Tile, Unzag, Vgrad, and XOR-to the current ink slots. 2;. Reset Animator and paint an Opaque box. Then, using the Spray drawing tool, sprinkle a diferent color on the screen, making sure that a smattering of pixels gets into the box you previously painted. Apply the Sweep ink to the screen, and notice how some of the sloppy work on the screen is cleaned up. 26. Clear the screen. Use Opaque ink and create two 20 x 20 pixel squares in the upper let portion of the screen. Start the first square at 0,0 and the second square at 20,20. (The corners of the squares touch but do not overlap.) Set Tile ink as the current ink. Select Clip rom the Cel menu. (You will learn more about the Cel menu later in the book.) Use the Apply ink option to apply the Tile ink to the screen. Next, select Clip rom the Mask menu. Load the Amber GIF and select Clip rom the Cel menu. Turn on the mask, select Paste rom the Cel menu, and right-click to paste the eel. Select Invert from the Mask menu and right-click to return to the screen. Select Paste from the Cel menu again, and let-click the screen to pic k up the eel. Move the eel to the left 20 pixels, watching the status line as you do. Make sure that the x-coordinate is 20 and the y-coordinate is 0.

Right-dick to paste the eel. You should end up with something that looks like figure 4.30. 27. Use the Clear option from the Pies menu and then create a 64-value ramped cluster of any color. Make sure that you leave register 0 as the key color. If you don't, the screen borders may turn some interesting colors when you create new clusters. Use the lightest end of the ramp and paint the screen with an Opaque ink. Use a dark value from the ramped cluster and paint a variety of shapes on the background. Make sure that you use circles, ovals, and polygons with diagonal edges. Apply the Unzag ink and note the change in the appearance of the edges. Alternate between

133

134

Part I: The Art Department

4.30. Using Tile ink.

Fig.

Undo and Apply while changing the range and number of values in the Current Cluster.

28. Clear the screen. With the Dither option on, use Vgrad ink and Apply to create a gradient background. Select Undo, Ping Pong, and then Reverse rom the Cluster menu on the Palette screen. Return to the main screen and use the Apply option again to create a background.

29. Get Amber again and clip the image to the eel bufer as you did i n step 25. Set the drawing tool t o Sep, using the Boxed option, and set the current color to white. Select colors rom Amber's eyes, trying to separate the iris. Set the current ink to XOR and the current color to the key color, and paste the eel image over the current screen. You should

end up with only the white area that was the iris on the

screen.

30. Right-click the Mask button and select Clip from the Mask menu. Right-click the screen and then select Clear rom the Pies menu. Select the Mask button to turn on the Mask and then select Paste rom the Cel menu. You should see Amber without the iris in one of her eyes. Right-click the Mask button, select Invert, and then select Use from the Mask menu. Right-click the screen and then draw any kind of twinkle you want in Amber's eye.

Chapter

4:

Applying the Color

Note that if you don't like what you have drawn, you can set the current color as the key color and use Apply rom the Pies menu to clear Amber's iris and start over. The mask must be in use for you to make this change. If you ended up with a few extra pixels you didn't like in the mask, use the Paste option rom the Mask menu and Paste the mask on a clear screen. Remove the pixels you don't want, using the key color as the current color, and recreate the mask by using the Clip option. Remember to turn the mask on and of at the appropriate times or you will not be able to clip or paste.

Chapter Summary In Chapter

4,

you learned how to manipulate color and enhance the efects

of various drawing tools throuh the use of the ink types. In the tutorial, you practiced using the ink types and learned how to create and change a mask. You will need to use masks in many ways; you can use a variety of tech­ niques to create them. Practice the use of masks and the combinations of ink types, colors, and drawing tools until you have a good idea of their potential.

13 5

1 36

Part I: The Art Department

Part II

The Production Department Includes Setting Up the Film Creating Special Efects Titling with Animator

�T ow that you have inished your tour of the Art depart­ � ment and learned how to create images the next stop on ,

the tour teaches you about making those images move. The Production department is responsible or placing images where the director wants them. You may feel like pausing or a cool lemonade at this point, but the Production department con­ tains many exciting features that make working worthwhile. The Production department consists of facilities for setting up

the ilm, creating special efects, and using titling to make sure that everyone gets credit with their names up on the big screen. You will learn how to manipulate objects on a rame­ by-frame basis following predetermined or hand-drawn paths and how to add informative text to your movies in imaginative

ways.

138

Part II: The Production Department

Setting Up the Film � n this chapter, you will be introduced to the acilities that give you con­ �trol of your movie's animation, from inception to the final touches. Setting up th� film involves a host of activities that are central to the entire Anima­ tor studio, and the responsibilities contained within the Film Editing group go far beyond the cutting and pasting of ilm or your movie. The Film Editing group must often work rom a storyboard prepared by the director, writer, producer, and the Art department. In addition, the anima­ tors, Special Efects group, Art department, and Titling personnel must make requests to the Film Editing group for a speciic number of frames in a spe­ cific location in the movie. This part of the Animator studio is where all the departments eventually meet. In this chapter, you will explore the speciics of 0 The Frames panel 0 The Time Select panel 0 The Frame icons 0 The Time Mode button

0 The Frame buttons 0 The Movement buttons 0 The Action buttons

A mention of storyboards is appropriate or this chapter, even though you will cover them more thoroughly in Chapter 11. When you are making a movie, you need to be aware of the general contents and rame number of every rame in the movie. A storyboard can be created or keeping track of this type of information.

140

Part II: The Production Department

You should be able to lay out the ilm as if the ilm were on a table, thinking of each rame in order and what is on the rame. With practice, laying out becomes a relatively simple thing to do. This chapter will help you learn to keep track of the rames in your movie. In addition, you may try out an animation in the Chapter 5 tutorial. When you inish this chapter, you should begin to feel that you are finally getting somewhere, a reward or your hard work and patience during the tour so far. But irst, you need to pick up a few deinitions.

New Terms in This Chapter Most of the concepts that follow have a wide application in the non­ Animator world, so you should have no problem diving right in.

Jiy.

Animator's astest possible play speed of a movie is 70 frames

per second. A jiy is equal to 1170 second, and when you set the delay between the display of each movie rame, the delay is set in l/70ths of a second.

Mark.

A mark is used to set a reference point in the movie. When

the movie is being created, everything can be referenced to a mark as a starting or ending point.

Rendering.

The image processing perormed by Animator in the

application of ink over time, the predeined movement of an element, or the pasting of a eel is known as rendering.

Segment.

A movie segment is a contiguous number of rames that

can be manipulated, referred to, or deleted rom the movie in the editing process. Animator can name parts of your movie as speciic segments. Now, move on to setting up the movie using the controls provided via the Frames panel.

The Frames Panel The Frames panel (see ig. 5.1) is accessible via the Frames icons that reside on the Home, Palette, Time Select, Optics, and Files panels. In addition, you can select the Frames option from the Animator menu.

Chapter 5: Setting Up the Film

141

Fig. 5.1.

he Frames panel.

As you probably have realized, Animator's activities can get to be pretty hec­ tic. Don't worry, however, your tour gets you up to speed without any com­ plications. Take a detailed look at the features of the Frames panel.

Frame Icons The Frame icons on either side of the slider bar just to the left of the Frames panel title button work with a let-click, as they do on the Home and Palette panels. In the Frames panel, however, the Frame icons have one important diference: If you right-click the single left or single right arrow, the message boxes shown in igures 5.2 and 5.3 appear, enabling you to jump orward or backward a preset number of rames in the movie.

�Fig. 5.2.

he Move Back message box.

Fig. 5,3, he Move Forward messag. box.

The up arrow and the down arrow send you to the beginning and the end of the movie, and the double right arrows play the movie. All panels that the Frame icons appear on are used in these ways.

14 2

Part II: The Production Department

Frame Panel Slider Bars The Frame panel has three slider bars. The top bar is the Frame bar, the middle bar is the Segment bar, and the bottom bar is the Play Speed bar.

Frame Bar. The Frame bar is used to move you to any frame in the movie. You can drag the rame number icon to the desired rame, you can select a frame within the slider bar to immediately jump to, or you can right-click within the slider bar to display a message box . (see fig.

5.4). You can type the rame number that you want to jump

to when this message box appears.

Fig. 5.4. The jump to Frame Number message box.

Segment Bar. The Segment bar is used to set up the size and location of segments in your movie. The purpose of setting up a segment is to enable you to restrict timed applications to the rames within a segment, leaving the balance of the movie untouched. Animator can save up to our individual segments or your use. The Segment slder bar is a graphic representation of the entire length of the lic. Figure

5.5 shows a slider bar that contains 10

rames in the segment, and a segment that starts at rame number

5.

5.5. The Segment bar showing a lOrame segment.

Fig.

The Arrow icon within the slider bar represents the segment within the overall movie; the total length of the movie is represented by the entire slider bar. The start of the segment is on the let of the arrow icon, and the end is on the right. The location of the ends of the icon

Chapter 5: Setting Up the Film

represent the values in the let and right windows on each end of the bar. The left number represents the starting rame number of the segment, and the right number represents the ending rame number of the segment. You can adjust the frame segment bar in a number of ways. An explanation of each part of the segment bar and the adjustments that you can make ollows. The starting and ending rame number boxes each have a left and right arrow to each side of the box. By selecting these arrows, the rame number is adjusted up or down. The corresponding location of the arrow icon in the slider bar changes accordingly. You can set the starting or ending rame number or the segment to the ;urrent rame (the rame you are viewing) by let-clicking the appropriate number box. To adjust the location of the segment within the movie, you can hold down the left mouse button and drag the Arrow icon within the slider bar. You also can adjust the segment's location by let-clicking once on either side of the icon for each rame that you want to move the segment up or down (orward or backward in the movie). You can adjust the size of the segment by holding down the right mouse button within the slider bar and dragging the arrow icon toward the end or start of the movie. Play Speed Bar. The Play Speed bar is used to set the playback speed of the movie. The speed is represented by the number of jiys between each rame.

The speed of the flic is saved with each movie independently and reset each time you reload the movie. The playback speed of a movie also depends on the computer displaying it and the number of pixels that are on-screen of any one rame. You must coordinate careully the playback speed with the rame contents. For example, you may need two rames of a small image (duplicates) or each single rame of a large image to ensure the smooth playback of the movie.

143

144

Part II: The Production Department

Frame Boxes The Frames panel has two Frame boxes. The Total Frames box is just to the right of the Frames slider bar, and the Total Range box is just below the Delete box on the right side of the panel. The Frames boxes have diferent unctions.

Tol Frames Box. The Total Frames box displays the total number. of frames that the flic currently contains. If you right-click the Total Frames box, the Total Frames in Flic message box appears (see ig.

5.6).

Fig. 5.6.

HOl·J

MANY

�jANT

he Total Frames in lic message box.

l-1 ja01

FR.MES

00

VC•U

XN THI$ FLI"!

g

I (

OK

!�I } (CANCELJ

The maximum number of rames in an Animator lic is 4000. If the number of rames

that you enter in the Total Frames in Flic message

box is more than the lic currently contains, Animator adds the rames to the end of the movie. The added rames are duplicates of the last frame of the current lic. If you set a lower number in the Total Frames in Flic box than the current movie contains, Animator asks you whether you want to chop of the rames rom the end of the movie (see ig.

Fig. 5.7. he Cut Of

THIS

5. 7).

HILL

�HOP

OFF FRAMES

AT

THE

ENO

OK?

Frames message box.

If you want to set up a lic rom the deault conditions, use the Total Frames in Flic. Animator duplicates the deault frame to create a blank movie for you to work with. Each rame of an Animator movie is independent of the other rames in the movie. For example, if you want an entire movie to use the same color palette, then you must explicitly tell Animator to do so by using the One Palette option on the Palette screen, or by setting up the palette beore you use the Total Frames in Flic box to set up the movie.

Chapter 5: Setting Up the Film

145

Toal ange Box. The Total Range box displays the number of frames that are afected by the current activities. The total number of rames in the range can be the total number of. rames in the flic, the total rames in the segment, or one when one rame is to be acted upon. The contents of the Total Range box depend on the setting of some of the Frame buttons.

Frame Buttons The buttons on the Frames panel determine what part of the movie is active, enable you to insert or delete rames, turn on the Time option, or increase the number of frames in the movie to add multiple rames of each frame image. Look each of them individually. Insert. The Insert button just to the right of the Total Frames box enables you to add frames to the lic at the current rame location. The frame or rames are added to the flic immediately ollowing the current rame. To add a single rame that is a copy of the current rame, simply let­ click the Insert button and a copy of the current rame is added ollowing the current rame. Your position in the movie remains the same, however. If you want to add a large number of rames, right-click the Insert box. A message box appears, asking you how many rames you want to insert (see ig. 5.8).

.HG1 MINV FRAMEi

TO t�SE.' AT !IJRRENT FRAME!

Fig. 5.8.

l-11

Frames

he Insert OK

l

Note that the Insert Frames unction works diferently rom the Total Frames in Flic unction. The Insert unction adds duplicate copies of the current frame at the current location. The Total Frames in Flic unction adds duplicate copies of the last frame in the lic to the end of the movie.

message box.

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Part II: The Production Department

Delete.

If you want to remove a rame or group of frames rom your

movie, the Delete Frames button removes a single rame if you left­ click the Delete box, and removes multiple rames if you right-click

the box. You are asked to veriy that you want to remove the rame when Animator displays the following message: DELETE THIS FRAME? YES NO

You select the appropriate response for deleting a single frame. If you want to delete more than one frame, Animator displays a message

box (see fig.

5.9).

Fig. 5.9. be Delete Frames message box.

You can set a number of frames to be deleted. To delete all the remaining rames in the flic, enter a number greater than the number of remaining rames. The deleted rames include the current rame plus the rames immediately following it. The rames that stayed in the movie, if any, are renumbered accordingly.

Segment

A B C

D.

The our Segment buttons set the active segment

or Animator to apply actions to. The Segment buttons are directly under the left end. of the Frame bar, and the Current Segment button (if any segments are deined) is highlighted when the segment is

in

use.

To deine a segment, you must irst use the Segment bar to establish the boundaries and location of the segment. Next, right-click the Segment button that you want to assign to the new segment definition. To activate any particular segment, left-click the desired Segment button.

Mark

A B C

D.

The our Mark buttons place a Mark in the current

movie at the current rame to which you can jump at any time from any point in the movie. The Mark buttons are directly under the right

end of the Frame bar.

Chapter 5: Setting Up the Film

To set a Mark on the current rame, right-click the desired Mark button. To jump to a Mark, left-click the Mark button that you have previously defined. When you are on a marked rame, the respective Mark button is highlighted.

Multiple Frames *2 *3 *5. Making sure the movie plays smoothly often is accomplished by having multiple frames of the same image in the movie. The Multiple Frames buttons enable you to create additional copies of every rame in the current lic, inserting the appropriate number of rames between every rame in the flic. The Multiple Frames buttons are to the right of the Mark buttons. The playback speed and the number of rames are two ways that you

can control how your movie is viewed, Text, for example, must remain on-screen longer than a graphic image to be fully comprehended. Thereore, you oten must have a varying number of multiple images in your flic. Also, a lic may play too quickly, and you must multiply the number of images to slow it down. You can use Multiple Frames buttons to create more rames of a lic. Remember, you cannot undo a Multiple Frames application.

Frame/Segmen/All (F S A). Use the Frame, Segment, and All buttons, located between the Segment bar and the Total Range box, to set the current timed application to an individual frame (F), a segment (S), or all (A) of the lic. To select these options, left-click the appropriate button.

Time. The Time button turns on or of the Timed application of Animator activities that are available rom the Time Select panel. To turn the Time unction on, let-click the T button to highlight the button. To access the Time Select panel, right-click the T button. The Time functions are the next part of your tour.

The Time Select Panel Ink, eels, movement of images, and special efects are placed in the movie over time, which means over a range of rames. The Time Select panel is the control center for the use of timed applications in Animator. You can deter­ mine how many frames you want to apply a function to, select some basic movement options, preview the timed application, and render the timed . application.

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1 48

Part II: The Production Department

In addition, the Frame icons, the current ink type, the current color, the brush size, the Time, Filled, Mask, and Key Color options also are available rom the Time Select panel. Having these settings here is an important fea­ ture or ilmmakers who get so excited about the impending animation that they do not set the other applic ation options properly. Access to the Time Select panel is made via the T button on the Home panel, the Palette panel, the Optics panel, and the Frames panel. The Time Select panel is displayed when you have the Time option turned on and an applica· tion is requested that is rendered to a number of frames (such as pasting a eel). You cannot render or preview an application unless the Time Select panel is displayed (see ig.

5.10). These options are discussed later in the

chapter.

5.10. he Time Select panel. Fig.

l--1 � i ( C�HC:t) (:EI I E�1) ( �ENOE:1 )

l STi.L � ' J N.->OjGI I REVE�SE I

The individual components of the Time Select panel are described in the paragraphs that ollow.

Frame Icons. You can use the Frame icons in the same way that you have learned to use them on other panels, and you can right-click the . current rame box to access the Frames panel.

Current Ink. The current ink slot, located just to the right of the Frames icon, can be used to access the Ink Types panel by right· clicking the ink slot. If you let-cl ick the ink sl ot Opaque ink appears as a deault because it is oten used or timed applications. You soon

will realize that many timed applications that do not seem to be working are not working because you forgot to set the ink type to Opaque beore you selected the Time option.

Mode Buttons. Four mode buttons are located to the right of the current ink slot. These buttons enable you to make inal amendments to the mode settings in Animator before applying a timed operation. The mode buttons are the following:

Chapter 5: Setting Up the Film

Time. Use the T button to turn on the Time option when you are ready to begin a preview or rendering. When the T button is highlighted, it serves as a reminder to you that you have the Time option turned on. Filled. The F button enables you to turn the Filled option of or on (or tweening, and so on). Mask. To use a mask, turn on the M button. Oten, you will forget that you have a mask turned on-wreaking havoc with a timed application. You can conveniently turn of a mask by let·clicking the M button. Key Color. To set the key color to clear, make sure that the ' button is on. If you want the key color to be Opaque, turn of the

Key Color button. Brush Icon. The Brush icon works in exactly the same ashion as on the Home panel. The size of the brush is especially important when doing tweens. The Brush icon is to the right of the mode buttons. Current Color Slot. In the upper right corner of the Time Select panel, you can change the current color by right-clicking the slot and accessing the Palette panel. If you are applying ink or doing tweens, you may want to change the ink color. Segment Bar. The Segment bar, located under the Time Select title box and the Frame icons, unctions in the same way as the Segment bar on the Frames panel. Frame Butons. The _F, S, and A buttons and the To Frame, To Segment, and To All buttons work here as they do in the Frames panel. The buttons are located to the right of the Segment bar. Movement Buttons. The six Movement buttons on the Time Select panel are located in the center of the 12-button group on the bottom of the panel. The Movement buttons are duplicated on the Movement menu on the Optics screen. The Movement buttons have no efect on color cycling. The six movement options are the ollowing: Still. The Still button sets the last rame contents of any timed operation to be the only application that is made over the range of rames. Still overrides all other Movement buttons. The primary use of Still is to check the position of a centrally important image over the entire range of rames. In other words, set up an image in the

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Part II: The Production Department

desired location, and apply the image to the range of rames that require that the animation be coordinated with the location. Using Preview, a copy of your movie, or a color that you can remove with the Separate drawing tool, apply the image to the range of rames as a test and then remove the image when you are ready to start the inal rendering.

Ping Pong. The Ping Pong option renders the planned action from start to inish over half the range of frames and then back to the starting position of the action over the second half of the rame range. Figure

5.11 shows the positions of a polymorphic tween

pasted onto one rame using the Ping Pong option.

j.11. he Ping Pong efect (merged into one frame).

Fig.

Reverse. The Reverse option applies the planned action rom inish to start over the planned rame range, rendering the application in the sequence opposite of your original design. In

Slow. In Slow causes the image to traverse greater distances

across the rame at the end of the range of movement. In Slow makes the object appear to speed up as the object approaches the end of the current rame range. Figure

5.12 shows a set of images

combined into one using the In Slow option. Notice the variation in the distance between images.

Chapter 5: Setting Up the Film

15 1

Fig. 5.12.

A sample of

In Slow movement.

Out Slow. The Out Slow option is the opposite of the In Slow option. The image traverses a greater distance across the rame in the first part of the range, decreasing the distance traveled toward the end of the active range. Figure 5.13 shows the efect of Out Slow.

Fig. 5.13. A sample of Out Slow movement.

15 2

Part II: The Production Department

Out Slow makes the object appear to slow down in movement as the object approaches the end of the active range. The Out Slow option can be used in conjunction with In Slow to create a Doppler efect. (The object approaches slowly, speeds up as it goes by, and slows down as it leaves.)

Complete. If you want a motion to appear as a complete cycle, you must turn of Complete to cause the movement of the image to all short of its inal destination by one rame. If you want the movement to return to its point of origin, so that the movie plays continually, then you must turn of Complete. Otherwise, when Complete is turned on, the irst and last rame contain the same image. A range of frames with Complete on and of is shown in igure 5 .14.

Fig. 5.1,. An example showing the diference between Complete on (top) and Complete of (bottom).

To continue the motion in the above example, you must use the last position of the irst set of images as the irst image in the next active rame range. In the second example, you must create the last position yourself-Animator cannot do it or you.

Chapter 5: Setting Up the Film

Action Butt9ns. The Action buttons are the three buttons to the far let in the bottom of the Time Select panel. The buttons are used to enact or cancel all the options and timed sequence animation that you have set up via other Animator functions. The Action buttons are as ollows:

Preview. The Preview button causes Animator to display the timed application as if you were rendering the application of ink in inal orm-so that you can veriy that you did everything correctly. Although Preview runs slower than the actual movie runs, Preview can save you costly correction time and is a great tool or experimenting with diferent efects. You can cancel Preview by holding down the right mouse button while Preview is running. When the preview is completed, Animator stops at the inal frame of the sequence. To return to the Time Select panel, simply click the left mouse button.

Render. The Render option enacts a timed application that you have set up and selected to be executed. The ollowing applications can use (or require) the Time Select panel Render and Preview options: 0 Any tweening operation 0 Any special efects movement 0 Any titling application 0 The Flies menu options: Shrink, Expand, Crop, Pixelate, Lace, Grays Only 0 The Pies menu options: Clear, Apply Ink, Separate 0 The Cel menu options: Paste, Below 0 The Trace menu options: Blue Frame, Unblue Frame, Erase Guides 0 Pasting a Swap Screen, Grid, or Mask 0 The Palette screen options: Palette File loading, anything rom the Arrange menu, anything rom the Value menu except Cut, copying a color in the Main Palette If you want to cancel an ongoing Render application, hold down the right mouse button. If you cancel the Render function in

15 3

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Part II: The Production Department

progress, all the rendering application is undone. A multiple-frame application of Render, on the other hand, cannot be undone.

Cancel.

The Cancel option ends all activities in the Time Select

panel and returns you to the previous screen. The Cancel button has the same efect as right-clicking the screen. This concludes an overview of the unctions performed by the Film Editing group. It's time to start ooling around with some animation. The Chapter

5

tutorial shows you how to create your first animation

with Animator.

Chapter 5 Tutorial In the Chapter

4

tutorial, you experimented with single-frame ink application

efects, using the Amber GIF ile. In this tutorial, you will practice on Mr. Numo, a sample movie that comes with Animator, through various experi­ ments with animation. The nice thing about Mr. Numo is that the frame num­ ber is displayed inside his head.

1.

Make sure that you have the Mr. Numo lic on your hard disk. Use the Files option from the Flic menu and the Load option from the Files menu to load the Mr. Numo flic. If you prefer, you can use the Browse option rom the Flic menu, and rapidly let-click twice to load the Mr. Numo lic.

2. Use the Frames icons on the Home panel to play the Mr. Numo lic and to jump around in the flic, trying out the up, down, right, and left arrows. Note how the numbers in the Current Frame box match the numbers in Mr. Numo's head. Right-click the Current Frame box to get to the Frames panel (see fig.

5.15. he Frames panel. Fig.

5.15).

J�;;'Jl1NSERTI -'·�{ - ; SEGMENT fil fj) ' MARKS l@)J f Eatf E�u Esl lOE L�'E l ::1. .: 1.1 :::. s D l�I s l�I ) s�I l�I l�l L I l TIME SELECT l . PLAY SPEED l�I m __

·

Chapter 5: Setting Up the Film

3. Practice using the Frame slider bar to move from rame to rame by let-clicking at diferent locations in the slider bar, then dragging the frame number icon around in the slider bar, and finally right-clicking in the slider bar. Also, use the Jump to Frame message box.

4. Use the Segment bar to set up a segment rom rame number 2 to rame number 5. Let-click the right arrow next to the ar left (starting position) number on the slider bar. The number should now read 2. Left-click the right arrow next to the ar right (ending position) number on the slider bar until it reads 5. Set the segment by right-clicking the A button. Right-click the screen. Turn on the Time option by selecting the T button, set the current ink type to Dark ink, and then select Apply ink rom the Pies menu. When the Time Select panel appears, select To Segment and Preview. Note that the current color is applied to frame�. 2"through 5-rames 1, 6, 7, and 8 lash by in their original condition. Click the let mouse button and select Cancel rom the Time Sdect panel. 5. From the Frames panel, use the Play Speed bar to play Mr. Numo at diferent speeds. Remember that the more information that is on each frame, the slower the movie runs. Mr. Numa has a moderate amount of information per screen.

6. Note that the Total Frames box says 8 and the Total Range box says 4. Select the down arrow to move to the end of the lic, and then right-click the Total Frames box. Change the number of total rames in the movie to 16 and then play the movie. Notice how rame number 8 now appears to stay on the screen longer. Stop the movie by right-clicking the screen. 7. Use the Frame Bar and advance the movie to rame number 8. Let­ click the Insert button. The movie should now have 17 rames. Let­ click the Delete button and answer yes to the Delete Frame message

box. The movie should have 16 rames again. Now right-dick Insert and add 4 rames to the movie. Right-click the Delete button and delete 12 rames. You should have the equivalent of the original Mr. Numa lic remaining. If you do not, reload the lic and try the first steps of the tutorial again. 8. Set the movie to rame number 5. Select the A Mark button. Play the lic and stop on some rame other than 5 by using the right mouse button. Select the A Mark button again and note that you jump right to rame number 5.

15 5

156

Part II: The Production Department

9. Select the 3* Multiple Frame button. Move through the movie one rame at a time by using the right or left arrows rom the Frame icons and note that three images of each rame are in the movie. Play the movie and notice that the speed of the movie apparently has slowed.

10. Load a new copy of Mr. Numo and draw a circle in the general location of the one shown in igure 5.16 by using the ollowing technique. Right-dick the Spline drawing tool, set the Tension option to

-

3, and set 4 corners as a square to create a circle.

Fig. S.16. Placing a first ball position in Mr. Numo's movie.

11. Right-dick the Spline drawing tool and select Tween. Select Set Start Position rom the Tweening Options menu and right-click to set the start position. Select Set End Position rom the Tweening Options menu and move the four points of the starting position to the position shown in igure 5.17. Right-dick to set the end position.

Chapter 5: Setting Up the Film

15 7

Fig. 5,17,

Placing a second ball position in Mr. Numo's movie.

12. Select Do Tween. The Time Select panel appears. Turn on Complete

and Ping Pong. 13. Select Still and Preview. You should see the last position and the

image that you drew s the irst position pasted to every rame of the movie. This feature enables you to check the location of the starting and ending position or every rame of the movie. Right-click twice on the screen to return to the Draw panel. 14. Make sure that you are on the irst rame (the rame displaying the

first circle that you drew). Select Restore rom the Pies menu to remove the ball image rom the screen. 15. ight-click the Spline drawing tool, select Do Tween, select Ping

Pong, and turn of Complete. Select Preview and see if the bll bounces where you want it to. If necessary, go back and adjust the Start Position or the End Position rom the Tweening Options menu. When everything looks good, render Mr. Numo playing basketball. 16. Reset Animator to its deaults. Right-click the Current Frame box to

display the Frames panel. Right-click the Current Frames box again and set up a movie with 31 rames. Set up Segment A as the first 11 rames, Segment B as rames 12 through 16, Segment C as rames 17 through 21, and Segment D as rames 22 through 31.

158

Part II: The Production Department

17. Use the Poly drawing tool to create a figure similar to the one

shown in figure 5.18. Note that the straight line actually is made up of two lines on top of each other-so that the polygon is continuous and includes the vertical line. Select Set Start Position rom the Tweening Options menu.

Fig. ;..8.

The first quarter of the movie.

18. Select the Set End Position from the Tweening Options menu and

adjust the polygon to look like the one shown in figure 5.19, making the polygon slightly larger and yet leaving the top of the line in the same location.

19. Select Do Tween from the Tweening Options menu. Select the A Segment button rom the Frames panel. Select In Slow, To Segment, and then Render.

20. Select Set End to Start rom the Tweening Options menu. Select Set End Position and change the polygon to appear like the one shown in figure 5.20, again making the polygon a little bit larger and keeping the top endpoint of the line the same. Select Do Tween from the Tweening Options menu and the B Segment button rom the Frames panel, turn of the In Slow option, and select Render.

Chapter 5: Setting Up the Film

} S9

Fig. 5.19. he second quarter of the movie.

Fig ;.20. . .

he third quarter of the movie.

1 60

Part II: The Production Department

21. Repeat step 21, except use Segment C and the polygon shown in figure 5.21. You will not have to turn of In Slow again.

Fig. 5.21.

be last

quatB' of the movie.

22. Repeat step 21, except use Segment D, turn of Complete, and use Out Slow.

23. Select To All and then play the movie. You should see a prime example of the Doppler efect.

Chapter Summary ln this chapter, you learned how to manipulate time in a movie. At irst, you may not have realized that you were working with time. You probably thought you were editing frames. The sooner you begin to think of the movie as it relates to time, the better your lies will be. In the next chapter, you will encounter some moving topics-special efects. You need the skills you learned in this chapter to work with the Special Efects group, so be sure to practice what you have learned.

°

Creating Special Efects � his part of the tour, the Special Efects department, is where you nor­ � mally see a bunch of people hunched over models, peering into minia­ ture ilm viewers, and working on background and stage lighting. Fortunately or

us,

Animator

makes

creating

special

efects

much

more

fun

and

productive. In this chapter, you will learn how to make a variety of elements ly around the screen, twisting and turning and shrinking or expanding as they move. Animator can ly entire movies, eels, polygons, or splines about Animator's three-dimensional space in many ways that can be combined with each other. You may need to review the portions of Chapter 1 that concern the three-dimensional aspects of Animator's screen before you proceed with this chapter. With visions of lying movies dancing in your head, move on to a definition or two before you start your tour.

New Terms in This Chapter Special efects are really visual efects for the most part, hence the title Optics. You already have dealt with many aspects of Optics screen basics in Chapters I and 5, so only a few additional definitions need to be considered. Graphic Element. A graphic element is one of our objects that can be manipulated by the features of the Optics menu, namely flic, eel, polygon, and spline. Track. A track is

a

predeined and stored set of movements along a

speciic path.

16 1

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Part II: The Production Department

Wrerame. A wireframe is an outline of an image that is often used

to test movement and manipulation of the image ( wireframes move aster than solid objects because wireframes use less memory). Do not be misled by the relatively brief set of deinitions. This chapter describes many high·tech features and requires diligence and practice to master. It's also un.

The Optics Screen The home base or the Special Efects group is the Optics screen, available rom the Animator menu by selecting Optics. A few remaining special efects from the Efects option are in the Flic menu. You will learn more about those

efects in Chapter 10. The Optics screen contains most of the motion efects that are available to Animator. As you learned in the last chapter, the Time Select panel contains duplications of some of the Preset motion efects. Custom and reined move­ ment, however, are accomplished in the Special Efects department. Figure

6.1 shows what the Optics screen looks like.

Fig. 6.1. he Opics screen.

Chapter 6: Creating Special Efects

The Optics Panel Begin the tour with the Optics panel. Remember, you can move all the Ani· mator panels by dragging the panel around using the Title box. You often need to move the Optics panel while you are planning diferent motion see· narios so that you can see what is going on. Many of the functions on the Optics panel work as they do on panels that you have learned about already. Note that the motion options are interrelated. To help you understand how they work, your tour irst introduces you to each of the motion options. At a temporary stop along the tour, you will learn about the three-dimensional manipulation of graphic elements and how it is accomplished by the Special Efects department. Frame/Segmen/All Buttons. Use these but:ons to set the action to

the Frame, Segment, or entire ic. The buttons are just to the right of the Title box. Frame Icons. The Frame icons enable you to view any part of the

flic while you are in the Optics screen. Let-click the required arrow icon or use the Frame icon to make the Frame panel appear. The Frame icons are on the top of the panel, just to the right of the FIS/A buttons. Current Ink Slot. You can change the current ink type by right·

clicking the Current Ink slot and displaying the Ink Types panel. The ink type deaults to Opaque ink if you let-click the ink slot. Usually, Opaque ink is the best for the rendering of motion, so the deault is oten correct. The Current Ink slot is next to the Frame icons on the top of the panel. You also can use the other ink types to render motion, but you will learn how to merge movies in later chapters, and many of the special ink efects can be better accomplished by overlaying movies. Mode Buttons. The standard mode buttons (T, M, F, and K) are in

the upper right area of the Optics panel. You can use them to turn on or of Time, Filled, Mask, and Key Clear. In addition, you can access the Time Select panel and the Mask menu by right-clicking the respective buttons. Brush Icon. Use the Brush icon to set diferent brush widths when

applying splines and polygons to multiple frames in motion. Current Color Slot. Right-click the Current Color slot in the upper

right coner of the Optics panel to display the Palette screen.

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Part II: The Production Department

Wirerame. The Wirerame button causes Animator to display a wirerame of the graphic element that is planned or optic movement in a preview of the motion. Flies and eels are indicated with a box that is the size of the inal rendered image. Polygons and splines are represented by a single·line image of their actual shape. The Wireframe button is the far let button on the second row of the Optics panel. The wirerame moves along the designed path, indicating the entire sequence of events that you can preview. The wirerame feature shows a wirerame instead of the actual graphic element in motion, which the Preview option shows.

Use. The Time Select panel appears when you let-click the Use button. From the Time Select panel, you can select Preview or

Render. If you want to Previ ew the rendering, select Use, Preview, and then Cancel to return to the Optics panel.

Continue Move. Many times you need to plan motion paths as a series of individual motion paths with a new path or each major direction change or rotation motion. The Continue Move button lets you pick up where you let of by retaining all the previous motion options and starting the next motion definition where the previous deinition ended. The Continue Move button can be ound in the center of the second line on the Optics panel. For example, if you start a motion path at the center of the screen, end the path in the lower let corner, and set the object lipping during the move, you can use Continue Move to start the sequence over, draw a new path, and without resetting anything else, the object flips during the next move. More complicated motions, however, can become complex when Continue Move is used, so a way exists to clear all the motion settings, returning them to their defaults. Use Continue Move to set

the previous ending position to the new starting position and then use Clear Track, which is discussed next. If you do not use Clear Track, any adjustments that you want to make to a motion are depicted with a wirerame at the ending position of the current motion path.

Clear Track. The Clear Track option returns all the motion settings to their default conditions and leaves the starting position in its current location. The Clear Track button is on the ar right end of the Optics panel's second line. Clear Track afects the Spin, Size, Move, and Path options to the motion settings. The deault settings are listed in table 6.1.

Chapter 6: Creating Special Efects

Table 6.1 The Deault Motion Settings Setting

Description

Spin - Center

The center of the graphic element

Spin - Axis

0,0,100

Spin - Turns

0,0,0

Size - Center

The center of the graphic element

Size - X/Y/BOTH

100% elarge, 100% reduce

Move - Displacement

0,0,0

Path

Eliminates the path rom memory but retains any tension, continuity, and bias settings

These options may look a little mysterious right now, but their use becomes clearer as you progress with the tour. Refer to table 6.1 as you master the planning of your own motion paths.

Mouse Control. The Mouse Control option sets limits as to which axis or axes that you can move the graphic element about while using the mouse to plan a motion path. The mouse control settings are ound in the lower let corner of the Optics panel. When you are planning a graphic element motion, you can use the mouse to adjust the wirerame's position on the screen. By restricting the axes that the wireframe can be moved about, you ensure proper image alignment when the rendering is applied. The adjustments to the settings or the various motion options are made dynamically while you are moving the graphic element with the mouse. For example, if you have the mouse control button set to Y, then changes. you make to the position of graphic element with

the mouse can be made only about the x- and y-axes. To activate the Mouse Control option, select the button that sets up the axis or axes as the restrictions that you want active and left-click the drawing screen. Left-click again to initiate the mouse adjustment and drag the wirerame image around on the screen. Upon completion of the adjustment, let-click again to set the final wirerame position. You also can cancel the activity prior to setting the final position by right-clicking the screen. Here are the various mouse control settings and what they do when the motion options are at the deault settings: Y. Constrains movement to the left, right, up, and down Z. Constrains movement to the left, right, in, and out

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Part II: The Production Department

X. Constrains movement to up, down, in, and out X,Y, or

Z. Constrains movement to let and right, up and down, or

in and out, respectively.

Proportional. Retains the Y ratios set up by the Size option and is used only during Sizing functions Figure 6.2 shows what you see when you dynamically adjust the graphic element by using the mouse control options.

Fig. 6.2.

Using the Mouse Control opion.

The wirerame image shown in igure 6.2 can be adjusted in a variety of ways, depending on the Special Efects department tools you are using. Figure 6.2 shows a wireframe of a eel and the coordinate icon. Adjustment generally is made by let-clicking the screen and then

using the cursor to move the coordinate icon or the graphic element's wireframe. Later in this chapter, you will learn what cursor movements are required or the Spin, Size, Move, and Path options. You do not have to hold down the mouse button-just left·click again to set the wireframe to the new position. Spin. The first option for motion on the Optics menu on the lower right side of the panel is Spin. The Spin option determines the direction and orientation of the graphic element's rotation. The rotation spins about a combination of axes that are selected by using slider bars and the mouse. When you select Spin, the buttons or Center, xis, and Turns appear (see fig. 6.3).

6: Creating

Chapter

Special

Efects

167

Fig. 6.3. he Spin subpanel.

Notice represent

that

the Animator's

subpanel

has

three

slider

bars.

These

slider

bars

three-dimensional space: the x-, y-, and

z-coordinates. You can adjust the value in the slider by clicking the slider bar on either sid e of the current icon position, or you can drag the icon within the slider. In addition, you can change the values by using the arrow

icons on each end of the slider bar to

advance the coordinate value incrementally. The maximum range of the coordinates on any axis is + 500 (down, right, or in) or

-

500 (up, let, or out). The point in space

(the combined x, y, and z values of the three slider bars) represents diferent actors of three-dimensional manipulation, depending on whether you are adjusting Center or Axis (see

ig.

6.4).

-soo

z

Fig. 6.4. The three­ dimensional coordinates of Animator.

SCREEN CENTER

168

Part II: The Production Department

Notice that the coordinate system used by the motion portion of Animator is the same as the screen coordinate system that you

learned about in Chapter 1. Notice also that the coordinates can exceed the actual screen size because the screen is only 32 0

x

200. This act can be conusing until you realize that the screen

coordinate system is concerned with pixel numbers, and the three· dimensional requirements of the motion options are concerned with movement in space that starts rom the center of your screen or the graphic element that you intend to move.

The Spin deaults can be changed to modiy the type of spinning motion that you desire. The settings are described in the ollowing paragraphs.

Center. The spin center is the point in space about which the graphic element spins. The best way to think about the spin center is to visualize a string attached rom the spin center to the center of the graphic element. The center of the the graphic element starts out at the pixel coordinates of 160,100,0 or a lic graphic element. The center of the eel, spline, or polygon depends on where you have placed the elements on the screen. The deault position of the spin center is the same position as the center of the graphic element. As you change the location of the spin center, the string between the center of the graphic element and the spin center

gets longer or shorter, as the case may be. The spin center becomes the center of the graphic element's universe. Selecting the Center button enables you to move the center using our options:

0

x-,

y-, z·coordinate bars

0 The Mouse Control panel with dynamic mouse adjustment

of the center's location 0 Setting the spin center to the deault position 0 Setting the spin center to the same as the Size option's

center (explained in a moment) Changing the values of the X, Y, or Z slider bars changes the coordinates of the spin center and the spin center's relationship to the graphic element. Using the Mouse Control options does the same thing, except you get to see on-screen a moving icon that represents the motion center. Ater you have moved the spin center, the values in the X, Y, or Z slider bars have

changed to represent the new location of the spin center.

Chapter 6: Creating Special Efects

The top slider bar is the x-coordinate slider bar. The deault x-coordinate is displayed if you have made no changes to the location when you reviewed the special efects techniques. You can move the center to coordinates that are a maximum of 500 pixels to the right ( +) or let ( - ) of the deault x-coordinate. The center slider bar is the y-coordinate slider bar. As is the case with the x-coordinate values, you can move the center a maximum of 500 pixels down ( + ) or 500 pixels up ( - ) rom the default y-coordinate. The bottom.slider bar, the z-coordinate slider bar, enables you to move the spin center into ( + ) or out of ( - ) the screen a maximum of 500 units in each direction.

Using the Deault option for spin center placement enables you to spin the graphic element about its own center. Motion using the center of the graphic element is the easiest to predict because you don't have to make any mental adjustments to allow or the act that the three-dimensional distance between the spin center and the center of the graphic element must be represented in two dimensions. Using the Size option or the spin center enables you to coordinate the changes in the size of the graphic element with the spin motion that you have selected. If you were depicting the plight of a bubble as it disappears down a drain, the bubble spins and gets smaller as it spirals downward. Using the Size option smoothly coordinates such changes. Figure 6.5 illustrates an example of manipulating the spin center. is. The best way to think ·about the motion axis is to realize

that the origin of the axis never moves away rom the spin center and always has the coordinates 0,0,0. The orientation of the axis

d eaults s

x

to the right and let, as y up and down, and as

z in

and out. The orientation of the axis can be changed by changing the coordinates of the axis vector. The axis vector is always along the positive z-axis, and when you change the direction of the axis vector, you are moving the orientation of the coordinate axes by dragging them around, using the positive z-axis as the handle. Imagine that you have a taut string extending from the spin center to a point held by your index finger and thumb. If you move your hand so that the end of the string rests on the coordinate designated by the three slider bars, you can visualize how you are moving the axis vector around in three-dimensional space.

169

170

Part II: The Production Department "

Fig. 6.;. Moving the

spin center.

MOTION

CENTER

RELOCATED

AT CENTER OF

MOTION

GRAPHIC ELEMENT

CENTER

The deault position of the axis vector is such that your hand is held out in front of you inside the computer monitor, and the axis vector extends from the spin center on the screen to your hand away rom you. The coordinates of your hand at the default position are 0,0,100. If you move your hand so that its coordinates are 0,100,0, then you are turning the axis so that the original orientation parallel with the screen surace is now parallel to and oriented with the desktop that the screen is sitting on. (Remember that 100 y-units is down the screen.) Changing the orientation of the spin axis by manipulating the axis vector does not change the position of the graphic image in relation to the screen. The location of the axes is rotated with respect to the graphic element instead. Figure 6.6 illustrates an example of manipulating the axis vector. Imagine that you are looking at a painting that is oriented in the same way that the deault Animator axes are. Assume that you want to hold the center of the painting at the same elevation from the floor, and you tilt the painting back so you can see whether it has any dust. You do this in Animator by changing the coordinates or the axis vector rom 0,0,100 to 0, 100,0.

Chapter

6: Creating Special Efects

171

Fig. 6.6. Moving the axis vector.

AXIS

VECTOR

RELOCATED

AT DEFAULT

AXIS

COORDINATES

VECTOR

You can select axis orientation by using the X, Y, and Z slider bars, the X, Y, and Z buttons below the slider bars, or the Mouse Control options and the Mouse. When you select the Axis option, the panel to the right of the Axis button changes to look like igure

6.7.

Fig. 6.7. The Spin xis subpanel.

The top slider bar, with the let and right arrow icons, is used to change the x-axis coordinates of the vector direction. The x-axis deault is

0. Changing the x-axis coordinate acts to push the

painting's let or right edge away rom, or toward, the screen. The middle slider bar has up and down arrows and is used to adjust the y-axis coordinates. The deault y·coordinate is

0.

Changing the y-axis coordinate pushes the painting's top or bottom edge away rom the screen.

} 72

Part II: The Production Department

The bottom slider is the Z slider bar and has arrows that are

intended to represent moving in and out of the screen, even

though they appear to be a diagonal adjustment. The deault z-axis setting is + I 00. The third axis always remains stable with respect

to the other two. If you want to flip the image in wo directions at once, then you must adjust the z-coordinate at the same time that you adjust the x- or y- coordinate.

You also can use the X, Y, and Z buttons immediately below the slider bars to reorient the axes

90 degrees to the axis of the

button you selected. In other words, to get the deault setup of

0,0,100, select the

Y button.

Z button. To set the axes as

0,100,0, select the

You can set the axis vector by dragging the vector on-screen using the mouse and the Mouse Control buttons. To set the axes to

100,0,0, left-click the

X Mouse Control button. Then left-click the

screen and drag the axes to the right by left-clicking the screen

again and moving the mouse right Left-click to set the position.

100 pixels from the center icon.

Of course, to move exactly I 00 pixels, the slider bar is much

easier than using a mouse. A mouse works best when you have set

the turns (coming up next) and you want to rotate the graphic element on a diagonal axis.

Turns. The Turns motion option enables you to set the number of

revolutions that the graphic element makes duting the current

motion segment. The graphic element revolves around the spin

center and also changes direction as req�frnt-/y the axis vector orientation.

When you select the Turns option, a new set of slider bars and

buttons appears to the right of the Turns button. You can set the

number of revolutions

by using the

X, Y, or Z slider bars, or you

can select the revolutions dynamically by moving the mouse

around on-screen the number of revolutions desired. Figure 6.8

shows what the Turns panel looks like.

Fig. 6.8.

he Spin

Turns subpanel.

I

@ f ,-0 >) � OPAQUJ tJ J @ @ :' 0 -: .: I F YSE I l CON.NUE M.VEl l CLEAR T:ACK I . SPIN . CENTER m � MOJSE CONTRdL SIZE m .. . " (XV f. :z)f ZYl MOJE AXIS C . .. ll " m ( z Ji( x j ·' t�· PAT� TURNS v::.1 vst u· .t1,4:____2 1 HI�EF:A !E

::

Chapter

6: Creating Special Efects

17 3

The slider bars set the number of turns around their respective axes, depending on the setting of the buttons below the slider bars. Each button sets a varying part of a turn. Table

6.2 shows

what each button does or the slider bar settings.

Table 6.2 The Slider Bar Settings Setting 11360

Effect The slider bar numbers represent one degree

(1/360) of

revolution about the axis (good or dynamic mouse adjustment)

118

The slider bar numbers represent the number of

116

Each number in the slider bar equals

116 of a turn

114

Each number in the slider bar equals

114 of a turn

112

Each number in the slider bar equals

112 of a turn

1

Each number in the slider bar equals 1 turn

1/8 turns that are made (8 in the slider bar equals one turn)

Size. The Size option is the second Motion option on the Optics panel. The Size option enlarges or reduces the size of the graphic element over time. The scaling of the graphic element occurs along the x- or y-axis, but not the z-axis. Left-clicking the Size button displays the Size panel (see ig.

6.9).

Fig. 6.9. he Size subpanel.

The Size option enables the adjustment of the location of the center or the scaling operation and the ratio of the change in size between the x- and y-axes.

Center. ter selecting the Center option, the panel to the right of the Center button can be used to adjust the location of the size center, much the same as the location of the spin center.

} 74

Part II: The Production Department

The X, Y, and Z slider bars move the center rom the Deault location of the center of the graphic element. The movement range is +I

-

500 units. The default button resets the size center

to the center of the graphic element. The Same as Spin button sets the size center to the same coordinates as the spin center. Finally, you also can use the Mouse Control options to dynamically locate the spin center with the mouse. Selecting the Both, X, or Y buttons displays two slider bars or setting the ratio of the scaling of the graphic element. The panel is shown in figure 6.10.

Fig. 6.10. he Size Center subpanel.

SIZE MOVE PA"H

BOTH

ENLARGE

The slider bars represent the percentage of change in size over time or the graphic image. The percentage of increase or decrease in size is established by the ratio between the values in the icons within the slider bars. The Reduce slider bar (the top bar) is the numerator of the size ratio. The Enlarge slider bar (the bottom bar) is the denominator of the size ratio. The ratio of the slider bars is displayed in the Size Ratio Number box below the Both button. For example, if the Reduce slider bar contains the number 50 and the Enlarge slider bar contains the number 100, the scale of the graphic element is reduced 50%. Conversely, if the Reduce slider bar contains 100 and the Enlarge slider bar contains 50, then the graphic element is enlarged 100%. The mouse can dynamically size the graphic element along the x­ or y-axis, or proportionally between both axes. The Proportional mouse control button is not available when the Center Size button is selected. Move. The third motion option on the Optics panel is Move. The

Move option sets the graphic element in motion in a straight line rom its existing location to a displacement in the x-, y-, and z-directions as established by the values in the slider bars of the Move panel (see ig. 6.11 ).

Chapter 6: Creating Special Efects

MOUSE

CON:ROL

( >=:vl( xz[ Z'l @]( x}

} 75

Fig. 6.11. he Move subpanel.

The X, Y, and Z slider bars set the number of pixels that the graphic ·

image moves. The positive and negative numbers cause the direction of the movement in the same fashion as you have learned already. The Move displacement can be selected dynamically by the mouse,

using the Mouse Control options. To set the displacement in the

x-direction, or example, select the X Mouse Control button, left-click

the screen to display the wirerame, and let-click again to drag the wirerame in the positive (right) or negative (let) x-direction. Let­

click to place the graphic element at the new x-displacement.

Pah. The ourth major motion option on the Optics panel is Path.

The Path option is used to deine a motion path using a spline,

polygon, sampled line, or a clocked option. Selecting the Path button changes the Motion options panel (see ig. 6.12).

Fig. 6.12. The Path subpanel.

As you can see rom igure 6.12, the four Path creation options are displayed along with editing choices or how you use the Path

options. The editing choices are Open, Closed, Edit, View, Load, and Save, and sliders are available for setting the tension, continuity, and bias of the spline. The Mouse Control options have no efect on the path. The Path creation options are discussed in the ollowing paragraphs. Note that the Path option moves the image without using three­ dimensional settings of the previous Motion options. Also, the Path

176

Part II: The Production Department

option does not afect the three-dimensional motion options that have been established previously using the other options.

Spline. The Spline option enables you to draw a path for moving the graphic element in the same manner that the Spline drawing tool works. To create a spline path, let-click the screen to display the wireframe, then let-click where you want the path to begin. Move the mouse to drag the path to the next point on the path and let­ click again to set the point. Continue to place spline path points. When you are inished, right-dick to place the spline. Figure

6.13

shows a spline path.

Fig. 6.13. A

spline path example.

Polygon. The Polygon option creates a motion path just like the Spline option, except that the lines between the selected points are straight instead of curved (see ig.

6.14).

Chapter 6: Creating Special Efects

1 77

Fig. 6.14. A polygon

path example.

Sampled. The Sampled option means that the cursor movement is constantly sampled by Animator to determine the path that the graphic element is going to ollow. The Sampled option works in the same fashion as the draw tool. The sampling continues until you release the let mouse button. The Sampled option is shown in figure 6.15.

Fig. 6.15. A sampled

path example.

} 78

Part II: The Production Department

Clocked. The Clocked option uses a timing function to enable you

to draw a reehand path until time expires. The time that you have available varies, depending on the number of frames and the play speed. The creation of the path ends when the hands on the clock reach noon. Figure 6.16 shows the use of the Clocked path option.

Fig. 6.16. A

clock path example (the clock is in the upper screen).

When you are using the Clocked option, Animator adjusts the number of rames to approximate the timing of your mouse movements (delays, speed-ups, and so on).

The paths can be created, reviewed, and altered by using the ollowing options: Open. The Open option enables you to create paths that remain

open when you inish creating them. You can open the current path even if the path was closed when you created it. Closed. The Closed option enables you to create closed-end

polygon and spline paths, and closes any paths currently in memory, whether they exist as previously loaded iles (see the Load option, described in a ollowing paragraph) or you are in the process of creating them.

Chapter

6: Creating Special Efects

179

Edit. The Edit option enables you to change the location of the path points. The Edit unction works in the same way that the Tween menu Set and Adjust options work. Figure

6.1 7 shows the

Edit option on a clock path.

Fig. j,J 7, Editing a clock path.

View. When you select the View option, the current path is displayed. Right-click to return to the Optics panel.

Load. The Load option enables you to load a previously created path ile. The path iles have the file extension PLY. Saved polygon iles, such as the ones you create when doing tweens, can be used . as path files.

Save. The Save option saves the current path to a ile name of your choice.

Tensio/ContinuityBias. The Tension, Continuity, and Bias slider bars appear upon the selection of the corresponding button. These slider bars have the same efect as the Spline drawing tool slider bars. Now that this part of the special efects tour is complete, step back and take the time to correlate the use and efects of the our motion options rom the Optics panel. Call this stop a midtour cofee break and use the time to gain an overview of the three-dimensional aspects of Animator.

180

Part II: The Production Department

The Many Dimensions of the Special Efects Department To use the amazing animation features of the Special Efects department, you must grasp how all the pieces of the motion puzzle it together. A summary of the aspects of motion and the three dimensions of Animator should help. Here are some things to keep in mind about the Special Efects department: 0 The coordinates of 3-D space in Animator are based on pixels or

reference and orientation purposes. In other words, the scale of the three-dimensional environment of Animator is arbitrary in actual dimensions, but related directly to the image size on the screen. 0

The ;�nter of all Animator activities starts with the location of the spin or size centers. You should set the center of the spin or size beore setting the other options because you can lose the orientation of the original graphic element and have a dificult time setting the coordinates for the spin or size center.

0 The center of the axes is always at the coordinates of the spin

center or the size center. Therefore, the only time that the center of the axes is at coordinates 0,0,0 is when the center of the spin or size option is at 0,0,0 (the upper-left corner of the screen, with the z-coordinate on the surace of the screen). 0 If the spin center is on the center of the graphic element, then the

element itself spins about its center. If the spin center is elsewhere, then the graphic element spins about the center of its universe. Figure 6.18 shows a rudimentary example of the diference between these two situations. 0 You can achieve the same efect as rotating the axes

90 degrees

simply by changing the axis around which the turns are made. The only way to achieve a rotation around a diagonal axis, however, is to chan ge the coordinates of the axis vector to a diagonal position (e.g., x 100 and z 100). =

=

0 Using the Mouse Control option and dynamically setting the

motion of the graphic element provides you with a visual veriication of the planned movement. Because the Axes icon does not have an indicator telling you which axis is which, however, multiaxis movement can be hard to visualize. The best way to predict what is going to happen is to veriy the movement with a single axis activated irst, so that you can understand which part of the movement is around which axis.

Chapter 6: Creating Special Efects

181

Fig. 6.18. he relationship of spin center to the graphic element.

SPIN CENTER

RELOCATED

AT CENTER OF

SPIN

GRAPHIC ELEMENT

CENTER

0 Setting the axes orientation using the slider bars, and then using the Mouse Control options to view size and turns, can help you understand what is necessary to achieve an efect. Verify what you see by checking the values displayed in the slider bars after adjustment. 0 ter motion has been set, the remaining adjustments are made rom the end position of the motion. 0 Use the Move option to change the object's location. For example, if you want to rotate an object around the z-axis in progressively

tighter circles, inally having the object spin about

its own center,

use the Move option to change the object's z-coordinate over the length of the appropriate lic segment. If you want to move the location of an object on the screen, use the Path option. 0 Wireframe plays the motion in near real-time, displayin g the movement in a ashion similar to the final efect. Preview does not display the motion in near real-time, but Preview enables you to see the actual graphic image during the motion. Preview often is required or correctly assessing the inal appearance of the planned motion.

18 2

Part II: The Production Department

The above observations, when coupled with the Chapter 6 tutorial, should make the three dimensions of Animator's Special Efects department seem like home to you.

The Optics Menu Bar At the top of the Optics screen, the Optics Menu bar contains three menus. The Presets, Movement, and Element menus can be accessed by placing the cursor over the desired menu. The Special Efects department has the same Movement options on the Time Select panel of the Movement menu. You get a brief reminder of what the Movement options do in the ollowing section, but if you need a complete reresher course, go back to Chapter 5 and review the Time Select panel options. Many of the functions in the Optics Menu bar augment the unctions in the Optics panel and some of the functions in the Presets menu are shortcuts to the same efects that you can achieve in the Optics panel movement options. The Elements menu sets up the graphic element that you can manipulate with the motion options. To continue your tour, stop by the Presets menu first.

Presets Menu. Animator has a number of preset movement descriptions that perorm some of the basic movements, saving you time and efort. Figure 6.19 shows the Presets menu; a discussion of the options that are available rom the Presets menu ollows.

Fig. 6.19.

he Preses menu.

SP. .NE

O·EN

EDIT

SIZE

··-OL"GON VIEW

MOVE

SAMP LEO .OIO

·ATH

C LC•C dir Uolu�e in driue C has no label Directory of C:\ANIMAT\QUE

Fig. 8.1. A directoy ising.

1-06-90

1-06-90 OSA FLI 87934 10-21-89 CARD GIF 13461 10-19-89 GRAMBEH GIF 2&630 10-31-89 GHAYRAD GIF 17860 10-20-89 GREY GIF 1214 10-18-89 GREY SET 1076 12-06-89 8 File(s) 188%896 bltes I

I

2=27p 2:27p 7:22p 0 : 54p 3:20p 6:59p 5=15p 3:01p free

(:\AfIMAT\QUE>

wildcard is either a question mark (?) or an asterisk (*). Question marks are used as wildcards for single characters and asterisks are used to represent groups of characters. For example, all the film files can be listed by DOS by using an asterisk with the FLI ile extension: DIR *.li. All the movies named in a similar ashion, such as PARTl.FLI, PART2.FLI, and so on, can be listed by using DIR PART?.FLI. The easiest way to understand DOS file management is to imagine that each hard disk or hard disk partition (C:, D:, E:, and so orth) is a ile storage room. In each room are file storage cabinets named the same as the direc· tory name. Each file cabinet has drawers that are labeled with the same name as the subdirectory. Each ile drawer contains iles with the same name as the ile name. If the files are large, they may contain file olders that have names that match the sub-subdirectories. The whole point of files, directories, and subdirectories is to keep the ilm studio oice neat and tidy and to help you avoid misplacing files.

The File Panel The Filmmaking library's front counter is the File panel. You can get there from a host of places on the Animator studio lot. All you have to do is look

Chapter

8: Managing the Filmmaking Library

21 7

or a sign that says Files. Nearly every department in the Animator studio has access to the ilm library. When you select the Files option rom a department, Animator makes some assumptions about what ile type you are interested in. The file type is established by the department that you are vis­ iting. You can change the file type when you get to the Files panel. Table 8.1 lists the types of iles that Animator uses. Table 8.1 File Name Etensions nd File Tpes

File Extension

File Usage

.CEL

A saved eel

.COL

A saved palette

.FLI

An animation ilm

.FNT

A text font ile

.GIF

A single screen image

.MSK

A saved mask

.OPT

An optics settings file (excludes path)

.PLY

A saved polygon or path

.REC

A saved macro recording

.SET

A collection of saved Animator settings

.TXT

An ASCII text file

·

Animator also uses program iles, but you don't need to be concerned about them in making movies. If you are interested in a description of those iles, refer to the Animator

Reference Manual. When you select Files rom one of 8.2.

Animator's menus, the Files panel appears, as shown in igure

FLIC I TEXT 11 OPTIC I I PICjRE 11 FONT I lS'TTINGSl I ' CEL t f FOLYGON JI MASK I I,sI L§TTE '11 PATH I I R.CO:O I :

.

,

You can display the Files panel from the following menus and panels: 0 Cel menu 0 Extra menu (Record, Mask, and Settings pop-up menus) a Flic menu 0 Optic Presets menu 0 Palette panel 0 Pie menu

Fig. 8.2. he Files panel.

218

Part III: At the Movies

0 Poly drawing tool options 0 Titling panel and Text drawing tool (File Selector panel) 0 Optics Path panel The Files panel contains a Files Panel Title button that you can use to move the panel about the screen, as is the case with all Animator panels. In addi­ tion, the Files panel includes Frame icons. These icons are helpul in assisting you in moving about the current movie to select various eels, palettes, set­ tings, and pies to save from the movie. The Files panel also contains 12 file-type buttons that you can use to direct Animator to a particular file-type category.

Types of Files Animator uses 12 file types to store data for later use. Each file type plays an impo-ant part in Animator's overall moviemaking features.

Flic. Files with the FU extension are movies. Flic files can be brought into Animator at any time, replacing any current movie in memory. Flic iles can be from I to 4000 rames long, and can be combined with other FU files in a variety of ways. Thus, you may ind it convenient to divide a movie into segments and urther divide those segments into components, whether they be linked end-to-end or overlaid. You will learn more about combining movies later in the

book. Besides storing completed work, flie iles are best used when each element of an animation is placed in a diferent movie. (In Chapter

11, you will learn more about the use of storyboards for the coordination of the individual flic files.) A good example of keeping components separate is having a background that moves in one movie and a oreground that moves in another. When the two are combined, they create the final segment. Keeping separate foreground and background lies facilitates two practices that save time and help you avoid frustration. First, you can edit the background and the foreground separately, which is much easier than editing the combined movie. Second, you can change the way the oreground and the background relate to each other, and you can even change the length of the movie segment, as long as the two are kept separate. You should keep copies of all the separate pieces until you are absolutely sure that you are finished with the movie.

Chapter 8: Managing the Filmmaking Library

Text. Text iles contain ASCII characters that can be used to create titling in the Animator movies. Text iles (.TXT) can be imported into Animator and reused at any time in any segment of the movie. Importing a text ile replaces any text currently in memory. If you are creating business presentations and expect to repeat various messages, both in the current movie and in future movies, a saved text ile will save you a great deal of extra typing. You may even be able to elicit the help of others in creating the movie by having them prepare text iles on another computer and passing on the ASCII ile to you for incorporation into the movie.

Optic. Optic iles (.OPT) are used to save the current settings included in the Optics screen menus. When an optic ile is loaded, all the current settings are replaced with the settings contained in the file. Optic iles do not retain the design of the motion path, however, which must be saved in a diferent file. If you are happy with a particular type of motion and ind that you want to use it more than once, even with slight variations, you can save the settings in an optics ile. For example, assume that you have a double back lip with one and one-half twists igured out to perfection. If you save the motion settings required to perform this special efect, you can use the efect over more or fewer frames, apply it to a variety of graphic elements, or use it to recreate a movement in a movie that requires extensive editing.

Picture. Picture iles (.GIF) use a copyrighted file ormat created or public use by CompuServe, a dial-up data resource service used by hundreds of thousands of people throughout the world. Forums amount to special interest groups that specialize in computer graphics and have thousands of computer graphic images stored in the GIF ormat (more about CompuServe in Chapter 11 ). Files with the GIF extension, or pie iles, can be used as graphic elements in the Special Efects department, can be used as the basis or a complete animation, can serve as a background or a lic, or can simply serve as a source or a color palette. Pies also can be used to create storyboards for the design and management of the movie. Many of the images in this book were stored as pies and then captured by a screen-capture utility that views GIF files outside Animator. Pie iles can be created in their uncompressed format and saved as GIF files or viewing by programs that display GIF iles. Changing the deault ile extension will be discussed in a moment.

219

220

Part III: At the Movies

Font. The size and typeface of the text used by Animator are stored in a ont ile (.FNT). Font iles can be loaded only rom the Text drawing tools panel or rom the Titling panel. Font iles are not created by Animator, but are supplied with the program. Thus, font files cannot be saved rom within Animator.

Setngs. Files with the ile extension SET contain a record of much of the movie environment that was extant in Animator at the time the ile was created: the Mini-palettes, grid, default settings, and active tools and inks. Saving settings iles can be a great timesaver during the creation of a movie. If you are building the movie in segments, you can recreate the environment or each segment with uniormity simply by loading the Settings file and the Palette ile, if required.

Cel. A saved eel (.CEL) retains its original screen coordinates, color palette, and pixel image. If you plan to reuse an image, such as a logo, in numerous parts of a movie or in diferent movies, you should save the image as a eel. A full screen image can be saved as a GIF or a CEL ile with the same results, but partial screen images must be saved as CEL files.

Polygon. A polygon file (.PLY) retains the points used to construct a polygon. The polygon can be used to save part of a tweenable shape or a path for motion. The Oval, Petal, Poly, Rpoly, Shape, Spiral, Spline, and Star shapes can be saved as polygon files. Loading a new polygon ile replaces the current tweenable shape in memory. Path iles also are saved as polygon files.

Pah. � path ile, which also uses the PLY ile extension, is saved rom the Optics screen and records the current motion path stored in memory. Loading a saved path ile replaces the current path in memory. The path file is interchangeable with the polygon file. You may want to move objects along parallel paths. Often the easiest method of creating parallel motion is to create a single path, save it, and then reload it rom a polygon file to reuse the path in a diferent lic. After both lies are complete, they can be merged to create parallel motion.

Mask. If you save a mask to a file with the extension MSK, both the invert of the mask and the original mask are available for loading. If you load a mask, it replaces the current mask in memory.

Chapter

8: Managing the Filmmaking Library

You oten may want to use two diferent masks in a movie and swap back and orth between them, especially if you want to do multiple overlays of images. The best way to do this is to save a mask to disk so that you can reload it later. Of course, you also

can

use

saved

masks in other movies, and when you want to be sure that you can redo a portion of a movie that you don't like, a saved mask can make life in the movie business much simpler. Plete. Palette iles have the ile extension COL and retain the values in each of the

256 color registers. They do not contain the

current color, the key color, or the values in the Mini-palettes. When you load a palette ile, the following message appears: COLOR FIT SCREEN? YES

NO

If you respond by answering yes, the current screen's color settings are maintained as much as possible, using the colors of the incoming palette. Selecting no causes the incoming palette colors to replace the existing color settings in their entirety. You can turn on the Time option (T) and make an entire movie conform to a uniorm palette by loading a palette ile. The color changes can be subtle if you use the Color Fit Screen option, or sometimes radical if you don't. Using uniorm or similar palettes has a great deal to do with making a movie consistent in its appearance. You also can develop palettes using the HLS or RGB slider bars. Doing so requires quite a bit of work, so you need to be able to save a record of them. Record. You will learn about a very important feature of Animator, called macros, in Chapter 10. Basically, Animator enables you to record an image of everything that you

do in Animator until you turn

of the Record feature. The macro can be saved to a file with a EC extension so that you can

automate the creation of images and efects

in Animator. The best use of a macro is to save your avorite techniques or later repetition. Macros also can be used to instruct others in how to use Animator in special ways. As you progress with moviemaking, you will take advantage of Animator's Filmmaking library more and more, and you eventually will have an entire collection of

te chniques, color palettes, and images that you can use in a

variety of timesaving and efective ways.

2 21

22 2

Part III: At the Movies

File Action Buttons ter you have selected the ile type you need (if Animator hasn't done it or you already), you can load, save, or delete files to and rom the library, or you can exit the File panel entirely. When you select one of the File Action buttons, the File Selector panel appears. Load. Use the Load option to display in a ile selection window the files that match the type of ile that has been highlighted on the Files panel. You can use the File Selection window to select the ile(s) on the disk to load. The loaded ile replaces the contents of the memory bufer that contains any similar functions or images. Clearing the memory bufer means that loading a new flic results in a complete clearing of any previously loaded lic. The number of rames is adjusted to match the loaded lic; none is cut of or left over. Save. The Save option either replaces on the disk a ile of the same type as the selected ile type and ile name, or creates a new file on the disk using the name of the current lic or one that you supply. If you choose a ile name that matches one already on the disk, the ollowing message appears: OVERWRITE OLD FILENAME? YES

NO

where FILENAME is the name of the selected file. If you select yes, the inormation currently stored on disk is overwritten by the contents in memory. You can select no if you don't want to lose the old file. Delete. If you select Delete rom the Files panel, you can select a file to be deleted from the disk and the ollowing message appears: C:FILENAME

REALLY DELETE FILE PERMANENTLY? YES

NO

where FILENAME is the complete ile name, including any directory and subdirectory names. Selecting yes deletes the ile, and selecting no cancels the operation. Remember that you cannot safely recover the file after it has been deleted, so make sure that you intend to remove the ile rom disk orever beore you proceed. Using the wildcard button rom the File Selector panel enables you to delete any ile rom the disk, not just the ones created and used by Animator.

Chapter 8: Managing the Filmmaking Library

223

The File Selector Ater you have decided what type of file action you want to pursue, or if you are saving a ile rom other Animator menus, the File Selector panel appears. This panel enables you to use the cursor or the keyboard to manipulate iles. Figure

8.3 shows the File Selector panel.

Fig. 8.3.

he File Selector panel.

You can move the panel around using the File Selector title bar in the same way you move other panels. The Title Bar contains a message that applies to the type of ile you are working with and the type of ile action that you intend to take (Flic, Cel, Font, and so orth, and Load, Delete, or Save). The File Selector panel contains a File Selection window, Path Selector but­ tons, Text Entry boxes, and Action buttons. File Selector Window. The File Selector is vey much like the Drawing Tools and Ink Types selector windows. Ten iles are displayed in the window at a time, and you can scroll through the ile names by using the slider bar. When you select a ile from the window, the ile name is automatically placed in the File Text Entry box. Pah Selector Buttons. Just to the right of the File Selector window are

buttons to select the disk drive and directories or Animator's ile

library to use or ile actions. Each button perorms a diferent unction.

A:, B:,

C:

.

. . Select the appropriate button to change to the listed

drive. Animator displays all the available drives and partitions on the system. .. Select this button to move to the parent directory of the current directory.

\ Select this button to move to the root directory.

2 24

Part Ill: At the Movies

You also can select listed directories rom the File Selector window to make the selected directory the current directory. Figures 8.4 through 8.6 show the steps required to change movie directories using the File Selector window and the Path buttons.

Fig.

8.4.

he path selection.

_ II O L J ::]IA : 11·= : I FI LE : IMRNUM F DIR: ,c :'ANIMAT I lo: I �_. . L I I WI LOCARO : l� _ _ _ �__ •

Fig. BS. The Animator directory.

'

_

� BIROS.FLI Fig.

FIG10-20.FLI T E:T.FLI

8.6.

A dfferent movie directory.

I

J

Text Enty Boxes. If you want to type in ile action information, you can use the Text Entry boxes to tell Animator what you want the ile action to be executed on. Note the heavy box cursor in the file-name box and the cursor markers in the other boxes. You can use the mouse to move the cursor within the box or between boxes by let­ clicking at the desired place.

Chapter 8: Managing the Filmmaking Library

File Box. The ile box displays the ile you have selected rom the File Selection window or Animator's best guess at the ile name you want to use. Animator's automatic ile naming is based on the current movie name or the name of the last ile that you selected. You must use a standard DOS file name or Animator to properly execute the file action. If you don't include a file extension, Animator automatically adds an extension that matches the type of ile highlighted on the Files panel. You can toggle between the current ile name that you typed or selected rom the File

Selection window and the last ile that was displayed in the File box by clicking File.

Dir Box. The Directory text box contains the current directory. If you want to type a diferent directory, use the mouse to move the cursor to the Dir box and type the desired directory name. To toggle beween the last directory path and the current one (if a change has been made), click Dir.

Wldcard Box. The Wildcard text box shows the current wildcard designation Animator uses to place files in the File Selection window. You can have numerous iles in the current directory, but Animator automatically screens out the iles that you aren't currently interested in. You can change the wildcard designation to screen the iles further or you can widen the wildcard to

*.*

to list

all the iles in the directory. If you are working on portions or all of the movie in segments, name the iles that you save to correspond to the current segment that you are using them in. For example, if the opening portion of the movie is divided into three segments, you can name the files OPENl, OPEN2, and OPEN3 and then use the Wildcard Text box to tell Animator to display ????3.GIF. This wildcard limits the files in the File Selector window to the GIF files that only the third segment of the opening movie uses.

Action Buttons. The File Selector panel includes three buttons to assist you in executing ile actions. OK. Selecting OK executes the currently selected ile action. Using

the OK button is the only way you can cause Animator to load, delete, or save the ile you have selected. Ater the action has been completed, you are returned to the previous screen.

22 5

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Part III: At the Movies

Cncel. Selecting Cancel cancels the currently selected File Action. The Cancel button is your last chance to save yourself rom a mistake. If you select Cancel, you are returned to the previous screen. +. The + button automatically adds a sequential number to the end of a ile name. If you are working on a movie in sequence, you can save the iles in sequence automatically. For example, if the ile name currently displayed in the File text box is OPENOl, selecting the + button causes the ile action to be executed on a file named OPEN02.

The Browse Flies Option One of the most convenient ways to review the lies that you currently have on disk is to use the Browse Flies option rom the Animator menu. When you select the Browse Flies option, the monitor looks something like igure 8.7.

Fig. 8.7. he Browse Flies screen.

Chapter 8: Managing the Filmmaking Library

The Browse Flies panel contains 12 boxes at the top that show the irst frame and the file name of movies on the disk. To the let of these 12 boxes is a slider bar you can use to scroll through the movies (if you have more than

12).

At the bottom of the Browse Flies panel are File Action buttons, a window that displays the irst rame of the selected movie, and Path Selector buttons that enable you to change directories. he Flic Display. To select

a

flic

or le action, you can left-click

the box that contains the first rame of the desired movie. If you want to load the movie, double-click the box. Directories are displayed by a blank box that has the name of the directory posted below it. Left-clicking a directory box causes the lies in the selected directory to be displayed. To scroll through the movies, drag the slider bar to change the movies displayed in the boxes, or click to a new position in the bar. Path Selector Buttons. The Path Selector buttons work the same as the buttons on the File Selector panel. The Path Selector buttons come in handy if you have numerous lies in a directory and don't want to page through all the display boxes to display the directory boxes. Action Buttons. The Load, Delete, Cancel, and OK buttons work the same as the buttons on the File Selector panel, except that when you select Cancel or OK you are returned to the Home panel. Two buttons have additional features: View. The View option enables you to play the selected flic through all its rames once and then returns you to the Browse Flies screen. View does not afect the current flic in memory. If you want to play a movie continuously, type p, select the lic to be played, and then select OK. The movie continues to play until you right-click. Ino. Selecting Info causes Animator to display inormation about the currently selected lic. The ile size in bytes, number of rames, average rame size in bytes, and deault speed of the movie are displayed in a message similar to that shown in igure 8.8. Note that you must select the OK button to execute any of the File Action buttons (View, Delete, Io, or Load).

2 27

228

Part III: At the Movies

:�

I

Fig. S.S.

he File Info message.

S FRAMES IN 49SS4 8YTES AVERAGE FR�ME SIZE 4S20 SPE�O 10 �IFFIES,FRAME

( CONTINUE ]

PATH

Tips for Using the Library Here are a few tips that you should keep in mind when using the ilm library: 0 To copy or rename a file, load the ile from disk into Animator and save it under a new name. If you are renaming the file, delete the previous ile rom the disk. 0 Create directories or subdirectories or each movie project you are working on. If the movie is a complex one, create additional subdirectories for each major part. Keep only the completed movie in the movie directory so that you can view its progress but avoid cousion with other movie segments. 0 Use storyboards (see Chapter 11) to coordinate the movie and the

les you are using. 0 When in doubt, save a copy of any portion of the movie to disk. If you ind that you don't need it, you can erase it. If you ind that you needed it and didn't save it, you get to do it all over again. 0 Learn how to use recorded macros or standard techniques to save time and efort. 0 Create standard files of your avorite palettes, motion settings and paths, and Animator settings. Put them in a directory called STANDARD or UTILITY. You can use the macro feature to link together the standard techniques.

Chapter 8: Managing the Filmmaking Library

Chapter 8 Tutorial Although this tutorial is simple, don't overlook the importance of the intel­ ligent use of the Filmmaking library. 1.

Use the Browse Flies panel to view a variety of the flies that came with Animator, and practice the use of the File Action and Path Selector buttons.

2.

Use the Files panel and the Files Selector panel and practice the manipulation and listing of the iles on the disk. Create a practice subdirectory for use in the tutorials in later chapters.

Chapter Summary In Chapter 8, you toured the heart of the Animator Records department: the ile library. Through the use of the Files panel, the Files Selector panel, and the Browse Flies screen, you learned what Animator's ilmmaking library can do for you to save time and avoid headaches in the creation of movies. You should review the use of the ile types used by Animator so that you know what you can record or uture use and back up during the creation of movies.

229

2 30

Part III: At the Movies

Understanding Animation lt

1 his chapter is concerned with the heart of moviemaking in the Anima­

�

tor studio: the Animation department. Whether you are animating busi­

ness graphics, images rom other sources, or creating animated images of your own, the Animation department is responsible. With the exception of tweenable shapes and flies, the graphic elements intended or animation are created in the Animation department-with the help of the Art department, of course. Ater the graphic element is com­ pleted, it is sent of to the Special Efects group or to the Filmmaking de,.r:ment. You will cover the ollowing topics during your visit to the Animation department: 0 The Pie Menu Clear, Restore, Apply Ink, Separate, View, Files

0 The Cel Menu Clip, Get, Move, Paste, Below, Stretch, Turn, One Color, Options, Release, Files 0 The Swap Menu Clip, Trade, Paste, View, Release

0 The Trace Menu Blue Frame, Unblue Frame, Next Blue, Insert Tween, Erase Guides, Clip Changes, Repeat Changes, Loop Segment, Segment Flip, Flip Five

231

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Part III: At the Movies

As you may remember rom Chapter 1, the Cel menu helps you to create ·

eels, the Swap menu provides a spare screen to temporarily store your work, the Trace menu provides you with the tools to create original animation art, and the Pie menu helps you manipulate single-frame images. After learning a few definitions to help you understand animation, you will learn how to take advantage of these menus.

New Terms in This Chapter Animation is an art orm. Cels rom animated film classics hang in art gal­ leries around the world. Some of them are truly awe-inspiring in their emo­ tional content and the characterization they represent. The animation art

form has its own set of techniques and rules. Here are a few of them to help you work with and understand the Animation department. Blue. In the graphics industry, outlines and sketches often are used to assist in the layout of images and text. When you use non­ reproducing blue pencil or ink, the lines that are drawn or layout are not captured on ilm. Animator uses bluing in a slightly diferent way, but the purpose still is to assist you in layout. Dela. When Animator creates a film, it only keeps track of the changes rom one rame to the next; these changes are called delta inormation. Flip. When creating animation, you may find it convenient to lip through a sequence of images to check the animation without setting up the sequence as a full-blown movie. You can lip clear eels of the image on a light table to help the illustrator see whether the animation has the desired efect. Fortunately or you, Animator does this in memory and makes the process much simpler and more efective. GIF. GIF stands for Graphics Interchange Format, developed by CompuServe to provide a format for graphic image interchange between its customers on a number of computer types. The PIC orums on CompuServe contain many utilities or converting, scaling, plotting, capturing, and viewing GIF iles. For more information about CompuServe, see Appendix B. Loop. To play an animation sequence continually, looping plays through the sequence and starts over, as opposed to lipping through the sequence, which stops at the last rame of the sequence.

Chapter 9: Understanding A n i mation

2 33

The Animation Department '

The Animation department resides in the Cel, Swap, Trace, and Pie menus that are accessible rom the Animator Home screen menu bar. The use of these menus is generally integrated with other activities rom the Art depart­ ment and the Special Efects department. Their convenient location on the Home panel with many single selection options (as opposed to additional pop-up menus) makes their use appropriately accessible. Figure 9.1 shows the Home panel, where you can see these menus listed in the upper menu bar.

Fig. 9.1.

he Home panel.

Each of these menus has a unique function, with numerous options for its use. You often are required to use features of these menus in cooperation

with each other; you should keep this act in mind as you review the menus.

The Pie Menu The Pie Menu is Animator's primary tool or manipulating an entire rame. You can use the Pie menu to remove all images rom the screen, apply ink to . the entire screen, ind and replace specific colors on the current rame or rames, and manipulate a library of images. Figure 9.2 shows the Pie menu.

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Part III: At the Movies

Fig. 9.2.

he Pie menu.

The contents of the Pie menu are described in detail in the ollowing paragraphs: Clear. Clear removes all the image rom the current screen and leaves the key color. Remember, you cannot recover the work. Restore. The Restore option removes all the changes that you made

to the current rame. If you use the Restore option, everything that you have done is undone. Even loading a pie ile to a blank rame is undone. Changing to a diferent frame in the lic solidiies the image so that the restore applies only to the changes you make after returning to the rame. Apply Ik. To apply the current ink to the entire rame, use the Apply Ink option.

Apply Ink is used to add most of the ink types that create special efects-Jumble, Emboss, Add, Bright, or Gray-to the entire screen. Separate. The Separate unction applies the current ink to selected

colors on the screen. Separate works exactly the same as the Separate drawing tool except that you can use the Time option with Separate. The settings in the Separate drawing tool panel are used by the Separate option.

Chapter

View.

9:

Understanding Animation

2 35

If you want to photograph the screen or use a screen capture

program to grab an image rom Animator, you can use the View option to view the screen without the panels or the cursor. Left-click to return to the normal Animator mode.

Files.

Use the Files option to load, save, or delete GIF files rom the

disk Selecting the Files option displays the Files panel with the Picture option highlighted.

The Cel Menu You already have had a few encounters with the Cel menu in some of the earlier tutorials, but eels are more complex than those examples showed. Cels are one of the main tools or assembling images, for adding images to numerous frames, and or storing images for later use in lies. You can stretch, rotate, move, and paste a eel to the screen, and you can use a eel to create a mask (you will learn more about masks in Chapter

10).

The

Cel menu uses a section of memory called the eel bufer, which stores the coordinates of the screen position of the eel's-upper left corner, the image itself, and the palette of the rame that the eel was created rom. Figure ' shows the Cel menu.

9.3

Fig. 9.3. he Cel menu.

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Part III: At the Movies

The eel bufer can contain one image at a time. Creating a new eel removes the last eel rom the eel bufer. The image can be any size, rom one pixel to the entire screen. Review the options on the Cel menu in the following paragraphs:

Clip. The Clip option captures any of the screen image that is not the key color and places it in the eel bufer. When you select Clip rom the Cel menu, Animator places a marquee box around the pixels that are not the key color and captures the image. If you accidentally leave a stray pixel or a border at the limits of the screen, the entire screen is captured. Get. The Get option works in the same ashion as the Clip option, except you are given the opportunity to select the marquee box or

clipping part or all of an image from the screen. To set the marquee box, select Get rom the Cel menu and then set the diagonal corners of the box in a ashion similar to the Box or Move drawing tools. Figure 9.4 shows the Get option.

Fig. 9.4. he Get Cel screen.

If you want to get an irregularly shaped eel, surround the eel with the Poly drawing tool, with the Filled option of and the key color as the current ink Then use the Fillto drawing tool to ill the outlying area of the screen with the key color.

Chapter 9: Understanding Animation

2 37

Move. If you need to relocate the eel before you paste it, you can

use the Move option to move the eel. When you select Move rom the Cel menu, the eel appears on the screen with a marquee box surrounding it and a status line showing the eel's current location. You can move the eel by left-clicking the

screen to pick it up and left-clicking again to put it down. You can right-click the screen before setting the eel down to cancel the move

or to return to the previous screen. Figure 9.5 shows the screen that appears when you use the Move option.

Fig. 9.5. he Move Cel screen.

The status line displays:

( XXX YYY) ( XXX YYY) The irst XXX YY coordinates represent the starting position; the second XX YY coordinates show the displacement of the move in the X and Y directions rom the starting position. Paste. The Paste option applies the contents of the eel bufer to the

screen at the eel's current location. When you use the Paste option, the eel appears in its current location inside a marquee box. To paste the eel at its current location, simply right-click. You also can move the eel by left-clicking on the screen to pick it up and left-clicking to paste it. A status line shows the same information as in the Move option. You also can

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Part III: At the Movies

right-click while you are moving the eel to cancel the paste operation. Figures 9.6 through 9.8 show the pasting operation.

Fig. 9.6. A screen image before pasting the eel.

Fig. 9,7,

he Paste Cel screen.

ter you paste a eel, its location is updated in memory. To cancel a paste, select Undo rom the Home panel.

Chapter

9: Understanding Animation

Fig.

2 39

9.8.

he screen image ater pasting the eel.

Below. The Below option is used to paste the eel underneath the current screen image instead of on top. To use the Below option, follow the same steps or the Paste option. The eel is pasted to the screen only where the key· color is present, leaving all other pixels in place. Figure

9.9 shows the Below option 9.8.

and its efect on the image used in igure

Fig.

9.9.

Using Below to paste the eel.

2 40

Part III: At the Movies

The Below option functions the same whether the key color is opaque or clear.

Stretch.

The Stretch option changes the x- or y- ratio of the eel, or

can lip the eel about the x- or y- axis. When you select Stretch rom the Ce! menu, a marquee box appears around the eel's image on the screen. You can then alter the image in a number of ways without pasting the eel: 0 Move the eel by left-clicking inside of the marquee box and

then click again to set the eel's new location. l Click outside of the marquee box and drag the cursor away

from the box to stretch the eel in the dragged direction. 0 Click outside of the marquee box and drag the cursor across the

box to flip the eel in the dragged direction. l Right-click to paste the eel ater perorming any of the other

options in changing the eel image. The ollowing table shows the positions of the cursor that are required to perform various stretch unctions:

Table 9.1 How To Perorm Stretching Functions Stretch Option X Axis Stretch or Flip

Cursor Position and Movement Left-click at either side of the box. Drag away rom or across the box.

Y Axis Stretch or Flip

Left-click above or below the box. Drag away rom or over the box.

X or Y Axis Stretch or Flip

Let-click outside the upper right or lower left corner of the box and drag across or over in the desired direction.

Y Proportional Flip

Left-click outside the upper left or lower right corner of the box and drag across or over in the desired direction.

During a stretch operation, the status line presents the percentage of change in the scale of the x- and y- axes as follows: xxx% X xxx%Y

Chapter

The percentage

xxx

9: Understanding Animation

2 41

is displayed as a positive number for increase in

size and a negative number for decrease in size. The Stretch option afects only the image to be pasted and not the eel's image in the eel

bufer. Figure 9.10 shows an example of stretching a eel and igure 9.11 shows the result of using Stretch to lip a eel. Turn. You can use the Turn option to rotate a eel before pasting it to the screen.

Fig.

9.10.

Stretching a

eel.

Fig.

9.11.

Using Stretch to lip

a

eel.

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Part III: At the Movies

When you use the Turn option, the eel appears with a marquee box. You can left-click inside the box to move the eel and left-click again to set the eel in a new location. You also can left-click outside of the box to rotate the eel around the z-axis in a clockwise or counter­ clockwise direction by dragging the marquee box with the cursor. Left-click again to set the inal rotation. Right-click to paste the eel. Figure 9.12 shows an example of using the Turn option.

Fig. 9.12.

Rotating a eel.

While you are using the Turn option, the status line displays the rotation of the eel. Clockwise rotates rom 0 to 359 degrees and counterclockwise rotates rom 359 degrees to 0. Using the Turn option does not afect the eel bufer's status.

One Color. The One Color option changes the colors in the eel's image in the bufer to the current color, except for the portion of the , eel that is the key color. The One Color option changes the eel bufer image. The advantage of

using One Color is that you can then use the Separate, Fill, and Fillto tools, or the Mask option to alter the screen's image where the eel is pasted.

Options. The Options selection displays a message box that enables you to set the key color to clear or opaque, and to have the eel colors adjusted to it the current palette. Ater you select Options, the message box shown in figure 9.13 appears.

Chapter 9: Understanding Animation

243

Fig. 9,13,

he Cel Opions message box.

Clear Key Color. This option toggles the key color to clear or opaque. If the key color is opaque, the key color areas of the eel obliterate any screen colors under those areas.

Auto Fit Color. This option toggles on or of fitting the eel's colors to the current rame palette. If Auto Fit Color is of, the colors that are in the palette registers are used or the colors in the eel when the eel is pasted, no matter what the colors originally were. If Auto Fit Color is on, then the colors in the eel are adjusted rom the current rame palette to the original eel colors as closely as possible.

Release. The Release option erases the current eel bufer. You cannot recover the eel, so if you expect to use it later, make sure that you save it using the Files option.

Files. The Files option displays the Files panel and provides access to Animator's Filmmaking library so that you can save, load, or delete eels from disk.

The Swap Menu The Swap menu provides you with a temporary storage bufer to use as a work surace. You can move images in and out of the Swap bufer, and you can reveal the contents of the Swap bufer using the Scrape ink type. The Swap bufer also comes in handy when you are experimenting. You can

temporarily save results of experiments that you like and continue exp e ri­

menting on the current screen image. If you do not like the results, you can use the contents of the Swap bufer to go back to where you were beore things went awry. Figure 9.14 shows the Swap menu. Because the swap bufer is a temporary storage area, the contents of the bufer are not saved along with the rest of a movie. If you want to save the

contents of a swap bufer, you should save the conJents as a pit �us The Swap menu options are the following:

Clip. The Clip function copies an entire screen and its palette to the swap bufer, replacing any of the previous bufer contents.

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Part III: At the Movies

Fig. 9.14.

he Swap menu.

Trade. Selecting Trade from the Swap menu swaps the current screen image and its palette with the contents of the swap bufer. Figures 9.15 nd 19.6 show the Trade option.

Fig. 9.15.

he contens of the current screen.

Chapter 9: Understanding Animation

245

Fig. 9.16.

The conten. of the Swap screen.

When you select Trade, Animator swaps the two images without altering either one. You can trade the two screens as oten as you like, updating each. as you go. A handy use of the Trade option is or developing a eel to paste to a movie. You can use one screen for the background image and the other for developing the eel. You can paste the eel to the ull-screen image, check it out, select Undo, and trade the screens again to work on the eel-clipping the eel to the eel bufer each time you update the eel. Paste. The Paste option puts the contents of the current swap bufer on the screen, replacing the contents of the screen and the screen's palette. You can paste the Swap screen to multiple rames by turning on the Time function (select the T button).

View. Selecting View from the Swap menu displays the current contents of the swap bufer. Let-clicking the mouse returns you to the original screen image. Release. Use the Release option to delete the contents of the current swap screen bufer. Make sure that you have saved the swap image or pasted it to another frame if you want to keep a copy of the swap bufer.

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Part III: At the Movies

The Trace Menu The Trace

menu

options

are

primarily

used to

create

rame-by-rame,

original-image animation. This kind of animation may take time to get used to, but sometimes it is the only way to accomplish your .task. You can really express the artist within you with the Trace menu, plus you get to animate the results! Here are some of the key points for hand-drawn animations: 0 Draw outlines of every object you want to animate. These outlines

make the visualization of the animation easier and faster. 0 Use the Trace menu options to create blues of the image you are

animating. Place the blues on the next rame or comparison. 0 Do the movie in overlays so that you only have to animate one

object at a time. (You will learn more about overlaying and underlaying movies in Chapter

10.)

0 Use the Trace menu options to insert images between frames or

smoothing animation. 0 Use the Trace menu options to keep track of changes you make

rom rame to rame. The Trace menu enables you to play animation segments, so you can review your work in progress (see fig. options in more detail.

Fig. 9.17. he Trace nenu.

9.1 7).

Look at each of the Trace menu

Chapter 9: Understanding Animation

24 7

Blue Frame. The Blue Frame option converts all the pixels in the current frame, except or the pixels in the key color, to the color in the leftmost square of the Mini-palette. The word "blue" in Blue Frame has nothing to do with colors, so don't worry about it. One use or the Blue Frame option is to come back to an animation and clip the changes made between wo diferent frames. To view ater-the-act changes, you can blue the frame to display the diference between the frames. This capability is useul, because Animator does not know about the diference between the frames if

the frames have been saved on disk already. The following steps explain how to view after-the-act changes: 1. Blue the irst frame. 2. Clip the image to the eel bufer. 3. Select Restore rom the Pie menu.

4. Move to the second frame of the sequence. 5. Paste the eel that contains the blued image by using Below from the Cel menu. Ater you have completed the above sequence, you can insert a frame that contains the bluing and create a new rame that is between frames. Figures 9. 18 and 9.19 show the results of this technique.

Fig. 9.18.

he original image for animation.

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Part III: At the Movies

Fig. 9.19. Applying a blued frame pasted over the image, showing changes made to the image.

Unblue Frame. The Unblue Frame option changes the blued image on the screen to the key color. The Unblue Frame option erases blued images from the screen. This efect can be applied to a range of frames using the Time option. When you are using blued silhouettes to create your animations, you trace over the portions of the silhouettes, or paste portions of the image that have not changed over the blued silhouette. The changes you want to make that cause the images to animate leave some of the blued silhouette on the screen. Using Unblue Frame is a convenient way to clean up your work. Figures 9.20 and 9.21 show the removal of bluing from a frame.

Next Blue. The Next Blue option pastes the changes made in the current rame to the next rame, using the bluing color, and erases any bluing rom the current rame. If you exit a frame and return to it, the existing image, including any bluing, is considered to be old material-no changes are collected by Next Blue unless you make more changes to the rame. Second, Animator expects you to have more than one rame in a lic when you use Next Blue. Next Blue is the primary tool for creating coordinated Animation. After you have drawn an image on the first rame of a sequence of rames, Next Blue pastes a copy of that image in the next rame. ter

Chapter 9: Understanding Animation

249

Fig. 9.20. Before bluing is removed.

you move to the next rame, you can paste eels or swap screens to the frame and trace over other portions of the blue image, plus add new features and changes to the rame to create a revised image. Selecting Next Blue again erases any remaining bluing and pastes the new image to the next rame, and so on. Figures 9.22 through 9.25 indicate a sampling of the Next Blue procedure.

Fig. 9.21. Ater bluing is removed.

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Part III: At the Movies

Fig. 9.22.

he first image of the animation sequence.

Fig. 9.23.

he Next Blue image.

Chapter 9: Understanding Animation

2 51

Fig. 9.2.. The New image.

Fig. 9.25. The Next Blue image of the second frame.

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Part III: At the Movies

Inset Tween. Selecting Insert Tween rom the Trace menu creates a new rame between two frames and pastes blued images of the rames immediately preceding and ollowing the new frame. The Insert Tween option creates a new image between the rames next to the current rame. Using Insert Tween assists you in

Fig. 9.26. he first image before Insert Tween.

Fig. 9.27. he Insert Tween bluing.

Chapter

9: Understanding Animation

253

smoothing out animation when objects change position too much between two rames in an animation. Figures

9.26 through 9.28 show

the use of Insert Tween.

Fig. 9.28. he second image folowing the tween.

Insert Tween uses the first two colors in the Mini-palette as the bming colors. Make sure that these colors do not match the key color and that they are diferent from each other as well as diferent from the colors you are using to create the animation.

Erase Guides. The Erase Guides option removes the two bluing guides in a frame created by using the Insert Tween option. You can use the Erase Guides option at any time and over a range of rames by turning the Time

option on. Therefore, you do not have to

worry about cleaning up the rames until you are happy with the

results. Clip Changes. You can use the Clip Changes option from the Trace menu to capture changes that you have made to a frame and place them in the eel bufer. The Clip Changes option grabs pixels whose color you have changed since you entered the rame. Remember, if you leave the frame and return, Animator only considers the new work ollowing your return as change s. Figures Changes.

9.29 through 9.31 demonstrate the use of Clip

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Part III: At the Movies

Fig. 9.29.

The original image.

Fig. 9.JO.

The image with afew changes.

Chapter 9: Understanding Animation

255

Fig. 9,31,

The eel contents from Clip Changes.

Repeat Changes. If you know that you want to paste the changes rom the current frame to the next rame, you can bypass placing them in the eel bufer and use the Repeat Changes option. The animation sequences you create oten use most of an image rom a previous rame. To avoid redrawing the image, use Repeat Changes to copy the image you just created to the next frame. ter you move to the next rame, however, the image is not considered a change that Animator can copy again to the next frame. In this instance, you may want to use the Time option to make copies of the changes to a sequence of rames.

Loop Segment. Selecting the Loop Segment option from the Trace menu continually plays a lic segment. The segment used by Loop Segment must be set by the Segment bar on the Time panel. Right-clicking or pressing any key stops the playback and returns you to the current frame. Loop Segment does not alter the status of the current changes made since entering the frame, so all the change options of the Trace menu still work properly.

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Part III: At the Movies

Segment Flip.

The Segment Flip option plays back a lic segment

once and returns you to the current frame. The use of the change options is not affected.

Flip Five.

To get a quick look at the most recent ive rames,

including the current frame, use the Flip Five option. The secret to animation is to take a number of simple animated images, com­ plete them one at a time, and then combine them into a movie that appears to be a complex animation. Before you learn how to combine images in the next chapter, you may want to use the tutorial to practice an animation.

Chapter 9 Tutorial This tutorial makes sure that you try all the options in the Animation depart­ ment. As you probably have realized already, the possibilities or variations are nearly endless. The tutorial techniques provide you with key concepts that you can use as a foundation for your own ideas-the techniques are not intended to represent the best or most imaginative way o accomplish the animations. Don't worry, it still will be un ... Start with the

I

es JJ.enu. ..

The primary use of the Pie menu is to process

entire rame images, and the Pie menu has key uses or image processing independent of animation. The things that you learn about animation and the use of the Trace menu can be applied to the images (GIF iles)· that you can pick up rom numerous sources, including photos and videotape. This aspect of GIF iles is discussed in Chapter 11, but you should think about the possibilities when you follow this tutorial.

Experiment # 1: 1. Select Files from the Pie menu and in wort the AMBER.GIF ile. Select � Clip from the Swap menu. Select Clear rom the Pie menu. Select Restore from the Pie menu. Select Undo from the Home panel. 2. Amber has not returned yet, but the palette that remains is the on� she brought in. Set up 10 rames using the Frames panel, select Paste rom the Swap menu, and she should appear. Move to another frame, return to the irst rame, and select Clear from the Pie menu. Now pick Restore and Amber returns again because you have let the rame and set the existing conditions. Unlike Undo, Restore enables you to perform a number of changes and still return to the original image.

Chapter 9: Understanding Animation

257

3. Select Separate rom the Pie menu and click a color. Note that the current color is used to replace the color you selected over the entire screen. If you want, you can set some of the Separate drawing tool options and use them with Separate rom the Pie menu. The Separate option works exactly as the Separate drawing tool, except that the Separate option can be applied to many frames over time. You will ind that the Separate tool is helpul when you are creating animation eels and images. Select Restor. from the Pie menu.

4. Select the Soten ink and then select Apply11k rom the Pie menu.

Amber gets slightly out of focus. Select View rom the Pie menu and note that the cursor is gone (simply right-clicking the screen does not remove the cursor). Select Restore from the Pie menu and Release from the Swap menu.

5. Select Clip rom the Swap menu. Set the current color to the key color. Making sure that the F button is highlighted (Filled is on), use the Box drawing tool and Opaque ink to cut out a rectangle about a

114 inch larger than Amber's lips on the top and bottom and just barely past her lips on the let and right. You should end up with something that looks like igure 9.32.

Fig. 9.32.

Amber's ips removed.

6. Select Clip rom the Cel menu to clip the entire screen. Turn Time on using the T button and select Paste from the Cel menu. Right­ click to paste the eel and select Render to paste the eel to all rames. Turn of the timed unction.

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Part III: At the Movies

Select Tra e rom the Swap menu to display the original Amber.

9

Select Get from the Cel menu and place a box around Amber's lips that is about 1/2 inch larger than her lips all the way around, but miss her nose. Move to frame number 2. Select Clear from the Pie menu. 7. Select Stretch from the Cel menu and left-click below the eel boundaries. Stretch Amber's lips vertically until they look a little plumper (Y at about

104% ).

Let-click when you have the desired

vertical stretch. Let-click to the right of the eel and shrink Amber's lips slightly

(X

at about

96%).

Left-click when you have the lips

about right. Right-click to paste the eel. Select Clip rom the Cel menu. Animator should automatically clip the plumped lips. Select ' Clear rom the Pie menu and Trade rom the Swap menu. 8.

Select Below from the Cel Spray

9.

�nd

nenu and right-click to paste the eel. Use

Soten to smooth in the new eel.

Move to rame number

3

and repeat steps 7 and 8. Remember to set

the Ink type to Opaque before you paste the eel. Continue through the rest of the lic until you have reached the end or the eel no longer ills the cutout of Amber's lips. You can use the Draw tool and various shades to make Amber's lips look as if they are slightly parted in the last frame. Figure

9.33

shows what you can end up

with. If you play the tlic you should see Apber giving you a kiss.

Fig. 9.33. Amber's kiss.

Chapter

9: Understanding Animation

Experiment #2: 1. Reset Animator using the Reset optiDn rom the Flic menu. Load the CITY.GIP ile. Using a color that is not present in the pie as the current color and the Line drawing tool with Opaque ik, outline the skyline of the city, being careful to make sure that each line connects up with the last one you drew. Use the Fillto drawing tool and select one of the lines that you drew and the let-click in the sky. Use Separate rom the Pie menu and the key color as the current color. Select the sky that you just illed. The sky should now be the background clear key color. You should end up with a syline. If

you

do not, select Undo and make sure the line closes

where the key color bled into the skyline.

2. Select Clip from the Ce! menu and Clear rom the Pie menu. Select Stretch from the Cel menu and reduce the eel in the x- and y­

directions by left-clicking on each side of the eel, stretching the eel smaller and left-clicking again to set the width and the height, until you have a eel about one-fifth the size of the screen. 3.

Flip the eel by left-clicking just outside of the upper right or lower let corner and drag the cursor across the eel. Right-click to paste the eel. Select Clip rom the Ce! menu and Clear rom the Pie menu.

4. Select Turn rom the Cel menu and rotate the eel 180

degrees.

Right-click to paste the eel. Select Clip from the Ce! menu and Clear from the Pie menu. Your eel should be a mirror image of the skyline and look something like figure

9.34, except that the background has

been lightened in the igure to make it easier or you to see the eel. (Note: You also can mirror the eel with Stretch, but the purpose of this exercise was to get you to try out Turn.) 5.

Load the MOON.GIF ile. Select Move rom the Ce! menu and position your city (rom experiment

#2) on the moon, let-clicking

to pick up the city and let-clicking again to put it down. Select Paste rom the Ce! menu. You are now the first person on your block to build a city on the moon (see ig

6.

.

9.35)!

Select Undo. Select Move rom the Cel menu and move your skyline

to a location on the horizon of the moon, left-clicking to pick it up and let-clicking again to put it down. Select Trade rom the Swap screen. If tl1e Swap screen is not empty, select Clear from the Pie menu. Select Paste rom the Ccl menu. Select Trade again. 7. Suppose that you want to paint the sky of the moonscape a diferent

color, but leave the skyline on the horizon. Select One Color from the Cel menu, making sure that the current color is not the key

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Part III: At the Movies

Fig. 9.34. The ciy syline eel.

Fig. 9.35. ciy on the moon.

A

color. Right-click the M button and select Create from the Mask menu. Select Paste from the Cel menu. Select Undo. Right-click the M button again and select Use rom the Mask menu.

Chapter 9: Understanding Animation

8.

2 61

Set the current color to the color that you want to paint the s'. Use the Separate drawing tool and the Opaque ink, then select the sky over the moon. Select the M button to turn the mask o. Select Trade rom the Swap menu. Select Clip rom the Cel menu to clip your original eel. Select Trade rom the Swap menu to return to the moon and select Paste from the Cel menu. You should end up with something like igure 9.36.

Fig. 9.36. he moon with

a

ciy

on the horizon.

Experiment #3: 1.

Select Reset rom the Flic menu to reset Animator to the deaults. You are going to experiment with a bit of hand-drawn animation.

2. Create a current cluster with a ramped 64-value color, dark to light, let to right. Set up a lic with 15 frames. In reality, you will want to have many more rames than that to get smooth animation, but this condensed version gives you the tools you need for bigger and better animations. In this example, you are creating an animation for a business graphics presentation -speciically, an animation showing the achievement of a goal. First, make the Hgrad ink one of the current ink types. Figure 9.37 serves as a guide for this animation.

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Part III: At the Movies

Fig. 9.37. he basic animation image.

3. Draw the body of the little igure without the arms and legs, using any colors that you want except the ar let color rom the Mini­ palette. With the Draw tool, draw the goal using a combination of the Line command and the Draw command. Use the Line tool and the Text tool to create the scale at the bottom. The Zoom and Move tools help you place these igures accurately. (Chapter 11 shows you how to use a grid to make igure placement much easier.) Use Clip rom the Ce! menu to capture a eel of the body, scale, and goal. Add the arms, legs, shoes, and ball to the igure using the Draw tool. Save the eel of the body to a ile of your choice before proceeding. 4. Select Next Blue rom the Trace menu. Select Paste from the Cel menu. Use the Move tool to move the body down slightly, then add the bent legs and drop the arms using the bluing as a guide. Using the Hgrad ink and the Box tool, draw a box that is about one-third of the way to 10. Select Unblue Frame rom the Trace menu. You now should have something that looks like igure 9.38. 5. Select Next Blue from the Trace menu again. Make the current ink Opaque and select Paste from the Cel menu. Use the Move and Draw tools to move the body slightly down again and crouch the legs even more. Use the Box tool to extend the graphic bar about two-thirds of the distance rom 0 to 10 with the Hgrad ink. Select Unblue Frame rom the Trace menu. Set the current ink as Opaque.

Chapter 9: Understlnding Animation

2 63

Fig. 9.JS. he second image toward the goal.

6. Repeat the sequence in step 5, except have the igure begin to jump with the ball leaving the igure's hands. Make the Bar Chart move about one-third of the distance between each of the 10 unit spaces and remember to have the igure start to come back down ater the ball has left its hands. Use Flip Five rom the Trace menu to view your progress. If parts of your desired image disappear during the Unblue Frame process, change the bluing color to a color that is absent rom the image. Figure 9.39 shows the ball leaving the figure's hands. If you accidentally move to another rame before you use Next Blue, you will not be able to use Next Blue properly. Here is a solution to this problem:

1. Blue the first rame. 2. Clip the image to the eel bufer. 3. Select Restore rom the Pie menu. 4. Move to the second frame of the sequence. 5. Paste the eel that contains the blued image by using Below rom the Cel menu. When you finish, you should end up with a rame that looks something like igure 9.40.

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Part III: At the Movies

Fig. 9.39. The ball leaving the player's hand.

Fig. 9.40. The final frame of the presentation.

Now play the movie using the Frame icons and see what you think. Change the play speed to 20 so that you can see the animation better.

Chapter

9: Understanding Animation

7. Find an uneven part of your movie by clicking through the movie one rame at a time. Stop on the frame that is the irst of the two frames with the uneven space between them. Select Insert Tween

rom the Trace menu. Paste the eel and draw an image between the two bluing colors that were placed on the screen. When you are inished, select Erase Guides rom the Trace menu. 8. If you do not like the movement of your Bar Graph, go back and review each frame. Use the Box and Hgrad ink to draw a corrected bar and then select Clip Changes from the Trace menu. Select Repeat Changes rom the Trace menu. A copy of the changes that you made to the current frame are pasted to the next rame, which you can update urther and use the Clip Changes and Repeat Changes options throughout the movie. This concludes the tutorial or the Animation department. With practice

and

experimentation, you can render your animations to create professional­ looking results. Soon, you'll find yourself watching 1V commercials and Sat­ urday morning cartoons with much more interest.

Chapter Summary In Chapter

9, you got your irst real dose of animation. The tools and options

that you learned about are powerul and dynamic features that require some time to master. Eventually, you will develop techniques that make the anima­ tion process go much faster. The Animation department assists in creating business graphics, moving image processing, educational animations, and many other interesting and informative live presentations of art and images. As you can see, the combination of the Special Efects department and the Animarion

department makes for some pretty exciting possib ilities. Now you

can begin to imagine the true capabilities of Animator. Now, move on to the Filmmaking department

to see how all this stuf is put together.

265

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Part III: At the Movies

1 Lihts, Camera, Action! �T elcome to the Filmmaking department, where all your genius is � assembled into a professional movie. When you combine movies or movie segments, many things have to be considered to create an efective ilm. An abrupt change in scene, play speed, palette, or image location, or example, can distract the viewer. You also have extra concerns if you intend to play the movie in a continuous loop. Will the start and end of the movie complement each other? In the Filmmaking department, you can use overlays or underlays to com­ bine numerous animations in a single movie or movie segment. When com­ bining movies, you also choose which movie will determine the color palette of each frame. All these concerns and others are addressed during your tour of the Filmmaking department. In this chapter, you will learn about the ollowing: 0 The Flic Menu New Reset Composite Overlay, Underlay, Cross Fade, Cancel, Combine Color Maps, Keep Current Color, Use Overlay Color, No Fitting, Wrapping, Chopping Join To End or Start, Cut, Transition, Fade Out, Wipe, Venetian, Dissolves, Circle Wipe, Cancel

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Part III: At the Movies

Efects Shrink X2, Expand X2, Crop, Trails, Transparent, Zero Clear, Key Color Clear, Pixelate, Engrave, Lace, Grays Only, Blue Numbers, Cancel Backwards Files 0 The Extra Menu Mask Grid Use, Create, Paste, View, Exit Record Start, End, Use Macro, Repeat Macro, Realtime Record, Files, Cancel Settings Configure Ino That looks like a long list of options to learn! Actually, though, because Ani­ mator does most of the work automatically, you only need to understand what results rom each option.

New Terms in This Chapter Beore studying the options on the Flic and Extra menus, you need to learn the following deinitions:

Color Map. The Color Map is a combination of the Main Palette and the colors of the pixels that are used on the screen. Animator recognizes the diference between the colors that are used and the colors stored in the palette.

Composite. A composite is an image ormed by combining a number of images in transparent layers. Portions or all of the underlying images show through areas left transparent by the images placed over them.

Cropping. To crop an image is to cut out part of the image or use in another image or for deletion.

Dissolve. Dissolving an image is the process by which an image is gradually reduced to its dots of color. As the dissolve proceeds, the space between the dots increases until none of the original image is let.

Chapter

10: Lights, Camera, Action!

Fade. When an image ades, it gets dimmer and dimmer until it disappears. An image can be aded by changing the saturation of the colors toward a single color such as black or white, or by increasing the transparency of the image until it disappears and only the background (if any) remains.

Macro. A macro combines a series of commands, options, and applications into a single sequence. Entering the name of the macro, whether it be a file or a command, enacts the entire sequence.

Pxelate. To pixelate an image is to increase the evidence of the pixels as units in the image, usually by combining a minimum of two pixels into a single unit of color so that it appears that the pixels' size has increased.

Transition. A transition is the part of a movie designed to be placed between two movie segments instead of making a direct cut rom one segment to the next.

Wipe. A screen wipe acts as if you were taking a cloth and wiping the image of the screen. Mechanical wipes remove the image in geometric ashion, such as circular, rectangular, anned, and so on. These deinitions really sound like 1novic lingo. Now it's time to see what all the excitement is about!

The Flic Menu The Flic Menu (see ig.

10.1) is the heart of the Filmmaking department and

provides access to the tools necessary or assembling animations and images into a completed product. Not much there, is there? The menu looks especially empty for a department

with so much power and inluence. Note, however, that most of the options are followed by an ellipsis. As you may remember rom the start of the Ani­ mator studio tour, the ellipsis means that more is coming. In this case, much more is coming! You will ind that some of the options in the Flic menu, especially those options under Efects, can be used to create interesting efects using a single rame. Keep in mind, however, that they also can be used in creating transi­ tions between movies. You can add some of the efects of the various ink types to enhance the transition. But don't get ahead of yourself; proceed with the tour of the Flic menu.

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Part III: At the Movies

Fig. 10.1. he Flic menu.

New The New option erases rom memory all the rames of the current lic and replaces them with a blank screen containing only the key color. This option does not afect any of the current settings or the contents of the bufers. When you left-click New, the following message appears: NEW FLIC - ABANDON CURRENT FLIC?

YES

NO

Select Yes to start a new lic or No to cancel the operation. Because using the New option causes you to lose the current lic, be sure to save the lic

to

disk if you want to keep it!

Reset The Reset option erases the current lic rom memory and replaces it with a single rame, set up with the deault Animator settings. Selecting the Reset option displays the ollowing message: RESET TO DEFAULT. FLX? YES

NO

Chapter 10: Lights, Camera, Action!

As with the New option, be sure to save to disk any images that you want to keep. Reset returns the ollowing options to their default settings: 0 The Drive path 0 The Optics panel options (excluding motions and path) 0 The Main Palette panel colors, settings, and clusters 0 The drawing tools and ink tools 0 The Home panel settings 0 The grid settings and size 0 The mask settings 0 The Time Select panel settings 0 The Frame panel settings

0 The Pixelation option deault size 0 The text-editing window size

The ollowing bufers and their contents are not afected by the Reset option: 0 The swap bufer and screen contents 0 The eel bufer

0 The mask bufer 0 The text bufer 0 The Optics motion and path

Composite The Composite option is used to put a ic from the disk together with the current flic in memory. When the lies are merged, the current ink .is used and the color in the Key Color slot is transparent if the Clear Key Color option is on. (The K button is highlighted). Composite starts merging the first rame of the flic from disk at the current rame of the current flic. Therefore, you should make special note of the current frame before you start the composite operation. Because three methods for creating a composite are available, a menu appears with the Composite option (see ig. 10.2).

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Part Ill: At the Movies

COMPOSITE

Fig. 10.2.

OVERLF'

be Composite Functions menu.

F.lNCTIONS OPAQUE

·: INOE� LAY OPAQUE ·s CROSS -FADE 0 CANCEL

Look at each of these functions in detail.

Overlay. The Overlay option places the lic rom disk over the current flic, leaving the current flic visible through the key color if the Clear Key Color option is on. The flic will be rendered over the current flic using the current ink type. For example, the Glass ink will create a transparent overlay.

Underlay. The Underlay option places the lic from disk under the current lic, appearing in the key color areas when the Clear Key Color option is on.

Cross-Fade. If you want a gradual overlay of the flic rom disk, use the Cross-Fade option to make the incoming lic become gradually opaque.

Cancel. The Cancel option stops the composite function. You also can hold down the right mouse button to stop the composite unction during the rendering process.

After you have begun the composite unction and selected the method of doing the composite, Animator determines whether the color maps of the two flies match each other. If not, you see the menu shown in figure 10.3.

Fig. 10.3.

be Color Map menu.

COMBINE

COLOR

MAPS.

:: .EEP �URRENT CO..O:S 3 USE INCOMING COLORS.

•

4 NO FITTING 0 CANCEL

As you can see, you have five choices, four of which afect the appearance of your composite. Cancel, of course, is available if you want to thik about your choices or in case you didn't realize that the palettes were diferent and want to check them. The other four options are the following:

Combine Color Maps. The Combine Color Maps option causes Animator to squeeze the two lies' color maps into a single 256-color palette. First, the unused colors are discarded, and then the used

c olo rs are itted to the same colors. Animator does its best to ind

Chapter 10: Lights, Camera, Action!

27 3

colors near the existing colors of both flies, but the appearance of the images may change. Keep Current Colors. The Keep Current Colors option maintains the palette of each rame of the current movie and matches the composite frames of the lic rom disk to the corresponding current flic's frames. The flic that is incoming rom the disk may or may not be able to keep its color scheme intact as Animator its the incoming colors to the current rame's palette. Use Incoming Colors. If you want the incoming lic's palette to dominate the choices that Animator makes in squeezing the palettes of the composite, use the Use Incoming Colors option. he palette of each rame in the current lic is then it to the palette of the corresponding rame of the current lic. No Fitting. The Fitting option causes Animator to use the current flic's palette for the corresponding incoming lic's rame image. No matter what the ' color is, Animator uses the register number of the incoming image's c9lor and places the color rom the same register number of the current palette on the image of the incoming lic. As you can imagine, No Fitting can produce unpredictable results, changing the colors of the incoming lic beyond recognition! Proper use of this option requires that you have complete knowledge of the existing and incoming iles' palettes. After Animator has determined the status of the color maps, it then checks to see whether the length of the incoming flic difers from the length of the current lic. If the incoming lic is longer than the current flic, Animator dis­ plays a message box that looks like the one shown in igure 10.4. Fig. 10.4. he

Composite At End message.

This message appears ater the current lic has been placed over its entire length. Note that if you want to loop a lic within another lic, the shorter lic must be the resident flic. The two options are the ollowing: Wrap At End. Ater the entire length of the incoming lic has been joined with the current lic, Animator can continue to combine the two flies. The continuation starts again at the irst rame of the incoming flic and continues until the end of the incoming lic is reached again. You can loop the incoming flic or its entire length by selecting the Wrap At End option at the end·of each loop.

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Part III: At the Movies

Chop At End. Select Chop At End if you do not want to loop the incoming lic, or if you want to stop looping the incoming ic. The following steps summarize the procedure required to composite one flic with another lic: 1. Using the Files option rom the Flic menu, load the lic that you

want to become the

ent ic.

curr

2. In the current lic, move to the rame where you want the

composite to begin. 3. Select Composite rom the Flic menu and then choose the type of

composite you want to create. Select the lic to be composited when the Files panel appears. 4. If the color maps donit match, select the method you want Animator

to use or combining them. 5. Position the incoming flic on the screen by clicking to pick it up and

clicking to set it in a new location and begin the composite. Right­ click if you don't want to move the flic to begin the composite. 6. When the message box appears asking you to veriy your choice,

coirm the current rame or the start of the composite. 7. If there is a diference in flic length, select whether you want to

loop the current flic.

Join The next option on the Flic menu is the Join option, used or splicing two lies into a single lic. First, you are given a choice of joining the lies at the start or end of the current lic. When you select Join, the message box shown in igure 10.5 appears.

Fig. 10.j.

he Join message.

Ater you determine where to join the flies, the Files panel appears or select­ ing the flic to be joined to the current lic. You can join two lies by creating a direct cut of the ends of the lic and splicing them together, or you can have Animator create a transition or you. Figure 10.6 shows the message box that appears next.

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Fig. 10.6. he Cut or Transition message.

Here is what happens when you select these choices: Cut. The Cut option places the irst rame of the incoming lic at the end of the current lic if To End was selected, or places. the last rame of the incoming flic in front of the current flic if To Start was selected. The palettes of the two flies are let intact, and an immediate shit between the two lies occurs. If you don't want an obvious change in the color makeup of the inished composite, then the palettes of the two lies must be very similar.

Tansition. With the Transition option, you can select rom a number of types of image blends between the two lies to be composited. Selecting Transition displays a menu (see ig.

10.7).

Fig. 10.7. he ,

Transition menu.

Each Transition type has a unique efect. ter you select a Transition type, a slider bar appears for selecting the number of rames or Animator to use to create the transition. The slider bar is shown in figure

10.8. Fig. 10.8. he Frames In Transition slider bar.

Animator automatically blends the palettes of the two lies or the entire transition and uses the last rame of the irst lic and the first rame of the second lic to create new frames for the transition. Each of the transition types generates a diferent kind of blend. Choose ·

from the ollowing:

\

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Part III: At the Movies

Fade Out. The Fade Out transition type causes the irst lic to ade

gradually to black and the second lic to increase gradually to its ull color.

Wipe. The Wipe transition type causes the irst lic to disappear rom the top down and the incoming lic to appear in its place.

Venetian. The Venetian transition type brings in the incoming lic as a series of ever-widening horizontal bands until the entire rame is displayed.

Dissolve. The Dissolve transition type depletes the image of the current lic with a patterned dissolve and replaces the blank pixels with pixels rom the incoming lic.

Circle Wipe. The Circle Wipe transition displays the incoming lic within a gradually increasing circle that replaces the image of the current flic. Figures 10.9 through 10.13 show example rames of each transition type.

Fig. 10.9. A frame

from the Fade Out option.

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2 77

Fig, 10.10. A frame

from the Wipe option.

Pig. 10.11. A frame from he Venetian option.

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Prt III: At the Movies

Fig. 10.12. A frame from the Dissolve option.

Fig. 10.13. A frame from the Circle Wipe option.

Chapter 10: Lights, Camera, Action!

Some of the transition types combine images rom the irst lic and the second lic on the screen at the same time. When Animator its

the palettes of both movies, you may ge t unexpected colors on the screen during the transition. If you cannot get the palettes to merge properly, you can do one of two things. First, you can create a palette that contains the colors you want used during the transition and change the palette or each rame of the transition. Second, you

can manually change the colors in each rame rom the available palette. You also can combine dissolve efects by creating a transition and deleting the main bodies of the two lies by using the Delete option rom the Frames panel. Then, by splitting the remaining transition lic into two lies, you can perorm a second transition on the two halves of the original transition. For example, you can create a Venetian transition, split the Venetian transition, and then use a Fade Out or Dissolve transition to add a "soter" appearance to the original Venetian transition. The contents of the rames at each end of the transition also can afect the type of transition you use. Portions of the images from each of the two lies may colict with each other. A Venetian transition, or example, may be more conusing than efective. The contents of the transition rames can be used to your beneit, too. If you want to ade a lic to black, or example, you can use a single blank rame as the incoming lic. Using the blank rame technique can save a step because you don't have to delete a bunch of rames rom another lic at the end of the transition. You also can add to the transition's efect by applying various ink types, such as Glass, Jumble, Hollow, or Scrape, to all or portions of the transition. You can even use the various ink types to create your own transitions manually. For example, you can use the Jumble ink

type and increase the ink strength setting over a range of frames to "explode" the end of a flic. Here is a summary of the steps or joining two lies: 1.

If the current lic is not already in memory, load the desired flic using the Files option.

2. Select Join rom the Flic menu and choose whether the flic should

be joined to the end or the start of the current lic. Select the lic to be joined rom the Files panel.

3. Choose a clean cut or a transition or the join.

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Part III: At the Movies

4. If you choose Cut, the lies are joined without further incident. If you choose Transition, select the type of transition to be used. 5. Select the number of rames that Animator should use to create the

transition. The flies are then joined without urther incident.

Efects The next option on the Flic menu is the Efects option. The Efects option applies various predefined techniques and unctions to a frame or a range of rames. You can use the Efects option to change the size of the image, cut out a piece of the image, or produce some interesting graphic efects. To apply the Efects option to a range of rames, use the Timed option. When you select Efects rom the lic menu, the menu shown in igure 10.14 appears:

Fig. 10.l.. he ffecs menu.

Here is what each Efects option does:

Srk 2. The Shrink X2 option reduces the rame image to 112 its original size and places it in the upper let corner of the screen. The reduction uses pixel averaging to determine what colors will be used in the reduced image. For example, if there are our adjacent pixels, comprised of three white and one black, then the averaged pixel will be white. Figure 10.15 shows an image beore shrinking and igure

.

10.16 shows the same image after shrinking. xpnd 2. he Expand X2 option enlarges the portion of the screen deined by the current Zoom window when the zoom magniication is set at 2. Pixel averaging is used to expand the pixels rom the original image. Zoom does not have to be active or Expand

X2 to work Figures 10.17 and 10.18 show the relationship between the Zoom window and the use of Expand.

Chapter I 0: Lights, Camera, Action!

2 81

Fsg. 10.1;.

An image before shrinking.

Fig. 10.16.

An image ater shrinking.

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Part III: At the Movies

Fig. 10.17.

he Zoom Window location.

Fig. 10.18.

he epanded image.

Crop. The Crop option works like the Get option on the Cel menu, except that the eel bufer isn't used and you don't have to paste the eel to obtain the image. When you select Crop, let-click the screen

Chapter 10: Lights, Camera, Action!

283

to set the first corner of a marquee box and then left-click again to set the other corner. All the screen image except or the image included within the marquee box is erased. Figures 10.19 and 10.20 show the use of the Crop option.

Fig. 10.19.

Before using Crop.

Fig. .0.20. Ater using Crop.

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Part III: At the Movies

Trails. The Trails option pastes the changes of previous rames to the current rame, collecting them as the lic proceeds. In other words, the irst frame is pasted to the second rame, the irst and second frame are pasted to the third rame, and so on. You can use Trails on lies with a lot of movement to enhance the illusion of movement in the animation. The image will have traces of its previous locations let on each rame of the lic, which results in an efect known as motion blur. When you select Trails, the menu shown in figure 10.21 appears.

Fig. 10.21.

he Tails menu.

Creating image trails can be accomplished using one of these three options:

Transparent. The Transparent option uses the current setting of the ink strength and the Glass ink to paste the changes to each rame, creating a "ghosted" trail. Figure 10.22 shows an example created with Transparent.

Fig. 10.22. be Tranparent Trails efect.

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2 85

Zero Clear. To paste the trails to the screen with them showing through the color that is stored in register 0, use the Zero Clear option. Figure 10.23 shows an example of using Zero Clear.

Fig. 10.23. he Zero Clear Trails efect.

Key Color Clear. The Key Color Clear option uses the color that is in the Key Color slot as the clear color. Figure 10.24 illustrates the use of Key Color Clear.

Fig. 10.24. he Ky Color Clear Trais efect.

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Part III: At the Movies

You can use the Trails option to analyze an animation sequence. If you select Trails and use Zero Clear, you will see the entire movement sequence pasted to the last frame of the range. In this way, you can check the movement distance and direction of the object.

Pxelate. Pixelate is the next option on the Efects menu. The Pixelate option divides the screen into rectangular units and colors, each rectangle with the average pixel color ound within the rectangle. When you select Pixelate, messages appear, enabling you to pick the height and width of the rectangle (see ig. 10.25).

Fig. 10.25. Selecting height and width of pxelate (height shown). The maximum rectangle width can be 320 pixels and the maximum rectangle height can be 200 pixels (the screen size). You can apply Pixelate over a range of rames using the Timed option. Figure 10.26 shows the efect of Pixelate on our riend Amber.

Fig. 10.26. Apixelated Amber.

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2 87

Engrave. Selecting the Engrave option rom the Efects menu changes the current image to a series of vertical lines using two tones. The Engrave option renders the image as if it were a plate engraving. Engrave uses the colors from registers 0 and 1 to create the engraving. Figure 10.27 shows an engraving of Amber.

Fig. 10.27. An engraved Amber.

Lace. The Lace option creates a stippled two-tone image of the

current image. Lace also uses registers 0 and 1 to create the stippling. Figure 10.28 shows what Amber looks like Laced. Grays Only. The Grays Only option changes rames and their palettes to a 64-value gray image. (This option is an easy way to get a

black and white lic with the T button on.) Blue Numbers. The Blue Numbers option pastes sequential numbers

in the upper right corner of each rame of a flic using the far-let color in the Mini-palette. You can remove them later using the Unblue Frame option rom the Trace menu.

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Part III: At the Movies

Fig. 10.28. A laced Amber.

Bacwards Backwards is the next option on the Flies menu. The Backwards option writes the current lic to disk in the reverse order of its current arrangement. When you select Backwards, the Files panel appears with SAVE A FLIC BACK­ WARDS? in the title bar. You can select a new lic name or save it under the

default shown on the Files panel. If you select an existing file, Animator asks you to verify that you want to overwrite the existing ile beore proceeding. You can use the Bacwards option to Ping Pong an entire movie by joining the current movie with a flic stored to disk using the Backwards option. You also can reverse the direction of many of the efects, such as Titling, by using

the Bacwards option.

Files The Files option displays the Files panel or loading, saving, or deleting lies. The Files option works like the Files options in other departments you have visited.

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289

The Extra Menu The Extra Menu is the ar-right option on the Home panel menu bar. Although not all the options on the Extra menu apply directly to moviemak­ ing, they can improve the perormance of Animator and increase the Film­ making department's efectiveness. In addition, you can conigure Animator's deault operating parameters or ind out information about the current status of Animator and your flic. The Extra menu is shown in figure

10.29.

Fig. 10.29. he ra menu.

You already know the concept of masks from previous chapters and how helpful they can be for creating clean and complex images. If you have ound a need for an easy way to align text or images, the Grid option is helpul. If you have found yourself requently repeating options, using Record options in the Filmmaking department can streamline your efectiveness. These fea­ tures of the Extra menu were designed to improve your moviemaking ability, and they are discussed next.

Mask The Mask option is the irst option on the Extra menu. Even though you learned about Mask options in Chapter

4, you should take a moment to con­

sider how masks are used in the Filmmaking department. Masks are used for protecting portions of an existing lic rom the application of an incoming lic during the use of Composite. In addition, masks can be used to clean up or enhance individual rames in a lic. If, or example, you want to overlay one movie onto a

movie screen or te levision screen contained within one of

your lies, you can create a mask of the movie screen, invert the mask, and then execute the Composite option from the Flic menu. You also may want to add shadows or highlights to your flies by creating a mask and using Apply Ink rom the Pies menu on a rame-by-rame basis. Figure 10.30 shows the Mask menu as a reminder of the Mask unctions.

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Part III: At the Movies

10.JO. he Msk menu. Fig.

Grid The Grid option divides the screen into rectangular units that can be used as guidelines or alignment during the application of pixels or images on the screen. If you turn on a grid, whatever is drawn or applied to the screen starts at one of the coordinates of the grid rectangles nearest the cursor. Cursor move­ ment then causes additional application to other coordinates, "snapping" the cursor or ink to the nearest coordinate. You can paste a grid to the screen in the current ink type and color a ter you have created a grid. Selecting Grid rom the Extra menu displays another menu (see ig.

10.31).

10.31. he Grid menu.

Fig.

The ollowing paragraphs describe each of the Grid options: Use. Selecting Use turns on the grid, enabling the cursor snap to the

coordinates of a grid that is prepared by using the next option, Create. An asterisk appears next to the Use option when Grid is on. Create. When you create a grid, crosshairs appear on the screen, and

the status line displays the coordinates of the cursor. Let-clicking sets the irst corner of a rectangular unit and then a marquee box appears, enabling you to drag the box size on the screen. The status line displays inormation in the ollowing ormat:

XXX YYY (XXX YYY) XXX YYY

Chapter

The irst

XXX

10: Lights, Camera, Action!

291

YY shows the starting position of the marquee box's

x- and y-coordinates.

(XXX

YY) shows the size of the current

marquee box's x- and y-dimensions, and the inal

XXX

YY shows the

current corner of the marquee box's x- and y-coordinates. Let-clicking the screen again sets the grid size, and the grid is briely

displayed on the screen in the current color. Use is automatically turned on ater you create a grid. Let-click again to return to the Grid menu. Figure

10.32 shows the Grid Create screen.

Fig. 10.32. Creating a grid.

Paste. The Paste option pastes the current grid to the screen in the current color and can use only ink types that will create an image.

(Emboss, or example, does not work). Figure

10.33 shows a grid

pasted to the screen. View. The View option displays the grid on the screen in the current

color without pasting it. Let-click to return to the Grid menu. Eit. When you are inished with the Grid menu, select Exit or right­

click to leave the menu. Figure

10.34 shows the efect of using a grid.

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Part III: At the Movies

Pig. 10.33. Pasting a grid.

10.34, Using a grid.

Pig.

Record The Record option on the Extra menu is Animator's macro feature or creat­ ing, using, and storing macros to disk. Selecting Record displays the menu shown in igure

10.35.

Chapter 10: Lights, Camera, Action!

29 3

Fig. 10.3;,

he Record menu.

The Record menu options are the ollowing:

Sart Record. The Start Record option begins the recording of a macro. All movements of the mouse that are inconsequential to the creation of images or the selection of options are not recorded in the macro (as opposed to the Realtime Record option, which is discussed in a ew paragraphs.) Selecting Start Record erases any macro that is in memory, so if you orget to save a macro that you want to keep, you lose it! Using the Start Record option stores a macro in its most eficient orm, creating the astest possible playback. Thereore, this option is best for utility macros.

End Record. Selecting End Record stops the recording of the macro whether you began the macro with Start Record or Realtime Record.

Use Macro. The Use Macro option runs the current macro once, executing the actions stored in the macro. While the macro is running, you can press any key to stop it.

Repeat Macro. To run a macro more than once, use the Repeat Macro option, which displays the message box shown in igure 10.36. Set the number of macro repeats either with the slider bar or by typing rhe number. Select OK when you are ready or the macro to run. When you want to apply a macro to a series of rames in a flic, you can use Repeat Macro if the macro includes selecting the next rame of the flic. Macros can even create movies rom scratch by using the Insert option rom the Frames panel.

Fig. 10.36.

he Repeat Macro mesage.

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Part III: At the Movies

Realtime Record. Realtime Record adds any and all cursor movements to the features of the Start Record option. Pauses of longer than our seconds in cursor movement are not recorded. For a technique that gives the appearance of using Animator "live," use the Realtime Record option instead of the Start Record option.

Files. Use the Files option to load, delete, or save a macro to disk. The Files panel is displayed when you select Files.

Cancel. The Cancel option stops the creation of a macro and enables you to exit the Record menu. The Record option is one of the most powerul features of Animator and deserves special attention. Proper use of macros can save countless hours of recreating the same steps and provide unattended image processing. Macros

also

cn

store avorite techniques that you have developed.

Animator's macros repeat exactly what you record. Cursor movements, mouse clicks, and keyboard strokes are stored in memory, but not tools, inks, options, or colors that were selected. Therefore, whatever is on the screen when the macro is used will be selected by the macro, whether you intended the selection or not! To make sure that you get predictable results, the initiation of the macro must always start rom the same position and coniguration in Animator that existed when you recorded the macro. The best way to ensure that the start­ ing position remains consistent is to select Reset from the Flic menu and start from Animator's deault positions. If you intend to access iles from disk, you cannot change tpe order of the iles or their directories. To avoid any problems with iles, type the directo. ries and file names rom the keyboard instead of using the Path Selector but­ tons and the File Selection window. If you want to create general purpose macros that can be used in a variety of lies, pies, and tasks without using _the Reset option, create a macro called Defaults and store it on disk. The Deaults macro can go through various Animator panels and menus and manually select all the deault settings that you want to use. You can then call up the Deaults macro rom your other macros.

Settings The Settings option is used to load, save, or delete your custom Animator conigurations, which are saved as iles with the extension SET.

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When you use the Settings option, the current status of Animator can be saved to disk, excluding the images stored in the bufers or the text stored in the text bufer. The following information, however, will be saved or loaded using the xxxxxxxx.SET file, where xxxxxxxx is the ile name that you select: 0 Drive and drive path 0 Optics panel button and menu status, excluding motions and path

0 Palette panel button and cluster status, but not the colors 0 Drawing tool and ink types status 0 Home panel button status and current drawing tool and ink types 0 Grid size and status

0 Mask status without the mask 0 Time Select and Frame panel settings 0 Pixelation settings 0 Placement and size of the text-editing window.

Creating a settings ile for each of your projects saves time when Animator's status at the start of an Animator session difers rom one of the lies that you want to work on. Combine a settings ile with a palette ile (.COL) and y ou

can go to work right away by loading the settings file.

I

Coigure The Conigure option is used to set up nohdeault Animator conigurations. When you select Conigure, a menu appears (see fig.

10.37). Fig. 10.3i. he Animator Cong­ uration menu.

These options have the ollowing purposes:

Drive For Tempory Files. Animator creates temporary iles that store the contents of the bufers, the movement and macro settings,

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Part III: At the Movies

the Optics path, and the tween polygons. When you select the Drive For Temporary Files option, a message appears (see ig.

10.38).

Fig. 10.38. he Temporay Drives menu. Animator automatically lists the drives on your computer and shows the available space or each drive. You can select a drive by typing the drive number or let-clicking the drive with your mouse. Temporary iles can be stored on a RAM disk, which is discussed in Chapter

11.

Save Deault.x. This option saves the current status of Animator as the deault fiic that is used to reset Animator. All the settings listed under the Settings option above, plus the frames, their palettes, and their contents, are saved. Contents of the bufers are not saved. Using the Save Deault.fix option overwrites the current Deault.fix ile on -z

the disk, so be sure to have a backup copy of the existing file beore you use this option. Clock Driver. Some mice require slower clocks than the deaul ' mouse (a Microsot mouse). The Clock Driver option s u� o slo

t

down Animator's clock to respond tb mouse driver prob�

you select this o�tion, you see the message shown in figure

10.39.

10.39. he Adjust Clock Driver message.

Fig.

Ater you have selected the appropriate speed, you must quit

Animator. To put the adjustment into efect, restart Animator. Input Device. With the Input Device option, you can change the device you use for drawing, and change the communication port it is connected to. When you select the Input Device option, a message box appears (see fig.

10.40. he Input Device menu. Fig.

10.40).

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297

If you select the wrong communications port or your input device, Animator may lock up on yOur computer. If this situation occurs, press Ctrl-Alt-Del to perorm a warm boot, erase the AA.CFG file rom the directory where Animator is, and restart Animator. Animator then comes up as nonconigured, and you can use the Extra menu to reset the correct devices and communications port.

Display Coordinates. The Display Coordinates option toggles the status line of and on. The deault is on.

Ifo The Info option displays inormation about the current lic and the current rame. Selecting Info displays a message box containing inormation similar to that in igure

10.41. ANIllOR

lNtO: 146624 s.0 16

Fig. 10.41. he Info display.

0

{ CONTtNUE ) j

Each computer displays diferent information in

the Ino message box

depending on the coniguration of the computer. Generally, this information means the following:

Bytes Free. The amount of memory currently available for the storage of the current screen and the bufers.

Largest.

The largest amount of contiguous memory available in the

Animator bufer and screen memory area.

This Frame Update. The number of bytes needed to store the delta inormation about the last frame and the current rame.

Next Frame Update. The number of bytes needed to store the delta information about the current frame and the next rame.

Total Updates. The total bytes of delta information used by the current lic. This igure is approximately the size of the current lic.

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Part III: At the Movies

Average. The average number of bytes of delta information per rame

of the current lic. Free On Drive X. The number of available bytes on the drive used

or storing Animator's temporary files. This concludes our tour of the Filmmaking department. By now you should be anxious to try out the department's features, so move on to making some real movies!

Chapter 10 Tutorial In this tutorial, you will make a movie of a flying logo like the ones seen on V. In creating this movie, you w ill

get a chance to try nearly all the facilities

of the Filmmaking department. Note: This tutorial is extensive. Throughout the tutorial you are prompted to

save various parts of your work, but not just because saving is good practice. If you don't do the tutorial in one sitting, you will need the saved iles to restore the necessary conditions or completing the tutorial.

1. Select Reset rom the Flic menu to be sure you start with a clean slate.

2. Move to the Palette screen, select Get Cluster rom the Cluster menu, and set up a 12·register clu�ter. Select Ramp from the Value menu and create a ramp rom light to medium value of any chosen color. Make sure ·that the lightest shade is on the let of the cluster. . .

J

If it's not, use Reverse rom the Cluster menu to swap the cluster from end to end. Select Files from the Palette menu and save the current palette as INITIALS.COL and return to the Main Menu.

3. Select Grid rom the Extra menu and select Create rom the Grid menu. Create a grid of 10 x 10 pixels. (The current color must not be the background color, or you will not see the gri d. ) Riht·click or select Exit Menu to return to the Home panel.

4. Use the Box and Poly drawing tools to create block letters of any important initials so that they are about 70-100 pixels high and look something like igure 10. 42. Use the lightest of the shades as the current color.

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299

Fig. 10.42. A sample of

initials.

5. Select Clip rom the Cel menu and then Files from the Cel menu and save the eel as INITIAL.CEL. Right-click the M button and select Clip from the Mask menu. Right-click the screen again, select Files rom the Mask menu, and save the mask as INITIALS.MSK. Select Use rom the Mask menu.

6. Use one of the dark and one of the mid-dark shades with the Poly tool with Filled turned on to create bezels around the letters so that you end up with something like igure 10.43. Be sure that the apparent lighting is in the upper let. 7. Turn of the mask, set the current color as the key color (black) and use the Separate tool to remove the letter face by selecting the light value on the letter ace. Select Clip from the Ce! menu and Files rom the Cel menu and save the eel as BEZEL.CEL. Set the current color to a light value. Right-click the M button and select Clip rom the Mask menu. Select Files from the Mask menu and save the ile as BEZEL.MSK. 8. Select Files rom the Mask menu and load INITIALS.MSK. Select Invert from the Mask menu. Right-click to clear the mask image and select Use from the Mask menu. Exit the Mask menu. 9. Use the Box drawing tool and the Vgrad ink type and draw a box that is just larger than the area where the initials are on the screen.

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Part III: At the Movies

Fig. 10.43.

he Bezel eel.

If you miss, that's OK Try again until the box is barely larger than the initials. Drawing the box in this way guarantees that the entire

range of the cluster is used to paint the initials. 10. Select Clip rom the Swap screen and then Clear rom the Pie menu. 11. Right-click the M button, select Files rom the Mask menu, and load BEZEL.MSK. Select Invert and then Use (if it's not still on) rom the Mask menu. Exit and use the Box drawing tool and Vgrad ink type, just as they were used in step 9, to paint a gradient bezel. Right-click the Current Cluster and select One Palette rom the Palette menu. Select Yes rom the One Palette message box. Right-click to return to the Home screen.

12. Select Files from the Cel menu and load BEZEL.CEL. Select the Glass ink type, set he ink strength to 75, and turn on Dither. Select Paste from the Cel menu.

13. Select Trade from the Swap menu and Clip rom the Cel menu. Select Trade rom the Swap menu and select the Opaque ink. Turn of the Mask and select Paste rom the Cel menu. You now should have something like figure 10.44.

14. Select Efects from the Flic menu and select Shrink X2 rom the Efects menu.

Chapter 10: Lights, Camera, Action!

301

Fig. 10.44. he final initials.

15. Select Clip from the Cel menu and then Clear rom the Pie menu. Right-dick the Frames icon and set up a lic of 12 frames. Right-dick the screen and select Paste from the Cel menu. Let-click inside the eel, move the eel to the center of the screen, and right-click to paste the eel to rame number 1. If something didn't work correctly, check to see that a mask is not turned on, and that you are using Opaque ink. 16. Set up the Glow ink type in one of the current ink slots other than the Opaque ink slot. Select Record from the Extra menu and select Start Record rom the Record menu. 17. Select Clip rom the Cel menu. Select the right frame icon arrow to

advance the lic one rame. Select Paste from the Cel menu. Select the Glow ink rom the

ik types and Apply Ink rom the

Pie menu.

Select the Opaque ink Select Record rom the Extra menu and select End Record rom the Record menu. Select Repeat Macro rom the Record menu and set the number of rames to 2 fewer than the total rames in your lic (or example, set at 10 or a 12-rame flic). You should end up with 12 rames of your initials that glow as if a light is passing across them. 18. Move to the second rame and select the Unzag ink type. Select Apply Ink rom the Pies menu. If you like the results, select Undo and then let-click the T button. Select Apply Ink and Render rom the Time Select panel.

30 2

P art III: At the Movies

19. Use the Draw tool and appropriate colors to clean up any "stray pixels" that you see rom each rame. If you want a stable image of your initials, move to the first frame and use Insert rom the Frames panel to insert our rames. Select Files rom the Flic menu and save your movie as INITIALS.FU. Move to frame number

1 if you aren't already there and select Clip

rom the Cel menu. Select Files rom the Cel menu and save the eel as INITIAL 1. CEL

20. Select New rom the Flic menu. Use the Frames panel and set up a lic with 16 rames. Select Optics rom the Animator menu, then select Cel rom the Element menu. Select Spin and Center from the Optics panel and let-click the screen. Move the center to the center of the eel, let-clicking to pick it up and let-clicking again to set it in place.

(Note: The eel should be in the center of the screen, more or

less. If it isn't, select Move rom the Cel menu and reposition the eel.)

21. Select Size and Center rom the Optics panel and then select Same As Spin. Select Both and slide the Reduce bar to 25. Select Path and Spline rom the Optics panel and let-click the screen. Draw a 16vertex spiral similar to the one shown in igure 10.45. Use the Edit option if you need to smooth out the spiral.

10.45, he moion path for the initials. Fig.

Chapter 10: Lights, Camera, Action!

22. Select Spin rom the Optics panel and select 1. Move the Z slider bar to 1. Select Wirerame to make sure that the movement stays on the screen and looks reasonable. If everything's OK, select Files from the Presets menu, and save both the Optic settings and the path. If you don't like the path, use Edit rom the Path panel and move the path points and try again. 23. Select Use rom the Optics panel and Render rom the Time Select panel. (Note: You should be rendering Complete to All). Make sure that the T button is turned on and select Unzag ink and then Render rom the Time Select panel. Right-dick the screen, select Files rom the Flic menu, and save the lic as INITIAL2.FLI. Select Backwards and save the Flic as INITIALl.FLI. 24. Select Files rom the Flic menu and load INITIALl.FLI. Select Efects rom the Flic menu and select Trails from the Efects menu. Select Zero Clear rom the Trails menu. The result should be a movie that flies your initials at you with multiple images added as the movie plays. Your initials remain in their largest size in the middle of the screen on top of all of the other images. The screen should appear similar to igure 10.24, shown earlier in this chapter. 25. Select Files from the Flic menu and save the flic as INITIAL3.FLI. Load the INITIAL2.FLI. Select Efects rom the Flic menu and select Trails rom the Efects menu. Select Zero Clear rom the Trails menu. In this movie, your initials fly away rom you with multiple images added as the movie plays. Your initials are let in the middle of the screen in their smallest size on top of all of the other images. Select Backwards rom the Flic menu and save the flic as INITIAL4.FLI. 26. Load INITIAL3.FLI using the Files option rom the Flic menu. Select Join rom the Flic menu and To End rom the Join menu. Select the INITIAL4 movie rom the Files panel. Select Cut rom the Transition menu. Now your initials should an out and then retract, except that they aren't on top in the last half of the movie, but you can ix that soon. 27. Right-click the Frames icon and set the start of the segment bar to one rame past the middle of your movie (rame 13 if you didn't add our rames to the beginning, and frame 17 if you did). Set the end of the segment bar to 32 (or 24, as the case may be). Right-click the A segment button. If you don't feel coident, save your current lic as INITIAL5.FLI before you continue.

30 3

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Part III: At the Movies

Select the T button and Paste rom the Cel menu. Right-dick to set the eel and then select To Segment rom the Time Select panel and make sure that Reverse is of. Select Render. Make sure that you are on the last rame of the movie and select Insert from the Frames panel and insert ten frames. You should now have a anned rotating display of your initials! Save this movie as INITIALS.FU.

28. Select Files from the Flic menu and load the first movie you made, INITIALS.FU. Right-dick the Frames icon and select *2 rom the Frames panel. Your movie now should be 24 or 32 rames long, depending on whether you added rames to the front of the lic. Select Optics from the Animator menu. Select Flic rom the Elements menu. Select Path rom the Optics panel and draw a spline path similar to the one in igure

10.46. This path will "lit" an image and

then ly it of the screen.

Fig.

10.46.

he motion path for INITIS.FLY.

29. Select Spin and Turns and set the

Z .and Y slider bars to 1 each

(make sure that the I button is highlighted). Select Size and Both rom the Optics panel and set the Reduce slider bar to

0. Select

Wirerame and see how the animation looks. Use the option to change the path if necessary.

30. Select Use rom the Optics panel and Render the movie Complete to All with Reverse o. Now you should have flying initials' Select Files rom the Flic menu and save the ile as INITFLY.FLI.

Chapter 10: Lights, Camera, Action!

305

Note: If you want to take a break, now is a good time.

3 1. Select New rom the Flies menu. Turn of the T button. Right-click the Current Cluster, select Files rom the Palette menu and load INITIALS.COL. Answer yes to the Color Fit screen. Change current clusters and use Get Cluster anq Ramp to create a 12-value ramped cluster of a color that you think will complement the color of your initials. Save this palette as INITFLY.COL by using the Files option rom the Palette menu. 32. Use the Box drawing tool with Opaque ink and create a filled box in the upper let corner of the screen that is from 0,0 to 4 1, 4 1, with a moderately dark value from the Current Cluster. This process is easier to do if you right-click to make the panels disappear. Draw our boxes within the irst box, using a lighter color rom 1, 1 to 19,19; 22,1 to 40, 19; 1,22 to 19,40; and 22,22 to 40,40. (Hint: Use the Move drawing tool and Zoom to check your coordinates by turning of the grid while you check.) Select Clip rom the Cel menu and Clear from the Pie menu. Select Move rom the Cel menu and set your cursor in one of the four pixels at the very center of the pattern. Move the eel until the status line reads 140, 80 (139, 79 is OK too). Your screen should show something like igure 10.47 if you paste the eel. To take a look, clear the screen if you did paste the eel.

Fig. 10.47. he tiling eel.

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Part III: At the Movies

33. Set the current ink as Tile and select Apply Ink rom the Pie menu. Right-click the M button and select Create rom the Mask menu. Change the current color, use the Separate drawing tool, and select the "grout" between your "tiles." Select Undo. Right-click the M button and turn of Create. Right-click to return to the Home screen. Use the Emboss ink type and select Apply Ink from the Pie menu. If you don't see enough highlighting to create a shadow efect, select Undo and increase the Emboss ink strength and apply the ink again. Set the ink type to Opaque.

34. Select Clip rom the Cel menu and Clear rom the Pie menu. Select Turn rom the Cel menu and select the exact lower right corner of the screen. Drag the cursor until the status line reads 180 and left­ click. Let-click again to pick up the eel and move it to the upper let until it its perfectly in the upper left corner of the screen (probably 1 pixel in the - x and - y directions). Let-click again to set the eel down. Check to make sure that the eel ills the screen exactly and right­ click to paste the eel. Check again to make sure that no key color is left at the boundaries of the screen. Select Clip rom the Swap nenu.

35. Right-click the M button and paste the mask. Take note of how many pixels you need to move the mask until it is aligned directly over the grout between the tiles. Select Clear rom the Pies menu and paste the mask again. Select Clip from the Cel menu. Select Clear rom the Pie menu. 36. Select Paste rom the Cel menu and let-click to pick up the eel. Move the eel the correct number of pixels required to align the mask with the tiles and let-click again to set the eel down. Right­ click to paste the eel. Select Clip from the Mask menu (right-click the M button), right­ click the screen, and select Clear rom the Pie menu.

37. Select Paste rom the Swap menu. Use the M button to turn on the mask. Select the Emboss ink and Apply Ink rom the Pie menu. Select Clip rom the Cel menu and Clear rom the Pie menu. Select Opaque and turn of mask. 38. Select Turn rom the Cel menu and select the exact lower right corner of the screen. Drag the cursor until the status line reads 180 and let-click.

Chapter 10: Lights, Camera, Action!

30 7

Let-click again to pick up the eel and move it to the upper right until it its perfectly in the upper right corner of the screen (probably 1 pixel in the -x and -y directions). Let-click again to set the eel down. Check to make sure that the eel ills the screen exactly and right­ click to paste the eel. Chee� again to make sure that no color is left at the boundaries of the screen. You should now have something that looks like igure 10.48.

Fig. 10.48.

he tiled screen.

39. Select Clip from the Cel menu and then Files rom the Cel menu and save the eel

as

INITTILE.CEL.

40. Right-click the Frames icon and set up the same number of rames that you ended up with in step 28 (24 or 32 rames). Set the current ink as dark with an ink strength of about 40 and turn of Dither. Make sure that you are on frame 1. 41. Select Composite rom the Flic menu and select Overlay Dark. Select the INITFLY.FLI from the Files selector. Select Combine Current Color Maps. When the first frame of INITFLY appears, move the rame - 12,12 by let-clicking to pick it up and left-clicking to set it to the proper status line readout. Select Yes from the Composite Flic Starting This Frame message.

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Part III: At the Movies

42. Change the current ink to Opaque and select Composite rom the Flic menu again. Select Overlay Opaque and repeat step 41, except right-click to accept the current lic location. One of your rames should come out looking like igure

Fig.

10.49.

10.49.

sample}Uc frame. A

43. Save the lic as INITFLY.FLI. 44. Determine how many frames you have in INITFLY and INITIALS. (Use the Browse panel, select Info, with each lic as the current lic on the Browse panel.) Load INITFL Y and move to the last rame. Select Insert rom the Frames panel and add enough rames that INITFLY will have

10 more frames than INITIALS.

45. Move to rame number 10 of the INITFLY movie. Select Composite rom the Flic menu. Select the INITIALS movie rom th� File Selector panel, Combine Color Maps, and Yes or the starting rame. Save this movie as COMBFLY.FLI. Finally, use Join and Cut to put a copy of the INITIA1S.FLI on the end of COMBFL Y. Use Insert rom the Frames panel to add

10 rames

or so of a stable image to the end of the lic. Save the lic as COMBFLY.FLI. This example is not the most imaginative use of Paste, but you will get an idea of the possibilities. Select Ino rom the Extra menu and see whether you have any disk space or memory let!

Chapter 10: Lights, Camera, Action!

For more practice, try using the Join option with each of the transition types on two sample movies that you received with Animator. Load one of the sample Pies and experiment with Crop, Expand X2, Pixelate, Engrave, Lace, and Grays Only rom the Flic and Efects menus. This concludes the Chapter 10 tutorial. As you can see, the Filmmaking department holds a dynamic group of possibilities and features. Practice using these eatures to become more amiliar with the possibilities Animator presents to your imagination.

Chapter Summary Congratulations! You are now an oicial movie mogul! In Chapter 10, you inally made a serious movie. You should be excited about the possibilities presented to you in the Animator studio tour. Of course, you can use the movie you made in this chapter as the opening sequence to your uture pre­ sentations. You may want to go back and polish up what you did in this chapter, so don't erase all those files! You should spend a considerable amount of time practicing your ilmmaking skills. In the next chapter, you will learn many things to make your ilmmaking career more rewarding and enjoyable. If you're ready to be a director, go on to Chapter 1 1 !

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Part III: At the Movies

1 Sitting in the Director's Chair I '

n Hollywood, the director sets the tone of the movie and is a key ingre­ dient in the movie success recipe. The same is true or you in the Anima­

tor Studio. You must have a broad-based knowledge of the studio's capabilities and be able to implement the management practices that ease the process of creat­ ing a movie. The diference between the Animator studio and the Hollywood studio, however, is that you have complete control of the Animator acilities. This control also means that the quality of the movie is resting on your mas­ tery of the Animator departments. In this chapter, you will learn about the management of the Animator studio. You also will learn how to present your movie on computer, videotape, or even ilm. Here is an outline of the topics you will be covering: 0 Improving perormance

File and memory management, keyboard entry 0 Hardcopy input and output

Video capture, scanning, making videotapes 0 Converting iles or Animator use

Other animation programs, GIF iles, Targa iles, AutoCAD, AutoShade, and AutoSketch files 0 Playing movies without Animator 0 Script les 0 Storyboards

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Part III: At the Movies

Computer-generated animation, video, sound, and the associated hardware and sotware are changing nearly as quickly as you are reading these words. This ield is relatively new, and the capabilities of the desktop PC are increas­ ing at a phenomenal rate. This chapter serves as a starting point or your venture into the desktop animation field. The information presented in this chapter is not intended to be the inal word, nor is it ofered as the best way to accomplish what you are trying to do. Furthermore, the products and processes that are presented are not nec­ essarily recommended over others. However, this chapter should enable you to communicate your needs to dealers, post-production houses, and fellow directors. Finally, you may not be prepared to use all the options presented to you in this chapter. You should review all the material presented, how­ ever, so that you have a good understanding of the possibilities.

New Terms in This Chapter As usual, start out with a few key deinitions.

Genlocking. Genlocking is a procedure that coordinates the requency of multiple video signals so that no interference occurs. If a video image is being transferred or viewed concurrently between one or more devices, the requency must be synchronized so that each device is reading the image at the same rate. Many high-end video products, such as graphics cards that output and capture video signals and videotape decks, can read or send a genlocked signal so that they can coordinate their output with each other.

NTSC/Composite Video. Composite video means that all the signals required to create the video image are combined into a single signal, with the red, green, and blue color signals mixed. This type of signal

lacks lexibility in color correction and reinements, but composite video is the current standard or home video systems.

Component Video. Component video uses the red, green, and blue color signals as separate signals so that. color correction and refinements can be made by adjusting any one of the three signals, similar to the way you can adjust Animator's colors with the RGB sliders. Component video is the standard ormat or post-production video houses that create professional video.

M Disk. A RAM

( random-access

memory) disk is created by a

special driver supplied by your computer's operating system or by an extended memory board manuacturer. A RAM disk creates a

Chapter 11: Sitting in the Director's Chair

structure of extended memory that emulates the hard disk-except that a RAM disk perorms ile transfer tasks much aster. This feature makes it a useul tool or Animator.

SMPE Tme Code. The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers has created standards or the industry, one of which is known as SMPTE (pronounced "simtee") time coding. This technique places a code on a video or audio track that enables images to be coordinated with the sound of movie. The time code can be printed out to be read by the editor, and it shows at what elapsed time a particular sound event occurs. This printout enables the editor to coordinate an image rame with a sound event.

Script. A script is a predetermined set of commands placed in an ASCII ile that a program can read to execute the ;ommand5 automatically. Most script iles require that each command be placed on a single line in the ile. Other video terms and components are discussed in Appendix A. For now, the basic concepts are enough, so have a seat in the director's chair.

Improving Performance Every director wants to improve eiciency and avoid retakes. In addition to the macro facilities that you used in the Filmmaking department, Animator has other features that can make your studio a top-notch acility. The key areas that you should ocus on are as ollows: 0 Creating standard task iles of images, settings, paths, and macros

or use in a number of movies or movie segments 0 Maintaining access to current information and sharing techniques

with other Animator directors 0 Proper ile management and back up of all movie segments,

elements, and settings 0 Planning ahead beore you start a movie 0 Maintaining a clip art library and a set of programs to assist you in

manipulating images rom a variety of sources to a variety of ormats 0 Maintaining your hard disk and having access to the right

equipment or the job

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You should study movies made by other directors to learn their techniques, just like the Hollywood directors do. You can learn tips and tricks after the inner workings of the Animator studio are no longer a mystery to you. For­ tunately, Animator is fun to learn and use.

File and Memory Management As you learned during your tour of the Animator film library, proper direc­ tory and file maintenance is an important aspect of moviemaking. Expect to create 30 to 40 lic files when creating a full-feature movie. These files are comprised of movie segments and combinations of movie segments. As you can imagine, keeping the flic iles straight can get pretty conusing. Nonetheless, you should create your movies in a segmented manner because this method can save hours of editing. In addition to these 30 or 40 iles, you may have as many as 160 files that contain palettes, settings, optics settings, motion paths, and macros associated with the flic iles. A storyboard will help you establish a file hierarchy or the creation of a lic. When you create a storyboard, you should note the iles that may be required for each segment of the movie. You will read some tips for making storyboards later in this chapter. Temporary files deserve the attention of the director. As you know, Animator keeps a record of your current movie in memory and in disk iles that are loaded when necessary. When you quit Animator, the temporary files remain intact and enable Animator to pick up where you let of. Animator stores these iles on the drive you speciy in the Configuration menu, in a subdirec­ tory called AT. The speed at which Animator plays and edits your movie is largely depen­ dent on the time your computer takes to access the temporary files. If you intend to put your lies on a videotape, or if you intend to display complex and large movies on your computer, you need a fast hard disk or a RAM disk. A hard disk with a access time of 28 ms or better and a high perormance disk controller is recommended or playback of complex images. Furthermore, you must have plenty of available space on the disk because the size of the temporary iles grow with the size of your movie. (Besides, you are creating movie iles on the disk in the process... ) The amount of space you need is entirely dependent on your moviemaking process, but you should check Ino in the Extra menu if space is getting tight.

Chapter 11: Sitting in the Director's Chair

Hard disks store data in sectors that are oten randomly placed on the disk itself. The longer you use a hard disk, the more ragmented the ile can become. Disk optimizr programs can reorganize your hard disk and place the iles in contiguous sections of the disk. Disk optimizers help in the play­ back speed of your flies and the access of temporary iles. If you are ortunate enough to have extended memory, you should use the memory as a RAM disk or the storage of temporary iles. The more compli­ cated your movies are, the more memory you need. (If you need help with a RAM disk, refer to your computer manual or get your dealer's assistance.) When you turn your computer of, the information stored in the RAM disk is lost. If you want to use a RAM disk or the storage of temporary iles, and you want to be able to pick up where you let of with Animator ater turning of your computer, here's what to do: 1. Use the Configure option on the Extra menu to set the drive for

temporary iles as your RAM disk. 2. Create a directory called \ANIMAT\TEMP on your hard disk (or

substitute for ANIMAT the directory name that you have Animator stored in). 3. Use a word processor or EDLIN (in DOS) in nondocument or

programming mode to create a batch ile called LAA.BAT containing the following lines: CLS ECHO OFF CD\ANIMAT MD X:\AAT IF EXIST C:\ANIMAT\TEMP\AATEMP.FLX COPY \NIMAT\TEMP\*.* X:\AAT AA CLS COPY X:\AAT\*.* C:\ANIMAT\TEMP X is the drive letter of your RAM disk. ANIMAT is the subdirectory that you have Animator stored in (substitute the correct name if you name the subdirectory something else). 4. Delete all iles rom the AAT directory that Animator has created

prior to your use of the RAM disk. Remove the directory using the DOS command D. 5. When you want to enter Animator, type laa rom the DOS directory

where you have LAA.BAT stored.

315

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Part III: At the Movies

Figure 1 1. 1 shows the Configuration menu or the selection of the drive or temporary files.

1

Fig. 11.1. he

Animator Configuration menu.

DRIVE

FOR

TEMPORARY

2 3

SAVE CLOCK

DRIVER

4 s

INPUT

OEVICE

0

FILES.

DEFAULT.FLX.

�DISPLAY

COORDINATES

CANCE.

Using LAA.BAT preserves your temporary iles and automatically places them on the RAM disk for you. You will learn another tip about using RAM disks for playing movies

with the AAPLAY.EXE program a little later in this

chapter.

Keyboard Entry You do not have to use the mouse or all of Animator's commands. If you do not mind typing, keyboard entry provides faster access to Animator. You can type faster than you can move a mouse, and your computer's key­ board bufer enables you to type ahead of Animator (usually up to 16 charac­ ters ahead), with commands being processed as Animator can get to thern. Keep in mind, though, that a limited number of commands can be placed in the bufer, and Animator may miss commands

if

you type too ar ahead.

Table 11.1 shows the keyboard commands and which option the commands are under.

Table 11.1 Keyboard Commands Menu

Br

Commands

Ky

Function

Backspace

Undo

Q

Quit

N

New Ifo

@

Palette panel

x

Clear

Tab

Clip eel

Esc

Get eel

Chapter 11: Sitting in the Director's Chair

Ky M

Function

Move eel Paste eel

0 5

Flip ive

Enter

Segment lip

Optics panel

Nonmenu Bar Commands

Spacebar

Right-dick

Right Arrow

Frame forward

Let Arrow

Frame backward

Down Arrow

Play

Up Arrow

To irst frame

Fl

Get color under cursor

z

Zoom

B

Switch brush

y

"Yes" response

N

"No" response

1 through 0

Option # selection

L

Display loaded flic

F3

Save cursor location

F4

Return cursor to saved location when mouse is clicked

File Selector Commands *

Toggles wildcard ield when text entry ields

Enter

Accepts text ields and OK

Esc . (pedod)

Clears text field

\

Selects backslash

A through Z

Selects corresponding drive button

are inactive

Selects parent directory button ( ..) when text-entry ields are inactive

( \)

when text entry ields

are inactive

Browse Flies Panel Commands

L

Load

v

View

p

Play

I

Info

D

Delete

31 7

318

Part III: At the Movies

In

addition,

you

can select

items from the menus using pairs of key­

strokes-the first key for the menu and the second key or the option. To view a pie, or instance, type pv. Try using the mouse for drawing and some of the panel buttons, and use the keys or eveything else. This technique is much faster than relying solely on the mouse. Figure 11.2 shows an Animator menu with the shorthand keystrokes noted ater the option.

Fig. 11.2. A sample

Animator menu showing kystroke options.

Hardcopy Input and Output You may want to use images rom print media, your own video camera, your own photographs or slides, or rom screen images rom other programs or computers in your Animator flies. You also may want to output your images to paper or ilm. To accomplish these tasks, you may need additional hard­ ware, sotware, or service bureaus. If you have an ongoing specific need, such as a weekly company presentation that you want to put on videotape, then buying the hardware to produce the video makes economic sense compared to paying a service bureau. In addi­ tion, you may have to take your computer to the service bureau every time you want to make a tape. If you want high-quality print output from screens of your animation, you need sotware capable of capturing and printing the screen image. The first thing you have to determine is what picture quality is necessary; 320

x

200

images are not crisp. As you can imagine, if you do not use high-quality input or output devices, the image deteriorates urther.

Chapter

11: Sitting

in

the

Director's

Chair

319

The next thing to do is to survey the capabilities of your equipment. You may need to go back and read the manual or your graphics card, monitor, printer, or VCR Finally, you need to research the possibilities. You

have a suicient founda·

tion rom reading this book to ask the questions you need to ask. You also should spend time talking with various experts on the hardware or sotware you are considering. Here are a some likely places to find experts: CompuSeve. CompuServe is a dial-up data resource owned by

H & R Block. CompuServ'e has many

foums

that specialize in

interests from sailing to computer games. For your needs, several forums exist that can help you gain information about Animator and related topics. The Autodesk orum (GO ADESK) can help you immensely with .any hardware and sotware questions. Members of the Autodesk orum can answer your questions and provide guidance and opinions. The files Animator uses for images (GIF files)

are

a standard that was

developed by CompuServe. Many orums speciically deal with computer-generated graphics, such as the PICS orum (GO PICS) and the various computer art galleries (GO QPICS, GO GALLERY, and so orth). Members of these orums provide guidance as well as dip art that you can download or viewing. In addition, they contain many programs that enable you to view, edit, convert, print, or capture GIF iles (as well as other graphic art formats). Figure 11.3 shows a sample image of artwork downloaded rom Compu Serve.

Fig. 11.J.

An image downloaded from the PICSforum on CompuServe.

32 0

Part III: At the Movies

Finally, numerous IBM-related orums provide all kinds of programs and information about your hardware and the DOS operating system. The CompuServe database membership can be dialed rom most locations using your computer and a modem. You can pick up a membership packet rom many bookstores and computer dealers in your area. CompuServe is one of the most valuable Animator resources you can latch onto. Service Bureaus. You should visit two types of service bureaus. First, you should see a video post-production acility. Call the local acilities and tell them what you want to do. If they can edit and create video productions using your sound track and an NTSC signal rom your computer, they can probably provide you with a wealth of information and opinions. You also can get an idea of what they would charge to make a video of your animation. Second, you should visit a service bureau that does computer animation, image processing, and image conversion. You can often ind computer animation services by calling an advertising agency for a recommendation or two. A computer animation service bureau can tell you about hardware and software and show you examples of image capturing, printed or film output, and image conversion. Hardware and Sotware Dealers. Although they often have a biased opinion, the dealers in your area can tell you what is available and what it should be able to do. See if you can try out what you want at their store. Try to get an idea of the efect that improving the output quality has on the cost of the equipment. You can very easily take AAPAY.EXE (discussed later) and a sample movie to run your own demo of Animator. Hardware Manuacturers. Many manuacturers gladly will send you information about their products that can answer your questions. They also may know of other resources that you can contact for more information. Clip rt. Some companies sell images you can use or your Animator lies and presentations. Most clip art comes in various ormats, although some irms make clip art speciically or Animator, such as Chappell and Associates. Figure 11.4 shows an Animator image sample rom Chappell and Associates.

Chapter 11: Sitting in the Director's Chair

3 21

Fig. 11.4.

A clip art image sample of Chappell & Associates Animator clip art.

After you have decideI on what you want your input or output to consist of and what quality you desire, then you can compare the cost of buying the equipment or sotware to the cost of paying someone else to do the work. Appendix B, "Other Resources and Equipment," lists some of the possibilities or your research. Now that you have an idea of where to look, it's time to talk about back­ ground information (so you know what to ask about). You may be quite sur­ prised at the options that are available to you and the high-quality input and output that you can obtain.

Image Format and Quality Images can be used as a source or input and a product for output. Your oremost concern is the quality of the image, which is primarily dependent on its original ormat and the hardware that obtained the image. Additionally, the number of format changes that the image goes through can enhance or detract from the quality of the image.

Digital Images. Digital images are the ones your computer uses. All of the other ormats are converted rom or converted to a digital image. The quality of a digital image depends on the display characteristics of the graphics card that the image was designed for and the image processing capability of the sofware that creates them.

32 2

Part

III: At the

Movies

A variety

of ormats

are

available

or

digital

images ,

with ile

extensions such as TGA, PIC, PCX, GIF, RLE, MAC, LBM, Pin, and PCn (n is a number). The conversion process must adjust the screen ratio, the resolution, and the colors. The quality of the original ormat and the quality of the conversion software determine the quality of the inal image. Some conversion sotware enables you to dither the image, adjust the inal colors, view the image as it will appear before you process it, and perorm a variety of image adjustments. Other conversion software simply converts without any viewing or editing options. (Some of these conversion programs are listed in Appendix B.) One of the best image ormats is Targa (TGA), which is designed to work with a series of high-resolution graphics boards made by Truevision. You can get programs or capturing, converting, and outputting Targa iles, and COVERT.EXE can create GIF iles from Targa iles. If you want to view Targa iles, however, you must have a graphics card capable of displaying them. Some programs can capture screen images rom Animator or other paint and image processing soware. The images used or this book were created using VGRAB, which came with the sotware used or converting and printing the captured images. Other programs are available from CompuServe orums and retailers (see Appendix B).

35 mm slides. Taken with a good camera, 35 mm slides are an excellent source for images. In addition, hardware exists that can create 35 mm slides of your Animator images. Slides can produce high-resolution images because they have a light source behind them. This provides for easy viewing or copying of an image with vibrant color saturation. Scanners can produce or copy slides with a 4,000-, 8,000-, or 10,000line resolution. The resulting image is excellent, and the scanners generally can provide the image in numerous digital ormats. Again, one of the best ormats or this purpose .i � a Targa ile

.

·--. �

Photographs/Print. Images rom photographs, magazines, or brochures can be captured or scanned into numerous file formats. In addition, some programs produce our-color separations of Targa iles that can be used by a printer to create print media of your Animator images. In this way, you can have a video brochure and a companion printed brochure that have the same image source.

Chapter 11: Sitting in the Director's Chair

Experimentation is often required to get the best balance of the RGB colors rom photographs and print, and you may find that the quality of the photograph or print is not suficient or your needs. However, with images such as charts and graphs, prints or photos are a perfect image ormat.

Videoape and Film. Video output is one of the main options that Animator was designed for. Diferent videotape ormats and sizes exist, as well as two major types of video: NTSC/Component and Composite. The cost of videotape is similar or each of the ormats, but the cost of the equipment ranges rom moderate to expensive. Film can be copied to video and captured digitally from the videotape. Each of the ormats vary in resolution and the capability to hold the image

and its color when multiple copies are made of the master video. See "Making Videotapes or Your VCR" later in this chapter and Appendix A or more inormation.

Video Capture You can capture video images of objects, photographs, and pictures using video cameras. These images can be saved in a variety of digital formats. Examples of the cameras you can use are a hand-held video camera, an RGB video camera mounted on a copy stand, and a Hi-8 video camera and a video capture board in your computer with a corresponding monitor. A hand-held video camera produces the lowest resolution. An RGB camera on a copy stand produces excellent images, but does not work for home movies. The Hi-8 video provides composite and component video output and has excellent resolution, and it makes great home movies. For aty of these cameras, macro ocus lenses come in handy for copying images. Many service bureaus have an RGB camera on a copy stand and the type of graphics card required for it. Figure 11.5 shows and example of this tech­ nique using a simple snapshot.

Audio Capture New products are emerging that enable you to capture live or recorded audio and put it on disk in digital ormat. An audio capture board that plugs into one of your computer's expansion slots is used to convert analog sound

3 23

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Part III: At the Movies

Fig. 11.;.

Keep smilin, Trevor, wherever you are.

to digital sound. Various capture boards can handle anything rom high idel­ ity mono sound up to stereo high fidelity input, producing sound quality nearly equal to a compact disc player. Using the .audio_ capture board requires software to enable you to edit, splice, and review the elapsed time of the soundtrack. Orchestrator, created by Genesis Development Corporation, is an example of this type of software. Orchestrator works directly with Animator to provide a soundtrack output with your Animator flic. You can use Orchestrator to tie a speciic sound event to an animation event in your lic, or you can use Orchestrator to play one or more movies while also playing the soundtrack. Orchestrator plays the flies with Animator's AAPAY program, and it keys the the lic to speciic events or time references in the soundtrack. One of the best uses of Orchestrator is in conjunction with a graphics card that provides video output. You can use Orchestrator to play a presentation on a V moni­ tor without creating a videotape of the presentation. Why is this capability important? First, you normally must put an Animator movie on videotape if you want to include a soundtrack, and Orchestrator eliminates this step and the costs involved. Second, you easily can use parts of individual presenta­ tions with other presentations to create variations, without creating a video­ tape of each presentation.

In

this way,

you can use Orchestrator and

Animator to prepare numerous in-house presentations without using any­ thing but your computer, a stereo system, and a V monitor.

Chapter 11: Sitting in the Director's Chair

In addition, you can tape a soundtrack and flic at the post-production acility or on your home video recorder. Orchestrator enables you to edit the time coordination of the movie and the soundtrack on your computer instead of using your video recorder and tape deck to do the editing. This capability also eliminates the need or the post-production acility to coordinate the audio portion of your movie or you. For more information, see Appendix B.

Scanning Some flatbed and 35 mm scanners can capture photographs, prints, and slides, and convert them to a digital ile. The resolution, the number of col­ ors, and the color control can vary from device to device (see Appendix These scanners can capture good images

B). or use in Animator. Hand-held

scanners provide low-resolution input.

Making Videotapes for Your VCR Home video comes in HS, Super VHS, and Hi-8 that can be output directly rom your computer. Home video decks cannot be genlocked for rame coor­ dination and color control, so the quality

of the product may not be as pro­

fessional as you would like, especially if you intend to produce multiple copies. However, if you want to use output from the VCR to add to Animator images in your computer, you can genlock the signal from your VCR. You must have a graphics card or a converter box that can convert your normal monitor signal to NTSC/composite video, or in the case of an S-video deck, you can use component video. You may ind that S-video serves your professional needs if you do not intend to make numerous copies of the tape. Some of the manuacturers of these products are listed in Appendix

B.

If your goal is to have professional video output, then having the capability

to output to

a

home video setup is desirable. You can get an idea of what

your inished product will look like beore you go to the expense of using a post-production acility. You can easily add voice and music to your videos by inputting a recording directly from your stereo to the videotape deck You can use frames in your lic that provide a countdown number on-screen so you start the music at the right moment. You also can create the movie using segments that have ades and use the rame countdown technique for each segment. Afterward, borrow another videotape deck and edit out the countdown frames.

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Part III: At the Movies

The colors in video are not represented in the same saturation as they are or your monitor. You may ind that reds seem to overwhelm the screen, and blues, browns, and yellows sometimes bleed. You may want to use the Tint option rom the Palette screen to add a slight amount of green to the entire lic, so that the colors stabilize. Make sure that you experiment with Tint on a variety of rames beore you apply it to the entire ic. In addition to color shits, you also will ind that the ratio of the screen image does not equal that of the video image. You can either make sure that you have some space around your images in the Animator lic, or you can do your editing while viewing the lic images on a television. The only way you can edit while looking at the television, however, is to have one of the graphics cards or encoder boxes to output the composite signal rom your computer. Finally, video consists of two screen scans or each image (60 scans per sec­ ond to make 30 rames per second). If you draw single pixel lines in your animation, the lines will licker because only one screen scan contains the line. Some expensive pieces of equipment can sample the pixels on the screen to compensate or the licker, but you should check to make sure that you have access to such equipment beore you create the animation.

Printing Many programs can output GIF images to a printer. In addition, you can get good prints rom programs that print Targa iles or convert the Targa iles to Postscript iles that can be sent to a Postscript printer. For color prints, a number of good color printers are available. The rule of thumb or image conversion and input/output is to use a ormat that provides the highest quality resolution. One of the most convenient methods or converting images is to use a Targa ile as the basis or input or output of the digital image.

Converting Files for Animator Use Two programs provided with Animator convert iles rom other sources or you. COVERT.EXE converts single images to 256-color 320 x 200 GIF iles and animation rom Amiga Zoetrope, Amiga Deluxe Paint III, or Atari ST Cyber sotware. Other programs that can convert images rom a variety of ormats are listed in Appendix B. FLIMAKER.EXE converts AutoCAD, Auto­ Sketch slide iles, and AutoShade rendering and slide iles to a lic. •

Chapter 11: Sitting in the Director's Chair

32 7

The Converter First, take a look at the Convert program itself. Figure 11.6 shows the open· ing Convert screen, with its three main menus, the Converter, Flic, and Pie menus.

ig. 11.6. he Converter screen.

The Converter (COVERT.EXE) enables you to scale and move an image, and to create moving backgrounds rom an image. You also can ind out how . much memory is available rom the Converter menu. Figure 11. 7 shows the Converter menu. The About option displays the current version of the Convert program and

information about its author. The Memory option displays the message shown in igure 11.8. Bytes Free shows the amount of memory available in your computer. The Largest is the largest block of contiguous AM. The Convert program uses RAM to load the image of the picture to be converted and uses the disk to store temporay iles during the conversion. You can change the drive used or the temporary iles with the Files panel rom the Pie menu. A detailed look at the Converter menu options ollows.

Scle. Selecting the Scale option displays a menu that enables you to select the width and height of the converted image (see ig. 11.9).

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Part III: At the Movies

Fig. 11.7. he Converter menu.

Fig. 11.8. he Conveter memoy message.

�

·

SET .WfDTH

a S5T HEIGHT 3 DEFAUL-

Fig. 11.9. he Scale menu.

Chapter 11: Sitting in the Director's Chair

Set Width. This option shows the final image width (in pixels) used during conversion with the Render option. If you let-click the Set Width option, a slider bar appears so you can adjust the width. Set Height. The Set Height option works the same as the Set Width option. Deault. The Deault option sets the height and width to the standard screen resolution that Animator uses (320 x 200). The Deault option squeezes an oversize image down to the 320 - x 200 size. Correct Aspect Ratio. The Correct Aspect Ratio option changes the ratio of the original image to the same ratio as the 320 x 200 Animator screen, without modiying the relative size of the image more than nec­ essary to obtain the correct ratio. The Correct Aspect Ratio option removes any elongations of the image resulting from the diference between the original file and Animator's ratio. For example, a 512 x 400 image would be changed to a 512 x 320 image and narrowed to correct appearance on-screen. In addition, the 256-color map is created when Correct Aspect Ratio is used. Note that all the 512 x 320 image still won't it on the 320 x 200 screen. The Correct Aspect Ratio option may cause Convert to run out of memory for high-resolution images. You must trust the Default option in these instances. Revert. The Revert option resets the width and height of the image on Convert's screen back to the original height and width, preserving the original aspect ratio. Diher. This option toggles dithering on and o. The deault dithering

mode is o. Dithering averages random pixels with their background and may smooth the image, but dithering also reduces image sharpness. Render. The Render option starts the conversion based on the Scale settings and the position of the image on the screen. If you want to save a diferent portion of the image ollowing the use of Render, use the Move option. Move. The Move option repositions the image on the screen. If the image is larger than the screen, only the portion shown is saved.

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Part III: At the Movies

To move the image, left-click the screen to pick the image up and let-click again to put it down. You can move the image as much as you want. Right· click when you are inished. The status line displays the ollowing information: XX Y

(XX Y)

The irst pair of XX Y coordinates is the displacement of the image rom its original upper-left corner position. The second pair ofXX Y coordinates is the displacement of the image rom its current position. Slide. The Slide option is used to create a scrolling background image from the current image. When you select the Slide option, you see the menu shown in igure 1 1. 10.

Fig. 11.10. he Side menu.

The Slide option creates a lic that moves the entire Animator rame over the image you are manipulating in Convert. If you have an image larger than 320 x 200, you can view he background over a period of time by scrolling the background in your Animator movie. If you have an image equal to or smaller than 320 x 200, the image floats around the screen with the background key color illing in the rest. The Slide option variations are the ollowing: Slide Wih Mouse. The Slide With Mouse option enables you to pick up the image in the same manner as you can with the Move option and set the image down in a new location.

Chapter 11: Sitting in the Director's Chair

The lic will be created over a speciied number of rames, moving the image the distance and direction that you move it with the mouse. If you want to cancel the operation, simply right-click You can move the image as many times as you want, but the scrolling will be completed only from the original location to the inal location that you select.

Set

. The Set X option presents a slider bar that enables you

to set the number of pixels that you want the image to move in the x- direction. The Slider box also displays the current movement, if any, that has been set by previous Slide options.

Set

Y. The Set Y option works in the same way that the Set X

option does, except that the movement is in the y- direction.

Set Frames.

The Set Frames option enables you to pick the

number of frames that you want the scrolling lic to be. A slider bar appears that enables you to set the number of frames with the mouse.

Complete.

The Complete option works in the same way that

the Complete button works on the Time Select panel. If you want to smoothly loop the scrolling background, then turn of Complete (the deault). Turning of Complete makes the image's position in the last rame one rame short of a complete movement. If your movement is linear, then turn Complete on. Note that a ull-rame movement can create an entire rame of delta inormation or each frame of the movie (refer to Chapter

9).

This means that scrolling background lies can get large in

ile size. Large delta changes also mean slower playing speeds. Preview. The Preview option on the Slide menu works in the same way it works on the Time Select panel.

Render and Save.

The Render and Save option on the Slide

menu works in the same way it works on the Time Select panel.

Eit.

Use the Exit option to exit Convert.

The Flic menu is used to convert animations from other programs to an Ani­ mator movie. You must irst have the animation ile transferred to an

IBM­

compatible disk or transferred via modem. Figure 11.11 shows the Flic menu.

3 31

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Part Ill: At the Movies

Fig. 11.11. he lic menu.

You can play an Animator movie and view and convert our other movie ormats. The Flic menu options are as ollows: Load miga. The Load Amiga option enables you to view and

convert Zoetrope, Amiga Live!, and Deluxe Paint III animations. After you select the Load Amiga option, you have three choices (see fig. 11.12). Load IF ile. The Load RIF ile option enables you to view or

convert Zoetrope and Amiga Live! animations. Load nim ile. The Load Anim ile option enables you to view

or convert Deluxe Paint III animations. Cncel. This option cancels the File load option.

ST. The Load ST option enables you to view and convert Atari ST Cyber animations.

Load

Load Flic. If you want to view an Animator movie, use the Load Flic

option. All of the Load options cause a File Selector panel to appear and list iles with the appropriate ile extension. If your movie files have diferent extensions than the default, you can change the wildcard listing to display the file. The animations or the IF and ANI iles (Zoetrope, Amiga Live!, and Deluxe Paint III) must be 320 x 200 and a maximum of 32 colors.

Chapter 11: Sitting in the Director's Chair

1

.OAO RIF :I .E

333

Fig. 11.12. he Load Amiga menu.

View. The View option plays the current lie until you right-click or press any key to stop. The View option reads the animation from disk, so you may want to use a AM disk if you have one. Save Flic. The Save Flic option converts the current animation to an

Animator lic and saves the animation to disk. A File Selector panel appears, enabling you to change the ile name and disk or saving the lie. The inal Converter menu is the Pie menu. The Pie menu enables you to load and convert many ormats and sizes of single-image pictures to 320 x 200 GIF iles that you can use in Animator. Figure 11.13 shows what the Pie menu looks like.

Fig. 11.13. he Pie menu.

Each of the listed file types can have a varying number of colors and resolu­ tions. Ater you have loaded an image, you use the Converter menu to change the image size and render it as a 320 x 200 GIF ile. Animator reads the colors and converts the image to a maximum of 256 col­ ors. You can determine how much of the image you want to convert by using the Size option from the Converter menu and moving the image to

3 34

Part III: At the Movies

view the portion that you want to save as a GIF. When you select Render, the viewed portion is saved as the GIF. The available ormats are explained in the ollowing paragraphs: Load Targa. Targa files are the files created to be used on the Targa 16, 24, and 32 graphics boards made by Truevision, Inc. and the Vision-16 graphics board made by Vision Technologies. They ofer a stable, high-resolution, wide-color range file that, when converted to Animator GIF, tends to maintain its high-resolution appearance. Targa files have the extension TGA or PIX. Targa files are displayed in black and white while being viewed in Convert, due to their large color palettes. Ater you scale the image to fit the desired size, Convert changes the palette to 256 colors and displays the image in color. If you save the image as it appears in Convert beore scaling the Targa ile, the image will be saved in black and white. Load miga. The Amiga and IBM Deluxe Paint II pictures are IFF ormat pictures with the ile extension LBM. You also can load Deluxe Paint II brushes that are the same as Animator eels. Load ST. The Load ST option displays the menu shown in igure 11.14. You can select a variety of Atari Neochrome or Degas pictures for loading.

Fig. H.14. he Atari ST Pies menu.

The ST picture ile types are as ollows: J Neochrome-NEO J Degas Low Resolution -Pll J Degas Medium Resolution - PI2 J Degas High Resolution-PI3 J Degas Elite Low Resolution-PC! J Degas Elite Medium Resolution-PC2 J Degas Elite High Resolution

-

PC3

Chapter 11: Sitting in the Director's Chair

Load Macntosh. The Macpaint monochrome pictures have a variety

of ile extensions but Convert uses MAC. For use with Animator, name the iles according to DOS conventions (with a MAC extension) and load them in IBM ormat. Load PCX. The PC Paintbrush pictures have the file extension PCX

and can be loaded if they have no more than 16 colors. Load GIF. The Load GIF option enables you to load the various

resolution GIF files that are available rom CompuServe and other sources. Save GIF. This option saves the contents of the screen to a 320 x

200, 256-color ile. You can select the ile name and location-when the File Selector appears.

Flimaker The Autodesk Animator Flimaker program (FLIMAKE l.EXE) converts slide. iles created by AutoCAD, AutoSketch, and AutoShade and rendering iles created by AutoShade into Animator FLI iles. You must always use a script ile to tell Flimaker what files to process, even if only one ile has to be pro· cessed. It is possible that uture versions ·of FLIMAKER will allow single­ image conversion to be accomplished by using a command line option and eliminate the need or a script ile or single-image conversion. The type of graphics card you use to create AutoCAD, AutoSketch, or Auto­ Shade images has no efect on the image created in Animator. The ormat you use or the output of rendering files rom AutoShade is important to the final results, but you can create the slide and rendering iles on any com­ puter with any graphics display. The three steps to converting iles with Fli­ maker are the ollowing: 1. Create the slide or rendering file. 2. Write a script ile using DOS's EDLIN program or a word processor in programming mode. 3. Use Flimaker to convert the files to a flic. You may have to change the configuration of your AutoShade program to create the proper file ormat. Also, Flimaker creates flies even if you have only one image to convert. Flimaker is set up this way because you usually will want to convert a series of iles or animation and Flimaker makes this process simple and automated. If you want just a GIF ile, then you can open the lic in Animator and save the screen as GIF using the Pie menu's Files option.

335

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Part III: At the Movies

To create the iles necessary or loading into Flimaker, this book assumes that you are relatively proicient in using AutoCAD, AutoShade, .and Auto­ Sketch. The ollowing instructions discuss the procedure and any special considerations that you may have to make. If you need more information about the speciic commands involved, then you should refer to the respec­ tive program's manual.

Creating Slide Files. You need to know only a few things about creating slides rom AutoCAD, AutoSketch, or AutoShade. 0 In AutoCAD, the Fill command or Fillmode variable must be of

beore you create the slide. 0 In AutoSketch, make sure that there are no illed solids.

0 If you are creating a number of slides that have a logical progression of images, name the slides in procession (e.g., SLIDEl, SLIDE2, SLIDE3, and so on). 0 If you are processing a number of slides, you should write a

script ile or AutoCAD or AutoShade to process the slides in batch mode.

Creating Rendering Files. Flimaker can process rendering iles (RND) made by AutoShade version 1.1 and later. Two useful options exist or converting the iles. One is using a VGA 320 x 200, 256color rendering ile, and the other is using a Targa file. To use a Targa file, you need to get a program that converts an AutoShade Targa ormat rendering ile to a Targa ile. One program available or this purpose is RND2TGA.EXE, which is available rom the Autodesk orum on CompuServe. For a VGA ile, follow these steps: 1. Set the SHADERDFILE environment variable by typing the ollowing command at the DOS prompt or by putting the line in a batch ile: SET

SHADERDFILE=320,320,10000,13100,256,63,64

Note: If you are using the SUN version of Autoshade, refer to

your AutoShade manual or instructions to set this environment variable. 2. Conigure AutoShade to have a 256-color map hard copy device. (Note: Not the 256 continuous ile.)

3. Create a Hard Copy Full Shade or Fast Shade in AutoShade.

Chapter 11: Sitting in the Director's Chair

337

4. Write a Script file or Flimaker and execute Flimaker. You will read about the Script file in a moment. For a Targa ile conversion, substitute the ollowing changes in the VGA steps shown above:

1. Instead of the SHADERDFILE statement in step 1. use the ollowing: SET SHADERDFILE

=

640, 480, 1, 1, 0, 255, 255

2. In addition to creating the rendering file in AutoShade, a 640 x 480 pixel ile, use the program RND2TGA.EXE found in data

library 5 of the Autodesk orum on CompuServe. RND2TGA creates a TGA ile that, when converted to a GIF ile by Convert, has a smoother anti-aliasing efect and generally creates a better image. Figures 11.15 and 11.16 show examples of the VGA and Targa options.

Fig. 11.15.

A VGA AutoShade ile.

You also can use the AutoLISP routines rom the AutoFlix program that comes with AutoShade to crsate a movie of 3-D objects from an AutoCAD ilmroll ile. Create a walk around or object movement in the normal ashion using AFWALK and AFKINET. Make AutoCAD create a filmroll file while you go to the game or have a picnic. Then, use a script ile to have AutoShade create the rendering iles.

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Part III: At the Movies

Fig. 11.16. A Targa AutoShade file.

t

. If you are using the Targa option, RND2TGA can be b tch-moded using the instructions included with the program. inaJly, Flimaker, can produce a Flic automatically using a script ile st hat your movies are created with little efort on your part.

�

Creating Script Files. Flimaker uses script iles to process renderings and slides into lies. The script ile must be an ASCII text ile that is created with DOS's EDLIN program or a word processor in nondocument or programming mode.

Flimaker processes the rendering or slide iles in the same order that the iles are ound in the script ile. Therefore, you should number your rendering or slide files in the order that you want them to appear in the lic. Here are the steps required to create a script ile

or

Flimaker's

use:

1. Open a new ile that has a name that you will ind convenient to use that corresponds to the lic that you want to make. For example, if you are making a lic showing an oice building then you can call the script OFFICE. (A file extension is optional.) 2. On the irst line of the ile, type the name of the irst rendering or slide to be processed, including the file extension, and press Enter. 3.

For each additional slide or rendering ile, repeat step two on successive lines in the ile.

Chapter

11: Sitting

in

the

Director's

4. When you have reached the last ile name, press Enter once. Here is what the sample script file OFFICE would look like: oice l .sld ofice2.rnd oice3.rnd oice4.rnd oice5.sld oice6.sld Press Enter ater each ile name, and press Enter once more at the end. Slide and rendering files can be interspersed in any order in the script ile.

Flmaker.

After you have properly prepared slide and rendering iles,

and you have created a script file, you are ready to use Flimaker. Here is the format that Flimaker requires at the DOS prompt: FLIMAKER [options] [speed] The ollowing conditions apply:

[options].

The only option available at this writing is -v. The -v

option causes Flimaker to display the converted files on a VGA screen while they are being processed.

.

The script file name must be exactly the

same as the name that you gave the script file, including the extension.

.

The lic name must be the name that you want to

call your movie without the FLI extension. Flimaker automatically adds the extension to the file that is created. If another flic with the same name exists, Flirnaker writes over the file without warning, so be careul.

[speed].

The speed option enables you to determine the flic speed

to be used during playback of the movie. The deault speed is our. For example, if you want to create the OFFICE lic with a single palette and a play back speed of 10, here is what you type at the DOS command prompt: FLIMAKER OFFICE OFFICE 10 Note that if you do not use the -v option, you can execute Flimaker on any computer that has 640K memory. Make sure that your rendering files and slide files are properly created, your script file

Chair

3 39

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Part III: At the Movies

ollows the rules listed above, and that you have enough hard disk space beore you execute Flimaker. If Flimaker does not work, you probably have made a mistake in one of the steps.

Playing Movies without Animator A program called AAPLAY.EXE enables you to play your flies without Anima· tor. AAPLAY.EXE comes with the Animator, and can be distributed reely. A document ile containing instructions on the use of AAPLAY.EXE is included as AAPLAY.DOC. If you want others to be able to view your movie without going to the expense and efort of putting the movie on videotape, you can include a copy of the AAPLAY.EXE and AAPLAY.DOC files with your movie. The only requirement is that the person who is going to view your lic must have a computer with a VGA display. AAPLAY can be used with a mouse or keyboard, or can play movies and dis­ play GIF iles using a script ile. The script file provides instructions to AAPLAY as to the name, sequence, playing speed, number of times to display the flic or pictures, and the type of transition to place between each lic. Thereore, AAPLAY can be used two ways: interactively or by script ile con­ trol. You or the person viewing your movie may want to have the option of reviewing the movie frame by frame or in a random sequence-best done b y using Animator interactively. O n the other hand, i f you are using your lic to make a presentation, you may want everything to be automated, requiring the use of a script file. You will learn about the use of AAPLAY rom both perspectives.

Using APAY Interactively When you set up Animator on your computer, the file AAPLAY.EXE should have been copied to the same directory that you have Animator in. If AAPLAY.EXE is elsewhere, copy it to Animator's directory. To use AAPLAY, type AAPLAY. You should see a screen like the one shown in igure 11.1 7. AAPLAY works just like Animator, except that it contains only the unctions necessary to play a movie or display a pie. Most of the unctions or playing the movie are more conveniently located to provide easy access to the nec­ essary options. You can use a mouse or the keyboard to activate the AAPLAY options.

Chapter

11:

Sitting in the Director's Chair

341

Fig. 11.17. he APLAY screen.

he Pla yer Menu. The Player menu includes information about the current version of APAY and the authors of the program. The Player menu also is used to quit APAY

( see

ig.

11.18).

Fig. 11.18. he

Player

menu.

34 2

Part III: At the Movies

he Fle Menu. The File menu has options ( GIF File ) or a script ( see ig. 11.19).

or loading a lic, a pie

Fig. 11.19. he File menu.

When you select the FLI Load, GIF Load, or the Script Load options, a File Selector panel like the one shown in igure

11.20

appears.

Fig.

11.20. he File

Selector panel.

.I

� (CANCEL)

Chapter 11: Sitting in the Director's Chair

The File Selector panels work in the same ashion as the File Selector panels in Animator do. You can use the File Selector window scrolling bar to display the files in the directory, you can use the Path and File boxes to change the files to be selected, and you can cancel the operation. To load a flic, pie, or script file, you can double-click the ile name in the File Selector window, or you can click the file name and select OK from the File panel.

he Frames Icon and Speed Bar. The Frames icon on the lower let of the AAPLAY screen works in the same fashion as the Frames icon on Animator's Frames panel. Click the arrows to view individual rames or move to the start or end of the flic. Click the double arrows to play the flic. Click the slider bar and drag the icon to jump to any frame. The Play Speed bar on the lower right of the AAPLAY screen works

in the same fashion as the Play Speed bar on Animator's Frames panel. You can adjust the play speed up and down one jiy by clicking the appropriate arrow, or you can drag the play speed in the slider bar. The lic's deault speed is displayed in the slider bar when the flic is loaded. APLAY cannot use the Summagraphics tablet in its native mode as Animator

can. Summagraphics has a driver that enables a Summagraphics tablet to emulate a Microsoft mouse, however. Check with your Summagraphics dealer if you want to use this option. You also can use the keyboard to con­ trol AAPLAY, as described in the ollowing paragraphs.

Menu Options. All menus and menu options can be selected using the key that corresponds to the irst letter of the menu name and the first letter of the menu option. For example, to use the Flic Load option rom the File menu, you type ff or FF.

File Selector. The keyboard has two modes of entry, the command mode and the ile text mode. When you are in a le text box and the cursor is a solid box, you can type text directly into the ile box. When the file text boxes all contain vertical lines, the keyboard is in the command mode. Table 11.2 shows what the keys do in command mode.

34 3

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Part III: At the Movies

Table 11.2 Command Mode Keys Function

Key

Toggles keyboard rom command mode to

Tab

text mode and moves the cursor rom file text entry box to file text-entry box Clears a ile text-entry box

Esc Cursor pad arrows

Moves the cursor let or right or the ile selector list up and down

Backspace

Deletes characters let of cursor in text mode

A-Z

Selects drive in command mode and enters text in text mode

\

Moves to the root directory

. (period)

Moves up a directory

Enter

Selects OK

Spacebar

Cancels the operation in command mode

Playing a Flic. Various keys control the playing of a flic when you are not in an AAPLAY menu or a File Selector panel. These keys are listed in table

11.3. Table 11.3 Keys For Playing Flies

y

Function

Up Arrow

Moves to irst frame

Down Arrow

Moves to last rame

Right Arrow

Moves forward one frame

Let Arrow

Moves back one frame

Enter

Plays movie

Backspace

Freeze at current rame (any key continues)

+

Increase speed one jiy

Decrease speed one

jiy

Chapter 11: Sitting in the Director's Chair

Key

Function

Fl

Speed 0

F2

Speed

F3

Speed 6

F4

Speed 9

F5

Speed 12

F6

Speed

F7

Speed 24

F8

Speed 36

F9

Speed 48

FlO Esc

·

3

18

Default flic speed Stops script playback

You can lock the keyboard during playback by pressing Ctrl-M on an 80286 computer or Ctrl-[any letter] on an 80386 computer_ You must remember which Ctrl key combination you used to lock the keyboard so that you can use the same Ctrl key combination to unlock the keyboard. If you orget, you have to reboot the computer or try all the keys on the keyboard.

Using APAY with Scripts Script files can be written in the same ashion that was discussed in the explanation of Flimaker earlier in this chapter_ AAPLAY has a rich variety of commands that you can add to the script ile in addition to the file names, however, and the correct use of script files enhances your movie and picture playback Remember that the script ile must be in ASCII ormat and contain the complete path and ile name of the lies or pictures that you want to play. To use AAPLAY with a script ile, use the Script Load option rom the File menu within AAPLAY, or you can type the ollowing at the DOS prompt in the directory in which AAPLAY resides: AAPLAY

The is the name you gave the script ile when you created it, including any file extension. GIF files take time to display because they are not compressed by Animator. You may want to make a lic of any

34 5

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Part III: At the Movies

one or any successive group of GIF files so that the GIF images will display at the same speed as your flies. In addition to the file name, the script files may contain a number of parame­ ters and options for playback. Parameters may be combined with each other on the same line as the lic ile name, and options must appear on a separate line as a single command. A discussion of these parameters and options ollows. -L The -L parameter tells AAPLAY how many times you want to loop a playback of a flic. It has no efect on GIF files. An example of the use of the -L parameter in a script ile is

OFFICE1.FLI -L4 This script line tells AAPLAY to loop the OFFICEl flic our times. S The -S parameter sets the playback speed to a diferent speed than the deault flic speed. It has no efect' on GIF files. Here's an example: -

.

OFFICEl.FLI -L4 -510 Now the script line tells AAPLAY to loop the OFFICEl flic 4 times and to play the lic at speed 10. -P. The -P parameter enables you to pause for a display of a GIF file or the last rame of a flic. The range of pause time is rom 0 to 14,400 seconds (4 hours). Here is how to use the pause parameter:

OFFICEl.FLI -L4 -510 -P20 This script line makes the flic loop 4 times at a playback speed 10 and pauses at the end of the flic, displaying the inal frame for 20 seconds before continuing the loop. The -T parameter enables you to create a transition between each lic or picture in the script file. The default transition is a cut. The first transition is at the start of the lic, and the second transition is at the end of the flic. You do not have to use the -T parameter if you want both ends of the lic to have a cut transition, and you do not have to explicitly set the cut transition or the end of a lic. The following examples show how: -T.

OFFICEl.FLI -L4 -SlO -P20 OFFICE2.FLI -SS -T CUT FADEOUT OFFICE3.FLI -L2 -510 -T FADEIN FADEOUT OFFICE4.FLI -510 FADEIN OFFICEl plays using its parameters and immediately cuts to OFFICE2, which fades to a white screen. OFFICE3 ades in rom a white screen

Chapter 11: Sitting in the Director's Chair

and then ades out to a white screen. OFFICE4 ades in rom a white screen and then ends with a cut. All of the other parameters are active in this example (Loops, Speed, and Pause). AAPLAY cannot fade to a black screen because your VGA graphics card would create snow. If you want to have black transitions, you need to design them into the start and end of your lick using techniques discussed in Chapter 10. LINK . If you want to play another script ile rom within a script ile, use the Link option. Include the name of the script ile on the same line as the Link option, with a space between the option and the ile name. Here is how Link can be used: OFFICEI.FLI -L4 -SlO P2 0 -

OFFICE2.FLI -SS -T CUT FADEOUT OFFICE3.FLI -L2 -SlO -T FADEIN FADEOUT OFFICE4.FLI -SlO FADEIN LINK STUDY Ater all the OFFICE lies have played, the script ile called STUDY begins to execute its AAPLAY instructions.

LOOP 0 ..999. The Loop option enables you to play a script rom 0 .

to 999 times. You may want to use this option when you are doing a trade show and want to run a continual demo. Here is what you could do with our example: OFFICEI.FLI -L4 -SlO -P20 OFFICE2.FLI -SS -T CUT FADEOUT OFFICE3.FLI -L2 -SlO -T FADEIN FADEOUT OFFICE4.FLI -SlO FADEIN LINK STUDY LOOP 100 The Loop option causes this script to replay the commands that precede the Loop option 100 times. You can have more than one Loop option in a script file and loop the preceding loops and options in the script ile. EITTOPLAYER. The EXITTOPLAYER option (no spaces may be used in this command) exits to the AAPLAY program when the script file has completed processing. The EXITTOPLAYER option may look like this example:

347

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Part III: At the Movies

OFFICEI.FLI -L4 -510 -P20 OFFICE2.FLI -S8 -T CUT FADEOUT OFFICE3.FLI -L2 -SlO -T FADEIN FADEOUT OFFICE4.FLI -510 FADEIN EXITTOPLAYER Using EXITTOPLAYER this way returns control to the AAPLAY program after all the OFFICE lies have played. EITTODOS. The EXITTODOS option exits to the DOS command prompt when the script file has completed processing. The EXITTODOS option looks like the ollowing: OFFICEI.FLI -L4 -SlO -P20 OFFICE2.FLI -S8 -T CUT FADEOUT OFFICE3.FLI -L2 -SlO -T FADEIN FADEOUT OFFICE4.FLI -SlO FADEIN EXITTODOS This script ile would exit to DOS after the OFFICE flies play. If you want to interactively use AAPLAY, you can use batch files and a screen menu to present options or the viewer. These options could load AAPLAY with a variety of script iles. If you need help writing batch iles, you should get a book about DOS, such as Que's MS-DOS

User's Guide, Special Edition, or Using PC DOS, 3rd Edition. Script iles do not have to be written using uppercase letters, nor do the parameters have to be in any particular order. The parameters must appear on the same line as the file that they are to be used on, and the options must appear on a separate line. When a script ile is playing, you may use the keyboard in the same fashion as explained earlier in this chapter, but the keystrokes only apply to the flic that is playing. The balance of the lies in the script ile will continue to play using their respective parameters.

Creating Storyboards Any good director refers to a storyboard or a set of storyboards while work­ ing on a movie. The purpose of a storyboard is to lay out key rames and sequences in a movie to use as reference points to build a movie rom, like an outline or

a

writer.

If you are an artist, you can sketch out a storyboard reehand. If you are not, you can use Animator to lay out key frames of your flic. Storyboards are laid out in the same progression of images as they would appear in the movie.

Chapter 11: Sitting in the Director's Chair

349

Only key images that denote important action or changes in action are pre­ pared. In addition, notes are made with each frame that explain the dialog or story line that is occurring leading up to and ollowing the key rame. Notes as to special efects, color, techniques, and transitions to other portions of the story also are included. A storyboard looks something like the Browse Flies screen in Animator, except that notes are scribbled around each image. Figure 11.21 shows an example of a frame from a storyboard that was made using Animator.

Fig. 11.21. A sample stoyboard image.

If you do not want to use the text option to write descriptions or the sto­ ryboard, you can get a program that can print GIF les (see Appendix B or

a

listing of such programs). Then you can paste the printout of various key frames onto a board. You can write notes on the board that describe the action and remind you of your thoughts about the movie segments. You can add notes to a storyboard at any time, making such a program an excellent tool or keeping track of your lic and any new ideas or it. The importance of a storyboard in saving time and backtracking cannot be overemphasized. When you create images or storyboards, they should be as simple as possible-just enough to describe the scene. However, you should still take care in creating storyboards if you use Animator to create the sto­ ryboard images. You may be able to use portions of the storyboard or key rames.

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Part III: At the Movies

Chapter 11 Tutorial-The Future The best of the Animator Studio tour is left for last. This tutorial is not an Animator tutorial in the strictest sense of the word. This is an idea

tutorial

that has been developed to get you thinking about what you can do with Animator. Some of the ideas may not apply to your own use of Animator, but something similar may work. Idea # 1: You can use Animator with your children as an educational tool, teaching the basics of animation, color, and the presentation of ideas. Idea #2: You can create a video brochure of your company's or your own experience, perormance, and capabilities. You can capture images of pro· jects and people and include them in your lies. You can link your lies to other video presentations and real-life recordings. Idea #3: You can use Animator to add spice and inormation to your home movies for your family and children to enjoy or years. Dates, comments, pictures, and drawings can be merged with your home movies or videotapes to create an organized amily history. Idea #4: You can develop animation or use by educational V and your local schools. ids in school can use Animator to develop presentations of their school projects. Idea #5: College students can use Animator or class presentations, and graphics or business courses, advertising, education, health, athletics, archi· tecture, engineering, and science. Idea #6: Scientists, engineers, researchers, and many others can use Anima· tor to augment the exchange of inormation with their colleagues. Idea #7: Animator can serve as an alternative to much more expensive

methods of presenting a potential computer animation to a client. In other words, even though your client may expect o receive a higher resolution

computer animation, the cost of presenting rough sketches of these anima· tions is high. Animator can bridge the gap between a nonanimated written and hand-drawn presentation and a full-blown animation. Idea #8: Animator is an excellent tool or learning the basics on an economi­ cal computer using an economical program. A higher resolution version of Animator

may be

developed

in

the

uture,

but

the

computing power

required to execute real-time animation is easily doubled and quadrupled rom the capability of the best desktop PC currently available. Until your interest or hobby becomes a career choice, Animator is a much more reason· able program to use or experimentation and study.

Chapter 11: Sitting in the Director's Chair

Idea #9: If you use AutoCAD, AutoSketch, or AutoShade, Animator serves as an excellent tool or working out animations of your designs. In many cases, you

can

create

more

than

suitable

animations

of

your

projects

with

Animator. You may intend to create a photo-real animation using other software that works rom AutoCAD drawings. Or you may intend to use a service bureau to create your inal animation. Animator serves as an excellent tool or work­ ing out the entire animation quickly and economically, before you create the inal product. Autodesk is developing AutoLISP routines and support programs that will enable you to use Animator in an automated ashion, creating lies from your AutoCAD drawings and linking the drawings to AutoShade, Flimaker, and Animator. ter you create the three-dimensional object in AutoCAD and make sure that the image is correct, you can draw a path and execute the routine. Your computer will happily create your movie or you while you go do something else. The release of these utilities from Autodesk may have occurred by the time you read this book. A quick check on the Autodesk forum on Com­ puServe will tell you if these programs have been released yet.

Chapter Summary Your tour of the Animator studio is complete and you should be well on your way to becoming a director of your own Animator presentations. In this chapter, you covered many of the specialty items in the Animator studio. Even if you are not ready to make hard copies of your Animator images or you need to convert iles rom other sources, you should understand what your options are. The options that you have or image output and input have a dynamic iluence on the way you use Animator. You also should use your keyboard or aster input and begin your next movie using a storyboard to help you outline the movie. Whether you are using Animator or un or proit, you will hone your skills through practice and talking with others. You may even surprise yourself at what you can create with the help of Animator. Your productivity and your capability to express your ideas to others are enhanced with Animator. Others are more interested in what you have to say when you present ideas to them using Animator. The only thing left to say is, "Have un!"

3 51

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Prt III: At the Movies

Post-Production Assistance � f you are interested in creating video output of your Animator lies using � the services of a video-editing service bureau, you should be aware of a. few more concepts that weren't presented in the main body of the book. Not everyone requires this level of production. To use a video service bureau, the computer you use must have a video card that can output NTSC (National Television Standards Committee) video sig­ nals or a conversion box that converts your monitor's signal to NTSC or component video. In addition; you may need to have the capability to gen­ lock the video signal to other equipment. The primary reasons for using post-production video services are the following: D You don't have access to an S-video video recorder or making one or two copies of your presentation on videotape 0 You want to create a number of videotapes for distribution and

your post-production work will require much editing 0 You want the best possible output of your Animator movies with sound coordinated with specific events in your movie If you need to do this type of post-production work, you should know some­ thing about what these companies do. Visit one in your area after you have read this appendix.

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Using Animator

First, you should remember that the colors used by your computer do not always display well on video. In addition, single-pixel lines have a licker to them in video. You can save countless hours and trips to and rom the post· production facility if you can create your animation by viewing it on a televi· sion monitor and making any necessary adjustments while you are working within Animator. Another good idea is to have a technician set up your V monitor so that its color bar is within industry standards. Review Chapter 11 for more details if necessary. Note: Some of the better converter boxes auto· matically eliminate single-line video licker by doubling the lines and adding them to the signal. Second, if your graphics card or converter doesn't have genlocking capa· bility, you still can get good quality S·video hardcopy and have the post-pro· duction acility add your sound track. To do more, however, you need to have a genlocking capability. Also, remember that many production houses consider computer animation a mystery. You need to tell them whether you have genlocking, NTSC, or RGB analog output, and that you will play the movie at real time. The next thing you must do is take your computer to the post-production acility and have them assist you in setting up a color bar for your computer. You want to make a lic with a set of rames that contain only this color bar. Post-production companies use vector scopes and waveorm monitors to test your video signal. Ater you have placed pure magenta, cyan, green, red, yel· low, blue, black, and white on the screen in compliance with the standard that the post-production video house wants to work with, save it as a lic. This color bar lic is used to tune their equipment to adjust your color signal to specification. Assume that you have an Animator movie prepared or video production and that you are ready to visit the post-production facility to create a video. First, you must take your computer to the company. Make sure that they know you are coming so that they can set aside a convenient location or your computer with respect to their equipment. (You can get along without your monitor, but you ought to take it to be safe). The next thing you must determine is how many generations of images you must go through beore you get the final product. A geneation is each time the video signal must be transferred to another medium. Oten, sending your signal through the post-production facility's equipment amounts to a half generation also.

Appendix A: Post-Production Assistance

The number of generations is important because your signal is reduced in quality for each generation. The amount of reduction in quality depends on the equipment and the video format you are using. In this process, you are creating a video master. You may go through a few generations beore you even get to the master, and then the number of edits that you perorm on the master to add sound and clean up the movie adds even more genera­ tions. Finally, the copy that you use or distribute also adds one generation to the process. Video formats vary in resolution, the type of video signal they can accept, the quality of the video signal they process, and cost. You must review a number of diferent combinations with the post-production acility to deter­ mine which combination best suits your needs. Table A. l lists the ormats you may encounter, which generally are ranked in ascending order of image quality. (Some variations in ranking result rom the type of signal you end up with when you create the master of your movie).

Table A.1 Video Formas VHS SVHS Hi-8 Beta cam Beta SP U-Matic SP M-II I -inch broadcast

D-1

D-2 The number of generations your movies must go through to get to the inal product plays a large role in determining what format you choose. For exam· ple, the resolution of SVHS in component video is higher than Beta SP. The Beta SP has a superior component video signal, however, and results in less image quality loss through generations than the SVHS, which negates the importance of the resolution.

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Using Animator

When you are ready to start sending the movie to tape and have selected the ormat you want to use, the post-production facility hooks up your computer to a time base corector (TBC) and the vector scope and waveorm monitor. The time base corrector is used to set the proper relationship between the color signals coming rom your computer and the capstan speed of the video equipment. Using the time base corrector eliminates any distortion in the color due to the recording speed being out of synchronization with the color signal. The time base corrector usually contains a processing amp that enables the technician to set your signal output to the correct color. First, the proper adjustments are made rom your color bar lic and then the TBC is used to correct your lic's colors. Some post-production companies use a frame syn­

chronizer in place of a time base corrector. This frame synchronizer locks the signal for each single rame of the video, providing a somewhat better quality master. After your signals have been set up to spec, the movie is recorded real time (i.e., played rom your computer at play speed) to tape. Now you're finished with the computer for a while. The next procedure is editing the tape, if necessary, to clean up any rames that are not desired in your movie. If you are taping more than one movie, or notice transition errors that you hadn't seen beore, some rames may be white or black. You need to ix them. This editing process adds one generation to your master. If you want to add sound to the movie, the use of SMPTE time codes is required. SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) time codes are placed on audio and video tracks to coordinate the run time with the video rame. Various pieces of editing and recording equipment have the capability to read and display the current time code location of the video track. Time code can he added to an audio track at a sound production facility and a printout of the time code can be provided to help tie the audio track to your video. Time code on video is oten placed on one of the audio tracks. Videotape has two audio channel tracks, plus a high idelity audio track. The time code features of the audio and videotape enable you to place music, sound efects, and voice-overs on an audio track that is coordinated with the video time code, or to record the audio track onto an audio master video­ tape (no movie images on the tape, just the sound and the time code).

Appendix A: Post-Production Assistance

If you don't need time code coordination with individual rames of your movie (e.g., a sound efect that matches animation), a simple tape of the audio recorded onto the hi-fi track of a time-coded videotape should suice. If you require time coordination, however, you have two basic choices: you can have a tape made of live audio that is created while viewing the video, or the time code can be coordinated during the video editing process. Recording time-coordinated sounds onto a tape while viewing the video is the easiest and quickest method, but is not 100% oolproof. Most movies are made in this fashion and the talent of the recording studio and the per­ ormers is the key to a well-timed audio track Live recording methods also require the least number of generations of your video to create the final product. Coordinating sound with time by using video edits requires that you have enough copies of your lic that the time sequence of the video can be spliced, adding in or taking out rames as required. As you can imagine, edi­ ting video by the splice method adds generations to your inal product. The use of SMPTE time code in a controlled fashion provides very accurate tim­ ing and may be necessary under certain extreme circumstances. The post­ production acility can review with you what your needs are and advise you of the best method or achieving the desired audio results. As you have read, the method of audio coordination you use can add genera­ tions to your post-production eforts. In an indirect way, then, the audio coordination can determine what tape ormat you need to use to achieve the stability that you want in your video image. Now you need to learn the diference between composite and component video. You can encode component video to composite video and you can decode composite video to component video. You can buy graphics cards

and add-on converter boxes that output a varying degree of NTSC composite video, with "true broadcast quality" being the best. What happens in this instance is that the RGB analog signal used or your VGA monitor is inter­ cepted and converted to the NTSC standard S 1 70 signal. In addition, other graphics cards and converter boxes put out S-video, which is an intermediate-qualiy signal with Y (luminance) and C (chroma) compo­ nents. The capability of the S-video signal to hold color is better than that of standard NTSC. HI-8 video also can produce YC component video.

357

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Using Animator

Both NTSC and S-video quality signals can be converted to component sig­ nals. This signal also is an RGB analog signal but in a diferent ormat than that used by your VGA monitor. A transcoder is used to convert the. NTSC or S-video signal to a component RGB signal. Each component (red, green, or blue) can be adjusted to suit the editing and image-quality needs, and com­ ponent video holds its quality better during the creation of each generation of image, whether copying the image to tape or sending it through process­ ing equipment. If you want exceptionally high quality video or if the image must go through a number of generations because of audio or video editing, you need to use component video. You can use S-video in most other instances and VHS in certain instances when your image quality will not be negatively afected or you just want to test your animation. You also can use VHS and your home stereo for "rough drafts" of your movie. Showing the post-production com­ pany a VHS tape that simulates what you want or the final product is a good idea, too. This short tour of a post-production facility should give you an idea of what to expect if you need professional assistance in completing your Animator project. You should know that this is a high-tech business and that there is much more to learn than is presented here. You also can learn more by read­ ing Appendix B, "Other Resources and Equipment." With some practice, dili­ gence, and research, you will be able to produce video of your animation that no one will ever guess was created while you sat at your desk!

Other Resources and Equipment � his appendix lists the resources, sotware, and equipment the author � came across while writing this book. The list is not complete, nor- are the products and sources necessarily recommended. These products and sources should help you proceed with your own investigation into more information for use with Animator. You can write to the companies listed for more information about products. SIGGRAPH

( Special

Interest Group-Graphics ) puts on a convention each

year. SIGGAPH '89 was in Boston, and SIGGAPH '90 will be in Dallas. This convention is well worth your time and expense to visit. Software and hard­ ware vendors display their wares and often make announcements and show their new products at this conference. You do not need to attend the courses that are ofered unless you are inter­ ested in their content. You will want to see the exhibits and go to the thea­

ter to see the computer animated movies.

CompuServe An Autodesk orum is available on CompuServe, but that isn't the only place you should look. In addition to the orum, here are some places you should look and a general description of what you will find. CompuServe forums change daily, so this inormation may be out of date. Contact CompuServe or current inormation.

35 9

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Using Animator

CompuServe

5000 Arlington Centre Blvd. P.O. Box 20212 Columbus, OH 43220

800-848-8990

Graphics Support Fou. (GO PICS). PICS contains programs and help iles that you can use with Animator. On PICS, you can access, download, and view GIF files. You may ind a few images in this orum interesting. You should download the iles IBM.TXT, PICS.ARC, and PROGS.IBM rom data library 1, plus help files on downloading and archiving iles. .

Data library 3 contains decoders, encoders, and some conversion utilities to convert and view a variety of graphic image formats. Data library 4 contains converters and screen capture programs. Data library 8 contains utilities for printing GIF files. Data library 12 contains PSGIF.EXE, which converts GIF files to PostScript files. Data library 14 contains GIF cataloging and file main­ tenance utilities.

The Quick Picture Forum (GO QP!CS). QPICS contains various libraries of GIF and RLE pictures. The GIF pictures have 32 or fewer colors.

The Art Gallery Foru. (GO GALLERY). GALLERY contains GIF pictures of amous works of art.

The Computer Art Forum (GO COMART). COMART contains computer-gen­ erated GIF pictures.

The Graphics Corner Forum (GO CORNER). CORNER contains GIFs that have from 33 to 256 colors.

Soware Soware is available to assist you with both the video and audio aspects of movie creation. Contact the manufacturers for more detailed information.

Image Processing Utilities to view, print, convert, and capture Targa iles can be helpul in cre­ ating hard copy output and smoothly aliased images or use in Animator. Vid­ eotex Systems, Inc. has T-EGA or converting a variety of screen resolution images to Targa iles and back. Also, a program called SCN-T can convert a

Appendx B: Other Resources and Equipment

PCX ile to a Targa file (a screen capture program is included that creates the PCX ile). T-SCAN converts PCX files to Encapsulated Postscript files, captures images, and creates PCX, TIF, or EPS files in 256 shades of gray. Finally, T-SEP separates a Targa image into a our-color separation. Videotex Systems, Inc. 8499 Greenville Ave., Suite 205 Dallas, TX 75231 PHIPS is a Targa image-processing utility that enables you to convert Targa files to other formats and has an interactive screen-viewing feature that enables you to see what efect your changes have on the image. You can vary color, aspect, and a variety of other components of a Targa image, providing you with precise control of the inal product. PHIPS also includes a handy spotmeter option that enables you to control the sampling of colors or cre­ ating the inal image. The spotmeter helps you to keep a particularly domi­ nant color rom overwhelming the other colors in the image. Terravision, Inc. 2351 College Station Road, Suite 563 Athens, GA 30655 404-769-5641

Audio Capture Orchestrator, created by Genesis Development Corporation, is a sound stu­ dio for your computer that digitizes analog sound and puts it on your com­ puter disk. Orchestrator uses AAPLAY to play lies

,

which are keyed to

a

soundtrack, and comes with an audio capture board that produces FM qual­ ity sound. (Later releases are expected to be available for CD-quality stereo sound). Sound can be captured rom microphones, compact disc players, and stereo equipment using a tape deck, tuner, or record player. You can use Orchestrator to drive presentations of Animator movies without the need or videotape recording, or you can use the program to output the complete audio/video presentation to videotape recorders. For more ior­ mation about Orchestrator, contact: Genesis Development Corporation 15850 West Bluemound Road, Suite 307 Brooield, WI 53005 414-796-1005

36 1

36 2

Using Animator

Hardware Some of the products available for outputting video signals and scanning, capturing, and printing your Animator images are listed here.

Image Capture Some of the hardware available for video capture is described in the ollow­ ing paragraphs. You can write the manufacturers or more inormation.

Jovian Via Capture Board. The Jovian

Yia

board its in one of your com­

puter's expansion slots. The board enables you to capture input rom a video camera, a VCR, or a TV, and create GIF iles in 256 colors or 64 levels of gray.

The Jovian board is relatively economical and works best with still and

motion video cameras. Jovian Logic 42808 Christy St., Suite 230 Fremont, CA 94538 415-651-4823

Targa 1, 24, or 32 Videographics Adapter. In addition to high-perormance graphics card features, the Targa boards can capture images in high resolu­ tion and large color palette register files. The Targa board accepts composite or RGB analog input but requires a special monitor. Using an RGB camera on a copy stand, such as one made by ]VC, produces excellent image captures. Truevision 7351 Shadeland Station Indianapolis, IN 46256 800-858-TRUE

Vision 16 Videographics Adapte. The Vision 16 board has features similar to

the Targa 16 board and can capture images in high resolution and large color palette register files. The Vision 16 board also accepts composite or RGB analog input. Visions Technologies 48350 Milmont Dr. Fremont, CA 94358 415-683-2900

Appendix B: Other Resources and Equipment

Scanning Scanners are used to capture slides or use in the animation you create with Animator. Write the manufacturers for more information.

Scanmaster 35mm slide scanner and Scanmaster I flatbed scanner. The Scanmasters made by Howtek, Inc. capture slides or flat print to a Targa file. You do not need a Targa board or a special monitor or their use, however. Slide scanning can provide the best quality images and you can use a camera with a motorized ilm advance to create animation of up to

36

frames (the

length of a roll of ilm). Howtek, Inc.

21

Park Ave.

03055 603-882-5200

Hudson, NH

Barneyscan 35mm slide scanne. One of the best slide scanners available. Barneyscan scanners produce Targa files. Barneyscan

1198 10th

St.

94710 415-521-3 388 Berkeley, CA

Video Output The following video output graphics cards and converters are designed to perorm various tasks. Again, write the manuacturers or more inormation. VGA-IV car. The Willow VGA-1V graphics card supports super VGA modes

for your monitor and outputs NTSC video signals. Willow Peripherals

190 Willow Ave. 10454 212-402-0010 Bronx, Y

Recordable VGA car. This U.S. Video graphics card supports super VGA modes for your monitor and outputs NTSC video signals. The Recordable VGA card may have an optional genlocking daughterboard. With the genlock­ ing feature, you can overlay live video with animations from Animator and output the composite image to a VCR. The speed of the card and the types of chips included on the card enable color cycling of the color registers, which reduces video snow.

363

364

Using Animator

U.S. Video, Inc. One Stamord Landing

62 Southield Avenue Stamford, CT 06902-9950 VIN box. The Jovian Logic VIN box is an external converter that outputs NTSC and SVHS signals rom the RGB analog signal going to your monitor. The VIN box has features to eliminate licker and to fill the horizontal dimen­ sion of the V aspect ratio that your monitor does not produce. Jovian Logic

42808 Christy St., Suite 230 Fremont, CA 94538

415-651-4823 Videolink model 3. The RGB Technologies Videolink is an external conver­ sion box that produces a near broadcast-quality signal using your VGA card.

The converter has features that ill the screen in both directions and elimi­ nate flicker. RGB Technologies also produces a video overlay module that

enables you to composite Animator images over live video. RGB Technologies

2550 Ninth Street Berkeley, CA 94710

415-848-0971 VGA Producer. Magni System's VGA producer uses a chip that plugs into the digital analog converter (DAC) slot in your VGA card, and the RAM DAC chip plugs into the VGA producer chip. A cable extends rom the chip to an external converter that produces broadcast-quality composite or SVHS video signals.

The converter accepts genlocking signals rom an external syn­

chronizer. The converter also provides video ades and the capability to key colors from the screen for overlaying other video input. Note that the DAC chip on your VGA must be a plug-in :hip, not Magni System, Inc.

9500 SW Gemini Drive Beaverton, OR 97005

800-237-5964

a

soldered-in chip.

Problems and Errors � �

efore looking at error messages and inding out what to do when you see one, here are a few typical problems that may seem like Animator

errors, but are really oversights on the director's part. 0 Boxes (pasting of a eel, application of an ink, drawing tools, or Move, Clip, Separate, and so on) aren't visible on the screen. This invisibility is due to using an ink type that has no application under the circumstances, or the current color is set to the same color as the key color. Change the color or the ink type and see whether the problem corrects itself. 0 Same symptoms as above, or applications of ink or pastes are

spotty. Check to make sure that you don't have a mask turned on. 0 A motion option doesn't have any efect. Check to make sure that the flic has more than one frame. Also check to make sure that Still is not turned on, or that Segment is turned on but only one rame is in the segment. 0 The mouse or digitizer doesn't work. Make sure that you have Animator conigured for the correct communications port and that the correct driver is installed. Animator displays error messages from time to time. Here is a listing of the current error messages, in alphabetical order, and possible solutions to the problem.

365

366

Using Animator

Animator Isn't Conigured Animator couldn't ind the AA.CFG ile when you started the program, either because you loaded Animator from a new directory that it hasn't been loaded rom beore, or you inadvertently erased the AA.CFG ile. If you are starting Animator or the irst time, this message appears, too. Animator will create a file with the default coniguration upon first-time operation, or at reconiguration. You must use the Extra menu to change the settings to your liking. You also can copy the AA.CFG ile to new directories beore you start Animator from that directory. Bad Font File Format When trying to load a font ile, you selected a ile that is some other type of file, an incompatible font ile, or a corrupt ont ile. Check to make sure that you are loading the right type of file. Recopy the ont file rom the original Animator disk. If the ile still doesn't work, get a new disk from your dealer by turning in the old ones. Bad STRT or END_COOKIE Animator has crashed because of a problem with Animator or your com­ puter. A loaded TSR program, for example, can cause a program crash. Check Appendix B in the Reference Manual. If Appendix B doesn't help you, try to remember what you were doing and call your dealer or the Autodesk prod­ uct support number (415-332-8942). Disk Write Protected If you see this message, then the write protect tab on a floppy or the disk partition/file that you are trying to write to has been write protected. You must remove the write prot e c t ion beore entering Animator. File Corrupted The file structure has been damaged. You cannot recover from this problem unless the now-corrupted le was a file supplied with your original Animator disks, which you can recopy to your hard disk. File Isn't 320

x

200

The GIF ile that you tried to load is not the correct resolution. Use CON­ VERT.EXE to adjust the ile's resolution. File Truncated The disk is ull or the file you are reading has been damaged Free up disk .

space and reenter Animator.

Appendix C: Problems and Errors

Isn't a FLI File, Sorry You have tried to load a lic ile that is the wrong type of file or an incompat­ ible lic ile, or one that has been damaged from improper writing to disk. Check to make sure that you are loading the right type of ile.

Macro File Truncated The macro file has been damaged when writing to disk and is no longer usable.

Mouse Not Installed The mouse you are using is not Microsoft-compatible, or you have made an error

in

installing

the

mouse.

Check

your

Animator

installation

and

coniguration.

No Macro Recording Deined You have selected Use Macro, Repeat Macro, or Save Macro beore you loaded or created a Macro.

Not a Good (Cel, GIF, Macro, Optics, Settings, Palette, Pie) File You have tried to load a file that is the wrong type of ile or an incompatible ile, or one that has been damaged from improper writing to disk. Check to make sure that you are loading the right type of file. If you are, and the mes­ sage appears on-screen, you cannot save the ile.

Out of Memory Your computer does not have enough memory remaining in the base 640K RAM or Animator to perorm the function. Either free up some of the bufers by using the Release option, or exit Animator and restart the program to make sure that all the memory is contiguous. Also, make sure that you have no TSRs loaded.

Scratch Drive X: Only Has

______

Bytes Free

You have run out of space on the drive you are using for temporary iles.

Shape Too Big, Sorry The Optics settings are expanding an image that is too large for Animator to handle during preview or render. Change the settings to keep the image closer to the origin of the axes.

Sorry Autodesk Animator Can't Create: (ile) Animator cannot access the disk or partition that you are trying to write to because it's write protected.

36 7

368

U sing Animator

Sorry Autodesk Animator Can't Find: (ile) The ile name or the path that you entered into the Load Files panel doesn't exist. Correct the ile text-entry boxes and try again.

Sorry, Menus Wouldn't Be Visible The changes that you made in the Main Palette would make the menus the same color, so that you couldn't see them. Change the color selections in the last ive registers to correct the problem.

Too Many Colors, Try Fewer Frames In the rames for a one-palette operation, the selected range of colors is too wide for the available memory. Use two smaller flies until the total number of colors in the recombined flic are fewer than 21,000.

Too Many Frames, Sorry You have requested that Animator create a lic of more than 4,000 rames. Use a script ile to link your movie segments in AAPLAY.

Unknown GIF Revision, Sorry A GIF ile ormat has been created that is newer than Animator, or the file is corrupted.

Write Error On Macro File! The disk is ull or the ile you are reading has been damaged. Free up disk space and reenter Animator.

Zero Memory Request! Animator's diagnostic test has ound a memory error in your computer, or Animator has a bug. Call the Animator product support line.

Animator Tips and Tricks � n

he author and technical editor of Using Animator have supplied some tips that you may find useul in creating your own lies. As you gain

experience with Animator's features, you too will see ways to achieve efects that will enhance your animation eforts. Do not be afraid to try new things.

Experiment; be creative; have fun!

Using Clip Changes and Restore This technique is a favorite of the technical editor. Hidden among the com­ mands on the Trace menu lies one command that you can use or many wild efects-Clip Changes. Ater practicing with this command, you will find it an easier and faster way to add the final touches to your animations. Clip

Changes also lends itself well to editing, updating, and putting more pizzazz into old, "finished" animations. The Clip Changes command compares the pixels of the current working frame to the pixels of the rame when it was irst entered and then clips the diference. If you play an animation, stop on any rame, and proceed to change anything within that frame, Clip Changes places the changes into the active eel bufer. The changes then can be applied to the entire animation with any standard eel techniques. A good use or the Clip Changes option is to place a border and title around a completed animation. When you thik an animation is finished and you

369

3 70

Using Animator

want to title it, perhaps with a ancy border, you can create the title and border on the irst rame of the movie and use Clip Changes to place the rame and border into the eel bufer. Then, with the Time button turned on, paste the title and border across ll the remaining rames. Try the ollowing steps and see how you like this method: 1. Load the MRNUMO lic. 2. Turn of the F (Fill) button. Using the Box tool and Opaque ink,

draw a border around the entire screen.

3. Use the Text tool to write Wild hing in the lower let corner of the screen.

4. Use Trace and Clip Changes to capture the border and title. 5. With the Time button turned on, select Cel and then Paste to pste the eel across all rames. Combine Clip Changes with the Pie and Restore commands and you sud­ denly have an easy way to clip eel parts out of an animation. The important thing here is to have an animation with a consistent background (not all do). To see an example, try the ollowing experiment: , I. Load the animation called BOSSTALK. 2.

Set the ink to Opaque and turn of the Time button.

3. Advance the animation to rame 5. Select Cel and then clip the entire screen (two men saying "Blah" to each other.)

4. Advance . the animation to rame 6 and select Cel, then select Paste to paste the image onto the screen.

5. Select Trace and Clip Changes to capture the changes (the word "Blah" in this case.)

6. Select Pie and then select Restore to return the frame to its original image. 7. Turn on the Time button and then select Cel and Paste to paste the

eel to the lower right corner of the screen. When you play the animation, you will see that it's a little less "blah-say." Try these other uses or Clip Changes:

0 Use Unzag on an entire rame, then select Clip Changes and Paste to paste the eel onto the rame, using Spark ink. (Also try the same procedure with Jumble and Dark ink) Combined with the Record command, this efect can be applied over an entire animation.

Appendix D: Animator Tips and Tricks

0 Draw a background or your animation

3 71

on top of any rame. Select

Clip Changes and then Restore. Select Paste and put the eel below the entire animation. These examples demonstrate how Clip Changes can do many things for you. The more you work with Clip Changes and Restore, the more you will come to appreciate their versatility.

Creating a Flying Mask The author has discovered a trick that may be helpul or some of your ani­ mations. You may ind on occasion that you want to create a moving mask to cover a portion )f the ic that you are working on. Animator doesn't have this facility because of the memory requirements needed to pull this o. You still can accomplish this task, however. The flying mask technique involves the ollowing steps, which are discussed in detail in this section: 0 Select a technique that changes all of the image that you intend to

mask. The technique you choose should not require a drawing screen selection to execute. 0 Create a mask of the irst rame and save it to disk. 0 Record a macro of the creation of a mask or the second frame

that saves the mask to disk and advances the flic one rame. 0 Record a macro that loads a mask file. 0 To mask an incoming lic that uses the Combine flic option,

separate the incoming flic into a series of one rame lies. Include the use of the Combine flic option in the macro that loads the mask ile. Whether you want to mask a lying eel, a flying flic, or a moving element of your movie, this technique works. You must irst create a lic that contains only the element that you want to mask. If you have other uses or this flic, make extra copies, because you may not want to try to maintain this flic in its original orm while you are using it to create the lying mask Starting with the first rame of the flic, complete the ollowing steps: 1. Use a technique convenient or the image you ar e working with that

will change all the colors of the image to a single (or diferent) color. The technique you use must not require selection of a unique element or color rom the drawing area. The purpose of changing the screen image is to create a mask in automated ashion.

3 72

Using Animator

To change all the colors and the background color within the area that you want to protect may require the use of some of the Animator options in ways that you normally do not use them. Use inks such as Glow ink with Apply Ink rom the Pie menu, or the Grays Only efect rom the Flic menu, or you may be able to use Blue Frame rom the Trace menu to change the colors that you want masked. You also can use the selection of the color or colors rom the palette as long as the colors are in the same register in each rame of the lic. If necessary, you can replace the element with a solid filled area in each rame and use Clip Cel rom the Cel menu, Clear rom the Pie menu, and Paste rom the Cel menu to generate the desired changes to the screen. If you know ahead of time that you want to mask a lying lic or eel, use the Boxed option rom the Element menu on the Efects screen. You easily can ill the area of the eel by using the Fillto drawing tool after the lic of the lying element has been created. You will, however, have to ill each element by hand, rame by rame, beore you start creating the moving mask Your selection of the tools and inks or creating the masks will depend on whether you want to protect the area of the screen that contains your moving elements or whether you are trying to protect portions of the element or the line work of the element. Ater you have determined the best approach, right-click the Mask button and select Create from the Mask menu, then use the color­ changing technique that you selected. You need to make sure that you change the color of all of the portions of the element, as well as its background (if desired), to create a mask that includes ll of the element. 2. Turn of the Mask Create option and save the mask

to

disk with a

name that ends in 01, such as MASKOI.MSK.

3. Move to the second rame of the lic and select Create Macro rom the Record menu on the Extra pull-down menu. Turn on the Mask Create option, change the colors of the image, turn of the Mask Create option, and select Files from the Mask menu. Select Save and use + rom the Files Selection panel to create the ile name or the mask ile. The ile will be named something like MASK02.MSK. Advance the lic one frame and select End Record rom the Record menu. 4. You now can use the macro that you just created to create a mask

or each rame of the lic by using the Repeat Macro option rom the

Appendix D: Animator Tips and Tricks

3 73

Record menu. Use Repeat Macro or the number of rames that you have let in the lic by setting the Repeat Macro slider bar to the number of rames let in the lic. You end up with a set of masks numbered in sequence or each rame of the lic. 5. Now, load the flic in which you want to use the lying mask. Load

the mask or the irst rame (MASKOl) and complete the editing and ink application to the irst rame. If you are creating the movie with techniques that can be automated or every r ame of the ic, you may want to include the techniques in a macro to load the mask, as discussed in the next step.

6. Move to the second rame of the flic and turn on Create Macro rom the Record menu. Load the mask for the second rame by using +

from the File Selection window. App ly to the rame any repeatable techniques you may be using, and then select the arrow to advance the lic one rame, if you are inished with the rame, and then select End Record rom the Record menu. If you cannot make your applications to the drawing screen part of a macro, then select End Record without advancing the lic one rame. You can use the macro you just created to load automatically the proper mask or the current rame of the lic, so save the macro to a ile name such as FLYMASK.REC. If you want to combine lies using a moving mask, you must irst save the incoming lic

s

a series of one-rame lies. Save the lic iles

with ile names that end in successive numbers corresponding to the number of the mask or the rame (such as FRAMEOl.FLI). You can combine the incoming lic by changing the macro that loads the mask. In the macro, add the selection of the Combine Flic option you want to use with the mask to the incoming lic and ink type. You can add each rame of the incoming lic one rame at a time by selecting + rom the File Selection panel in the same way that you load the mask.

3 74

Using Animator

Index + button, 226

\

(root directory) button, 223

256-color palette, 86

A

ile libraries, 213 hardware requirements, 4, 10-11 installing, 10·12

A (all) button, 163 A:/B:/C: drive buttons, 223 MPAY.EXE program, 316, 340-342 keyboard control, 343 command mode keys, 344 keys for playing flies, 344-345 script files, 346-348 About Animator dialog box, 18

resources, 359·361 starting, 12·13 tips and tricks,

369-373

tutorials, 25·36, 68·75, 99·104, 126·135, 154-160, 186·192,206-209, 229, 256-266, 298·309, 350·351 Animator Home Screen menu bar, 233·235

add ink, 110

Animator Isn't Configured message, 366

additive light, 80

Animator menu

Adjust Animator Coiguration menu, 13-15 Adjust Clock Configuration menu, 14·15 Adjust End (tweening) options, 59·60 Adjust Start (tweening) options, 59·60 air speed option (spray tool), 65 aliasing, 106 all/cluster buttons, 85 American Standard Code for Information Interchange

see

ASCII

Anim files, loading, 332 animated graphics, 9 animation, 231 options, 153·154 tutorial, 256-266 executing, 153·154 previewing, 153 Animator, 1 book organization, 3 capabilities, 8·9 coigurations, 12· l 5 deining, 295·297 saving, 295 deaults, 16

Browse Flies option, 226-227 Titling option, 200-205 anti-alias, 106, 120 Apply Ink (pie) option, 234 Arrange pull-down menu, 87, 94·95 Cycle option, 95 Gradients option, 95 Luma Sort option, 95 Spectrums option, 95 Trade Clusters option, 95 Art department, 23, 27·30 ASCII, 194 script file, 313

text

iles,

asterisk

(*)

3 38

wildcard character, 216

audio, capture, 323·325, 361 Auto fit color, 243 AutoCAD, 2 Autodesk, 2 Average (info) option, 298 axis, 6-7 spin, 169· l 72 vector, 169·172

errors, 365

375

3 76

Using Animator

B

c

Backwards option (Flic menu), 288 Bad Font File Format message, 366 Bad START

or

END_CDOKIE message, 366

Cancel option Amiga, 332 button, 154, 226

Barneyscan, 363

composite, 272

basics of motion, tutorial, 186-192

record, 294

Below (eel) option, 239-240

capture boards, 323-324

Bias button/slider bar, path option, 179

capturing

bias (spline tool) op tion,

64

Blend (value) option, 99 blue, 232 guides, 9

audio, 323-325, 361 images, 362-364 with scanners, 325 video images, 323

Blue Frame (trace) option, 247

CEL (eels) extension, 21 7, 220

Blue Numbers (efects) option, 287

Ce! menu1 251 �35-�36

bluing, 232

Below option, 239-240

guides, erasing, 253

Clip option, 236

the rame, 247-253

Get option, 236

boxes Cluster, 84-85 Current Color, 22

Move option, 23 7 Options option, 242-243 Paste option, 237-238

Dir, 225

Stretch option, 240-241

Editing, 195-197

Turn option, 241

File, 225

Cel (element) option, 185

Separate option, 63

celluloid see also eel

status line display, 45-46 Text Entry, 224-225 tool, 45-46

eels, 8, 161

applying to screen location, 237-240 underneath, 237-238, 240

Total Frames, 144

bufer, 235-238, 253

Total Range, 145

changing x:y ratio, 240-241 clipping, 236

Wildcard, 225 bright ink, 111

Browse Flies option, 226-227 browse lies panel commands, 317

colors changing, 242-243 setting, 242-243

Brush icon, 21-22, 149, 163

le type, 220

bufers

flipping on axes, 240-241

eel, 235-238

moving, 237

memory, 222

rotating, 241

swap, 243-244

celular automata, 120-121

text, 200

Center (justify) option, 204-205

By Character button, 203 By Pixel button, 203

Bytes Free (ino) option, 297

Center button Size option, 173-174

Spin option, 168-173

circle tool, 46 circle wipe transition, 276-279 Clear All (presets) option, 183

Clear Key Color, 243 Clear (pie) option, 234 Clear Track button, 164 clearing memory, 222, 270

colors primary, 79-80 secondary, 79-80 Combine Color maps option, 272-273

clip art, 320

combining images, 119

Clip Changes (trace) option, 253

comm port, 7

Clip option

command mode keys, PA.EXE

eel, 236 mask, 125 swap, 243

program, 344 commands keyboard (table)

clipping eels, 236

browse flies panel, 317

clock driver, adjusting, 14-15

file selector, 317

Clocked (path) option, 1 78

menu bar, 316-317

close ink, 111

nonmenu bar, 317

Closed option

keyboard entry, 316, 318

path, 178 spline tool, 65 cluster

single-key entry,

button, 152

ramp, 93

movement, 184

Cluster pull-down menu, 87, 90-94 Find Ramp option, 92-93

see

comm port

Complete option

boxes, 84-85 cluster (separate) option, 62

19

communications port

slide, 331 component video, 312, 323, 357 Composite (lic) option, 271-274

Get Cluster option, 90-92

Cancel option, 272

Invert option, 93

Cross-Fade option, 272

Line Cluster option, 92

Overlay option, 272

Near Colors option, 93

Underlay option, 272

Ping Pong option, 94

composite video, 268, 312, 323, 325, 357

Reverse option, 94

CompuServe, 319-320, 359-360

Unused Colors option, 92

CONFIG.SYS file, 8, 15

COL (palette) extension, 217, 221, 295 color

conigurations, 7 deining, 295-297

changing eel, 242-243

setting eel, 242-243

saving, 295 Conigure option

map, 268

Clock Driver, 296

palette, 77, 81

Display Coordinates, 297

tutorial, 99-104 source generated, 79-80 reflected, 79

Drive For Temporary Files options, 296 Input Device, 296-297 Save Default.ix, 296 configuring Animator, 12

Color Fit Screen message, 90, 221

digitizing tablet, 13-14

Color Maps menu

mouse (non-Microsot), 14-15

Combine Color maps option, 272-273

Continue move button, 164

Keep Current Colors option, 273

Continuity button/slider bar, path option, 179

No Fitting option, 273

continuity option (spline tool), 64

Use Incoming Colors, 273

Convert menu bar, 327-331 Converter option, 327-331

3 78

Using Animator

Flic option, 331·333

Deault option converter/scale, 329

Pie option, 333·335 COVERT.EXE program, 326·33 l Converter option menu

value, 98 default

Move option, 329·330

conditions or lic, 144

Scale option, 327-329

iles, 296

Slide option, 330-331

option spin center, 169-170 motion settings, 165

converting animator lies to video, 353-358

Delete Frames button, 146

iles, 360-361

Delete option, 222

or Animator Use, 326-336

Delete This Frame? message, 146

single image pictures, 333·335

delta, 232

slide iles to FLI iles, 335·336

departments

coordinate values, 6-7

Art, 23, 27-30

coordinates, 6-7, 17

Filmmaking, 24-25, 33·36

maximum range, 167-169

Production,

23-24, 30·33

device driver, 8

setting, 165-166 Correct Aspect Ratio (converter/scale) option,

dialog box, About Animator, 18 digital images, 321-322

329

digitizers, 7, 13-14

Create grid, 290

digitizing tablet, Summagraphics, 7, 13·14

mask, 125

Dir box, 225

Crop (efects) option, 282-283

directories, 214-215

cropping, 268

directory use, 228

Cross-Fade (composite) option, 272

disk hard, requirements, 4

crosshairs, 16 Current Cluster, 91-92

optimizer programs, 315

current color

M, 12, 15, 312, 314·315

box, 22

Disk Write Protected message, 366

cluster, 20

Display Coordinates (configure) option, 297 display register, 81

slot, 84, 149, 163

dissolve, 268

current directory

transition, 276, 279

changing, 225

Dither (converter/scale) option,

displaying, 225

329

dithering, 78

Current ink, 148

slot, 163

images, 322 option, 109

cursor, 16 Cut (joining lies) option, 275

Do Titling button, 200

cut and paste graphics, 9

Do Tween (tweening) option, 59-60

Cut and Paste (value) option, 98

doppler efect, 152

Cycle Draw (palette) option, 87·88

DOS

Cycle (arrange) option, 95

EDLIN program, 194 file management, 214-217

D dark ink, 112 decoding, 357

double-click let button, 16 dragging let button, 16 draw tool, 46-47

Engrave option, 287

drawing tools box, 45-46

Expand X2 option, 280

circle, 46

Grays Only option, 287

draw, 46-47

Lace option, 287

driz, 47

Pixelate option, 286

edge, 47

Shrink X2 option, 280 Trails option, 284-286

fill, 48-49

Element menu, 184

fillto, 49 gel, 49

Cel option, 185

line, 50-51

Flic option, 185

move, 51-52

Outline option, 185

oval, 53

Polygon option, 185 Spline option, 185

petal, 53-54

emboss ink, 112

poly, 55 reuse, 56-57 rpoly,

enacting animation options, 15 3-154

61

encoding, 357

sep, 62-63

End Record (record) option, 293

shape, 63

End To Start (weening) option, 59-60

spiral, 63

Engrave (efects) option, 287

spline, 63-65

engraved images, 287

spray, 65-66

EPS iles, 361

star, 66-67

Erase Guides (trace) option, 253

streak, 67

errors, Animator, 365

text, 67

exclusive XOR, 106-107

tutorial, 68- 75

Exit option grid, 291

tween, 57-60 Drawing Tools panel, 43-45, 194-196 Text tool options, 194-198, 200 Drawing Tools section

·

Home panel, 20, 42-45

Drive For Temporary Files (configure) option, 296

Expand X2 (efects) option, 280 experts, 321 clip art, 320

adjusting, 14-15

driz tool, 47 see

slide, 331 exiting pull-down menus, 18 expanding rame image, 280

drivers, clock, 296

drizzle

mask, 126

CompuServe, 319-320

driz

hardware manufacturers, 320

hardware/sotware dealers, 320 E edge tool, 47 Edit path option, 179 text tools option, 198 Edit Text button, 201 editing text, 195-197 keys, 197 EDLIN (DOS) program, 194, 315-316, 338 Efects (lic) options, 280 Blue Numbers option, 287 Crop option, 282-283

service bureaus, 320 extensions, ile, 215-217 Extra menu, 14-15, 25, 289 Conigure option, 295-297 Grid option, 290-291 Info option, 297 Mask option, 289 Record option, 292-294 Settings option, 295

380

Using Animator

F F (illed) button, 22, 149 F (rame) button, 163 fade, 269 ade out transition, 276, 279 File (player) option, 342-343 File Action buttons, 222 Delete option, 222 Load option, 222

iles, 215·217 Anin, 332 Cel, 220 CONFIG.SYS, 8, 15 converting, 360-361 copying, 228 deleting, 222 Flic, 218 Font, 220 GIF, 319-320, 334 loading, 235

Save option, 222 File box, 225 File Corrupted message, 366 ile extensions, 215·21 7 CEL (eels), 217, 220 COL (palette), 217, 221, 295 EPS, 361

FLI (animation), 217-218, 335·336 FNT (ont), 217, 220 GIF (single image), 217, 219, 232, 335 MSK (mask), 217, 220 BM, 334

OPT (optics settings), 217, 219 PCX, 335, 361

managing, 214-217, 314-316 Mask, 220

Optic, 219 Palette, 221 Path, 220 Picture, 219 polygon, 59, 220 Record, 221

PLY (polygon/path), 217, 220 EC (macro recording), 217, 221

SET (animator settings), 21 7, 220, 295 TGA, 334 TIF, 361 TXT (ASCII text file), 217, 219 x

rendering, 336, 338 IF, 332 saving, 198, 222

PIX, 334

200 message, 366

ile libraries, 213 tutorial, 229 ile names, 215-217, 225 File panel, 216 File Selector commands, 317 keyboard entry AAPLAY.EXE, 343 window, 223 File Selector panel, 222-223 Action buttons, 225-226 Path Selector buttons, 224 Text Entry boxes, 224-225 File Truncated message, 366

ile types, 213

LAA.BAT, 315-316 loading, 198, 222

renaming, 228

MAC, 335

File Isn't 320

saving, 235

script, 338-340, 345-348 Settings, 220

slide, 336, 338 Targa, 334, 361 Text, 219, 338 Tweening options menu, 59-60 Files option Mask menu, 126 Palette pull-down menu, 89·90 Presets menu, 183

Pie menu, 235 Files, 294 Files panel, 59, 217·221 Fill line (justiy) option, 204-205 ill tool, 48-49 illed option, 44-45 fillto tool, 49 Filmmaking department, 24-25, 33·36 films playing, 143 without animator, 340-345 setting up, 139

Find Ramp option, Cluster pull-down menu,

insert, 145 mark, 146-147

92·93 it slot, 83

multiple frames, 147

FLI (animation) extension, 217-218, 335-336

segment, 146 time, 147

lic, 144, 161 Flic Display, 227

Frame panel slider bars, 142-143

Flic ile type, 218

rame/segment/all buttons, 147

Flic menu, 25, 269

rames, 17

Backwards option, 288

bluing, 247-253

Composite option, 271-274

changes

Efects option, 280, 282-287

pasting current rame, 284-286

Files option, 288

removing,

Join option, 274-276, 279-280

repeating, 255

234

New option, 270

creating new, 252-253

Reset option, 270

displaying current information, 297 expanding image, 280

Flic option, 331 Load Amiga, 332

maximum number, 144

Load Flic option, 332

playing most recent ive, 256 reducing image, 280

Load ST option, 332

Frames Icon and Speed bar (player)

Save Flic option, 333

option, 343

View option, 333 flic with Mr. Numo tutorial, 154-160

Frames panel, 140-141

lies, 17

Free On Drive X (info) option, 298

displaying current information, 297 merging rom memory and disk, 271-274

G

reversing during a save, 288 segments, playing, 255-256

gel tool, 49

splicing two flies into one, 274-276, 279-280

generations, 354·355

Flimaker, 335-340

genlocking, 312, 325

FLIMAKER.EXE program, 326, 335-336

Get Cluster (cluster) option, 90·92

flip, 232

Get (eel) option, 236

Flip Five (trace) option, 256

GIF (Graphics Interchange Format), 232

lying logo tutorial, 298-309

GIF (graphics) ile extensions, 217, 219, 232,

FNT (font) extension, 217, 220

319-320, 334-335

Font ile type, 220

loading, 235

Font (text tools) option,

200

fonts, 194

saving, 235 glass ik, 113

selecting or text, 200

glaze ink, 114 glow ink, 114

ormats IFF ile, 3 34

gradient, 78

images, 322

gradient ink horizontal, 115, 117

video, 355 frame, 8

line contouring, 11 7

count, rendering text to the movie, 203 icon, 21, 83, 140-141, 148, 163 Frame bar, 142

vertical, 123 Gradients (arrange) option, 95

Frame buttons, 149 delete rames,

radial, 118

146

rame/segment/all, 147

graphic elements

eel, 161 lic, 161

38 2

Using Animator

polygon, 161

I

spline, 161 graphics adapters, VGA, 4 Graphics Interchange Format see GIF gray ink, 115 Grays Only (efects) option, 287

Grid option, 290

IFF format, 334

Paste, 291

image processing, 9, 360-361

Use, 290

see also rendering

View, 291

images

grids

35 mm slides, 322

displaying on screen, 291

capture, 362-364

setting size, 290-291

converted selecting sizc1 1 format, 321

photographs/prints, 322-323

H grad ink, 115, 117

printing, 326

hardcopy

quality, 321

input, 318-319

scanners, 325

output, 318-319

videotape/film, 323

hardwar: capturing images, 362-364 dealers, 320

importing text files, 219 improving perormance, Animator, 313·314 In Slow button, 150

manuacturers, 320

In Slow (movement) option, 183

requirements, 10, 11 help window (ink types panel), 109 HLS button, 82, 86

Ifo button, 227 Info option Average, 298

HLS sliders, 82, 86

Bytes Free, 297

hold down let button, 16

Free On Drive X, 298

hollow ink, 116

Largest, 297

home panel, 16-17 Drawing Tools section, 20, 43-45 Ink Types area, 21

Next Frame Update, 297 This Frame Update, 297 Total Updates, 297

ink types section, 108 M (mask) button, 124-125 Mode Section, 21-22 Palette and Frame Control area, 20-21 horizontal gradient ink, 115,

330

digital, 321

H

slider, 82, 86

brush size, 21-22

rame, 21, 83, 140-141, 163 ideas or Animator, tutorial, 350·35 l

Exit, 291

hue, 78, 82, 86

Brush, 163

panel selection type, 19

Create, 290

Howtek, Inc., 363

icons

117

information experts, 321 clip art, 320 CompuServe, 319-320 hardware manuacturers, 320 hardware/sotware dealers, 320 service bureaus, 320 ink slots, 109 ink strength slider bar, 110 ink types add, I 10 bright, 11 I close, 111

Join (lic) option, 274-276, 279-280 Cut option, 275 Transition option, 275-276, 279-280

dark, 112 emboss, 112 glass, 113 glaze, 114 glow, 114

joining lies, 274-276, 279-280 Jovian Logic, 362, 364 jumble ink, 116-117 justiy, 194 Justiy buttons Center option, 204-205 Fill line option, 204-205

gray, 115 H grad, 115, 117 hollow, 116 jumble, 116-117 L

grad,

117

opaque, 117-118, 148 pull, 118 R grad, 118 scrape, 119, 243 smear, 120 soten, 120 spark, 120-121 split, 121 sweep, 121

option,

204-205

K K (key color) button, 22, 52, 149 Keep Current Colors option (color maps), 273 kerning, 194

tile, 122 unzag, 122-123 V grad, 123 XOR, 123-124

ink types and mask menu, tutorial, 126-135 Ink Types panel, 109 Dithering option, 109 Help window, 109 Ink slots, 109 Ink Strength slider bar, 110 Ik Type selection, 109 Ink Types section - Home panel, 21, 108 inner radius ratio, 53-54 input device, 7 Input Device (configure) option, 296-297

input hardcopy,

Let

Right option, 204-205 justying text in display/editing box, 204-205

318-319

key color, 52 slot, 84 Key Color Clear (trails) option, 285 keyboard APAY program, 343-345 File Selector, 343 Menu options, 343 command entry, 316, 318 commands browse lies panel, 317 ile selector, 317 menu bar, 316-317 nonmenu bar, 317 using with Animator, 12 keys menu options, 19

Insert button, 145

playing

Insert Tween (trace) option, 252-253 installing Animator, 10-12 intensity of a color see saturation Invert (cluster) option, 93 Invert (mask) selection, 126 Isn't a FLI File, Sorry message, 367 isolate part of screen image, 282-283

text editing, 197

J jaggies

see

aliasing

jiy, 140, 143

ies

(PAY.EXE),

L L grad ink, 117 LAA.BAT file, 315-316 Lace (efects) option, 287 Largest (info) option, 297 LBM iles, 334 Let (justiy) option, 204-205 let-click, 16

344-345

384

Using Animator

managing

light

iles, 314-316

additive, 80

DOS, 214-217

reflected, 79

memory, 314-316

source, 80

mark, 140

subtractive, 79 line, status line display, 51

mark buttons, 146-147

Line Cluster (cluster) option, 92

marquee box, 236

line contouring gradient, 11 7 line tool,

50-51

Mask ile type, 220 Mask menu, 124-126 Clip selection, 125

Load, 222

Create selection, 125

path option, 179

Exit selection, 126

Load Amiga option

Files selection, 126

flic, 332

Invert selection, 126

pie, 334

Paste selection, 126

Load Anim ftle, 332 Load Flic option,

332

Release selection, 126 Use selection, 125

Load Font button, 201 Load GIF (pie) options, 335

View selection, 126

Load Macintosh (pie) option, 335

masks, 107, 289

Load (text tools) option, 198

memory

Load PCX (pie) options, 335

clearing, 270 managing, 314-316

Load RIF ile, 332 Load ST (pie) option, 332, 334

memory bufer, clearing, 222

Load Targa (pie) option, 334

menu bar Animator Home Screen, 233-235

Load Text button, 201 loop, 232

commands, 316· 317

Loop Segment (trace) option, 255

Convert, 327-331 Optics, 182-185

looping, 232 Luma Sort (arrange) option, 95

Menu Colors (palette) option, 89

luminance, 78, 82, 86

Menu options, keyboard entry AAPLAY.EXE, 343

slider, 82, 86

menus, 17·19

M

Adjust Animator Coiguration, 13-15 Adjust Clock Configuration, 14· l 5

M (mask) button, 22, 149

Animator, 200·205

M button· Home panel, 124-125

Arrange pull-down, 87,

MAC iles, 335 Macro File Truncated message, 367

macros, 269, 292 deleting, 294 executing, 293 loading, 294 recording, 293-294 repeating, 293 saving,

294

Magni System, Inc., 364 MAKE ALL FRAMES USE ONE COLOR MAP? message,

88·89

94-95

Cel, 25, 235-243 Cluster, 87, 90-94 Color Maps, 272·273 Drawing Tools, 194-196 Extra, 14-15, 25, 289-298 Flic, 25, 269-276, 279·280, 282-288 Mask, 124-126 Movement, 183·184 Palette, 87-90 Pie, 25, 233·235 Presets, 182-183 Select Graphics Input Device,

13-14

Swap, 25, 243-245

M (mask), 149, 163

Trace, 25, 246-253, 255

T (time), 149, 163

Tweening Options, 57-60

Mode section - Home panel, 21-22

Value pull-down, 87, 95-99

modula, 107

merging lies rom memory and disk, 271-274 messages

motion aspects of, 180-182

Animator Isn't Configured, 366 Bad Font File Format, 366 Bad START or END_COOKIE, 366 COLOR FIT SCREEN?, 90, 221 DELETE THIS FRAME?, 146 Disk Write Protected, 366

settings, deault, 165 mouse clicking, 16 Microsoft, 7, 14 non-Microsot, coniguring Animator, 14-15 Mouse control options

File Corrupted, 366

Proportional, 166

File Isn 320

X, Y or Z setting, 166

200, 366

x

File Truncated1 366

Y setting, 165

Isn't a FL! File, Sorry, 367

XZ setting, 16 5

Macro File Truncated, 367

y setting, 166

MAKE ALL FRAMES USE ONE COLOR MAP?, 88-89

Mouse Not Installed message, 367

Move option, 174-175

Mouse Not Installed, 367

eel, 237

NEW FLIC - ABANDON CURRENT FLIC?, 270

converter, 329-330

No Macro Recording Defined, 367

move tool, 51, 52

Not a Good (Cel, GIF, Macro, Optics,

Movement buttons

Settings, Palette, Pie) File, 367 Out of Memory, 367 OVERWRITE OLD FILE?, 222 RESET TO DEFAULT. FL X?, 270 Scratch Drive

X: Only Has __ Bytes

Free, 367 Shape Too Big, Sorry, 367 Sorry , Menus Wouldn't Be Visible, 368 Sorry Autodesk Animator Can't Create:

(ile), 367 Sorry Autodesk Animator Can't Find:

(ile), 368 TINTING SOURCE

out slow, 151-152 ping pong, 150 reverse, 150 still, 149-150 Movement menu Complete option, 184 In slow option, 183 Out slow option, 183 Ping Pong option, 184 Reverse option, 184

(XX YY ZZ), 97

Too Many Colors, Try Fewer Frames, 89, 368 Too Many Frames, Sorry, 368 Unknown GIF Revision , Sorry, 368 USE THIS COLOR SET FOR MENUS?, 89 Write Error On Macro File!, 368 Zero Memory Request!, 368

Microsoft mouse, 7, 14 mini-palette, 20, 84 Mode buttons, 148 F

complete, 152 in slow, 150

(filled), 149, 163

K (key clear), 149, 163

Still option, 184 movies play speed, 140 playing, 143 without animator, 340-345 segments, 218 MSK (mask) extension, 2 17, 220 multiple rames buttons, 147

N National Television Standards Bureau see NTSC near (separate) option, 62

386

Using Animator

Near Colors (cluster) option, 93 Near Threshold (separate) option, 62

Use button, 164 Wirerame button, 164

Negative (value) option, 97-98

Optics screen, 23

New Flic - Abandon Current Flic? message,

Options (eel) option, 242-243

270

Auto it color, 243

New (lic) option, 270

Clear key color, 243

New Text button, 200

origin, 7

Next Blue (trace) option, 248-251

Out of Memory message, 367

Next Frame Update (info) option, 297

out slow button, 151-152

No Fitting (color maps) option, 273

Out slow (movement) option, 183

No Macro Recording Defined message, 367

Outline (element) option, 185

nonmenu bar commands, 317

output hardcopy, 318-319

Not a Good ( Cel, GIF, Macro, Optics,

oval tool, 53

Settings, Palette, Pie) File message,

Overlay (composite) option, 272

367

Overwrite Old File? message, 222

NTSC (National Television Standards Bureau), 353

p

composite video, 312 number of points, 53-54

palette 256-color, 86

0

color, 81 Palette and Frame Control area - Home panel,

OK button, 225

20-21

�-

One Palette (palette) option, 88-89

Palette ile typ�, 221

opaque ink, 117-118, 148

Palette panel,

7.

Open (path) option, 178

Cycle Draw option, 87-88

0 PT (optics settings) extension, 217, 219

Files option, 89-90

Optic ile type, 219

Menu Colors option, 89

Optics menu bar Element, 182, 184-185 Movement, 182-184 Presets, 182-183 Optics panel, 163 A (all) button, 163 Brush icon, 163

One Palette option, 88-89 Palette Screen Menu bar Arrange pull-down menu, 87, 94-95 Cluster pull-down menu, 87, 90-94 Palette pull-down menu, 87-90 Value pull-down menu, 87, 95-99 panels, 17-19

Clear track, I 64

Drawing Tools, 43-45, 198, 200

Continue move, 164

File Selector, 222-226

Current color slot, 163

Files, 59, 216-221

Current ink slot, 163

Frames, 140-141

F (rame) button, 163

Home, 20-21, 43-45

Frame icons, 163

Ink Types, 109-110

Mode buttons, 163

Optics, 163-179

Mouse control option, 165-166

Palette, 81-86

Move option, 174-175

selection types

Path option, 175-179

buttons, 19

S (segment) button, 163

icons, 19

Size option, 173-174

slider bars, 19

Spin option, 166-173

slots, 19

Time Select, 147-154

Load ST, 334

Titling, 200-205

Load Targa, 334 Save GIF, 335

Paste option eel, 237·238

pies, 17

grid, 291

picture element see pixel

mask, 126

Picture ile type, 219

swap, 245

Ping Pong button, 150

pasting eel to screen location, 237·240

option

rame changes to current rame, 284-286

cluster, 94

swap bufer to frames, 245

movement, 184

text editing box, 197·198

PIX ile extensions, 334

Path ile type, 220

pixelate, 269

Path option, l 75· l 77

Pixelate (efects) option, 286

Bias button/slider bar, l 79

pixelating an image, 286

Clocked, 1 78 Closed, 178

pixels, 7, 16 Place Window button,

Continuity button/slider bar, l 79

Play speed bar, 142-143

Edit, 179

playback, movie, 143

Load, 179

Player (player) option, 341

Open, 178

Player menu bar, 343

Polygon, 176

201

File option, 342·343 Player option, 341

Sampled, l 77

playing

Save, 179 Spline, 176

flic segments

Tension button/slider bar, 1 79 View, 179

continuously, 255·256 once, 256

Path Selector buttons, 223-224, 227 PCX iles, 335, 361

lies without Animator, 340-345 most recent five rames, 256 PLY (polygon/path) extension, 217, 220

peripherals digitizing tablet, 7, 13·14

poly tool, 55

mouse, 7, 14

polygon, 42, 161 creating, 55

petal tool, 53·54 inner radius ratio, 53·54 number of points, 53·54

files deleting, 59

PHIPS utility, 361

loading,

photographs, 318·319

saving, 59

59

path option, 176

Pie menu, 25, 233 Apply Ik option, 234

Polygon ile type, 220

Clear option, 234

Polygon (element) option, 185

Files option, 235

polymorphic weening, 57, 150

Restore option, 234

see also

tweening

Separate, 234

port, 7

View option, 235

Presets menu Clear all option, 183

Pie options

Files option, 183

Load Amiga, 334 Load GIF, 335 Load Macintosh, Load PCX, 335

Pull back option, 183

335

Spin option, 183 Spin Small option, 183

388

Using Animator

Squash option, 183

Realtime Record, 294

Twirl option, 183

Repeat Macro, 293

Whirl option, 183

Start Record, 293

Preview (slide) option, 331

Use .Macro, 293

preview button, 153

recording macros, 293-294

previewing timed applications, 153

reducing frame image, 280

primary colors

reflected light, 79

relected light, 79

registers, display, 81

source light, 80

Release option

print, output, 318-319

mask, 126

printing GIF images, 326

swap, 245

problems, Animator, 365

renaming iles, 228

processing amp, 356

Render (converter/scale) option, 329

Production department, 23-24, 30-33

Render and Save (slide) option, 331

programs

rendering, 140

PAY.EXE, 316, 340-348 COVERT.EXE, 326-331

iles, 336, 33H Repeat Changes (trace) option, 255

EDLIN (DOS), 194, 315-316, 338

Repeat Macro (record) option, 293

FLIMKER.EXE, 326, 335-336

requirements, hardware, 4, 10-11

RND2TGA.EXE, 336-338

Reset (lic) option, 270

SCAN-T, 360

Reset To DEFAULT. FLX? message, 270

Proportional setting, mouse control option, 166

resizing, text editing box, 197-198

puck, 7

resolution value, 7

Pull back (presets) option, 183 pull ik,

118

Restore (pie) option, 234 restoring rames, 234

pull-down menus, 16

reuse option

exiting, 18

spline tool, 65 text tools, 198

Q

reuse tool, 56-57 reverse button, 150 Reverse option

quality, image, 321 question mark

(?) wildcard character, 216

cluster, 94 movement, 184

reversing lic while saving

R

disk, 288

RGB

R grad ik, 118

colors,

radial gradient ink, 118

80-81

components, 86

M disk, 12, 15, 312, 314-315

sliders, 80-81, 85-86

Ramp (value) option, 96

RGB Technologies, 364

ramped cluster, 93 random access memory

to

Revert (converter/scale) option, 329

see

M

Realtime Record (Record option), 294

RIF iles, 332 Right (justiy) option, 204-205

REC (macro recording) extension, 217, 221

right-click, 16

Record ile type, 221

RND2TGA.EXE program, 336-338

Record option, 292

root directory, 215

Cancel, 294

rotating eel, 241

End Record, 293

rpoly,

Files, 294

42

tool, 61

Segment Flip (trace) option, 256

s

segments, movie, 213, 218 Select Graphics Input Device menu, 13-14

S (segment) button, 163

sep see also separate options, 62

Sampled (path) option, 177

sep

saturation, 78, 82, 86 slider, 82, 86 Save Deault.fix (conigure) option, 296 Save Flic (convert/lic) option, 333

box, 63

Save (text) option, 198

cluster, 62

Scale (converter) option, 327-328

near, 62

Correct Aspect Ratio, 329

near threshold, 62

Default, 329

234 single, 62 pk,

Dither, 329 Render, 329

service bureaus, 320

Revert, 329

video, 353-358

Set Height, 329

SET (animator settings) extension, 217, 220,

Set Width, 329

295

SCN-T progrm, 360

Set End Position (tweening) option, 59-60

scanners, 363

Set Frames (slide) option, 331

Barneyscan, 363

Set Height (converter/scale) option, 329

capturing images, 325

Set Start Position (tweening) options, 59-60

Howtek Inc., 363

Set Width (converter/scale) option, 329

scrape ink, 119, 243 ______

Free message, 367 screens dividing into grids, 290 Optics, 23 pxelating an image, 286 script, 313 files, 345-348 APAY.EXE program, 345-348

Scrolling buttons By Character, 203 By Pixel, 203 secondary colors reflected light, 79 source light, 80 segment, 140 buttons, 146

location,

142-143

size, 142-143 Segment bar, 142-143, 149

near threshold option, 62 separate options

Save option, 222

creating, 338-340

near option, 62 single option, 62

Save GIF (pie) option, 335

scrolling, 194, 203

62-63

cluster option, 62

Save Path option, 1 79

Scratch Drive X: Only Has

tool,

box option, 63

Bytes

Set X (slide) option, 331 Set Y (slide) option, 331 setting up ilm, 139 Settings file type, 220 Settings menu, 294 shade of a color

see

value

SHADERFILE environmental variable, 336-337

Shape Too Big, Sorry message, 367 shape tool,

63

shapes, tweenable, 57, 58 Shrink X2 (efects) option, 280 SIGGRAPH (Special Interest Group - Graphics), 359 single (separate) option, 62 single-key entry commands, 19 Size option Center button, 173-17 4 spin center, 169-1 70 slide iles, 338 creating, 336 Slide options Complete, 331 Exit, 331

390

Using Animator

Preview, 331

tension option, 63-64

Render and Save, 331

tween option, 65

Set Frames, 331

split ink, 121

Set X, 331

spray tool, 65-66

SetY, 331

air speed option, 65

Slide With Mouse, 330-331

spray width option, 66

Slide With Mouse (slide) option, 330-331

Squash (presets) option, 183

slider

Squeeze (value) option, 95-96

hue, 82, 86

ST picture ile types, 334

luminance, 82, 86

star tool, 66-67

saturation, 82, 86 slides, 318-319, 363

Start (record) Record, 293 status line, 4 2

smear ink, 120

box, 45-46

SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and

line, 51

Television Engineers) time code, 313, 356 soten ink, 120

stencil, 107 still button, 149-150

sotware dealers, 320

Still (movement) option, 184

Sorry, Menus Wouldn't Be Visible message,

stippled images, 287

368

storyboards, 139-140, 314-315, 228

Sorry Autodesk Animator Can't Create: (ile) message, 367

Sorry Autodesk Animator Can't Find: (ile) message, 368

creating, 348-349 streak tool, 67 Stretch (eel) option, 240-241 subdirectories, 215, 228

source light, 80

subtractive light, 79

spark ink, 107, 120-121

Summagraphics tablet, 7, 13-14, 343

special efects, 161-16 2

swap bufer

Special Interest Group - Graphics (SIGGRAPH),

359

copying screen to, 243-245 deleting contents, 245

Spectrums (arrange) option, 95

displaying on screen, 245

spin axis, 169-1 72

pasting to rames, 245

spin center, 168

revealing contents, 243

deault option, 169-170 size option, 169-170 Spin option, 166-167 Center button, 168-173

Presets menu,

183

Spin Small (presets) option, 183

Swap menu, 25, 243-244 Clip option, 243 Paste option, 245 Release option, 245

Trade option, View option,

244-245 245

spiral tool, 63

swap screen, 119

splicing wo flies into a single flic, 274-276,

sweep ink, 121

279-280 spline, 42, 161

T

path option, 176 Spline (element) option, 185

T (time) button, 22, 149

spline tool, 63-65

T-EGA, 360

bias option, 64 closed option, 65 continuity option, 64 reuse option, 65

T-SCN, 361 tablet, Summagraphics, 343 Targa (TGA) image ormats, 322 files, 334, 361

TBC see time base corrector Tension button/slider bar, 179 tension option (spline tool), 63:64 Terravision, Inc., 361 text bufer, 200 display/editing box, 195-197 moving, 197-198 pasting, 197-198 resizing, 197-198 editing keys, 197 iles, 338 rame count, 203 justiying in display/editing box, 204-205 scrolling onto screen, 203 tool, 67, 194 Editing box, 195-197 Text buttons Do Titling button, 200 Edit Text button, 201 Load Font button, 201 Load Text button, 201 New Text button, 200 Place Window button, 201 Text Entry boxes, 224 Dir box, 225 File box, 225 Wildcard box, 225 Text ile type, 219 Text option, 24 Text tool options Edit option, 198 Font option, 200 Load option, 198 Reuse option, 198 Save option, 198 TGA ile extensions, 334 This Frame Update (info) option, 297 three dimensions and motion, 180-182 TIF files, 361 tile ink, 122 time base corrector (TBC), 356 button, 83, 147 code, 313, 356 Time Select panel, 147 Action buttons, 153-154

Brush icon, 149

Current Color slot, 149 Current ink, 148 Frame buttons, 149 Frame icons, 148 Mode buttons, 148-149 Movement buttons, 149-152 Segment Bar, 149 timed applications executing, 153-154 previewing, 153 Tint (palette) option, 97 Tinting Source (XX VY ZZ)

message ,

97

tips for using Animator, 369-373 titles, 193 titling and text options, tutorial, 206-209 Titling option, 24, 200-205 Titling panel, 200-205 Justiy buttons, 204-205 Scrolling buttons, 203 Text buttons, 200-201 toggles, 18 Too Many Colors, Try Fewer Frames message, 89, 368 Too Many Frames, Sorry message, 368

tool selection window, 43-45 Tool slots, 44 tools, 45-67, 194-197 see also drawing tools Total Frames box, 144 Total Range box, 145 Total Updates (info) option, 297 Trace menu, 25, 246

Blue Frame option, 247 Clip Changes option, 253

Erase Guides option, 253 Flip Five option, 256 Insert Tween option, 252-253 Loop Segment option, 255 Next Blue option, 248-251 Repeat Changes option, 255 Segment Flip option, 256 Unblue Frame option, 248 track, 161 Trade Clusters (arrange) option, 95 Trade (swap) unction, 244-245 Trails (efects) option, 284-286 Key Color Clear option, 285 Transparent option, 284 Zero clear option, 285

39 2

Using Animator

transcoder, 358

u

transition, 269 Transition (joining flies) option, 275-280 transition types, 275 circle wipe, 276, 279 dissolve, 276, 279 fade out, 276, 279 venetian, 276, 279 wipe, 276, 279 Transparent (trails) option, 284 tricks or using Animator, 369-373 Truevision, 362 Turn option, 241 Turns motion option, 172-173 slider bars, 173 tutorials, 25-26, 28-36 animation options, 256-266 Art Department, 27-30

U.S. Video, Inc., 364 Unblue Frame (trace) option, 248 Underlay (composite) option, 272 Undo slot, 42, 83 Unknown GIF Revision, Sorry message, 368

Unused Colors (cluster) option, 92 unzag ink, 122-123 Use (grid) option, 290 Use button, 164 Use Ce! (value) option, 98 Use Incoming Colors (color maps) option, 273 Use Macro (record) option, 293

Use selection (m.sk) option, I Z5 Use This Color Set For Menus? message, 89

utilities, PHIPS, 361

basics of motion, 186-192

v

color palette, 99-104 drawing tools, 68-75 ile library use, 229 Filmmaking Department, 33-36 flic with Mr. Numa, 154-160 lying logo, 298-309 ideas, 350-351 ink types and mask menu, 126-135 Production Department, 30-33 titling and text options, 206-209 tween, 150 option (spline tool), 65 tool, 57-60 tweenable shapes, 57-58 tweening, 41-42 Tweening Options menu, 57-58 adjust end, 59-60 adjust start, 59-60 do tween, 59-60 end to start, 59-60 iles, 59-60 set end position, 59-60 set start position, 59-60 Twirl (presets) option, 183 two color option, 45 TXT (ASCII text ile) extension, 217, 219 types of iles, 213

V grad ink, 123 value, 78, 111-112 Value pull-down menu, 87, 95 Blend option, 99 Cut and Paste option, 98 Default option, 98 Negative option, 97-98 Ramp option, 96 Squeeze option, 95-96 Tint option, 97 Use Cel option, 98 vector, axis, 169-172 venetian transition, 276, 279 vertical gradient ink, 123

vertices, 42, 57 VGA graphics adapter, 4, 10-11 video animation, 1O camera output, 318-319 capture, 10, 323 component, 312, 323, 357 composite, 268, 312, 323, 325, 357 ormats, 355 master, 355 output cards Jovian Logic, 364 Magni System, Inc., 364

RGB

364 364 Willow Peripherals, 363 processing, 1O service bureaus, 353-358 Technologies,

x

U.S. Video, Inc.,

Video Graphics Array

see

x- or y- axis,·flipping eels,

VGA graphics adapter

325-326 Inc., 360

videotapes, making, Videotex System, View option convert/flic,

291 126 path, 179 pie, 235 swap, 245

x-axis,

6-7, 17

YIZ setting, mouse control option,

XOR, 106-107 ink, 123-124

XY setting, mouse control option,

333

XZ setting, mouse control option,

grid,

mask,

View button,

y-axis,

227

z z-axis,

Whirl (presets) option,

225 button, 222 wildcards, 215-216 windows File Selector,

183

Zoom slot,

42

i setting, mouse control option,

363

223 43-45

tool selection,

276, 279 162 button, 164

transition, Wirerame

285

Zero Memory Request! message,

box,

Willow Peripherals,

6-7, 17

Zero clear (trails) option,

Wildcard

wirerame,

165 165

6-7, 17

362 w

269

166

.. y

Vision Technologies,

wipe,

240-241 240-241

x:y rat.of a eel, changing,

working surace, 6

Write Error On Macro

File! message,

368

368 166

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