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The Best Book of Autodesk

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The Best Book of WordPerfect® 5 . 1 Vincent Alfieri, Revised by Ralph Blodgett

The First Book of DrawPerfect Susan Baake-Kelly (forthcoming)

The Best Book of Microsoft® Word 5 Kate Miller Eames

WordPerfect®

5 . 0 : Expert Techniques for Power Users

Kate Barnes

The Best Book of PFS®: First Publisher™ Robert Bixby (forthcoming)

The First Book of Q & A Brent Heslop and David Angell (forthcoming)

The First Book of PC Tools ™ Deluxe Gordon McComb

The Best Book of Harvard Graphics john P. Mueller (forthcoming)

The Best Book of DESQ™ view Jack Nimersheim

The First Book of Harvard Graphics Jack Purdum (forthcoming)

The Best Book of: DOS Alan Simpson

The Best Book of: Lotus® 1 -2-3®, Third Edition, Release 2.2 Alan Simpson The Best Book of Microsoft® Word for Windows Richard Swadley The Best Book of Microsoft® Windows 3 Carl Townsend (forthcoming)

The Best Book of Professional® Write and File Douglas ]. Wolf

The Best Book of AutoCAD® Victor Wright (forthcoming) For the retailer nearest yo u, or to order directly from the p ublish er, call 800-257-5755. In ternational orders telephone 609-461 -6500.

S

The Best Book of Autodesk

Deke McClelland

HOWARD W. SAMS &. COMPANY A Division ofMacmi/lan. Inc. 11711 North College, Suite 141. Carmel, IN 46032 USA

© 1990 by PRI, Inc. FIRST EDITION FIRST PRINTING-1990 All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher. No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein. International Standard Book Number: 0-672-22735-5 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 90-60958 Product Director: Richard Swadley Manuscript Editor: Justine Couts Production Coordinator: Becky Imel Cover Artist: DGS&D Advertising, Inc. Cover Photography: Cassell Productions, Inc. Indexer: Joelynn Gifford Technical Reviewer: Grant Blaha Compositor: Shepard Poorman Communications Corp. Production: Tom Emrick, Tami Hughes, Bill Hurley, Chuck Hutchinson, Jodi Jensen, Lori Lyons, Jennifer Mathews, Dennis Sheehan, Bruce Steed, Mary Beth Wakefield, Nora Westlake Printed in the United States of America

Trademark Acknowledgments All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks or service marks are listed below. In addition, terms suspected of being trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized. Howard W. Sams & Company cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark. Apple and Macintosh are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc. Atari is a registered trademark and Neochrome and ST are trademarks of Atari Corp. Autodesk, AutoCAD, AutoSketch, and AutoShade are registered trademarks and Autodesk Animator is a trademark of Autodesk, Inc. Commodore-Amiga is a trademark of Commodore-Amiga, Inc. CompuServe is a registered trademark of CompuServe Information Network. IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corp. MacPaint is a registered trademark of Claris Corp. Microsoft and MS-DOS are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp. PC Paintbrush is a registered trademark of ZSoft Corp.

Dedicated to

EP,

the lovely missus.

Overview 1

Painting on the PC, 1 1 Getting Started, 3 2 The Basics of Creating a Painting, 23 3 Operating and Modifying Tools, 4 5 4 Using and Modifying Inks, 93 5 The Color Palette, 1 4 5 6 Automated Painting Features, 189

2

Animation, 225 7 Introduction to Animation, 2 2 7 8 Animating Type, 2 6 9 9

Changing Colors Over Time, 295

10 Automated Movement Features, 317 11 Cel Animation, 371

3

Input and Output, 391 12 Converting Artwork from Other Environments, 393 1 3 Capturing Photographic Images and Artwork, 4 1 5 1 4 Playing Animations On-Screen, 429

15 Recording Flies to Film or Videotape, 445 vii

Contents Introduction: An Overview of Autodesk Animator Using Autodesk Animator

xxi

Learning Autodesk Animator

xx vii

What You've Learned

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Painting on the PC 1 Getting Started Installing Autodesk Animator Quick Installation

3 3 4 ix

The Best Book of Animator

Starting Autodesk Animator Did It Work? Using a Mouse or Tablet Mouse Operations Tablet Operations The Home Window The Cursor T h e Drawing Area The Menu Bar The Home Panel Quick Animation

7

8

10 10 11 13 18

The Basics of Creating a Painting

23

T h e Pie Menu The Files Panel The File Selector Panel Painting a Picture Drawing and Undrawing Canceling a Drawing Restoring a Picture Clearing the Screen Making Detailed Changes Saving a Picture Overwriting a File Saving a Picture under a New Name What

You've Learned

Operating and Modifying Tools Resetting the Window What Went Wrong? Using the Original Tools Changing the Brush Shape Accessing Other Tools Modifying a Tool Tool Descriptions

x

6 6

What You've Learned

Loading a Picture

3

5

19 19

Quitting Autodesk Animator

2

4

23 23 25 26 30 31 33 34 36

36

39 40 40 41

45

45 46 47 51 54 56 57

T h e Box Tool

58

The Circle Tool

60

Contents The Draw Tool The Driz. (or Drizzle) Tool The Edge Tool The Fill Tool

The Fillto Tool The Gel Tool The Line Tool The Move Tool The Oval Tool The Petal Tool The Poly (or Irregular Polygon) Tool The RPoly (or Regular Polygon) Tool The Sep. (or Separate) Tool The Shape Tool The Spiral Tool The Spline Tool The Spray Tool The Star Tool The Streak Tool The Text Tool

4

60 60 61 63 63 65 66 67 69 70 73 75 77 79 79 81 84 85 86 87

What You've Learned

90

Using and Modifying Inks

93

Drawing with an Image

93

The Swap Menu Clipping to the Cel Buffer Using the Original Inks Other Ways to Apply Ink Pasting a Cel in the Selected Ink Accessing Other Inks

Modifying an Ink Ink Descriptions The Add Ink The Bright Ink The Close Ink

The Dark Ink The Emboss Ink The Glass Ink The Glaze Ink The Glow Ink The Gray Ink

The H Grad (or Horizontal Gradient) In k

95

97 100 105 106 107 108

112 112 1 14 115 1 16 1 16 1 18 119 120 121 121 xi

The Best Book of Animator

The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The

xii

Hollow Ink Jumble Ink L Grad (or Line-Contour Gradient) Ink Opaque Ink Pull Ink R Grad (or Radial Gradient) Ink Scrape Ink Smear Ink Soften Ink Spark Ink Split Ink Sweep Ink Tile Ink Unzag (or Anti-Aliasing) Ink V Grad (or Vertical Gradient) Ink XOR (or Exclusive Or) Ink

122 123 125 127 1 27 128 130 131 132 133 1 34 135 137 137 140 140

What You've Learned

142

5 The Color Palette

145

Home Panel Colors Accessing More Colors Changing the Mini-Palette Changing the Current Color

145 146 147 149

The Palette Window Changing Mini-Palette and Cluster Colors

150 151

Color Theory Coloring with Pigments Coloring with Light T h e Color Wheel

156 157

Creating New Colors

159

The Palette Menu Cycling Colors One Palette Changing the Colors of Panels and Menus Loading and Saving Palette Files

1 60 1 62 1 64 165 167

The Cluster Menu Isolating Unused Colors

167 169

158

158

Contents

Emulating an On-Screen Color Series Gradations Using Existing Colors Capturing a Range of Colors Simple Cluster C hanges

171 172 172 173

The Arrange Menu Sorting by Luminance Sorting by Spectrurns and Gradients Cluster Manipulation

174 176 176 177

The Value Menu Reducing the Palette Creating Continuous Gradations Tinting Palette Colors Contrasting Colors Importing Colors The Color Buffer

177 179 179 181 182

What You've Learned

186

6 Automated Painting Features

183

185

189

Cel Transformations Clipping a Cel Pasting Cels Resizing, Flipping, and Rotating Altering Cels Without Pasting Options Emptying the Cel Buffer Loading and Saving Cel Files

189 191 194 196 201 203 207 208

Masking Images The Mask Menu Options Using a Mask

208

Establishing a Grid The Grid Snap Control Options Using a Grid

213 214 215

Making Macros The Macro Recording Options Using Macros

217 218 218

What You've Learned

221

208

209

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Animation 7

8

Introduction to Animation Animation Theory The Importance of Movement How Animation Works The Animation Process

227 227 228 230

Frames and Flies The Frame Icons The Frames Panel Editing Flies The Time Select Panel A Sample Time Operation

231 231 232 234 237 239

Linking Flies The Flic Menu Creating Composite Flies Joining Flies Special Effects

244 244 245 250 257

What You've Learned

266

Animating Type The Titling Panel Using the Text Buffer Specifying Movement Increments of Movement Justification Counting Frames Do Titling A

Sample Text Animation Sequence

What You've Learned xiv

227

269 269 271

273 274 275 2 78 279 279 292

Contents 9

Changing Colors Over Time Animating Color The Fit Button Fade to Black An Exercise in Fading False Colors Blending Colors The Movement Buttons An Exercise in Blending Color Cycling An Exercise in Color Cycling What You've Learned

10

Automated Movement Features Polymorphic Tweening The Tween Button Creating a Tweening Sequence Tweening Like a Pro 3-D Transformation Theory Three-Dimensional Space The Basic 3-D Transformation Process The Element Menu The Presets Menu The Movement Menu Applying a 3-D Transformation The Optics Panel Transformation Types Dynamic Transformations

Changing the Starting Orientation The Transformation Determinants The Axis Slider Bar Spin Determinants Size Determinants Move Determinants Path Determinants What You've Learned

11

Cel Animation Cel Animation Theory

295 295 295 296 296 303 305 305 306 311 312 314

317 317 319 320 323 333 334 338 339 340 342 344 349 351 352

355 357 358 359 362 364 365 369

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The Best Book of Animator

The Story Line The Storyboard The Cel Animation Process

373 375 375

The Trace Menu A Sample Cel Animation Sequence

376

What You've Learned

389

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Input and Output 12

Converting Artwork from Other Environments The Converter Transferring Images to the PC Convertible File Types Using the Converter Loading Files Adjusting a Converted Picture Viewing and Saving Files The FLimaker Saving an AutoCAD Slide Saving an AutoSketch Slide Saving an AutoShade Slide or Rendering Creating a File List Converting the File What You've Learned

xvi

3 93 393 3 94 395 395 396

399 408 409 410 410 410 411 412 413

Contents

a

13 Ca turing Photographic Images

an

Artwork

415

Using Digitized Images Enhancing Scanned Images Combining Scans Special Effects

415 418 418 421

Input Devices The Jovian VIA The Targa 16 Scanning Devices

423 424 425 426

What You've Learned

426

14 Playing Animations On-Screen

429

Using the Player Utility The Player Menu The File Menu The File Selector Panel The Frame Control Panel Keyboard Lock

430 430 431 432 436 437

Using Scripts Flic Scripts Adding Pictures Additional Scripting Code Scripting Options

438 438 439 440 441

What You've Learned

442

15 Recording Flies to Film or Videotape Film Recording Print and Shoot Filming Considerations

445 445 446 446

Recording to Videotape VGA to NTSC Recording Your Flic

447 447 448

Video Output Devices The Targa 16 VGA/NTSC Board Combos The VIN Controller

449 449 450 450

What You've Learned

451

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Installing and Configuring Autodesk Animator

453

B

Error Messages

469

C

Guide to Peripherals and Utilities

477

Index

483

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Acknowledgments My heartfelt thanks to the people at Howard W. Sams for their help in this project, including Richard Swadley, Marie Butler-Knight, and the extremely capable, occasionally clairvoyant Justine Couts. Also thanks to Bill Gladstone for getting the project off the ground. For technical support, thanks to Rick, Brian, and Kathy at Autodesk, Inc. On this, the eleventh project, our continued appreciation goes out to RD, SR, JG, AE, and JM. Thanks to CMD for sharing his hovel and his pretzels. May your garage forever remain an impenetrable fortress. A special thanks to Don Sr. for the camcorder and to Virginia for putting up with the mess on the pool table.

xix

Introduction: An OvervielV of Autodesk Animator This section introduces you to Animator's principal features and func­ tions. If you have not yet used this software or seen it demonstrated, you will find this information useful in assessing Animator's ability to meet your specific needs. However, if you already know what Anima­ tor can do and can't wait to begin using it, skip to Chapter 1.

Using Autodesk Animator Animator doubles as a powerful painting program and a sophisti­ cated animation package.

Animator is a powerful artist's tool for drawing original artwork and enhancing scanned images. These can then be combined to create im­ pressive video presentations, the kind that only a few years ago would have been unthinkable for any company or individual operating on a limited budget. Animator has broken down the process of creating professional­ quality presentations into three parts: •

Painting on the PC. Still images are created and manipulated using Animator's highly specialized painting tools, whose capabil­ ities rival and even surpass those offered by the most sophisti­ cated painting programs currently available for the PC. xxi

The Best Book of Animator

•

•

Animation . Images are transformed in gradual steps, then stored

as frames, like the frames in a movie reel. Animator plays these frames in a specified order to create the illusion of movement and life. Input and O utput. Photographic images and backgrounds are added using a scanner or video camera connected to a video cap­ ture board. The final animation can be recorded to videotape or film or played directly on any PC with a VGA-compatible moni­ tor.

Each of these parts is introduced in more detail in the sections that follow.

Painting on the PC In the vernacular of personal computers, a painting is an image created by assigning a color to each of the thousands of points on your com­ puter's screen. These colored points are called pixels. In Animator, the screen is divided into 320 pixels horizontally by 200 pixels vertically, for a total of 64,000 pixels per painted image. Viewed from a slight dis­ tance, these pixels fuse to form a single picture. Figure 1 shows an Ani­ mator painting viewed both from a normal distance and in magnified detail with individual pixels of colored light. Luckily, you don't have to manipulate each of these 64,000 pixels individually. Animator provides a number of painting tools so that you can draw on the screen much as you would on a piece of paper. For example, there is a box tool for creating rectangles, a draw tool for cre­ ating freehand lines, and a spray tool for creating airbrush effects. If you don't like the way a line or effect turns out, you can always undo your most recent action, returning the screen to its previous ap­ pearance. If you want to alter a small detail, you can use Animator's zoom feature to magnify a specific area of your painting, as in the exam­ ple in Figure 1. Zooming allows you to clean up ragged images more precisely by manipulating individual pixels. Animator also provides a wide selection of inks so that you can vary the manner in which color is applied by a tool. For example, if you draw a line using an opaque ink, the line appears solid, covering images that lie beneath it. If you switch to a glass ink, the line becomes trans­ parent, as if composed of colored glass; the images that lie beneath it are merely tinted with the new color. As far as colors are concerned, Van Gogh should have had such a palette! Animator allows over a quarter million col ors , 256 of which xxii

Introduction

Figure 1 A typical painting at normal view size and at a magnified view size that shows individual pixels.

can be used i n a single-screen display. Should you want to alter one of the 256 colors in your palette without changing the overall appearance of your painting, you can instruct Animator to remap the screen dis­ play to change all screen occurrences of the altered color to the next closest color. Or if yo u prefer, Animator can change on-screen colors to reflect your palette changes exactly. Animator also has the capability to organize colors into clusters so that one color gradually fades into an­ other, a simple trick guaranteed to elicit "oohs" and "ahs" from even seasoned viewers. Animator's painting aids further facilitate the drawing experience and make it less time-consuming. For example, you can establish a net­ work of grids to help guide the movement of your mouse when con­ structing geometric images. Grids are especially useful when creating charts and technical illustrations. You can paint around a finished im­ age using Animator's masking feature, which is similar in technique to protecting an area with masking tape when operating a traditional air­ brush. Like elements created in any other electronic environment, noth­ ing in Animator is etched in stone. An image can be enlarged, or re­ duced, or rotated, or even erased, all by choosing a command and moving your mouse. Figure 2 shows a few examples of Animator's

transformation capabilities. xx iii

The Best Book of Animator

Figure 2 Some of the many transformation

in Animator.

possibilities

Animation After you've established your images, you can begin to animate.

Once you establish the images you want to use, you can make them move. The first step is to determine the number of frames required for the length of your animation. This number is by no means fixed; you can always add or delete frames as the need arises. Next, you specify the speed at which the frames flash by. Faster speeds create more fluid animation but require that you draw more frames; slower speeds re­ quire less frames (and thus less effort on your part) but produce choppy animation. The frame speed can be changed at any time.

Finally, you must address the most difficult part of animating: fill­ ing in the frames. In traditional (non-computer) animation, each frame has to be drawn by hand, a technique known as eel animation. Figure 3 and Color Plate 1 show an example of a string of the individually drawn frames which constitute eel animation. While the most memorable animated works have been created us­ ing this technique almost exclusively, eel animation is extremely diffi­ cult and time-consuming. The feature length film Fantasia from the Disney studios required over 2 00,000 separate original drawings , not counting the myriad background and foreground images. It's no won­ der animation of this caliber is as rare as it is expensive. Animator allows you to create eel animation if you so desire, and XXIV

Introduction

Figure 3 Cel animation requires that each frame in an animated sequence b e drawn individually.

if you have the inclination, time, and talent; you'll be gratified that technology has lightened the workload a little. For example, if you cre­ ate two frames of a bird in flight, one with its wings fully up and one with wings fully down, you can instruct Animator to create a new com­ bined drawing between the two frames, as shown in Figure 4. This

tween frame, as it's called, will include a blue image of the first frame and a green image of the following frame, allowing you to trace an in­ termediate drawing. After you draw your new bird with wings in a

middle position, you instruct Animator to delete the blue and green tween images, leaving you with a 3-frame animation. You could then create two more tween frames-one between the first and second frames and another between the second and third-and so on, until the animated sequence plays fluidly. Cel animation is possibly the b e st method of animation but not the only one. Other animation features in Animator can also produce high quality effects while doing much of the work for you! For example, you could use Animator's titling (pronounced "title-ing") options to create animated text for a presentation. Animator can scroll a block of text across the screen in any direction, or even produce each letter individ­ ually as if it's being typed in. Both of these effects require almost no effort on your part. Even more exciting automated effects are possible. Using Anima­

tor's color cycling commands, you can change a background gradually xxv

The Best Book of Animator

Figure 4 A tween frame combines images from the frames

before and after it.

from blue to green to yellow, and so on, through a rainbow of colors. Or you can fade an image or background in or out, allowing for smooth and effortless transitions between scenes. For advanced users, Animator approaches some of the boundaries associated with high-end computer animation. For example, Animator can automatically enlarge or rotate images along three-dimensional axes over a span of time . If you define an image as a polygon (any shape with multiple straight sides), you can instruct Animator to create a s e ­ quence that alters t h e shape of t h e image entirely. An example of this process, called polymorphic tweening, is shown in Figure 5 . I n general, you will find that a mastery of Animator's automated

features and a dash of eel animation technique are the best recipe for creating efficient and effective presentational sequences.

Input and Output When it's time to present your animation before an audience, you will most likely present it on videotape since it is a universal medium. Ani­ mator has the capability to transfer images from and to videotape, pro­ vided you own or have access to the proper hardware. For example, photographs and artwork can b e imported using a flat-bed scanner. The

photo is laid face down on the scanner's glass surface; a sensor then xxvi

Introduction

Figure 5 Polymorphic tweening creates intermediate images

between any two polygons automatically.

Animator includes a public domain utility for playing your animation on any VGA-equipped

PC.

reads the image directly onto your computer's screen. Live images can be captured as well, by linking a video camera to your computer. Your finished animation can also be recorded on videotape di­ rectly from Animator using a standard VCR receiving signals translated by a video output card. You can then duplicate this original master re­ cording to other vid eot apes for promotion or distribution. Unfortunately, translating animation input and output from the VGA display of your computer to standard video signals requires spe­ cial video boards, cameras, and so on. Purchasing this hardware can be difficult or even impossible for those operating on limited funds. Never fear, Animator include s AAPLAY.EXE, a projection utility that runs on any VGA- equipped PC. Best of all, you can distribute this program on a disk with your animation without paying licensing fees to Autodesk. A detailed guide to the use of input and output hardware with Animator is included in Chapters 12 through 1 5 of this book.

Learning Autodesk Animator If you have used other Autodesk applications in the past, such as the popular AutoCAD technical drawing application, or i f you have used xxvii

The Best Book of Animator

any PC painting programs like Splash! or Dr. Halo, you will find much of Animator's environment familiar. If you haven't used any drawing software before or if you are un­ familiar with computers in general, don't worry. Chapter 1 provides a step-by-step introduction to Animator in which you can get your feet wet without destroying your computer or your morale. In fact, Chapter 1 is probably the most important portion of this book for beginners. If you are a more advanced user and have already installed Ani­ mator on your hard drive, you should at least skim The Home Window section of Chapter 1. You can then skip to Chapter

2

where the real

operational discussions begin.

What You've Learned •

Animator is a powerful program for creating and animating color­

ful pixel-based images (also referred to as bit-mapped images). •

Animator's tools, inks, and sophisticated color palette can be used together to create still images that rival or surpass artwork created with top-of-the-line PC painting programs.

•

Animator lightens the workload of traditional eel animation and provides automatic aids for adding special effects and motion to text and graphics.

•

With the proper hardware, Animator can turn your personal com­ puter into a desktop video production studio.

•

Animator provides both a simple interface for beginners and

enough powerful tools and commands to satis fy veteran presenta­

tion enthusiasts.

xxviii

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Painting on the PC

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Getting Started This chapter focuses on getting Autodesk Animator up and running on your computer and becoming familiar with its interface. You will learn how to use your mouse and keyboard to access Animator's commands and panels. This chapter is recommended reading for-users new to drawing software or to personal computers in general. The chapters which fol­ low will draw upon techniques learned i n this chapter.

Installing Autodesk Animator Before you can use Animator, you must install it on your computer's hard drive. If you don't have a hard drive, you can install Animator on two 720K floppy disks or four 360K floppy disks. Although the main Animator program, AA.EXE, can fit on a single 360K floppy disk, it will execute faster from a hard drive. Animator will run only on an AT­ model PC, or better, that is equipped with a VGA video board and mon­ itor and a Microsoft-compatible mouse. Users with CGA or EGA equip­ ment will need to upgrade their hardware before running Animator. (Contact your local computer dealer for more information.) If you use a non-Microsoft mouse or a drawing tablet, refer to Appendix A at the end of this book for specific configuration instructions. If Animator is already installed on your computer, you can skip to the Starting Autodesk Animator section of this chapter. If you have not installed Animator, you will need to complete the

Quick Installation

steps.

3

Painting on the PC

Quick Installation The steps which follow explain briefly how to install Animator on your computer's hard drive. If you want to install Animator on floppy disks or if you have questions about any step, refer to Appendix A.

The unpack1 and

unpack2 files contain

the sample pictures and animation sequences used throughout this book.

1 . Get the four floppy disks included in the original software package or four copies of these disks. 2. If you have not done so already, turn on your computer and load the operating system. (Most PCs with hard drives are set up, or configured, to load MS-DOS or some other operating system auto­ matically after you turn on the computer.) The standard DOS c> prompt should appear on your screen. 3. If you want to install Animator on a drive other than the standard C drive, change to that drive by typing the drive letter followed by a colon (such as d : ) and pressing Enter. 4. Make a new direc tory for the Animator program by typing md \ a n i m a t o r and pressing Enter. 5. Change this directory to the current directory by typing c d \ a n i ma t o r and pressing Enter. 6. Your Animator package includes either four 360K disks or two 720K disks. Insert the disk labeled "Disk 1 " into your computer's A drive. Type copy a : * . * and press Enter to copy all files from Disk 1 to the current directory. 7. Repeat step 6 for the remaining disks. 8. After copying all disks, type u n p a c k 1 and press Enter. This runs a utility program which converts the animation and picture files in Animator to a useable form. If your version of Animator included four 360K disks (rather than two 720K disks), type unpac k2 and press Enter after unp a c k 1 has finished. You have now installed Animator in the current directory on your hard drive. To retrieve some space on your hard disk, remove any dis­ kettes from your diskette drives, then type de l unp a c k 1 . e x e . If you used 360K diskettes in your installation, type de L unpa c k 2 . e x e after you have finished deleting UNPACK1 .EXE.

Starting Autodesk Animator To use Animator, you must first change to the directory that contains t he program. If you installed Animator according to the preceding 4

1-Getting Started

steps, you can enter the proper directory by typing cd\animator and pressing Enter. If you did not follow these steps when you installed Ani­ mator, or someone else installed the program for you, your directory may have a different name. If, for example, the directory was named aa, as suggested in the Animator manual, you will need to type cd\aa. If your computer does not have a hard drive, insert the disk containing the AA.EXE file into a floppy drive, and change to that drive by typing the drive letter followed by a colon (such as b:) and pressing Enter. Now type aa and press Enter. This tells DOS to launch the Anima­ tor program.

Did It Work? If you have launched Animator successfully, your computer screen will display a window like the one shown in Figure 1.1. Unlike other programs that run on the PC, Animator requires no special configura­ tion before it's used for the first time. If the window in Figure 1.1 is displayed, proceed to the Using a Mouse or Tablet section. If the message Bad command or file name appears instead of the An­ imator window, this means the AA.EXE file is missing from the current directory. You are either in the wrong directory or the program has not been installed. You may need to consult with the person who installed

Figure 1.1 The Home window appears after Animator has been l a unche d successfully.

5

Painting on the PC

Animator to find out where the AA.EXE file is located. Or reinstall Ani­ mator according to the instructions in the Quick Installation section. If the normal DOS messages disappear and a large message reading I n s e r t d i s k e t t e for d r i v e D : (or some other drive letter) and s t r i ke any key when ready appears, j ust press Enter to dispense with it. Other similar messages may appear directly below this message. Sim­ ply press Enter in response to each such message; the Animator win­ dow will appear eventually. These messages most often occur if your PC is connected to a net­ work and if you use communications software such as Tops. Animator isn't smart enough to compensate for extra drives established i n the CONFIG.SYS file by networking utilities. Be reassured there's nothing wrong with your computer or with Animator, nor is there a need to change your CONFIG.SYS file.

Using a Mouse or Tablet If you are already familiar with a mouse or drawing tablet, and under­ stand the difference between operations such as clicking, double­ clicking, and dragging, skip to The Horne Panel section. Otherwise, read on.

Mouse Operations A mouse can have two or three buttons. If it is a three-button mouse, the center button is inoperative inside Animator. Only the left and right buttons can operate and modify the program's many options. If you haven't used a mouse before, you may want to consult the manual that came with it for specific instructions. Get a feel for the mouse by moving it around. Position the mouse in relation to your

computer so that it is easily accessible. Some Animator functions don't

In this book, the terms clicking and left-clicking are synonymous.

6

require a mouse, so you will be switching your right or left hand back and forth between the keyboard and the mouse on a regular basis. The mouse should be in easy reach so you don't have to grope around. Now press the left mouse button, then immediately release it. This quick pressing motion is called clicking. Clicking the left mouse button is also called left-clicking. L ikewise, if you click the right mouse button, you are right-clicking. Other clicking variations are possible. If you press and release the mouse button twice in rapid succession, you are double-clicking. You can also press a key on the keyboard while clicking with the mouse. All clicking variations are performed with the mouse s ta tion a ry .

1-Getting Started In addition, there are two basic mouse movements. An instruction to move the mouse means to move it without pressing a button. An

instruction to drag the mouse means to press a mouse button, move the mouse, then release the button. All drags in Animator are performed using the left mouse button.

Double-click

Figure 1.2 Operating the mouse.

If the mouse does not seem to be operating correctly from the out­ set, it may not be configured correctly. Refer to the Configuring

Autodesk Animator discussion in Appendix A. If the mouse stops work­ ing after you've been using it for a while, it more likely needs cleaning or servicing. Refer to the documentation included with it or call the dealer from whom the mouse was purchased.

Tablet Operations If you are accustomed to drawing with a standard pencil or pen and can't get comfortable with the mouse, you may want to use a digitizing

tablet. Many users find tablets easier to draw with since they utilize an ele ctronic stylus about the size and wei ght of a large pen. This stylus is 1

Painting on the PC

attached to a flat sensory device, the tablet itself. The tablet tracks the stylus as it's drawn across the face of the tablet. Tablets are also sold with an alternate tracking device called a puck. Generally larger than a mouse, a puck includes several buttons and has a clear reticle attached to its top, which is used similarly to the sights on a gun to position the puck accurately. Like a stylus, a puck is connected to the tablet by a cord. Due to its bulky size, a puck is re­ served primarily for tracing hand-drawn artwork or photographs, or for creating technical drawings. Animator supports only Summagraphics Corporation's Summa­ Sketch MM1 201, or a compatible tablet. For information on configuring your tablet, refer to the Appendix A.

Configuring Autodesk Animator discussion in

How you operate the tablet depends on whether you're using a puck or a stylus. If you are using a stylus, follow these instructions: •

•

•

To click, press the stylus nib against the tablet surface and quickly release. To right-click, press the button on the barrel of the stylus and quickly release. To drag, press down on the stylus, move the stylus, then lift up, just as if you were drawing a line on a sheet of paper. If you are using a puck, operate the tablet as follows:

•

To click, press the white button on the l eft side of the puck and quickly release.

•

•

To right-click, press the green button on the right side of the puck and quickly release.

To drag, press the white button, move the pen, then release the

button.

You can use Animator equally well with either a mouse or a tab­ let; any operation performed with a mouse can also be performed with a tablet. However, to simplify future discussions, the term be used generically to refer to either input device.

mouse will

The Home Window When Animator first launches, and before you choose any commands or perform any other actions, it displays the Hom e window, a view of 8

1-Getting Started

your animation document. Also known simply as home, this window contains the following elements, which are labeled in Figure 1.3: •

•

The cursor. A small white plus sign tracks the movement of the mouse. Notice that when you move the mouse, the cursor moves too. The drawing area. The area in the middle of the window always contains the current painting.

•

•

The menu bar. Moving the cursor over the names at the top of the screen displays menus of commands that can be used to load files, create special effects, and so on. The Home panel. The main control panel at the bottom of the win­ dow contains buttons used to access tools, inks, and colors, and

play animation se quences. To get back to the Home window from any other window, press the Spacebar one or more times.

If you clicked on any b uttons or chose any commands after launching Animator, the window may not look right. The menu bar may contain different names or have disappeared entirely, or the panel at the bottom of the window may look different. If this is the case, move the mouse so that the cursor appears anywhere inside the drawing area. Then click the right mouse button. See how the screen changes? Keep right-clicking inside the drawing area until the Home panel reap­ pears. If you click the right mouse button one too many times, both the

Figure 1.3

Elements of the Home window. 9

Painting on the PC

menu bar and the Home panel will disappear, leaving only a blank drawing area. Just right-click again to bring everything back. Pressing the Spacebar performs the same function as right­ clicking in the drawing area; it gets you home or hides menus and

panels. The only exception to this is when you are entering text using the text tool; pressing the Spacebar then creates a normal space.

The Cursor The cursor is the most important element in the window. It allows you to draw, choose commands, select options, click on buttons-in short, the cursor is your visual guide to all actions that you perform with the mouse. Move the mouse and notice how the cursor moves with it. If the cursor is over the drawing area, dragging with the mouse will create lines and shapes on the screen. If the cursor is over the menu bar, click­ ing with the mouse will choose commands. And if the cursor is inside a panel, clicking will activate buttons. Try this: Position the cursor over the rounded box containing the word "Fill" in the Home panel. Now click the left mouse button. The Fill button lights up because the cursor was over that button when you clicked. Now position the cursor over the drawing area and click. The entire drawing area becomes a light blue. Though you may not understand what you're doing yet, it should be apparent that the same mouse operation produces different effects depending on the location of the cursor.

The Drawing Area The drawing area is the locus of all artwork and animation. Imagine the drawing area as a sketch pad on which the menu bar and Home panel

are resting. In fact, the menu bar and Home panel cover some of the drawing area. To display the entire drawing area, move the cursor in­ side the drawing area and click the right mouse button. The menu bar and Home panel disappear. Right-click again to bring them back. You can create images on the obscured parts of the drawing area even though a menu bar or panel is displayed. Try this: Position the cursor over the Draw button in the Home panel and click on it so that it lights up. Then click on the orange square in the top row of color boxes in the center of the panel. A light red outline will appear around it. Move the cursor into the middle of the drawing area and drag by hold­ ing down the left mouse button; then move the cursor around. Notice

that an orange line follows the cursor. Drag downward, still keeping the

10

1-Getting Started

mouse button pressed, until the cursor goes into the Home panel; then drag up again, as in Figure 1.4. Now release the mouse button. Right­ click in the drawing area to hide the Home panel, and you will see that you have drawn a line that dips below the area previously covered by the panel, as shown in Figure 1.4.

Figure 1.4 A line can be drawn i n the sections of the drawing area that are covered by a menu bar or panel.

Mastering the movement of the cursor is fundamental to drawing on-screen. For new users, this will require time and experimentation. Drawing with an obj ect the size of a mouse may be awkward at first, but with practice, it b ecomes s e c ond natu r e.

The Menu Bar To execute a menu command, position the cursor over the command name and click.

The menu bar contains the names of seven menus: Animator, Flic, Pie, Cel, Trace, Swap, and Extra, Each menu offers a different set of com­ mands for controlling different aspects of your painting or animation. You can view a menu by positioning the cursor over the menu name or by pressing the key corresponding to the first letter in the menu name. For example , press the F key. Notice that the Flic menu is now dis­ played. Each command in a menu performs a specific function, indicated by its name, when you choose i t Choosing a command whose name is

11

Painting on the PC

Figure

1.5 Menus and panels can be hidden to display

the entire drawing area.

followed by an ellipsis (. . .) will produce a special menu or panel that you to provide Animator with more information before the com­ mand is performed. Commands without ellipses execute immediately. If you use the mouse to display a menu, a red rectangle will sur­ round, or highlight, the current command as you move the cursor up and down the menu. Click the left button to choose the highlighted command. To hide a menu displayed using the mouse, move the cursor off the menu and away from the menu bar. If you display a menu by pressing a key, such as pressing the F key to display the Flic menu, you must use the keyboard thereafter to asks

choose a command, again by pressing the key corresponding to the first

letter in the command name. For example, press the F key to display the Flic menu, then press the R key to choose the Reset command. An alert box will appear, warning you that you are about to do something drastic. In this case, the message reads Reset to de fau L t . f l x ? , meaning you're about to reset options in the Home panel and elsewhere. Since you haven't changed any options so far, feel free to click either the Yes or No button to hide the alert box. Or press the Y or N key, since press­ ing keys also activates buttons in all alert boxes and in some panels. To hide a menu displayed by pressing a key, click either the left or right button of the mouse. Or press any key that does not correspond to the first letter in a command name. 12

1-Getting Started

Notice that some commands have a letter displayed to the right of them. For example, to the right of the New command in the Flic menu is an "N''. Any command labeled similarly can b e accessed without first displaying its menu by pressing the key corresponding to the dis­ played letter, even when a different menu is displayed. To try this, move the cursor over the word "Swap" in the m enu bar to display the Swap menu. Notice that no command in this menu begins with an "N", Now press the N key. An alert box will appear with the message New fl i c abandon current fl i c?, indicating that you have successfully chosen

the New command. Press the Y or N key to hide the alert box. Note: If you displayed the Swap menu by pressing the S key, press­

ing the N key does not choose the New command but hides the menu. This is because Animator is interpreting the N key in combination with the S key. The key combination "SN" doesn't mean anything to Anima­ Gray commands or buttons are dimmed, indicating that they are not available under current circumstances.

tor, so it simply hides all menus. Press the S key again to display the Swap menu, shown in Figure 1.6. Notice that the last four commands in the menu appear dimmed

(gray) rather than solid black. Choosing a dimmed command has no effect. This is because dimmed commands are not applicable to the cur­ rent situation. For example, in this situation, an item must be clipped before it can be traded, pasted, viewed, or released. Only after you draw an image and then choose the Clip command will all commands in the Swap menu become solid black.

The Home Panel The Home panel is the main control panel for using Animator. It allows you to access drawing tools, inking effects, and colors, as well as to play and design animation. The rectangular shapes with words or letters inside them are

called buttons. All buttons in the Home panel fall into one of five cate­ gories, as shown in Figure 1.7: •

The Home button.

•

The command buttons, including Zoom and Undo.

•

The tool buttons, including Draw, Box, Poly, Text, Spray, and Fill.

•

The ink buttons, including Opaque, V Grad, Glass, Scrape, Soften, and Tile.

•

The mode buttons, including Filled (F), Time (T), Mask (M), and Clear Key Color (K) .

Generally, clicking on a button selects that button. This is true for all tool, ink, and mode buttons. When you select a button, it becomes 1J

Painting on the PC

highlighted; that is, the button turns white and the word or letter inside the button turns red.

Figure

1.6 Dimmed commands appear gray rather than black,

which indicates that they cannot be chosen.

Command butto ns Tool buttons

l

Figure

14

Mode buttons I n k butto ns

1

1 . 7 C ategories of buttons in the Home panel.

1-Getting Started

Selecting a button gives it control over how images are created in the drawing area or how commands affect your animation. For exam­ ple, if you select the Draw button, dragging the cursor across the draw­ ing area will create a free-form line. But if you select the Spray tool, the cursor will act as an airbrush, creating a pattern of loose pixels as you drag. Only one button at a time can be selected from among either the tool or ink buttons. If. for example, you select the Box tool button, the Draw, Poly, Text, Spray, and F ill buttons become deselected. Likewise, if you select the Glass button, all other ink buttons become deselected. This is not true for the other categories of buttons. As many as four mode buttons can be selected at a time; selecting one button does not deselect any others. Instead, you both select and deselect a mode but­ ton by clicking it. If a button is not highlighted, clicking on it will select

it. If it is highlighted, clicking a button will deselect it.

To return a panel to its original location on the screen, right-click its title button.

Like commands, buttons may appear dimmed. Notice that the let­ ter "M" inside the Mask button is gray rather than black. Clicking on this button will not select it because, for now, it does not apply to your drawing. As soon as conditions warrant the use of this button, the "M" will change from gray to black. T he Zoom and Undo buttons are special command buttons. Rather than selecting these buttons, you click on Zoom or Undo to pro­ duce an immediate effect. For example, clicking the Undo button elimi­ nates your most recent action. Both buttons are explained fully in Chapter 2. Many panels in Animator have a title button like the Home but­ ton. Its darker color indicates that it's the name of the current panel. You can also click on this button to move the panel. Click on the Home button. A dotted rectangle will appear in place of the panel, indicating its present location. Now move the cursor upward. The dotted rectan­ gle follows along, as shown in Figure 1.8. When you are satisfied with your positioning, click again to display the panel at its new location, as shown in Figure 1. 9. There are other interesting items inside the Home panel besides buttons. These include the following color and animation controls, shown in Figure 1.10: •

You can select from any of the seven colors in the mini-palette.

•

Or you can select one of the slices of color in the cluster box.

•

The current color indicator displays the color selected above.

•

The key color indicator displays the current background color; in this example, black.

15

Painting on the PC

Figure 1.8 Moving the Home panel by first clicking the Home button.

Figure

16

1.9

Establishing the Home panel at its new location by clicking again.

1-Getting Started

•

•

The brush shape indicator controls the width of lines created with the Draw tool and other tools. You can play animation or access a specific frame in an animated sequence using one of the frame

icons.

Current color indicator

Cluster box

Brush color --�

Key color

Frame

icons

indicator

indicator

l

l::��::"J.

r===="����

Mini-palette r

1

��kLl�����' 't--J)}

"

OPA•-•UE) ... . s

Figure 1.10 Color and animation controls in the Home panel.

All of these controls are discussed in detail in future chapters. In general, the mini-palette and cluster box colors operate similarly to the tool or ink buttons. Clicking a color selects it. Only one color from all of the colors in the mini-palette and the cluster box can be selected at a tim e. (You can even select the key color indicator, deselecting all other colors.) A selected color in the mini-palette or key color indicator is surrounded by a red outline. A selected color in the cluster box re­ ceives a small white dot and a small black dot . Jn either case, the se­ lected color is displaye d in the current color indicator. The brush shape indicator and the frame icons operate similarly to the Zoom and Undo buttons: clicking one of these icons does not select it but produces an immediate effect. If you click on the brush shape indicator, the single-pixel dot changes to a larger dot. Dragging with the Draw tool inside the drawing area will now create a thicker line. If you click on the brush shape indicator again, the brush will re­ turn to its former single-pixel size.

17 .

Painting on the PC

The gray box in the center of the frame icons is the current frame indicator. In your case, it probably reads 1 , indicating that you're at the first frame. Since you haven't created any other frames, this is also the only frame. If you had created some other frames, you could click one of the arrow icons to move to a different frame. If you're anxious to experiment with these buttons, complete the exercise in the next section.

Quick Animation For a glimpse at how to use the animation controls, follow the steps outlined below. These steps are designed only to get your feet wet. If you're afraid you'll get in over your head, you can skip to the Quitting Autodesk Animator section. Then again, you've come this far. Why not have some fun? 1.

Before you can play an animation, you either have to make an animated sequence yourself or borrow someone else's. Luckily, the Animator disks you installed earlier include sample movies. Press the F key to display the Flic menu. Then press the F key again to choose the Files . . . command. This command allows you to access files created in Animator.

2. The Files panel appears. Click on the Load button or press the L key. This allows you to load an Animator file into the program. 3.

A panel labeled Load a F l i c? appears. On the left-hand side of the panel is a list of pre-created animation sequences. Click on the last name in the list, Ti g e r c a t . f l i , and press Enter.

4.

After loading the file, Animator returns you to the Files panel. Don't worry that the drawing area appears empty. The first frame in this sequence is simply blank. Right-click in the drawing area above the Files panel or press the Spacebar to return home.

5. Now to play with the frame icons. Notice that the current frame indicator reads 1, indicating that you're at the first frame . Click on the right-most frame icon, the one that looks like an arrow point­ ing down. This takes you to the last frame in the sequence . Since the current frame indicator now reads 44, there are 44 frames in this animation. 6. Click the icon directly to the left of the down arrow, the one that looks like a double arrow. This is the play button. The panel and menu bar disappear, and a cat runs across the screen. It takes 44 frames to make the cat go by one time, although the animation will continue to play over and over again. Once you've seen the

18

1-Getting Started

cat go by enough times, right-click with the mouse or press the Spacebar to return home.

Quitting Autodesk Animator To quit Animator quickly, press the Q key, then the Y key at the Home window.

If you want to use a different program, or i f you want to stop working on your computer altogether, you must first quit the Animator program. This will take you back to your computer's operating system, presum­ ably DOS. To quit, you must choose the Quit command from the Ani­ mator menu on the menu bar. You can do this in three different ways: 1.

Move the cursor over the word Animator in the menu bar to dis­ play the Animator menu. Next, move the cursor to the bottom of the command list so that the Quit command is highlighted (out­ lined in red), then click. If you move the cursor down too far and the menu disappears, move the cursor over the Animator menu label and try again.

2.

Or simply press the A key to display the Animator menu, then press the Q key to choose Quit.

3. Or, even simpler, just press the Q key. Since the Quit command is followed by a Q in the Animator menu, you can press this key to choose the command without displaying a menu. After you choose the Quit command successfully, an alert box ap­ pears, querying you Exit Autodesk Animator? CYou have unsaved changes.). This is Animator's way of making sure that you aren't quit­ ting the program by mistake. Animator is warning you that if you quit, all of the work you have created so far will be lost. Assuming none of the work you've done so far is worth saving, press the Y key or click the Yes button to complete the command. If you've been working ahead and have already created a masterpiece, good for you! Press the N key and skip to Chapter 2 to l earn how to save your artwork.

What You've Learned If you don't quite understand the purpose of every element in the menu bar or Home panel, don't worry; all items are explained in more detail in future chapters. At this point, it's only imp ortant that you under19

Painting on the PC

stand the general workings of the Home window. In this chapter, you learned the following: •

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

Before you can use Animator, you must install it on your com­ puter. To launch Animator from your hard drive, type cd\ followed by the name of the directory in which the Animator program is stored (for example, cd\ani mator) and press Enter. Then type the command aa and press Enter. To launch Animator from a floppy disk, insert the Animator disk containing the file AA.EXE in the floppy drive, enter the letter for the floppy drive followed by a colon (such as a : ) and press Enter. Then type the command aa and press Enter. There are four basic mouse operations: clicking, right-clicking, moving, and dragging. All clicking variations require that you keep the mouse. stationary. Moving and dragging require that you move the mouse. If you get lost, you can always return to the Home window by clicking the right mouse button in the drawing area or by pressing the Spacebar. If the Home panel doesn't appear, continue right­ clicking or pressing the Space bar until it does. Both right-clicking and pressing the Spacebar also hide the menu bar and Home panel so that you can view the entire drawing area. The on-screen cursor tracks the movement of the mouse continu­ ally. The drawing area takes up the entire screen, including portions covered by the menu bar and the Home panel. You can display any menu by typing the first letter in the menu name or by positioning the cursor over the menu nam e . If you display a menu using the k eyboard, you choose a command by typing the first letter in the command name. If you display a menu using the mouse, you must click on th e command name to choose it.

•

•

• •

20

Some buttons, including those in alert boxes, can be activated by typing the first letter in the button name. The names of dimmed commands and buttons appear gray rather than black, indicating that they are not applicable under current conditions. Only one tool, one ink, and one color can be selected at a time. You can move the Home panel by clicking on the Home button. A dotted rectangle, which you can move up and down with the

1-Getting Started

mouse, will then appear in the panel's place. When the dotted rec­ tangle is positioned where you want the panel to appear, click, and the panel will reappear in its new location. Right-click the Home button to return the panel to the bottom of the window. •

Animator displays an alert box when you quit the program to warn you about any unsaved changes.

21

T

w

0

The Basics of Creating a Painting This chapter provides an opportunity for you to experiment with some of the basic painting features i n Animator. You will learn how to utilize these features and also acquire some time-saving techniques. If you quit Animator as recommended at the end of Chapter 1, you will need to launch i t again before you can experiment with the pro­ gram. Change to the directory containing the Animator files using the cd\ command, then type aa and press Enter to launch the program. After a moment, the Home window will appear on the screen .

a Picture Loading . Start by loading an image included with the Animator program onto the screen. You can then view and edit the image using the tools, inks,

and colors found in the Home panel.

The Pie Menu Move the cursor over the word "Pie" in the menu bar to display the Pie menu, as shown in Figure 2 .1. All commands in this menu affect still images, or pictures. These commands are as follows: •

Clear. Choose this command or press the X key to erase the cur­ rent picture. The entire screen will become black (or some other color if you've changed the key color).

23

Painting on the PC

•

Restore. Choose this command, or press the P key followed by the R key, to restore the frame to its original state. All changes to the current frame, including loading a new picture file, will be erased.

•

Apply Ink. Choose this command, or press the P key followed by the A key, to paint the entire picture with the currently selected ink.

•

Separate. Choose this command, or press the P key followed by the S key, to search for all occurrences of one or more specified

colors in your drawing area and replace them with the current color. Then click or drag in the drawing area to select the colors to be changed. Choose the View command to display the entire drawing area and hide the cursor as well.

•

•

View. Choose this command, or press the P key followed by the V key, to hide the Home panel, menu bar, and cursor, and display the entire drawing area. This command is somewhat redundant, since you can accomplish a similar result by right-clicking in the drawing area or by pressing the Spacebar. Files. . . . Choose this command, or press the P key followed by the F key, to display the Files panel, which is used to load or save pic­ ture files.

Don't worry if you don't fully understand these commands. All but two of them are covered in more detail later in this chapter. The other two commands, Separate and Apply Ink, are covered in C hapters 3 and 4, respectively.

Figure 2.1 The Pie 24

menu.

2-The Basics of Creating a Painting

With the Pie menu displayed, position the cursor over the Files . . . command and click to choose it. The Home panel and menu bar disap­ pear and the Files panel displays in place of the Home panel, as in Fig­ ure 2 . 2, which indicates that you are now i n the Files window. Notice that the cursor still appears as a small white plus sign tracking the movements of the mouse, and that the drawing area remains black in the background. The cursor and drawing area are the two constants which carry over from the Home window into all other windows in Animator.

J[ - +� - �))'-+- I F· IFLIC CTURE I J:::=::;;;:; F; O ::;T ;: ; =: :: I !SETTINGSI ;;; N ( LOAD J [ EX IT ) I CEL 11 POLYGON [I MASK ( SAVE ) (,DELETE ) I PALETTE I { . PATH 11 RECORD '

Figure

2.2 Choosing the Files ... command displ ays

the Files window.

T h e Files Panel The Files panel allows you to load, save, and delete files. Animator uses many different kinds of files, which are discussed throughout this book. For now, you will be loading a picture file. Shown in Figure 2 . 3, the Files panel includes the following ele­ ments: •

Click the Files button to move the Files panel to a different loca­ tion on the screen. Click again to display the panel in its new posi­ tion. 25

Painting on the PC

The frame icons in the Files panel let you vie w an animated sequence so you can make sure you 're opening the right file.

•

•

•

•

•

•

Like the frame icons in the Home panel, the frame icons in the Files panel allow you to play animation and view frames. Click the Load button or press the L key to select a picture to load into the drawing area. Click the Save button or press the S key to save the picture in the drawing area to disk. Click the Exit button, press the E key, or right-click in the drawing area to hide the Files panel and return to the Home window. Click the Delete key or press the D key to select a picture to delete from a floppy disk or hard drive directory. The file type buttons indicate the type of file you intend to load, save, or delet e . The Picture button is highlighted currently, allowing you to load a still image. Selecting any file type button deselects all others.

Frame icons

File type buttons

1

Figure

2.3 Buttons in the Files panel.

The File Selector Panel The title bar of the file selector panel displays the action to be taken. You are precluded from performing other actions.

26

Click on the Load button or press the L key to load a picture file. The Files panel will be replaced by the file selector panel, which provides a list of picture files that can be loaded into the drawing are a . The title bar at the top of the panel should read Load a Pi c t u re? as shown in Figure 2 . 4 . Under different circumstances, it might read Save a Pi c-

2-The Basics of Creating a Painting

ture? or Delete a Picture?, since the title bar also appears when you

click the Save or Delete button in the Files panel.

Figure 2.4 The file selector panel.

In panels with title bars, click the title bar to move the panel up and down on the screen.

The title bar of the file selector panel works like the Home button in the Home panel. You can click on the title bar to move it to a new location in the drawing area. After you move the panel, you click again to fix it in place. Other elements in the file selector panel are as follows: •

•

•

•

The scrolling file list contains the names of all files in the current directory (plus the names of any subdirectories under the current directory) that match the current file type. For example, if the title bar reads Load a Picture?, the scrolling list will contain picture file names only. The drive and directory buttons allow you to change drives and directories. The Fi le: option contains the name of the file currently selected in the scrolling file list. The Dir: option displays the current path. If you followed the directions for installing Animator in Chapter 1, the path will read c:\animator, indicating that you're currently in the Animator directory on the C drive. 27

Painting on the PC

•

The Wi L dcard: option displays the extension name corresponding to the current file type. For example, since it now reads * . g i f, the file selector will display only those files in the scrolling list with gif extensions. •

Click the + button to add a number to the end of a file name as you load it. This creates a series of sequentially numbered pictures for later use in animation.

•

Click the OK, Cancel, or + button to exit the file selector panel and return to the Files panel. As you might have guessed, the OK button loads the file selected in the scrolling list, and the Cancel button cancels the loading operation. The less obvious + button appends a number to the file name (or if a number already exists, it increases the number by one) and loads the file with the new name .

A series of file names ending with the gif extension should ap­ pear in the scrolling file list. If no file appears in this list, you may have stored the sample Animator files on another drive or directory. Click a drive button (A : , B : , C : , and so on) to search other floppy disks or hard drive partitions. Click the button labeled to back up one current di­ rectory to the drive or directory in which the current directory resides. Or click the root directory button (\) to exit all subdirectories. The D i r : option box will update the name o f the current path a s you change drives and directories. If you cannot locate any picture files ending in a . g i f extension, you probably installed Animator incorrectly. Refer to Appendix A for an explanation of the complete installation procedure. To understand the file selector panel better, complete the follow­ ing experiment: •

•

You cannot select buttons or menus from the keyboard when a text entry marker appears on the screen.

•

1. Position the cursor inside the D i r : option box, then click. The thin vertical line inside the option box changes to a rectangle, called a text entry marker. Any letters that you type now appear in the Di r: option box.

2. Press the Backspace key. The marker moves to the left one charac­ ter , deleting the r i n c : \animator. Pressing the Backspace key with the text entry marker activated deletes individual charac­ ters. 3 . Now press the Esc key. This clears the entire option box. The Esc

key deletes all characters in an option box containing a text entry marker.

4. Type c : \ and press Enter. Notice that a text entry marker no longer appears in the option box. Also, the scrolling list now item­ izes the contents of the root directory of your C drive. Files with g i f extensions are not likely to be in the root directory, so only directory names (preceded by \ 's) should appear in the list. .

28

2-The Basics of Creating a Painting

5. Click on the name of the directory in the scrolling list containing

the Animator program (\animato r). This takes you back to the directory, much as a cd\ command would in DOS. Note that the scrolling list again contains files with g i f extensions. .

6.

Click on the word Dir:. You're back at the root directory. Click again, and you'll see the previous path name reappear in the option box. Clicking on Dir: toggles back and forth between the current path and the most recently entered path name.

7. Now click on the word Wi Ldca rd:. The contents of the Wi Ldca rd: option box change to*.*, which directs the scrolling list to display all files in the current directory, regardless of their extensions. Although many of the files in the list, such as AA. EXE, cannot be opened in Animator, it's often helpful to view the entire contents of a dir e ctory or drive. 8. To the left of the scrolling list is a scroll bar. Click on the down arrow at the bottom of the scroll bar. The arrow becomes high­ lighted, and the list scrolls downward one file name. You may notice that the black box inside the scroll bar (called the scroll box) shifts slightly downward. Click the down arrow a few more times, paying special attention to the file nam es and the scroll box. Then click the up arrow at the top of the scroll bar, and notice that it has an opposite effect. 9. You can also click inside the empty gray areas above and below the scroll box. If you click just under the scroll box, the list scrolls down one entire display, such that the file name after the last name in the list (prior to clic k ing) now becomes the first name in the list. Likewise, clicking in the scroll bar above the scroll box scrolls the list up an entire display. 10 . Now drag the black scroll box itself. The file names scroll up and down as you drag. This is probably the most efficient method for locating a file name in a long list. Clicking on an option in the file selector panel toggles the contents of the option box between the current specification and an alternate one.

11. Click on the word Wi ldca rd: again, toggling the contents of the option box back to *. g if. The scroll box grows to fill a larger por­ tion of the scroll bar since there are fewer files in the list. This is Animator's way of telling you that the number of files displayed represents a large percentage of the total number of files in the list. This may seem like a lot to remember just to locate a few files. But you'll become proficient with the file selector panel in a surprisingly short period of time. Now scroll to the bottom of the list of picture file names and select 29

Painting on the PC

wa l k . gi f by clicking on it. Press Enter or click the OK button to load the file into the computer's memory. After a moment, the file selector panel disappears and a photographic image of an astronaut space-walk­ ing fills the drawing area, as shown in Figure 2 . 5 . The Files panel also appears at the bottom of the window.

Figure 2.5 The image in the

wa l k . g i f file loaded

into the drawing area.

After loading a file, Animator redisplays the Files window, in­ stead of returning you immediately to the Home window, so that you can confirm your selection. If you are satisfied with your selection, as in this case, click the Exit button, or simply right-click in the drawing area, or press the Space bar to return home. If you want to make another selection, click the Load button to redisplay the file selector panel. You might think of the Files window as a way station where you can view your selection before accepting it.

Painting a Picture Mastering Animator's many painting features is a more difficult propo­ sition than loading a picture into the drawing area. For this reason, many of the features you'll experiment with in the rest of this chapter are explained more fully in Chapters 3, 4, and 5. 30

2-The Basics of Creating a Painting

Drawing and Undrawing Like most painting programs, Animator provides methods both for drawing images on the screen and for "undrawing" mistakes. (One of the easiest ways to delete a mistake is to click the Undo button.) The following example demonstrates step by step how to draw a simple rec­ tangle and then delete it from the screen:

If you

can't remember which buttons are ink buttons or where the mini-palette is, refer to Figures 1.1and 1.10 in the previous chapter.

1.

Select the Box tool by clicking on the Box button in the Home panel. Make sure that Opaque is selected from the ink buttons.

2. Select light blue from the mini-palette. (Click in the leftmost of the seven color boxes.)

3. Move the cursor to a spot above and to the left of the visor of the astronaut's helmet. Click at this point to fix the location of one of the rectangle's four corners. 4. A status line now appears at the top of the screen in place of the standard menu bar. Move the cursor down and to the right until the pair of numbers farthest to the right in the status line read 202 90, as shown i n Figure 2.6. Then click to fix the location of the rectangle's opposite corner.

Figure 2.6 The status line displays the coordinates of the cursor as

you draw

.

31

Painting on the PC 5 . A blue rectangle now covers the astronaut's face. Perhaps this is

not the result you anticipated. You wanted to modify the astro­ naut's helmet, not obliterate it. All is not lost. Click the Undo but­ ton in the lower left corner of the Home panel. The rectangle disappears and the drawing area appears j ust as it was b efore you drew the rectangle. Clicking the Undo button always "undoes" the most recent significant operation. But what is a "significant operation"? Designed to give you as much freedom to experiment as possible, the Undo button ignores mi­ nor operations, such as hiding or displaying panels. Thus, you can view a painting in many different ways without changing it permanently. The following example demonstrates this:

1. Sglect the Box tool if it is not alrgady sglgct9d. Sglgct thg Glass ink button.

2. Draw a rectangle in the same location as before so that it covers

the astronaut's visor. The result will be another light blue rectan­

3.

gle. It will be transparent because you selected the Glass ink. Press the Spacebar to hide the menu bar and Home panel and to get a better view of your drawing.

4 . Right-click anywhere on the screen to redisplay the menu bar and

Home panel. (Be careful not to left-click in the drawing area, since this would be interpreted by Animator as a new significant opera­ tion!)

5. Display the Pie menu (by moving the cursor over the word "Pie"

in the menu b ar) and choose the Files . . . command. Now click on

6. 7. 8.

the Load b utton in the Files panel. Click on Wi Ldc ard : several times, toggling the option between * - g i f and * · * and back again. Suppose you change your mind and decide not to load a new file

after all. Press the Spacebar twice to return to the Home window. Click the Undo button. The rectangle disappears! Despite hiding and displaying panels, choosing commands, and toggling options, you haven't performed one significant operation since you drew the rectangle. Since you didn't complete the Load operation, Ani­ mator ignored the actions leading up to it. The Undo command is obviously useful. But keep in mind that it

only removes the effect of your most recent manipulation. Suppose you draw a line. Then you draw another line . As soon as you begin to draw this second line, you lose the ability to undo the first line. The next

example demonstrates the full potential of the Undo button: 32

2-The Basics of Creating a Painting

A fter you undo an operation, you cannot undo the operation before it.

1.

Click Undo again. The transparent rectangle reappears. In this instance, your last significant operation was to choose the Undo command and delete the rectangle. Clicking the Undo button twice redoes your previous operation, which was to draw the transparent rectangle.

Double-click a file name in the file selector panel if you want to bypass the OK button when performing file opera­ tions.

2.

Choose the Files... command from the Pie menu. Click the Load button, then double-click on the portra i t . g i t file name in the scrolling list. Double-clicking on the file name to load it is the same as selecting the file name and pressing Enter.

3.

Press the Spacebar twice to hide all menus and panels and display only the drawing area. Only a woman's face and the cursor appear on the screen.

To undo an operation without using the mouse, press the Backspace key.

4.

Whoops! What were you thinking? You've loaded the wrong file, and now you want the astronaut back. Press the Backspace key, the keyboard equivalent of Undo, and the astronaut will reappear. Now that you've loaded a file-a significant operation-you can no longer undo the blue rectangle you've drawn over the astro­ naut's face.

Canceling a Drawing The Undo button and Backspace key are only one of several ways to correct a mistake in Animator. For example, Animator allows you to abandon an image in the middle of creating it simply b y right-clicking. Try the next example to see how this works: 1.

With the Box tool selected, click in the center of the American flag on the astronaut's shoulder.

2. Move the cursor around the screen. A rectangle with a dotted out­ line follows its movements, tracking the size and shape of your prospective rectangle. 3.

If you are creating an image with any tool that requires two clicks to complete its operation, simply right-click to cancel the creation process.

Suppose you had wanted to surround the American flag with the rectangle . By beginning the rectangle in the center of the flag you've foiled your plans. This wasn't obvious to you at first, but with the aid of the dotted rectangle, it is now. The only way to surround the flag accurately is to start over.

4. Now right-click. The dotted rectangle disappears, as does the sta­

tus bar. You have successfully canceled the process of creating an image with the Box tool.

33

Painting on the PC

Restoring a Picture What if you make a really big mistake-not just creating an odd rectan­ gle or loading the wrong file-but a mistake that entails several mouse operations? The answer is the Restore command in the Pie menu. The Restore command restores the drawing area to its appearance when you entered this frame. This command may seem odd to some experienced users, since it does not refer to the file as it was last saved. Rather, it is linked to your use of the frame icons. The following example demonstrates both how the command works and how it does not work: 1.

Select the Draw tool along with the V Grad ink. This tool and ink combination allows you to create free-form lines in a rainbow of colors.

2.

Click on the brush shape indicator in the top right corner of the Home panel. This increases the thickness of the single-pixel brush shape.

3. Press the Spacebar to give yourself a lot of room. Then go to town! Draw by dragging the cursor across the screen. Create as many images as you want, the more the better. Notice how your lines fade from one color to another, as shown in Figure 2 . 7 .

Figure 2 . 7 The V Grad (Vertical Gradation) ink allows you to

create multi-colored lines and shapes.

34

2-The Basics of Creating a Painting

If you can 't remember

4.

After you 've expressed yourself sufficiently, press the Spacebar to display the menu bar and Home panel. Suppose you dislike what you've drawn and want to start over with a clean astronaut. Using the mouse or keyboard, choose the Restore command from the Pie menu.

5.

O h no, the screen turned black! Not only did your lines disappear, but so did the astronaut. This is because this frame was empty initially. When you started working in Animator (many examples ago), the screen was empty, j ust as it is now, and that's the last image the Restore command remembers.

how to display a menu or choose a command, refer to the Menu Bar discussion in Chapter 1.

If you get an unexpected

result by choosing Restore, press Backspace or click the Undo button.

6. Lu ckily, you can undo the Restore command by clicking the Undo

button. In this case, it won't do much good since the screen was such a mess. So reload the file and try again, this time preserving an image you'll want to revert to in case of another crisis.

7. Choose the Files . . . command from the Pie menu and select the

Load button from the Files panel. Double-click o n the wa l k . g i t file to reload it onto the screen. After the image loads, press the Spacebar to return home.

8 . Click any of the frame icons, except the current frame indicator (the gray box with a number in it). If you click the play button (the one that looks like a double arrow), you'll have to right-click in the drawing area to regain control of the screen: Animator is try­ ing to play your single-frame animation sequence over and over again. 9. No matter which frame icon you clicked, you instructed Anima­ tor to leave frame number 1 and go to frame number 1. After all, a picture file only has one frame. As soon as you left the frame, how­ ever, Animator stored its image in a buffer on your hard disk . This is the same buffer the Restore command uses when rebuilding your screen, as you shall soon see.

10. Using the Draw tool, scribble all over the screen again. When it's as messy as you would want it, choose the Restore command from the Pie menu. Voila, the astronaut is restored to his original appearance. Click a frame icon before embarking on a risky experiment to ensure that the Restore command will return the screen to the current image.

Used properly, the Restore command can be a powerful tool. Sup­ pose you want to perform a series of operations but you're uncertain about the results. You might create a masterpiece, or you might create a mess. By clicking a frame icon prior to your experiment, you provide yourself a safety net to which you can retreat simply by choosing the Restore command.

35

Painting on the PC

Clearing the Screen If you inadvertently or mistakenly clear the drawing area, click the Undo button or press Backspace to bring your

Severe problems call for severe measures. If worse comes to worse, you can always erase the screen and start over. Choose the Clear command from the Pie menu or press the X key, and the entire drawing area will be returned to the key color, in this case, black.

artwork back.

Making Detailed Changes With sufficient practice, even novice computer artists can learn to draw with Animator's collection of tools and inks. Regardless of your skill level, it's unlikely you'll ever execute drawings perfectly. Stray pixels and jagged lines are a hazard inherent in any painting program. To remedy small problems, you must alter individual pixels. Because of their small size, however, editing single pixels is a feat few can manage, requiring miraculous dexterity and a keen eye. To cut down on your optometry bill, Animator provides a screen zoom feature that can magnify a section of your drawing area to twice or four times its normal size. To see the Zoom button in action, make sure WALK.GIF appears on your screen, then try the following example: 1 . Click the Zoom button, located directly above the Undo button in

2.

3.

The status bar is generally useful only when you are zooming a very specific area of your artwork.

4.

5.

36

the Home panel. The menu bar and Home panel disappear, replaced by a status bar and a dotted rectangle called a marquee, as shown in Figure 2.8. Only the portion of the drawing area inside the marquee will be magnified. Move the cursor. Nothing happens. Now click anywhere on the screen and move the cursor again. The marquee moves with the cursor. Clicking instructs Animator to move the marquee accord­ ing to your placement, allowing you to select the portion of your artwork to be magnified. As you move the marquee, watch the status bar at the top of the screen. The first pair of numbers (in parentheses) are the coordi­ nates of the top left corner of your marquee, measured in pixels from the top left corner of the drawing area. The second pair of numbers indicate the distance that you've moved the marquee. A negative number indicates that you've moved up or to the left; a positive number results from moving down or to the right. After you position the marquee where you want it, click to com­ plete the zoom operation. The area inside the marquee is magni-

j

2-The Basics of Creating a Painting

fied to twice its original size, as shown in Figure 2 . 9. In addition, the menu bar and Home panel reappear.

Figure 2.8 Clicking the Zoom button displays the marquee

and status bar.

Figure 2.9 The drawing area magnified to twice its normal size. 31

Painting on the PC

The Draw tool is the most useful tool for editing individual pixels in a magnified view.

6. You can paint with any tool in a magnified view, but you will

probably find the Draw tool most useful for detail work. Select the Draw tool and Opaque ink. Also select white from the mini-pal­ ette. Click inside the astronaut's helmet. A white dot appears where you clicked. You have j ust edited a single pixel. Now drag inside the helmet. See how you have more control in a magnified view?

7. To

return the view to normal size, click the Zoom button again

.

Animator allows you to magnify the drawing area by 200% or To change the magnification, or zoom level, right-click the Zoom button. A list of options, titled Set zoom L e ve l , appears at the bottom of the screen as shown in Figure 2.10. An asterisk indicates the current setting. To select a setting, click the option name or typ e the number that precedes the option name. 400%.

Figure 2.10 The zoom level options.

Complete the following experiment with different zoom levels: After right-clicking the Zoom button, select the Times 4 option. The menu disappears immediately. 2. Click the Zoom button, or press the Z key. 3. A smaller marquee appears this time, since a smaller amount of your drawing area is magnified at this zoom level. Cl i ck to grab

1.

Press the Z key to select the Zoom button from the keyboard.

38

2-The Basics of Creating a Painting

the marquee, and move it over the American flag on the astro­ naut's shoulder. 4. Click to magnify the area inside the marquee. Notice that the pix­

els are blown up to a large size, as shown in Figure 2 . 1 1 . Now paint with the Draw tool.

You can change the zoom level even when the drawing area Is already magnified.

5.

Right-click the Zoom tool again , displaying the zoom level options. Select the Times 2 option. The drawing area changes magnification immediately to twice normal view size.

6. Press the Z key again to return to normal view size.

Saving a Picture You never know when something will go wrong with your computer. A power surge or operation error could make Animator lock up or crash, and you could lose a substantial amount of work. It's a good idea to save your Animator file every fifteen minutes or so, not j ust when you've finished working on it. To save a painting, choose the Files . . . command from the Pie menu, j ust as you did when you loaded your artwork. When the Files panel appears, click the Save button or press the S key. The file selector panel will appear, its title bar reading Save a P i c t u r e ? .

Figure 2.11 A portion of t h e drawing area magnified

to four times normal size.

39

Painting on

the PC

Overwritin g a File Be careful when overwriting a file. You cannot undo a save operation.

If you are simply updating a file, you will probably want to save it to disk, using the same file name it had when it was loaded. In this case, simply click the OK button or press Enter to initiate the save operation. An alert box will appear, asking if you really want to overwrite the current version of that file on disk, as shown in Figure 2.12. To over­ write a file means to replace the old version of a file with a new version; as a result, you can no longer access the information contained in the old file. If there isn't information in the old file you'll want to access, click the Yes button or press the Y key. If you don't want to overwrite the file or you aren't sure, press the N key for No and return to the Files panel. Then click the Save button and follow the directions for saving a picture under a new name.

OVERWR I TE c : ,A N I MATOR,WA L K . G I F�

r Figure

YES

]

f

NO

.

,

�--

2.12 The alert box asks you if you want to overwrite an existing file on disk.

Savin g a Picture under a New Name If you don't want to lose an old file in the process of saving a new one, you must change the name in the F i L e : option of the file selector panel prior to clicking the OK button. There are three ways to do this:

40

2-The Basics of Creating a Painting When modifying a file name, do not change the extension, and remember that file names in DOS cannot exceed eight characters.

•

•

Clicking the + button is the easiest way to save a new version of a file without overwriting the old version.

•

Click in the F i L e : option box and modify the file name from the keyboard. Pressing the Backspace key deletes individual letters and pressing the Esc key deletes the entire file name. You can also use the left and right arrow keys to move the text entry marker back and forth inside the option box. Click on a different file name in the scrolling list to insert that file's name in the Fi L e : option box. You can then modify the new name or overwrite the file on disk currently using that name. Click the + button to add a number to the file name as it is saved. If the file name already ends in a number, clicking the + button adds 1 to the number as the file is saved.

You probably don't want to overwrite the astronaut picture on disk with the version you've been scribbling on, so click the + button. The file selector panel will disappear while Animator writes the file to disk. After a moment, the Files panel will reappear. Click the Save but­ ton to redisplay the file selector, and scroll down to the end of the file list. You'll see a new name at the bottom, wa L kO 1 g i f . If you clicked the + button again, Animator would save the file as wa L k02 . g i f , and so on. To quit the program and take a break, right-click in the drawing area to return home, then press the Q key to choose the Quit command. When the alert box appears (erroneously informing you that you have unsaved changes), press the Y key to select Yes and you will return to DOS. .

41

Painting on the PC

What You've Learned This chapter provided you with important firsthand experience using Animator. By experimenting with various options, you learned j ust about all there is to know about loading files, correcting mistakes, and saving files. Other features mentioned in this chapter will be covered in more detail in future chapters. Take a moment now to review the im­ portant points of this chapter: •

Loading a picture file from disk is a three-part process: 1) choose the Files . . . command from the Pie menu or press the P key fol­ lowed by the F key press the L key

3)

2)

click the Load button in the Files panel or

select a file from the scrolling list in the file

selector panel, then click the OK button or press Enter. •

The same file selector panel is displayed whether you are loading, deleting, or saving files. The only difference is the title bar, which always displays the specific action Animator will allow you to perform.

•

You can click the + button in the file selector panel to add a num­ ber to a file name as you load or save the file. This precautionary measure prevents you from overwriting the existing file when you save your changes. Note that there is no purpose in both load­ ing and saving the same file using the + button.

•

When you click inside an option box, a rectangular text entry marker appears, signifying that any text entered from the key­ board will display inside the option box, rather than activate com­ mands or buttons.

•

In an option box, press Backspace to delete a single character, press Esc to delete all characters.

•

Click the word D i r : in the file selector panel to toggle the display of the scrolling file list between the contents of the current direc­

tory and the contents of the root directory. Click Wi L d c a r d : to tog­ gle the display between files of the current type and files of any type. •

Use the arrows in the scroll bar to scroll up or down the scrolling file list one name at a time. Click in the empty area of the scroll bar to scroll ten names, or one display. Drag the scroll box to scroll up and down the list as you drag.

•

C licking the Undo command or pressing the Backspace key undoes the effects of your most recent operation, except saving a file.

42

2-The Basics of Creating a Painting

•

•

• •

•

Right-clicking generally cancels an operation if you are in the middle of performing it. The Restore command restores the drawing area to the way it looked when you entered the current frame. In the case of a sin­ gle-frame picture, the command restores your painting to the way it looked when you last clicked a frame icon. Pressing the X key clears the screen to the current key color. Click the Zoom button or press the Z key to magnify the drawing area to 200% or 400% of normal size. Right-click the Zoom button to change the zoom level. If you have doubts about overwriting an existing file when saving a file, don't overwrite it. It's better to have too many files on your disk than to delete a file you might need later. If you are certain you no longer need the file, delete it by clicking the Delete button inside the Files panel and selecting the file in the file selector panel.

43

T

H

R

E

E

Operating and Modifying Tools The previous chapter encouraged you to experiment with some of Ani­ mator's painting features. Now that you've had some fun, it's time to get down to business. Comprehensive information pertaining to Ani­ mator's tools and inks is contained in this chapter. You should read it carefully, because Animator's tool palette operates very differently than those in other painting programs. If you quit Animator as recommended at the end of the previous chapter, you will need to launch it as described in Chapter 1 . If the astronaut file from Chapter 2 was the last picture you worked on, the astronaut will appear i n the drawing area after you launch Animator. This is because Animator saves temporary files to your hard drive or disk as you work, as described below.

Resetting the Window As a precautionary measure, Animator saves temporary versions of your files to the drive specified using the Configure. . . command in the Extra menu. (For complete information about this command, refer to Appendix A.) When launched, Animator refers to these temporary files so that it can return you to where you left off when you last quit. If the astronaut file was the last file you worked on, it appears in the drawing area now. But what if you're not interested in working on the image dis­ played when you launch Animator? How do you get rid of it? Animator allows you to clear the drawing area and the Home panel settings at the 45

Painting on the PC

Whereas the Clear command merely erases the current drawing area, the Reset command clears the drawing area and resets all panels.

same time by choosing the Reset command from the Flic menu. Choose this com mand now. An alert box will appear, r eading Reset t o defa u l t . f l x ? . This message refers t o a document residing in the same directory as the Animator program. The DEFAULT.FLX file contains information about the default s ettings for the Home window as well as for other windows and panels throughout Animator. Click the Yes but­ ton or press the Y key to complete the command. The drawing area will appear black and the Home panel will dis­ play its original settings, as shown in Figure 3 . 1 . Original settings in­ clude: the Draw tool and Opaque ink are highlighted; the cluster bar contains a rainbow of colors; the Zoom button is not highlighted (indi­ cating that the drawing area is not magnified).

Figure

3.1 The Home panel reset to its original settings.

What Went Wrong? If your window looks exactly like Figure

3.1,

skip to the Using the Origi­

nal Tools section. If your settings don't match those in the figure, it is

because you, or someone else with access to the program, have changed the contents of the DEFAULT. FLX file using the Configure . . . command in the Extra menu, which is described in Appendix A. To restore the DEFAULT.FLX file to its original settings, complete the following steps:

46

3-0perating and Modifying Tools

1.

Choose the Files . . . command from the Pie menu.

2. After the Files panel appears, click the Delete button. The file selector panel appears and the title bar reads De l e te a f i l e ? .

Deleting the DEFAUL T. FLX file from the Animator directory allows you to restore the original default settings.

3.

Click o n W i L d c a r d : t o select * · *·

4.

Scroll down the file list until d e f au l t . f l x appears. Double-click this file name to delete it from your disk. An alert box appears asking if you really want to delete this file. Click Yes.

5.

Press the Spacebar to return home. Choose the Reset command from the Flic menu. Press the Y key in response to the alert box. After a moment, your window will be identical to the one shown in Figure 3 . 1 . Because you deleted the DEFAULT.FLX file, Animator was forced

to reset the window to its original default settings. You do not need to do anything to save these settings. Animator will automatically create a new DEFAULT.FLX file containing the default settings.

Using the Original Tools The six tools currently displayed in the Home panel are the Draw, Box, Poly, Text, Spray, and Fill tools. You experimented briefly with both the Draw tool and the Box tool in Chapter 2. In the next example you'll experiment with all six tools: 1.

If you make any mistakes using one of the tools, click the Undo button or press Backspace, then try again

The Draw tool is currently selected. Select the light green color from the mini-palette. By dragging inside the drawing area, draw a rough oval shape as shown in Figure 3.2. Make sure that the oval is complete; there should be no breaks in its outline.

2. Select the Box tool and the white color from the mini-palette. Cre­ ate two rectangles toward the top of the oval, as shown in Figure 3 . 3 . The two rectangles represent a pair of glasses on a face.

3 . Select the Draw tool and draw a small bridge between the two rectangles, completing the pair of glasses.

4. Now select the Poly tool, which allows you to create a polygon, a

name given to any shape with multiple straight sides. Also select orange from the mini-palette. Click with the cursor at about the middle of the bottom side of the left rectangle. Now move the cur­ sor upward to j ust below the bridge of the glasses and click again. Notice that an orange line connects your two click points.

47

Painting on the PC

Figure

3.2 Draw a rough oval using the Draw tool.

Figure 3.3

48

Create two white squares with the Box tool.

3-0perating and Modifying Tools Click with the Poly tool to establish each comer of a polygon, then right­ click to fill it.

5. Move the cursor and click at each of the other corner points shown in Figure 3.4. After clicking at the last point (identified in the figure by the cursor) , right-click. The polygon fills with orange, indicating that the shape is finished. This shape repre­ sents a bird's be ak.

Figure 3.4 Click at each corner of the beak with the Poly tool.

6.

Select the Fill tool , which is used to fill an outlined area with a selected color. Select blue from the mini-palette. Click anywhere in the black area inside the green oval. The entire shape fills with blue. If the background outside the shape fills with blue as well , there is a break in the outline of your oval. Press Backspace to undo the fill, use the Draw tool to repair the break in the outline, then fill the shape again.

7. Click inside any other areas that should be colored blue. For

exampl e, there is probably a small pocket of black between the bridge of the glasses and the beak. Click inside this area to fill it. 8. Select the Spray tool and the light green mini-palette color. The Spray tool acts like an airbrush, creating a spray of loose pixels as you drag the cursor across the screen. Drag in an area above the bird's head to create outrageous plumage, as shown in Figure 3 . 5 . Don't worry i f some of i t goes behind the menu bar.

49

Painting on the PC

" Figure

3.5

Give the bird some plumage with the Spray tool.

9. Finally, select the Text tool. Select white as the test color. To oper­ ate this tool, you first draw a box to delimit the amount of space that the text can occupy in the drawing area. Click with the cur­ sor about an inch below the Trace menu. A status bar will display in place of the menu bar. Move the cursor down and to the right until the pair of numbers inside the parentheses read 75 30,· which is the distance in pixels from the top left corner of the text box to the lower right corner. Click at this point. When the text entry marker appears inside a text box, any letters that

1 0.

on t h e lookout f o r t h i s b i rd ! As shown in Figure 3.6, the type

you type will appear on-screen.

The Home panel disappears and a white rectangle with a text

entry marker appears in the drawing area. Type the following: Be au tomati c ally

11.

wraps to fit inside the text box.

Position the cursor inside the text box and click. Now move the mouse; note that the text box moves with it. Click again to set the text box down at its new location. Click inside a text box to move it to a different position in the drawing area, then click again to fix it in place. Click outside a text box to change its size so that words wrap differently.

1 50

Click with the c urs o r outside the text box. The text box disap-

3-0perating and Modifying Tools

:e

•:• r1

-.e i; t' •:• r· t• l r··::I ! • .

l ·=.. =· f-:. ·=· •.J

Uu

s

Figure 3 . 6 Enter text onto t h e drawing area using t h e Text tool.

pears; then a short status bar appears. In addition, a pair of hori­ zontal and vertical dotted lines e manate from the cursor, as shown in Figure 3 . 7 . By clicking outside the text box, you have indicated to Animator that you want to resize the text box so that the type will wrap differently. Animator is now waiting for you to establish the first corner. Click at the point where the status bar reads 240 70, 240 pixels to the right and 70 pixels down from the upper left corner of the drawing area. The status bar expands to include the size of the text box and the coordinates of its bottom right corner. Move the cursor down and to the right until the numbers inside the parentheses read 50 60, then click again.

1 3 . The type wraps differently to fit into the new text box. Right-click anywhere to secure the type to the drawing area and redisplay the Home window.

Changing the Brush Shape Animator provides various controls to alter the effects of a tool. Fore­ most of these is the brush shape. In Chapter 2, you learned that the brush shape affects the thickness, or weight, of lines created with the Draw tool. The influence of the brush shape is not limited t o the Draw tool; in fact, it extends to almost every tool Animator offers.

51

Painting on the PC

Figure

Right-click the brush shape indicator to reduce or enlarge the weight of future lines by single-pixel increments.

3.7 Click outside the text box to resize it.

You may also recall that clicking on the brush shape indicator (the small dot in the upper right corner of the Home panel) toggles between a single-pixel brush and a brush 4-pixels thick. You can select additional brush sizes by right-clicking the brush shape indicator. You can set the brush shape to any size from a single pixel to 11 pixels wide. Try the following example to learn more about the brush shape:

1. Select the Draw tool. Click in the key color indicator (to the left of the mini-palette) to select black as the current color. To toggle the brush shape without using the mouse, press the B key.

2.

Press the B key to toggle the thicker brush shape. Pressing the B key is the same as die.ki ng the brush shape

3.

indicator.

Draw a smile on the bird's beak as shown in Figure 3 . 8.

4. Right-click o n the brush shape indicator. Animator displays a slider bar labeled Set brush s i ze, as shown in Figure 3.9. You adjust the slider bar much as you would a scroll bar. Click the left arrow to reduce the brush shape one pixel; click the right arrow to enlarge the brush shape one pixel. As the black slider box scoots back and forth, the number inside it changes to reflect the size of the current brush in pixels. You can also drag the slider box to resize the brush shape. If you click on an empty portion of the slider bar, the slider box moves to that spot. Using any of these

52

3-0perating and Modifying Tools

methods, move the slider box so that it reads 7, then press the Spacebar to hide the slider bar.

Figure 3.8 Draw a smile on the bird using a thick brush shape.

Figure 3.9

Set the brush shape slider bar to 7. 53

Painting on the PC

Of the six original tools, the brush shape affects only the Draw tool and the Spray tool, but you can modify the tools so that the Box and Poly tool are also affected.

Using the Spray tool with a heavy brush shape creates giant blobs of color. You can easily overwhelm your painting if you also use the Opaque ink.

5. With the Draw tool, click inside each of the white squares to give the bird eyes. 6. The brush shape also affects the Spray tool. Select the Spray tool and the Glass ink. Also select the color blue from the mini-palette. Press the Spacebar to hide the menu bar and Home panel so that you can view the entire drawing area. Drag around the edges of the drawing area to create a soft border for your painting, as shown in Figure 3.10. Notice that the cursor sprays giant blobs of deep blue as you drag. Since the Glass ink is transparent, the black background shows through the blue, creating a very dark color. If you want some lighter shades, click on areas that have already been painted. 7. Press the Space bar to redisplay the menu bar and Home panel. At this point, you may want to save your bird picture under the file name b i rd . g i f . If you have forgotten how to save a painting, refer to the directions at the end of Chapter 2.

Accessing Other Tools If Animator limited you to the six tools currently in the Home panel, with only the brush shape as a modifier, your painting capabilities would be severely handicapped. In fact, Animator offers 22 tools, each of which can be modified in several ways. This array of tools multiplies your capabilities dramatically. The Home panel contains six tool slots, into which you can plug any of Animator's 22 tools. To use a tool not currently displayed, you have to unplug one of the current tools, since only a single tool can occupy a slot. To access other tools or modify an existing tool, right-click a tool slot. For example, right-click the Box tool. The Drawing Tools panel will appear with the Box tool highlighted, as shown in Figure 3 . 1 1 . The Drawing Tools panel i s divided into the following sections, which are labeled in Figure 3 . 1 1 : •

•

54

The tool slots display the six tools a s they appear i n the Home panel. The current tool is highlighted. You can select a different tool slot by clicking on it. The scrolling tool list contains the names of all 22 Animator tools. Clicking on a tool name inserts that tool in the highlighted tool slot and in the Home panel.

3-0perating and Modifying Tools

Figure 3.10 Spray around the edges of the picture using the

Glass

ink and a heavy brush shape.

Scrolling tool list Tool slots . r

t ORFIW )f ' (. C I RC LE . l PO LY ·' CRAW OR I Z . I. SPRFIY '( BOX

I

1

EDGE FI LL F I L LTO

�i�e:

r-;i L:...! MOVE

' ORA�-I ING TOOLS BO:X: ) DRFtk' Ft R E CTFtNG LE •

.

TEXT

).

F I L L .•

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"c: -·. "· -5

USE S

CURRENT E:RUSH I F NOT ' F I L LEO . . .

D escnpt1on box

Mod ification option s

Figure 3.11 The sections of the Drawing Tools panel.

•

The description box explains how the current tool works. If you select a different tool in th e tool slots or the scrolling tool list, the

55

Painting on the PC

•

contents of the description box will change to correspond to that tool. You can modify how the current tool operates by changing set­ tings in the modification op ti on s. The modification options vary from tool to tool.

All of Animator's 22 tools and their modification options will be described fully in this chapter.

Modifying

a

Tool

To learn how the modification options work, complete the following example, which demonstrates how to modify the operation of the Box tool: 1. Return to the Home panel by pressing the Spacebar. Using the Box tool, create a rectangle around the text in the drawing area. To accomplish this: click above and to the left of the text, move the cursor to the opposite cor ne r then click again to create the shape. 2 . A transparent blue rectangle surrounds the text now, as shown in Figure 3 . 1 2 . Notice that although the brush shape in di ca tor remains set to 7 pixels, this has had no measurable effect on the ,

Figure 3.12 Surround the text with a transparent blue rectangle. 56

3-0perating and Modifying Tools

Box tool. By modifying the Box tool, however, you can bolster the brush shape 's influence. 3.

When the Filled button is not selected, a rectangle has an outline whose weight is deter­ mined by the brush shape.

Right-click the B o x tool to display the Drawing Tools panel. Notice the two modification options for this tool: the Filled button and the 2 Color button. Currently, the Box tool is set to create filled rectangles (rectangles with colored interiors). Click the Filled but­ ton to deactivate it. Now your rectangles will have no interiors, only colored borders.

4 . Press the Spacebar to return home. Notice that the F button in the

lower right corner of the Home panel is no longer highlighted, indicating that the fill function is turned off. Select lavender (light purple) from the mini-palette. Redraw the rectangle, tracing the transparent blue shape as closely as possible. The finished shape has a heavy outline, in accordance with the brush shape, but no

fill. Since the outline is transparent, you can see that some of the width of the outline overlaps the blue shape and some extends outside its boundaries. This is an indication that the blue rectan­ gle was assigned no outline. The 2 Color button produces an effect only if the Filled button is also highlighted.

5 . To create a rectangle that has both fill and an outlin e , you must select the 2 Color button. Right-click the Box tool to display the Drawing Tools panel and click on both the Filled and 2 Color but­ tons.

When the 2 Color button is selected, any shape you create will be filled with the current color and outlined with the rightmost color in the mini-palette.

6. Press the Spacebar to return home. Trace each of the two rectan­

You can also select and deselect the Filled button using the Filled (F) mode button in the Home panel.

gles that make up the lenses of the bird's glasses. You will create two new shapes that have lavender fills and white outlines, as shown in Figure 3 . 1 3 . How do you specify the color of the outline? Animator always uses the rightmost color in the mini-palette-in this case white-for the outline of a two-color shape.

The Filled and 2 Color buttons are common to all of Animator's shape tools. These tools include Box, Circl e , Oval, Petal, Poly, RPoly,

Shape, Spline, and Star. Selecting or deselecting either button for one tool selects or deselects it for all other tools as well. For example, if you select the 2 Color button for the Box tool, you will discover that it is also selected in the modification options of the Circle tool, the Oval tool, and so on.

Tool Descriptions This section explains how to operate and modify every tool in Anima­ tor. The tools are listed in alphabetical order. You should read through

57

Painting on the PC

Figure 3.13 Trace the bird's glasses using the Box tool with the 2

Color button selected.

the tool descriptions at least once to learn how each tool works, al­ though some of the descriptions repeat information you already know. After you have had time to experiment with the tools, you can use this section as a reference guide.

The Box Tool You can cancel the creation of a rectangle

Operation:

by right-clicking before

Click in the drawing area to fix the location of the first corner in a rectangle. The menu bar is replaced by a status bar containing coordinate information for this

you locate the opposite corner point.

rectangle. The coordinate information is updated as you move the cursor. A dotted rectangle shows the dimensions of the shape. Move the cursor to establish the size of the rectangle, then click to fix the location of the opposite corner. The completed rectangle now appears filled or outlined, in accordance with the mod­ ification options, and the menu bar reappears. Status bar:

When you establish the opposite corner point of a rec­ tangle, three pairs of numbers appear in the status bar. The first pair represents the location of the first corner

58

3-0perating and Modifying Tools

of the rectangle (the point at which you have already clicked) , as measured from the top l e ft corner of the drawing area. The second pair (in parentheses) repre­ sents the distance from the first corner of the rectangle to its opposite corner. The third pair represents the location of the opposite corner of the rectangle (the cur­ rent cursor location), as measured from the top left cor­ ner of th e drawing area. All measurements are in screen pixels. When the 2 Color button is selected, the color of a shape 's outline depends on the current ink. Many inks ignore the outline completely.

Modification:

The only modification options are the Filled and 2 Color buttons. When the Filled button is not high­ lighted-whether or not the 2 Color b utton is high­ lighted-you will create a shape wi th no fill and with an outline as heavy as the brush shape and colored in the current ink. When the Filled button is highlighted and the 2 Color button is not, you will create a shape filled with the current ink and with no outline. When both the Filled and 2 Color buttons are highlighted, you will create a shape filled with the cur­ rent ink and outlined in the current brush shape using a second inking technique. If the current ink is Add, Glass, Glaze, Opaque, and XOR, the outline is inked with the rightmost color in the mini-palette. If the ink is H Grad, L Grad, R Grad, or V Grad, an alternate gra­ dation effect is used to distinguish the outline. No dis­ tinction is made between the colors of the outline and the fill if the ink is Bright, Close, Dark, Emboss, Glow, Gray, Hollow, Jumble , Pul l , S crape, Smear, Soften, Spark, Split, Sweep, Tile, or Unzag.

Use:

You can use the Box tool to: •

Surround text with a rectangular border.

•

Create geometric sketches.

•

• •

•

Create rectangular or cityscape backgrounds for text and other images. Fill large areas with color. Create rectangular color overlays when you use it i n combination with the Glass ink. Erase images when you use it i n combination with the key color and the Opaque ink.

59

Painting on the PC

The Circle Tool You can cancel the creation of a circle by right-clicking after you establish the center point.

Operation:

Modification:

Use:

Click in the drawing area to pinpoint the center of a circle. As you move the cursor, an outlined circle expands or contracts, depending on the proximity of the cursor to the center point, as shown in Figure 3.14. Once the circle is the correct size, click to fix it in place. The completed circle appears filled or outlined, in accordance with the modification options. The only modification options are the Filled and 2 Color buttons. Refer to The Box Tool description for an explanation of these options. You can use the Circle tool to: • Sketch round objects, such as eyes and clocks. •

Create three-dimensional spheres when you use it in combination with the R Grad ink and other gradient inks.

The Draw Tool Operation:

Modification: Use:

Drag in the drawing area to create a free-form line with a consistent weight; drag as if you were drawing with a pencil on a sheet of paper. The line will be as heavy as the brush shape and colored in the current ink. There are no modification options for the Draw tool. The Draw tool is probably the most useful drawing tool in Animator. You can use the Draw tool to: • • •

•

Draw or sketch any image, regardless of shape. Add finishing touches to existing images. Repair or smooth out mistakes in a magnified view of the drawing area. Erase images when you use it in combination with the key color and the Opaque ink.

The Driz. (or Drizzle) Tool Operation:

60

Drag in the drawing area to create a free-form line whose weight varies depending on how fast the cursor moves; drag as if you were drawing with a traditional

3-0perating and Modifying Tools

Figure 3.14 Cre ating a circle with the Circle tool.

paintbrush. When you draw slowly, the line appears as heavy as the current brush shape. When you draw quickly, the line becomes thinner, sometimes as thin as a single pixel, as shown in Figure 3 . 1 5 . Thick brush shapes produce the most dramatic effects.

For best results, use the Drizzle tool in combi­ nation with a brush shape at least four points thick.

A line drawn with the Drizzle tool is colored in the current ink.

Modification:

There are no modification options for the Drizzle tool.

Use:

Like the Draw tool, the Drizzle tool is a useful drawing tool . You can use the Drizzle tool to: •

Create lines in a calligraphic style.

•

Draw natural images, such as a river.

•

•

Create smoke or clouds when you use it in combina­ tion with the Glass ink. Trail off images to indicate motion in an animated sequence.

The Edge Tool Operation :

Click o n an image in the drawing area to surround that

image, and all other images of the same color, with a 61

Painting on the PC

Figure 3.15 A line created with the Drizzle tool and a 1 0-pixel, or 10-point, brush shape.

Figure 3.16 Clicking on an image with the Edge tool outlines all areas that have the same color as that image.

62

3-0perating and Modifyng i Tools

thin outline in the current ink. In Figure 3 . 1 6, all the rectangles are the same color. If you click on one of the rectangles with the Edge tool, the current ink outlines every point at which that rectangle meets an image of a different color.

The brush shape does not affect the weight of the outline created with the Edge tool.

Modification :

There are no modification options for the Edge tool.

Use:

The Edge tool is powerful but limited in scope. You can use the Edge tool to: •

•

•

•

Separate images from one other in a cluttered pic­ ture. Make an image heavier by surrounding i t with a matching color. C reate highlights around i mages to convey the appearance of back-lighting. Outline large type.

The Fill Tool Operation :

Click on an image in the drawing area to fill it with the current ink . All adjacent pixels of the same color will be affected.

Modification:

There are no modification options for the Fill tool.

Use:

The Fill tool doesn't do much, but it's used so widely that it's indispensable. You can use the Fill tool to: •

Add color to a sketch.

•

C hange the color of an image quickly.

•

Fill free-form lines with gradated colors Grad ink or other gradient inks.

using the V

The Fillto Tool You can cancel filling the area inside a boundary by rightclicking before you click inside the boundary.

Operation:

Click on the boundary of the area that you want to fill. Then click inside the boundary to begin the fill. The entire area within a single-color boundary will be filled with the current ink, even if that means filling areas of different colors. Note that a boundary can be noncon­ tinuous. Figures 3 . 1 7 and 3 . 1 8 show before and after shots of using the Fillto tool.

Modification:

There are no modification options for the Fillto too1. 63

Painting on the PC flN I MATO R

F l. I C

PIC

CE L.

TR ACE

SWAP

EXTR A

Figure 3.17 First click with the Fillto tool on the boundary of the area you want t o fill.

AN I MATOR:

Figure

64

F L. I C

P IC

3.18 Then click inside the boundary and the entire area

will be filled with the current ink.

3-0perating and Modifying Tools

The Fillto tool is the Fill tool's more powerful relation. You can use it to perform any of the Fill tool's functions and to:

Use:

• •

•

Erase areas inside an image. Tint a portion of the drawing area when you use i t in combination with the Glass ink. Reapply a gradation to the interior of an image, or delete a gradient fill.

The Gel Tool Operation:

Dra g in the drawing area to create a free-form line,

whose edges blend with its background, as shown in

Figure 3. 19. A variation on this is shown i n Color Plate 2. When the Gel tool is used with a heavy brush shape,

the ink is applied to the drawing area as a series of four concentric, increasingly transparent circles.

Figure 3.19 The word was drawn with a 2-point brush shape and the R Grad ink. The line underneath was drawn with a thicker brush shape.

Modification:

There are no modification options for the Gel tool. 65

Painting on the PC

Us e :

The Gel tool is an extraordinary special effects tool. You can use the Gel tool to: •

• •

Create highlights when you use it in combination with a thick brush shape, the Glass ink, and white. Write in neon letters. D raw natural concentric images quickly, such as raindrops.

The Line Tool You can cancel the creation of a straight line by right-clicking before you establish the second endpoint.

Operation:

Click in the drawing area to fix the location of the first

endpoint in a straight line. The menu bar is replaced by a status bar, which contains coordinate information about your straight line, as shown in Figure 3.20. The coordinate information is updated as you move the cur­ sor. Also as you move the cursor, a thin line increases in length and changes direction, depending on the proximity of the cursor to the endpoint. Once the line is the correct length and angle, click to fix it in place. The weight of th e completed line corresponds to the current brush shape. The menu bar now reappears.




WID

1 87 HGT

94

< 245

41)

DEG

63 RAD 207

Figure 3.20 Drawing a straight line with the Line tool.

66

3-0perating and Modifying Tools

Status bar:

After you establish the first end point of a line, four pairs of numbers appear in the status bar. The first pair (in parentheses) represents the location of the first end­ point of the straight line (the point at which you have already clicked) , as measured from the top left corner of the drawing area. The second pair represents the dimensions of an imaginary rectangle, drawn from the first endpoint of the rectangle to the current cursor location. The third pair (in parentheses) represents the location of the second endpoint of the line (the current cursor location) as measured from the top left corner of the drawing area. The fourth pair includes the angle of the straight line, as measured in degrees (counterclock­ wise from 3 o'clock), and the length (or radius) of the line from endpoint to endpoint. All measurements, except the angle, are in screen pixels.

Modification:

There are no modification options for the Line tool.

Use:

You can use the Line tool to: • •

•

Emphasize text with an underline. Insert rules between lines of text to make them more legible and more visually interesting. Label an image by drawing a line from the image t o a block of text.

•

Create geometric sketches.

•

Connect images with straight lines.

The Move Tool Operation:

You can cancel the movement of an image by right-clicking any time after you first click with the Move tool.

This tool is used to move images from one area of the drawing area to another. You specify the portion of the drawing area that you want to move by drawing a mar­ quee around it. Click in the drawing area to fix the location of the first corner of the marquee. The menu bar is replaced by a status bar, which contains coordinate information about your marquee, as shown in Figure 3 . 2 1 . The coordinate information is updated as you move the cur­ sor. A dotted rectangle indicates the dimensions of the marquee. Move the cursor so that the marquee sur-

67

Painting on the PC rounds the image you want to move, then click to fix the location of the opposite corner of the marquee.

Figure

3.21 Surround the portion of the drawing area that you

want to move with a marquee.

After you complete the marquee, the Home panel disappears and a new status b ar is displayed. Click inside the marquee to pick up the image, then move the cursor to move the image. All areas inside the mar­ quee that match the key color will be clear, as shown in Figure 3 . 2 2 , as long as the K (Clear Key Color) mode button in the lower right co rn er of the Home panel is highlighted. If the K button is not highlighted, the key color will be opaque. For more information about this mode button, see Chapter 6. After moving the marquee to its new position, click to fix it in place. The menu bar and Home panel now reappear.

Status bar:

The status bar that appears when you create a marquee is identical to the one that appears when you create a rectangle. When you move the marquee, two pairs of num­ bers appear in the status bar. The first pair (in paren­ theses) represents the location of the cursor as

68

3-0perating and Modifying Tools

Figure 3.22 Portions of the marquee i n the key color will appear clear when moved because the K mode button is highlighted.

measured from the top left corner of the drawing area. The second pair (in parentheses) represents the relative distance from the point at which you clicked to the cur­ rent cursor location; in other words, the second pair records the distance you moved the image. All measurements are in screen pixels.

Modification:

There are no modification options for the Move tool.

Use:

The Move tool is used strictly to move a rectangular portion of the drawing area from one location to another.

The Oval Tool You can cancel the creation of an oval by right-clicking any time after you establish the first point.

Operation:

Click in the drawing area to fix the location of some point in the outline of a circle. As you move the cursor, an outlined circle expands or contracts, depending on the proximity of the cursor to the first point. Once the circle is the correct size, click to fix its position in the drawing area. As you move the cursor again, the circle stretches and rotates into an oval, as shown in Figure 3 . 2 3 . Once the oval is correctly angled, click to fix it in 69

Painting on the PC

place. The completed oval appears filled or outlined, in accordance with the modification options.

Figure 3.23 The initial circle created with the Oval tool is stretched and rotated into an oval.

Modification:

Use:

The only modification options are the Filled and 2 Color buttons. Refer to The Box Tool description for an explanation of these options. You can use the Oval tool to: • Create sketches for ovoid objects, such as eggs and faces. •

Create three-dimensional ellipses when you use it in

combination with the R Grad ink and other gradient inks. •

Establish a tweenable shape for animation purposes. See Chapter 10 for more information.

The Petal Tool Operation:

Click in the drawing area to fix the location of the cen­ cursor, an

ter of a symmetrical flower. As you move the

70

3-0perating and Modifying Tools

outlined flower expands or contracts, depending on the proximity of the cursor to the center point, as shown in Figure 3 . 24 . Once the flower is the correct size, click to fix it in place. The completed flower appears filled or

You can cancel the creation of a flower by right-clicking after you establish the center point.

outlined, in accordance with the modification options.

Figure 3.24 Creating a flower with the Petal tool.

Modification:

The first two modification options are the Filled and 2 Color buttons. Refer to The Box Tool description for an explanation of these options. Animator displays the second pair of options as slider bars, as shown in Figure 3 . 2 5 . By moving the slider box inside the Inner Radius Ratio slider bar, you can set the ratio between two distances: the distance from the center of the flower to the intersection of any two petals, and the distance from the center to the out­ side tip of any petal. A small ratio makes for elongated petals while a large ratio makes for a less articulated flower, as shown in Figure 3 . 2 6. The ratio can vary between 0 (petals only) and 100 (a circle). By moving the slider box inside the Points slider bar, you can determine the number of petals in the flower. The number of petals can range from 3 to 3 2 .

71

Painting on the PC

I F I L LED I 1 e coLOA: 1

It-I 1

POI NTS.:

Figure 3.25 The modification options for the Petal tool.

Figure 3.26 A flower created with a ratio of 10 and a flower

created with a ratio of 75.

Use:

You can use the Petal tool to: •

72

Sketch flowers and plumes.

3-0perating and Modifying Tools

•

Establish a tweenable shape for animation purposes. See Chapter 10 for more information.

The Poly (or Irregular Polygon) Tool The only way to cancel an irregular polygon is to complete it, then press Backspace to undo

Opera ti o n :

An irregular polygon is an unsymmetrical shape with any number of straight sides. Click in the drawing area to fix the location of the first corner point in the poly­ gon. As you move the cursor, a thin line increases in length and changes direction, depending on the prox­ imity of the cursor to the point. Once this first line is the correct length and angle, click to establish a second corner point. Now as you move the cursor, two straight lines track your movements. Continue to click to estab­ lish additional corner points and straight lines. After creating the last corner point, right-click to fix the shape in place. The completed polygon appears filled or outlined, in accordance with the modification options. If the sides of an irregular polygon overlap, as in the case of a five-pointed star, the enclosed areas will be treated as if outside the shape, and will not be filled, even if the Filled button is highlighted. Create a five­ pointed star to observe this.

Modification:

To see the effect of selecting the Closed button, you must

deselect the Filled

button.

The first two modification options are the Filled and 2 Color buttons, which are common to all shape tools. Refer to The Box Tool description for an explanation of these options. Another modification option is the Closed button. When highlighted, this button ensures that all polygons are closed shapes. The first point and last point are always connected by a straight line. If the but­ ton is not highlighted, you can create an open polygon, in which the first and last points are not connected. The Closed button is common to the Irregular Polygon and Spline tools. Selecting or deselecting it for one tool selects or deselects it for the others as well. The remaining modification options are the Reuse, Tween, and Files buttons. These buttons do not work by changi ng the effect of a tool. Therefore, they do not appear highlighted when selected; rather, they produce an immediate effect. 13

Painting on the PC

Figure 3.27 The modification options for the Irregular Polygo n tool.

Clicking the Reuse button allows you to edit the most recent shape created with any tweena ble shape tool , including the Oval, Petal, Poly, RPoly, Shape, Spi­ ral, Spline, and Star tools. Click the Reuse button now. The Drawing Tools panel disappears and points assigned to the shape appear in the drawing area. Click on any point to activate it. As you move the cursor to a new location, the point moves with it. Click again to fix the point in its new location. Keep moving points in this manner until the shape conforms precisely to your intentions. Right-click to stop editing the shape and

return to the Drawing Tools panel. You might think of

the Reuse button as an Undo button that fixes the most recent image, rather than deleting it. C licking the . Tween button displays a list of options labeled Tween i ng opt i ons. These options are used to create automated animation sequences with the polymorphic tweening technique. Complete infor­ mation about these options is included in Chapter 10. Clicking the Files button displays the Files panel with the Polygon button highlighted. C licking the

14

3-0perating and Modifying Tools

Load, Save, or Delete button on the Files panel displays the file selector panel. You can then specify a file name and location for an irregular polygon that you want to load, save, or delete . The Reuse , Tween, a n d Files buttons a r e e x ­ plained in more detailed in Chapter 1 0 .

Use:

T h e Irregular Polygon tool i s t h e most versatile shape tool in Animator. You can use the Irregular Polygon tool to: •

Create geometric sketches and images, simple or complex.

•

Add irregular corners and lines to existing images.

•

Create geometric lettering.

•

•

Erase images when you use it in combination with the key color and the Opaque ink. Establish a tweenable shape for animation purposes. See Chapter 1 0 for more information.

The RPoly (or Regular Polygon) Tool You can cancel the creation of a regular polygon by right-clicking after you establish the center point.

Operation:

Click in the drawing area to fix the location of the cen­ ter of a regular polygon (a shape with straight sides of equal length, including a triangle, diamond, pentagon, hexagon, and so on). As you move the cursor, an out­ lined polygon expands or contracts, depending on the proximity of the cursor to the center point, as shown in Figure 3.28. Once the polygon is the correct size, click to fix it in place. The completed regular polygon appears filled or outline d , i n accordance with the mod-

ification options.

Modification:

The first two modification options are the Filled and 2 Color buttons. Refer to The Box Tool description for an explanation of these options. Animator displays the Points option as a slider bar, as shown in Figure 3.29. By moving the slider box inside the Points slider bar, you can determine the number of sides in the polygon. Three sides produce a triangle, four produce a diamond, and so on. This num­ ber can range from 3 to 32.

15

Painting on the PC

Figure 3.28

J

l

Creating a hexagon with the Regular Polygon tool.

F I L LE'.D -

;;:: CO Le.R: .

Figure 3.29 76

,

l

'

·

J�J . 18.

The modification options for the Regular Polygon tool.

·

l-i+

3-0perating and Modifying Tools

Use:

You can use the Regular Polygon tool to: • •

•

Create multi-sided symmetrical shapes. Draw familiar geometric images quickly, such as the octagon of a stop sign. Establish a tweenable shape for animation purposes. See Chapter 10 for more information.

The Sep. (or Separate) Tool Operation:

This tool is used to replace all occurrences of one or more specified colors in the drawing area with the cur­ rent ink. This tool operates identically to the Separate command in the Pie menu, first discussed in Chapter 2. Click in the drawing area to select a single color to be changed. Drag in the drawing area to change all col­ ors that fall under your drag. The colors are changed in accordance with the modification options.

Modification :

There are several unique modification options for the Separate tool, as shown in Figure 3.30. The first three buttons-Single, Cluster, and Near-determine which colors in the drawing area will be replaced. Only one of these buttons can be in effect at a time. If the Single

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Figure 3.30 The modification options for the Separate tool. 11

Painting on the PC

button is highlighted, only those colors on which you click or drag will be replaced. If the Cluster button is highlighted, clicking in the drawing area will replace all on-screen occurrences of colors contained in the cluster b o x (under the mini-palette) , regardl ess of where you click. This allows you to erase or replace gradations created with the V Grad ink or another gra­ dient ink. If the Near button is highlighted, all colors similar to those colors on which you click or drag will be replaced. You can determine the sensitivity of the Near but­ ton by moving th e slider box inside the Near Threshold slider bar. The number in the slider box determines how close the value of one color must be to the value of another, measured as a percentage. A 1 % threshold replaces only those colors that are identical to the col­ ors on which you click or drag; a 1 00% threshold replaces aU colors. For more information on color the­ ory, see Chapter 5 . The Boxed button changes the manner i n which you select colors on-screen. If the Boxed button is not highlighted, the entire drawing area will be affected by the Separate tool. If the Boxed button is highlighted, you can select a specific portion of the drawing area to be affected by enclosing it with a marquee. Click in the drawing area to fix the location of the first corner of the marquee. The menu bar is replaced by a status bar, like the one describ e d in The Box Tool section. The status bar contains coordinate information about the mar­ que e , which is updated as you move the cursor. A

When the Boxed button is highlighted, you can cancel the replacement operation by right­ clicking any tim e after you first click with the tool.

dotted rectangle indicates the dimensions of the mar­

quee. Move the cursor so that the marquee surrounds th e portion o f th e drawing area you want to change, then click to fix the location of the opposite corner of the marquee. Now that you have specified a replace­ ment area, you must tell Animator which colors to replace by clicking or dragging in the drawing area per normal tool operation. All modification options for the Separate tool also affect the operation of the Separate command in the Pie menu.

Use: 78

The Separate tool is used strictly to replace colors in the drawing area with the current ink.

3-0perating and Modifying Tools

The Shape Tool Opera tion:

Drag in the drawing area to create the outline of a free­ form shape. Drag as if you were drawing with the Draw tool . After you release the mouse button, the com­ pleted shape appears filled or outlined, in accordance with the modification options. If the sides of a free -form shape overlap, all enclosed areas are treated as outside the shape, and are not filled, even if the Filled button is highlighted.

Modification:

The only modification options are the Filled and 2 Color buttons. Refer to The Box Tool description for an explanation of these options.

Use:

The Shape tool is basically a free-form version of the Poly tool. You can use the Shape tool to: •

• •

•

Draw or sketch images, with no restriction on the shape of the images. Add finishing touches to existing images. Erase images when you use it i n combination with the key color and the Opaque ink. Establish a tweenable shape for animation purposes. See Chapter 10 for more information.

The Spiral Tool Operation: You can cancel the creation of a straight line by right-clicking before you establish the opposite endpoint.

The Spiral tool is used to create curved lines. You first create a straight line, then you bend it. Click in the drawing area to fix the location of the first endpoint i n a straight line. The menu bar is replaced by a status bar, which contains coordinate information about the straight l in e . As you move the cursor, the coordinate information is updated. Also as you move the cursor, a thin line increases i n length and changes direction, depending on the proximity of the cursor to the endpoint. Once the line is the correct length and angle, click to fix the location of the second endpoint. The line now changes to a dotted line which be nds according to the movement of the cursor, as shown i n Figure 3 . 3 1 . The s tatus bar displays the degree of arc produced by the line. When you are satis-

79

Painting on the PC

fied with the curved line, click to fix it in place. The weight of the completed line corresponds to the current brush shape. The menu bar now reappears. To make a spiral shape, follow the same procedure, but move the cursor in a spiral direction.

Figure

Status bar:

3.31 Drawing a curved line with the Spiral tool.

The status bar that appears when you first click with the Spiral tool is identical to the status bar that appears when you create a straight line. Refer to The Line Tool description for an explanation of this status bar.

Modification:

There are no modification options for the Spiral tool.

Use:

The Spiral tool is basically a curved version of the Line tool. You can use the Spiral tool to: • •

Emphasize text with a curved underline. Label an image by drawing a curved line from the image to a block of text.

•

Connect ima ges with curved lines.

•

Piece together precise curving images as if you were using a traditional French curve.

80

3-0perating and Modifying Tools

The Spline Tool The only way to cancel a spline curve is to complete the shape, then press Backspace to undo.

Operation :

A spline curve is an unsymmetrical shape with any number of curved sides. Click in the drawing area to fix the location of the first point in the spline curve . As you move the cursor, a thin line increases in length and changes direction, depending on the proximity of the cursor to the point. Once this first line is the correct length and angle, click to establish a second point. Now as you move the cursor, two lines bow out from these points to track your movements. Continue to click to establish additional points and curved lines. After establishing the last point, right-click to fix the shape in place. The completed spline curve appears filled or outlined, in accordance with the modification options. If the sides of a spline curve overlap, all enclosed areas are treated as outside the shape, and are not filled, even if the Filled button is highlighted.

Modification:

A tension setting below -6 or above 7 tends to produce excessive curves which are difficult to control.

The modification options include the Filled and 2 Color buttons, which are common to all shape tools . Refer to The Box Tool description for an explanation of these options. Like the Poly tool, the Spline tool is also equipped with Closed, Reuse, and Tween buttons. Refer to The Poly (or Irregular Polygon) Tool description for more information about these options. The remaining modification options are displayed as slider bars. The Tension slider bar (labeled Tens) determines the curvature of lines. A tension of 5 is no curvature at all. A tension of -3 produces circular curves. Tensions above 5 force lines to curve backward on top of themselves, as demonstrated by the first shape in Figure 3.33. Tensions less than -3 force lines to curve well beyond their established points, as dem­ onstrated by the second shape in Figure 3 .33 (the points of which were displayed by clicking the Reuse button). The Continuity slider bar (labeled Cont) controls the angle at which all lines in a spline curve exit and enter their points. A positive continuity forces lines to bulge out from their points, as demonstrated by the first shape in Figure 3 . 34. A negative setting forces lines to collapse inward, as demonstrated by the second shape in Figure 3.34. 81

Painting on the PC

Figure

Figure

82

3.32 The modification options for the Spline tool.

3.33 Two spline curves, one created with the tension set to 10, the other created with the tension set to -8.

3-0perating and Modifying Tools

Figure 3.34 Two spline curves, one created with the continuity set to 1 2 , the other created with the continuit y set to -1 2.

The Bias slider bar rotates the axis about which each line on a point is symmetrical. In other words, there's an imaginary axis cutting through th e center of each point . Each line enters or exits the point at the same angle with respect to this axis (specified using the Continuity bar). By moving the slider box inside the Bias slider bar, you can rotate the axis clockwise or counterclockwise so t h at a line enters a point at a slightly different angle than the next l ine exits the point. You might think of the Bias slider bar as a "cock­ eye control," since it's used to offset the balance of the final spline curve. Each slider bar in the Spline tool mo dification options can range in value from -20 to 2 0 .

Right-click the Tension, Continuity, or Bias slider bar to reset its slider box to O.

Use:

The Spline tool i s basically a curved version of the Poly tool. You can use the Spline tool to: •

•

Create curving geometric sketches and images, both simple and complex. Piece together precise curving images, as if you were using a traditional French curve.

83

Painting on the PC

•

Establish a tweenable shape for animation purposes. See Chapter 10 for more information.

The Spray Tool You can achieve spectacular results using the Spray tool when you use it in combination with the mask options, described in Chapter 6.

Operation :

Drag in the drawing area to create a free-form spray of loose pixels. Drag as if you were painting with a tradi­ tional airbrush. When you draw slowly, the spray is saturated. When you draw quickly, the spray is airy. The size and speed of the Spray tool can be adjusted using the modification options. The size of individual dots of spray is determined by the current brush shape.

Modification;

The two

Figure 84

options for the Spray tool are displayed as

slider bars, as shown in Figure 3 . 3 5 . By moving the slider box inside the Air Speed slider bar, you can determine how fast the Spray tool covers pixels as you draw. This slider bar can be set between 1 and 1 00. The Spray Width slider bar controls the diameter of the cir­ cular boundary of the spray, measured in pixels. This slider bar can be set as high as 3 2 0 pixels, a diameter wide enough to spray the entire drawing area at once.

3.35

The modification options for the Spray tool.

3-0perating and Modifying Tools

Use:

Like the Drizzle tool, the Spray tool is a unique special effects device. You can use the Spray tool to: • •

• •

Create realistic shading effects. Create a background of stars or city lights quickly after setting the Spray Width slider b ar to 320 pixels. Create smoke or clouds. Trail off images to indicate motion in an animated sequence.

The Star Tool You can cancel the

creation of a star by

Operati on:

right-clicking after you establish the center point.

Click in the drawing area to fix the location of the cen­ ter of a symmetrical star. As .you move the cursor, an outlined star expands or contracts, depending on the proximity of the cursor to the center point, as shown in Figure 3 . 3 6. Once the star is the correct size, click to fix it in place. The completed star appears filled or out­ lined, in accordance with the modification options.

Figure

Modification :

3.36

Creating a star with the Star tool.

The first two modification options are the Filled and 2 Color buttons. Refer to The Box Tool description for an 85

Painting on the PC

explanation of these options. The two slider bars are identical to those included with the Petal tool. See The Petal Tool description for an explanation of these options.

Use :

You can use the Star tool to: •

Sketch stars and explosions.

•

Surround text with blast lines to add impact to your message.

•

Establish a tweenable shape for animation purposes. See Chapter 10 for more information.

The Streak Tool For best results, vary your speed from fast to slow as you draw with the Streak tool.

Operation:

Drag in the drawing area to create a free-form, dotted line. The distance between each dot depends on how fast you move the cursor. When you draw slowly, the line appears solid, as if it were created with the Draw tool. When you draw quickly, the line becomes broken,

as shown in Figure 3.37. The dots which constitute a line drawn with the Streak tool are the size of the brush shape and colored in the current ink.

Figure 3.37 A line created with the Streak tool and a 7-point

brush shape.

86

3-0perating and Modifying Tools

Modification:

There are no modification options for the Streak tool.

Use:

You can use the Streak tool to: •

•

•

Sketch images when you use it in combination with a one-point brush shape. Draw lines that represent motion, especially in ani­ mated sequences. Create type that appears to be made up of small light bulbs, like letters on a store front.

The Text Tool Operation:

The Text tool is used to create type in the drawing area. First you create a box to hold the type, then you enter the text from the keyboard. Click in the drawing area to fix the location of the first corner of the text box. The menu bar is replaced by a status bar containing coordi­ nate information about the text box. The coordinate information is updated as you move the cursor. A rec­ tangle indicates the dimensions of the shape. Move the cursor to determine the size of the text box, then click to fix the location of the opposite corner. The com­ pleted text box now appears with a text entry marker; whatever you type will appear in the drawing area. After you fill up the length of the text block, the text entry marker drops down, or wraps, to the next line and the text continues there. If you enter text past the last line in the text box, the text in the box scrolls up and the first line of text becomes hidden (but not lost) . You can m o ve the text entry marker, scroll text, or edit text by pressing the following keys: •

•

•

•

The right or left arrow key moves the marker for­ ward or backward one character. The Home or End key moves the marker to the beginning or end of a line. The up or down arrow key moves the marker up or down one line of type. You can also force the text to scroll up or down if the type exce eds the limits of the text box. The Page Up or Page Down key scrolls the marker up

87

Painting on the PC

or down one complete display (if the type exceeds the boundaries of the box) . •

The Backspace key deletes the character to the left of the marker; the Delete key deletes the letter beneath the marker.

If you click with the cursor inside the text box, you can move the text box to a new location in the drawing area; a second click fixes it in place. You can resize the text box by clicking outside it. Click outside the text box now. Vertical and horizontal dotted lines appear on the screen, permitting you to respecify the location of the first corner of the text box. Move the cursor to redetermine the size of the text box, then click to fix the location of the opposite corner.

You can cancel the creation of a text box by right-clicking before you establish the opposite corner point.

Complete the text block by right-clicking while the text box is displayed. The text now appears in the current ink and font, and th e box around the text is hidden. The menu bar reappears.

After you load or edit text, click the Reuse button to apply the text to the drawing area.

Status ba r :

The status bar that appears after you first click with the Te xt tool is identical to the status bar that appears when you create a rectangle. Refer to The Box Tool description for an explanation of this status bar.

Modification:

Five buttons are included in the Text tool modification options, as shown in Figure 3.38. Each of these buttons produces an immediate effect when selected. The Reuse button is used to edit text in the text buffer and apply it to the drawing area. The contents of the text buffer will be the most recent text entered using the Text tool, or the most recent text loaded into memory by clicking the Edit or Load buttons. Click the Reuse button now. The Drawing Tools panel disappears and a text box filled with the contents of the text buffer appears in the drawing area. You can edit the type, or move or resize the text box, a s described in the Opera­ tion paragraph. Right-click to fix the text box in place and redisplay the Drawing Tools panel. The Edit button is used to edit text in the text buffer without applying it to the drawing area. Click the Edit button now. The Drawing Tools p,anel and all images currently in the drawing area disappear, and a white text box loaded with the contents of the text

88

3-0perating and Modifying Tools

$'./STEM

Figure 3.38 The modification options for the Text tool.

buffer appears in the drawing area. You can edit the type, or move or resize the text box, as described i n the Operation paragraph. Right-click to save the text to the buffer and redisplay the Drawing Tools panel. The text no longer appears i n the drawing area. Click the Load button to display a file selector panel reading Load t e x t ? . You can specify the location and file name of the text file you want loaded into the text buffer. Formatted text cannot b e loaded into Ani­ mator. C lick the Save button to display a file selector panel reading Save t e x t ? . You can save the contents of the text buffer to disk under a specified file name and location. Font information cannot be saved. Click the Font button to display a file selector panel reading S e l e c t a font. You can select from one of the 18 fonts included with Animator, as shown in Fig­ ure 3.39, or load one of your own fonts in the FNT for­ mat. The current font is displayed to the right of the option buttons in the Drawing Tools panel.

89

Painting, on the PC

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RES RES

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Figure 12.4 The list of options displayed by choosing the Load ST command.

•

Load Macintosh. Choose this command to load a monochrome

•

Load PCX. Choose this command to load a 1 6-color picture cre­

picture saved in the MacPaint format on the Macintosh.

ated using PC Paintbrush or a compatible program on the PC.

•

Load GIF. Choose this command to load GIF pictures available from the CompuServe commercial bulletin board service. These pictures typically have higher resolutions than Animator GIF files.

Adjusting a Converted Picture After you load a picture into the Converter window, you have the op­ tion to adj ust its size and position using the Scale, Move, and Slide com­ mands from the Converter menu. If you have loaded an animation file, however, these commands will be dimmed. You do not have the option to adj ust pictures i n an animation file. At this j uncture, your only choice is to continue on to Step 3 of the conversion process and save the animation as a flic file, following the instructions in the Viewing and Saving Files section. Most painting programs offer higher resolutions than Animator. Paintings created on the Macintosh, for example, contain more than 399

Input and Output

twice as many pixels per inch as Animator pictures. As a result, the MacPaint picture shown in Figure . 1 2 . 5 loads into the Converter win­ dow at the greatly enlarged size shown in Figure 1 2 .6.

Figure 12.5 A MacPaint picture. CONVERTER:

F LIC

ABOUT MEMORY SCA LE MOVE S L I DE QU I T

Figure 1 2 . 6 T h e picture in Figure 1 2 . 5 loaded into the Converter window.

400

12-Converting Artwork from Oth er Environments

The missing portion o f the MacPaint picture still exists, but it can't be displayed since it's outside the boundaries of the Converter window. You must be careful not to save the picture as a GIF file in its current state since the unseen portion of the picture will be deleted. The commands in the Converter menu, shown in Figure 1 2 . 6, allow you to alter the converted picture before saving it, so as to retain as much graphic information as possible. The commands in the Converter menu include the following: •

About. Choose this command, or press the C key followed by the A key, to display information about the Converter utility.

•

•

Memory. Choose this command, or press the C key followed by the M key, to display the message box shown in Figure 1 2 . 7 . The amount of free memory in the computer's RAM (random access memory), as well as the largest unused chunk of memory, are listed. Scale. Choose this command, or press the C key followed by the S key, to display a list of options for reducing or enlarging the con­ verted image so that it fills the Converter window more accu­ rately.

You cannot access the Move and Slide commands from the keyboard, but you can choose the Quit command by pressing the a key.

•

Move. After you choose this command, click, and then move your cursor to move the image inside the window. Click again to fix the image in its new position. Right-click to end the Move command and redisplay the menu bar.

•

•

Slide. Choose this command to display a list of options for moving the image over the course of multiple frames so as to create a scrolling flic. Quit. Choose this command or press the Q key to quit the Con­ verter utility and return to DOS. An alert box will appear, asking you to confirm your choice.

The important commands from this menu are the Scale, Move, and Slide commands. These commands are discussed in more detail in the following pages.

The Scale Command Choose the Scale command to display a list of options labeled S c a l e as shown in Figure 1 2 .8. These options operate as follows: •

•

.

• ,

Set Width. Click this option or press 1 to specify a width in pixels for the converted picture. A message box containing a slider bar will appear; you then adj ust the slider bar to the correct width.

40 1

Input and Output

CONVERTER

3609ae 3609aS

-

MEMORY

eVTES

FREE

LARGEST

Figure 1 2 . 7 The Memory command displays information on the amount of free RAM.

1 SET H I DTH 3a0 200 2 SET HE I GHT 3 DEFAU LT . 3a0x200 4 CORRECT ASPECT RAT I O s REVERT e D I THER 7 RENDER

S7SX720

0 EX I T MENU

Figure 1 2.8 The Scale options.

402

12-Converfing Artwork from Other Environments

The current width setting will be displayed to the right of the option name. Selecting the Render option resizes the converted picture to the width and height specified by the Set Width and Set Height options.

•

Set Height. Click this option or press 2 to specify a height in pixels

for the converted picture. A message box containing a slider bar will appear; you then adjust the slider bar to the correct height. The current height setting will be displayed to the right of the option name.

•

Defaul t. Click this option or press

•

Correct Aspect Ratio. Click this option or press

•

Revert. Click this option or press

•

3 to restore the current width and height settings to 3 2 0 by 200 pixels, the dimensions of the Animator drawing area. 4 to decrease the current width or height setting so that the ratio between the two is 8 : 5 ; this ratio duplicates the proportions of the Animator drawing area. Generally, the picture will still be too la rge to fit in the Con­ verter window.

5 to restore the width and height settings to their values prior to choosing the Scale command.

Dither. Click this option or press 6 to toggle the dithering control on and off. When the Dither option is on, the pixels are treated in relation to other pixels; this slows down the scaling process and decreases the apparent resolution, but produces more accurate results.

•

Render. Click this option or press

7 to apply the Scale command according to the current width and height settings.

•

Exit Menu. Click this option or press and return home.

0 to hide the Scale options

For the best results, try to retain the original proportions of your converted picture. This means you should not rely on the Default or Correct Aspect Ratio options, both of which may alter the appearance

of the picture. Figures 1 2 . 9 and 1 2 . 1 0 are good examples of this. The original dimensions of the baseball player picture were 5 7 6 by 720 pixels, an 8:10 ratio. To retain these proportions, the current width set­ ting was left at 320 and the current height setting was changed to 400. Selecting the Render option produced the picture shown in Figure 1 2 .9. Selecting the Default option, however, changes the current width and height settings to 3 2 0 by 2 00, the same 8 : 5 ratio as the Animator drawing area. The result of applying these settings is shown in Figure 1 2 . 1 0 . The entire image fits in the Converter window, but the picture is squashed and unsightly.

403

Input and Output

CONVERTER

FLIC

PI

Figure 1 2.9 Scaling the picture while retaining the

proper proportions.

CONVERTER

FLIC

PIC

Figure 1 2.10 Scaling the picture to the default dimensions.

404

12-Converting Artwork from Other En vironments

The Scale command may produce out-of-memory errors i f there i s n o t enough free RAM. Try scaling the picture t o a smaller size or quit the Converter utility, relaunch it, and try again. The amount of free RAM needed for any given image can be calculated by mul­ tiplying the total X resolution by the total Y resolution.

In the process of scaling an image, the Converter averages adj a­ cent pixels to produce a smoothing effect. This is especially noticeable i n Figures 1 2 . 9 and 1 2 . 1 0, in which the formerly monochrome image now contains many gray pixels of varying luminosity. T h e scaled images appear less j agged and more true to their original appearance as a result.

The Move Command If an image still doesn't fit into the Converter window after you apply the Scale command, you can try to move it into a better position with the Move command. After you choose the Move command, the menu bar will disappear. Click anywhere in the window to pick up the image, then move the cursor to move the image. A status bar will track the move, as shown in Figure 1 2 . 1 1 . The first pair of numbers indicate the distance between the upper left corner of the image and the upper left corner of the window. In the example shown in Figure 1 2 . 1 1 , the upper left corner of the image is 2 pixels to the right of the upper left corner of the window and 45 pixels above it. The second pair (in parentheses) represents the relative distance from the point where you clicked to the current cursor location; in other words, the second pair records the dis­ tance of the move. When you've finished the move, click to fix the image in place, or right-click to cancel the move. After you end this move, you can move the image again or right-click to complete the Move command and redisplay the menu bar.

The Slide Command The Slide command is really an enhanced Move command. It differs in effect from the Move command only in that it moves an image over the course of several frames, thereby creating a scrolling animation. This command is especially useful when you want to retain an image at a fairly large size but don't want to lose the portions of the image that extend beyond the screen. The resulting sequence of frames must be saved as a flic file.

405

Input and Output 2

-4S

C0

- 15)

Figure

12.11 Moving an image in the Converter window.

Choose the Slide command to display a list of options labeled , as shown in Figure 12.12. These options operate as follows:

SL i de •

•

•

•

. . .

Slide with Mouse. Click this option or press 1 to move the image, following the directions given for the Move command. The dis­ tance of the move will be recorded by the current x and y settings in the status bar. Set X. Click this option or press 2 to specify a horizontal move dis­ tance in pixels. A message box containing a slider bar will appear; you th e n set the slider bar to the correct distance. Negative values slide the p i ctur e to the left; positive values slide the picture to the right. The current x setting will be displayed to the right of the option name. Set Y. Click this option or press 3 to specify a vertical move dis­ tance in pixels. A message box containing a slider bar will appear; you then set the slider bar to the current distance. Negative values slide the picture upward; positive values slide the picture down­ ward. The current y setting will be displayed to the right of the option name. Set Frames . Click this option or press 4 to specify the number of frames over which the current movement settings will be applied. A message box containing a slider bar will appear; you then set the slider bar to the correct number of frames.

406

12-Converting Artwork from Other Environments

The Render and Save options produce a sequence as follows: the converted picture moves the distance specified by the Set X and Set Y options, over the course of the number of frames specified by the Set Frames option.

•

•

Complete. Click this option or press 5 to toggle this option on and off. An asterisk appears in front of the option when it is on, indi­ cating that the movement will b e applied from beginning to end of the sequence. When the Complete option is turned off, the final outcome of the movement is not applied. Instead, the sequence will only approach the final outcome, as if the last frame has been deleted.

Preview. Click this option or press 6 to see how the current move­ ment settings will appear when saved as a flic file. If you don't like the preview, you can cancel the Slide command o r adjust the Set X , Set Y, Set Frames, and Complete options; then preview the sequence again.

•

Render and Save. Click this option or press 7 to apply the Slide

command according to the current movement and frame settings. A file selector panel will appear; you then determine the name and location of the flic file you are saving to disk. The flic will display frame-by-frame as it saves. The saved file will have an FLI extension.

•

Exit Men u . Click this option or press and return home.

O

to hide the Slide options

In general, the Slide command is most useful when the current

picture is either too tall or too wide to fit in the Converter window, but not both. For example, the picture shown in Figure

1 2 . 1 1 is too tall. Since its total height is 400 pixels (which you may recall from scaling the image earlier), you would change the Set Y option to 400 prior to applying the Slide command. Also, leave the Complete option turned off so that the final frame is not a repeat of the first frame; the result is a smooth and continuous scrolling effect. Even after you select the Render and Save option and save the scrolling flic to disk, the image remaining in the Converter window is still treated as a still picture rather than an animation sequence. There­ fore, you can apply more manipulations to the picture and even save it as a GIF (picture) file. 407

Input and Output

•

1 2

S L. I DE SET

X

3

SET

V

4 SET s

� I TH

MOUSE 0 0

FR:FIHES

S0

COMP L.ETE

6 PR:EV I E� 7 R:ENOER: A N O SAVE 0

EX I T

MENU

Figure 12.12 The Slide options.

Viewing and Saving Files The last step in using the Converter utility is to save the animation or picture file to disk. If the file is an animation file, you can play the se­ quence before you save it by choosing the View command from the Flic menu. You can also display picture files without the menu bar using this command. Right-click or press any key to redisplay the menu bar. The View command can be quirky, sometimes hiding the picture in the window along with the menu bar. If this happens, choose the Move command, then click anywhere. Right-click when the picture reappears.

Choose the Save Flic command from the Flic menu to save an ani­ mation sequence that was loaded using a command from the Flic menu. The saved animation file will have an FU extension. It is not necessary to apply the Save Flic command to a scrolling flic created with the Slide command; selecting the Render and Save option has al­ ready saved the flic to disk. Choose the Save GIF command from the Pie menu to save a pic­ ture file to disk. Keep in mind that you will lose any portion of the 408

12-Converting Artwork from Other Environments

image which extends beyond the Converter window. The Save GIF command is usually applied to images which fit completely into the window, such as the picture shown in Figure 1 2 . 1 3 . The saved picture file will have a GIF extension.

Figure 1 2 . 1 3 This PCX image was scaled and moved so that it fits in its entirety in the Converter window; now it is ready to be saved as a GIF file.

Once your artwork is saved i n either the FLI or GIF format, i t is ready to be loaded into Animator.

The FLimaker The Animator package also includes the FLimaker program, which al­ lows you to convert AutoCAD, AutoSketch, and AutoShade slides, as well as AutoShade rendering files, to frames in an animation sequence. Using FLimaker is a three-step process: •

•

Save the files that you want to convert with SLD or RND exten­ sions. Create a list of the files to be converted in a word processor; then save the list as an ASCII file (text only, no formatting). 409

Input and Output

•

Apply th e FLimaker program t o the file list. Each slide o r render­ ing in the file list becomes a frame in the resulting flic file.

The method for saving a file in the SLD or RND format depends on the Autodesk program that you're using. The method appropriate to each program is outlined separately in the following pages.

Saving an AutoCAD Slide If you want to convert a file created in AutoCAD, follow these steps to save the file with an SLD extension: •

Launch AutoC AD.

•

Load the file to be converted.

•

Type f i l l off at the DOS prompt and press Enter. This is neces­ sary because FLimaker cannot correctly process areas with solid fills.

•

Type ms l i de followed by a file name and press Enter.

•

Quit AutoCAD.

Saving an AutoSketch Slide If you want to convert a file created in AutoSketch, follow these steps to save the file with an SLD extension: •

Launch AutoSketch.

•

Load the file to be converted.

•

•

•

Delete any filled shapes created with the Fill Region tool from the Draw menu. FLim ak e r cannot correctly process areas with solid fills. Choose the Make Slide command from the File menu. Type a file name in the message box and press Enter. Quit AutoSketch.

Saving an AutoShade Slide or Rendering If you want to convert a file created in AutoShade, follow these steps to save the file with an SLD extension: •

410

Launch AutoShade.

12-Converting Artwork from Other Environments

• •

•

Load the file to b e converted. Choose the Make Slide command from the Display menu. Type a file name in the mess age box and press Enter. Quit AutoShade.

FLimaker will also convert files created with an RND extension using AutoShade version 1. lx. To create a n RND file, follow these steps: •

•

•

Set the SHADERDFILE parameter to create a VGA-resolution file. To accomplish this on the PC, type s e t s h ade r d f i L e=320 , 2 00 , 1 0000, 1 3 1 00 , 2 5 6 , 63,64 a t the D OS prompt in t h e AutoShade directory and press Enter. Type s hade - r at the DOS prompt and press Enter to reconfigure the AutoShade application. Answer the Po i n t i n g d ev i c e , D i s p l a y de v i c e , and R e n d e r i n g d i s p l a y de v i c e messages as you normally would.

•

When the Rende r i ng h a rd c op y d e v i c e message appears, select the Rende r i n g f i l e (256 c o l o u r map) option.

•

Launch AutoShade.

•

Load the file to be converted.

•

•

•

If a check mark does not appear before the Hard Copy command in the Display menu, choose this command to turn it on. Choose the Full Shade or Fast Shade command from the Display menu. Quit AutoShade.

Creating a File List After you save the slides and renderings you want to convert, you must create a list of these files in a word processor, such as WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, or XyWrite. Simply type the name of each file sepa­ rated by a carriage return into the word processor. Then save the file as a text-only file without formatting. Save all SLD and RND files, as well as the text-only file list, to the directory containing the Animator program. If you prefer to keep your files in other directories, you will need to include path infor­ mation in the file list o r to specify the path when using the FLimaker program.

411

Input and Output

Converting the File To view usage information (also called parameters) for the FLimaker program, type fl i maker at the DOS prompt while inside the Animator directory. The following text will appear on the screen:

F LIMA KER v1 .0 ( C ) 1 989 Autodesk, Inc. Usage: FLIMAKER [-vJ [speed] Use the -v opt i on to use the VGA screen while convert i ng. If [speed] s om i tted, the default i s 4 . This information is followed by th e DOS prompt. The text in capi­ tal letters following the word Usage: indicates the literal text you must enter whenever you apply th e FLimaker program. The words in brack­ ets, such as [-vJ , indicate optional entries. However, you must supply text for variables inside angle brackets, such as . The op­ tions and variables for the FLimaker program include the following: •

•

•

•

-v. Enter this option to instruct FLimaker to display each con­ verted file on your VGA screen at a resolution of 320 by 200 pixels, the same resolution at which they will appear when played in Animator. f i lel i st. Enter the name of the text-only file list created in the word processor, including the path name if necessary. For exam­ ple, if the file list is called AUTOFILE. TXT and is located on drive D, enter d : \autof ile. txt for this variable. fliname. Enter a file name for the flic file created by the FLimaker program. Do not include the FLI extension. speed. For this option, enter any number between 1 and 70 to set the default play speed for the animation sequence. The speed can, of course, be changed inside Animator's Frames panel.

Suppose all slide and rendering files, as well as the ASCII file list, are located in the Animator directory. If the fil e list name is AUTOFILE.TXT, you might type the following text at the DOS prompt:

f l i maker -v autof i le. txt autofl i c 1 0 This script instructs FLimaker t o create a new flic file called AUTOFLIC.FLI. This file will contain all of the images stored in the

4 12

12-Converting Artwork from Other Environments

files listed in AUTOFILE.TXT, the ASCII file list. The play speed saved with this flic will be 10 j iffies, or 7 frames per second. After you press Enter, each slide and rendering will be displayed on the screen as it is recorded to a frame in the flic file . An error will occur under any of the following conditions: • •

•

•

A slide or rendering listed in the ASCII file is not saved properly. One of the slide file names or rendering file names is spe1led wrong in the ASCII list or is not located in the directory listed. The ASCII file itself is not saved as a text-only file, is not spelled correctly, or is not located in the correct directory.

There is not enough disk space to save the converted flic file.

If an error occurs, correct your mistake and reapply the FLimaker program. After you have converted the slides and renderings success­ fully, you can delete the slide and rendering files as well as the ASCII file list. The only file required by Animator is the converted flic file.

What You've Learned Take a moment now to review the important points of this chapter: •

•

•

•

•

The Converter utility, included with Animator, will convert ani­ mation and picture files created on the Amiga, Atari ST, and Mac­ intosh computers to a format which can be read by Animator. Files in the PC X and GIF formats can also be co nv erted. To use the Converter utility; you must first copy the file from the foreign computer to a PC disk or hard drive. This can be accom­ plished t hrough networking, by using a modem, or b y using a util­ ity that can read disks formatted on other computers. Pictures created in other painting applications generally have higher resolutions than the Animator window. To compensate for this, th e Converter menu provides three commands-Scale, Move, and Slide-for adj usting the size and positioning of con­ verted pictures. The Scale, Move, and Slide commands cannot be applied to ani­ mation files. Animation files must be converted as is. The FLimaker program, included with Animator, converts slides and renderings created in AutoCAD, AutoSk etch, and Auto­ Shade. 4 13

Input and Output

•

•

•

4 14

AutoCAD and AutoSketch files must be saved as slides before they can be converted with FLimaker. AutoShade pictures can be saved as slides or renderings. To convert multiple slides and renderings to frames in a flic file using FLimaker, you must first type a list of these pictures in a word processor and save the list in a text-only format. Each slide or rendering in the list must be separated with carriage returns so that each file appears on a different line. Type f l i ma k e r at the DOS prompt inside the Animator directory to display the parameters for the program.

T

H

I

R

T

E

E

N

Capturing Photographic IIDages and Artwork The previous chapter explained how to convert images and animation sequences from different programs into Animator's GIF or FLI format. This chapter expands the concept of input beyond the environment of the computer into the real world. With the aid of third-party peripher­ als and image-processing software, you can capture photographic images and artwork as electronic images for use in Animator (and in similar PC painting programs).

Using Digitized Images Starting from scratch i s hardly the most efficient way to create comput­ erized artwork or animation. If you are willing to spend money to save time, you may want to purchase additional hardware and software for the purpose of transferring "re al-life" images to disk. With the correct combination of hardware and software, you can, for example, capture live images with a video camera. Similarly, you can capture printed images, such as photographs or artwork, using a (more expensive) scanner. Digitization (also called scanning) is the process of converting real-life images into a format which can be read by a painting pro­ gram such as Animator.

4 15

Input and Output

Whether captured from live or printed sources, digitize d images can be used in any number of different drawing situations. The follow­ ing represent only a handful of the myriad possibilities: •

Employee photos. Staff mug shots are useful for in-house presenta­ tions or even for electronic monthly newsletters. It takes several hours to draw a decent picture of a workmate; it takes five seconds to shoot their picture. The latter is also more accurate, as demon­ strated by Figure 1 3 . 1 .

•

Product renderings. Scanned product photographs and renderings can be used in product demonstrations, one of the most common

applications of presentation software. As shown in Figure 1 3 . 2 , a product rendering helps users to understand where parts are located and how these parts are used. •

Backgrounds. A scanned landscape or building scene can serve as a realistic background for almost any kind of animation, as shown in Figure 1 3 . 3 . Digitized images are especially common in archi­ tectural presentations, in which a prospective b uilding is dis­ played in front of a highly accurate digitized site.

•

Classic artwork. Scanning published images is often precluded by copyright laws. However, some of the best artwork ever created has been in the public domain for years. While defacing images of great art is rarely in good taste, artwork such as that shown in

Figure 416

13.1 The author, accurately captured by a video camera.

1 3-Capturing Photographic Images and Artwork

Figure 1 3 . 4 can be used to create a certain mood or to add an air of elegance.

P rimsry handle Electrottlc viewfinder

/

�..

'·..

C ssseHe holder

Figure 13.2

Figure 1 3 . 3 A

An enhanced digitized product rendering.

digitized background heightens the appearance of

realism in almost any animation sequence. 417

Input and Output

From ancient fresco to electronic pixel: a detail from Michelangelo's The Creation on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

Figure 1 3 .4

Enhancing Scanned Images

Don't rely on your

scanned images as final products. Be prepared to enhance them to satisfy your specific require­ ments.

Regardless of how successful a scan is, you will almost always want to enhance digitized images so that they satisfy your specific require­ ments. Consider, for example, the image shown in Figure 13.5. You have digitized your product sitting on a book shelf. But the more you look at the image , the worse it looks-it seems drab, barely adequate. To impress viewers, it needs to look better than life. With less than half an hour of effort, you can transform your drab digitized product into the polished final piece shown in Fig u r e 1 3 .6. The background has been made more consistent and given a slight hint of gradation. Text has also been added to tie in the picture with an es­ tablished marketing theme.

Combining Scans There's no law that says you can't use more than one scanned image in a single picture. In fact, one of the beauties of the computer as an artis­ tic tool is that it can be used to bend and shape reality to your specifica­ tions. One photo graphi c image can be coupled seamlessly with another to produce unusual, even surrealistic collages.

4 18

13-Capturing Photographic Images and Artwork

Figure 13.5 A drab product image.

Figure 1 3 . 6 The enhanced picture has professional appeal.

For example, the picture shown in Figure a

13.7

was captured with

specific purpose in mind. On its own, the picture seems uninteresting,

perhaps odd at best. But when combined with the lunar landscape from 419

Input and Output

the MOON.GIF painting included with the Animator program, the pic­ ture demonstrates an entirely different quality. As shown in Figure 1 3 . 8 and in Color Plate 16, the two digitized images combine to produce a unique effect.

Figure

Figure 420

13.8

13.7 This odd self-portrait. ..

. was shot specifically with this result in mind. ..

13-Capturing Photographic Images and Artwork

Special Effects The Effects. . . command in the Flic menu is especially suited to manipulating scanned images.

Animator's ability to manipulate real-life images is remarkable. The options provided by choosing the Effects . . . command from the Flic menu yield some especially fine results. For example, the dramatic split screen effect shown in Figure 1 3 . 1 0 has been created using these options. The close-up image shown in Figure 1 3 .9 serves as the starting point of this effect. First, the Shrink x2 option is applied; then the image is copied and repeated to fill the drawing area .

Figure 13.9 A

close-up image.

If a s canne d image doesn't fill a space adequately, you can achieve extraordinary success using the Expand x 2 option. In Figure 1 3 . 1 1 , the Expand x2 option has been applied to the area around the author's right eye. The expand x2 option is then applied a second time to produce the image shown in Figure 1 3 . 1 2 . Due to Animator's use of color averaging, the accuracy of this enlargement is uncanny, as if the image had been scanned in at this size. You can almost begin to believe that Animator's expansion feature is capable of displaying new detail in a picture. Animator allows you to make excellent use of digitized photo­ graphs and artwork. However, the price of this additional performance is high. Since Animator itself provides no means for capturing real-life images, you must explore the largely uncharted and frequently expen­

sive territories of third-party hardware and utilities.

421

Input and Output

Figure 13.10 The same image shrunken and repeated.

... .

. ..

:;·�

'

.

Figure 13.11 Doubling the size of the image once.

422

..� .

13-Capturing Photographic Images and Artwork

Figure 13.12 Expanding the image a second time seems to produce new details.

Input Devices Various combinations of hardware and software allow you to convert photographs and artwork into Animator-compatible images. Although these combinations differ to one degree or another, they all require four basic components: •

Cam er a A VCR, video camera/recorder (camcorder) , or elec­ .

tronic scanner is required to record analog video information or to

digitize photographs and artwork. •

•

•

Video board. The video board processes the analog or digitized data and converts it to a binary format which can be read by the computer.

Connector cables. Cables are required to connect your camcorder or scanner to the video board and to connect the video board to your monitor. Image-processing utility. Images cannot be scanned directly into Animator. A special utility program, generally included with the

423

Input and Output

video board, is required to process the digitized image and save it to disk. In theory, inputting full-color images from the real world is a sim­ ple enough proposition. You begin with a real-life subject, such as a person or a product, or a printed image, such as a photograph or a piece of artwork. You then record this image with a camera or scanner. The camera transmits data to the video board in your computer over a ca­ ble. The software reads the image from the video board and stores it in a special buffer in your computer's memory. After you edit the image within the limitations of the image-processing utility, you can transfer the image from the buffer to disk. If the utility does not store images in the GIF format (320 by 200 pixels), you must convert the image to the correct format, as described in Chapter 1 2 , before loading it into Ani­ mator. Simplified further, the image-capturing process consists of three basic steps: •

• •

Record your real-life subject with a camcorder or scanner. The image is automatically communicated to your computer over a cable connected to a video board. Edit the image using a compatible utility and save it to disk. Convert the image using the Animator File Format Converter, fol­ lowing the instructions in the previous chapter.

Once you get the hardware and software set up properly, digitiz­ ing images is no more difficult than importing text or printing docu­ ments, practices common to other types of computer programs. Unfortunately, the initial setup can be time-consuming and frustrating. Because each video board is installed and operated differently, we can­ not provide a set of general instructions. Instead, we provide brief de­ scriptions of the hardware and software that are available, so that you can choose the combination best suited to your situation.

The Jovian VIA The Jovian VIA board is the best and least expensive scanning solution if you intend to use your scans exclu­ sively in Animator.

424

The least expensive image-capturing system for use with Animator is a standard video camcorder connected to a Jovian VIA (Video Input Adapter) capture board. On the positive side, the Jovian VIA board sports a standard RCA video input j ack (the type used by most stereo equipment), making it easy and inexpensive to locate cables. In fact, many camcorders, provide output cables ending in RCA plugs as stan­ dard equipment.

13-Capturing Photographic Images and Artwork

Also on the positive side is the VU.EXE i mage-processing utility included in the package. It can store 8-bit images (256 colors) to four common formats: CUT, supported by the popular Dr. Halo line of PC painting programs; PCX, supported by the PC Paintbrush series and the Animator Converter utility; 64 gray-level TIFF, used by desktop pub­ lishing programs such as Aldus PageMaker; and GIF, the format sup­ ported directly by Animator. The utility saves at two resolutions only, 320 by 200 pixels and 320 by 240 pixels. The latter tends to produce more accurate results, but these must b e cropped using the Converter utility before they can be loaded into Animator. Both of these resolutions are i deal for Anima­ tor users. However, if you intend to use your scanned images with other programs, you may want to consider another alternative. PC Paintbrush, for example, permits you to create paintings with 640 by 480 pixel resolutions, twice the resolution of the VIA scans!

The Targa 1 6 If you have more money t o spend, as well a s more patience during the setup period, you may want to consider the Targa 1 6 or the Everex Vi­ sion 1 6 videographics adapter. Both boards can produce 5 1 2 -by-480pixel images containing as many as 3 2 , 768 colors, making them the most professional-quality boards on the market. They also double as video output boards, a subject covered in Chapter 1 5 . While both the Targa 1 6 and the Everex Vision 16 far exceed Animator's image-pro­ cessing capabilities, they are almost universally compatible with more sophisticated still-image programs. If you want to use your scanned images in higher-resolution pro­ grams, use the Targa 16 board in combination with the TIPS imag­

ing software.

Like the Jovian VIA, these boards are used with a camcorder or VCR. However, neither board offers an RCA j ack, which makes the hook-up procedure more difficult. Depending on your camcorder, cus­ tom cables may b e required. Also, both boards require an additional monitor for viewing the inputting procedure (all software options dis­ play on the Targa monitor only). Truevision, makers of the Targa 16, provide a stand-alone image­ processing program called TIPS (Truevision Image Processing Software). This program provides a multitude of useful painting capabilities, some 425

Input and Output

of which rival or surpass Animator's. However, you must own the Targa 16 board to so much as launch TIPS. Targa 16 (TGA) files can be converted to the Animator format us­ ing the Converter utility.

Scanning Devices

Refer to the

Input

Devices and Cables

section in Appendix C for recommended models of flatbed and 35mm slide scanners.

If you're more interested in capturing printed photographs and artwork than live images, you should shop around for a flatbed scanner, a device similar to a photocopier. You operate a flatbed scanner by laying the printed image face down on the scanner window. The page remains stationary while an optic sensor moves sweep-by-sweep to record the image. A 3 5 mm slide scanner allows you to capture images stored on 3 5 mm slides . Slide processing adaptors are also available for some brands of camcorders. While the camcorder alternative is generally cheaper, the input quality tends to be less dependable as well. Conven­ tional wisdom has it that true 35 mm slide scanners produce the truest colors of any input device. This is especially noticeable when images scanned with a true 3 5 m m slide scanner are compared to images scanned with the Jovian VIA board. Despite its economic merits, the Jovian VIA brand displays washed-out and often inaccurate hues and values. It is difficult to be as specific on the subject of scanners as on video input boards, since there are almost as many varieties of flatbed and slide scanners as there are camcorders and VCRs. Suffice it to say that most can be used with or without a Targa 1 6 board to produce TGA files, which can then be converted to the 320-by-200-pixel GIF format using the Converter utility. For complete company and address information on products men tioned in this chapter, refer to Appendix C. ­

What You've Learned Take a moment now to review the important points of this chapter: •

•

426

Photos, artwork, and live images can be digitized into electronic pictures on your computer screen using input peripherals such as video boards and scanners.

Digitized i m a ge s provide a starting poi nt for the process of c re at

-

13-Capturing Photographic Images and Artwork

ing graphics. They spare you the time-consuming task of creating illustrations from scratch. •

•

•

•

•

•

Don't rely on scanned images as final products. Scans can be enhanced, transformed, or combi ned with other scanned images to meet your specific needs. Common subjects for digitizing are personnel mug shots, product renderings, scenic or on-site backgrounds, and classical (non­ copyrighted) artwork. The Jovian VIA board in combination with a standard camcorder is the b est value if you intend to scan live images solely for use in Animator. The Targa 16 board in combination with a standard camcorder and the TIPS image-processing utility is more expensive than the Jovian VIA b oard, but provides greater color control and higher resolution scans for use with other applications. If you are a professional digitizer, combine a Targa 1 6 board with a flatbed or 35mm slide scanner. Add a high-end VHS camcorder, and there isn't a thing in the world you won't be able to scan. By itself, Animator is not capable of capturing scanned images. If you wish to digitize photographs and artwork, you must purchase the makings of a scanning system, including a camera, a video board, the necessary connector cables, and an image-processing utility.

427

F

0

U

R

T

E

E

N

Playing AniIDations On-Screen Now that you've finished your animation, how do you get your tour de force before the viewers? Videotape is probably the best medium for distributing a finished animation. However, as the next chapter points out, transferring ani­ mation sequences from Animator to videotape can be an expensive and time-consuming task. Unless you intend to create a large supply of ani­ mation sequences, it's hardly worth the money or e ffort to transfer them to videotape. I f your resources and goals are more limited, there is an easier way. If you distribute your flies to people who own IBM-compatible personal computers, you can simply copy the animation files to disk along with a public domain Player utility (AAPLAY. EXE) packaged with Animator. By placing this utility in the public domain, Autodesk authorizes users to distribute the Player without paying licensing fees or providing any other form of compensation. Autodesk also provides an instruction file (AAPLAY.DOC) for distribution with your flic files. These instructions are a word-for-word duplication of the text in Ap­ pendix E of the Animator Reference Manual, also included with the Animator program. The people to whom you've distributed your animation disk can read the AAPLAY. DOC file by inserting your distribution disk in drive A of their computer and entering the following text at the DOS prompt: t y p e a : \ a a p l a y . doc l m o r e

A page of text from Appendix E will appear on the screen, and the

429

Input and Output

word Mo r e will appear at the bottom of the screen. Pressing Enter will scroll the text upward and display the next page of text.

Using the Player Utility To launch the Player utility, type aap l a y at the DOS prompt inside the Animator directory, then press Enter. The Player window shown in Figure 14.1 will appear.

Figure Every command and

option provided by the

Player utility can be accessed from the keyboard.

14.1

The Player window.

Like Animator, the Player utility is designed to be operated with a Microsoft-compatible mouse. However, since many people viewing

your animation will not own mice, the Player utility also allows every command and option to be accessed from the keyboard. Both mouse and keyboard operations are documented throughout this chapter.

The Player Menu Essentially, the Player program is a load-and-play utility. It offers two menus-the Player menu and the File menu-and a sparse frame con­ trol panel at the bottom of the window. The Player menu, shown in Figure 14.2, includes the following two commands: 430

14-Playing Animations On-Screen

•

About. Choose this command, or press the P key followed by the A key, to display information about the Player program. Click the Continue button or press Enter to return to the Player window.

•

Quit. Choose this command or press the Q key to quit the program and return to DOS. An alert box will appear, asking you to confirm your choice. Press the Y key to complete the Quit command; press the N key to return to the Player window.

Figure

14.2 The Player menu.

The File Menu The commands from the File menu, shown in Figure 1 4 . 3 , allow you to load pictures and animation sequences created in Animator into the Player window. These commands include the following: •

FLI Load . . . Choose this command or press the F key twice in a row .

to display the file selector panel, from which you can load an ani­ mation sequence from disk. •

GIF Load . . Choose this command, or press the F key followed by the G key, to display the file selector panel, from which you can load a picture file from disk. .

.

431

Input and Output

The Player will not load GIF files with resolutions higher than 320 by 200 pixels. Such files must first be converted with the Converter utility, described in Chapter 1 2 .

•

Script Load . . . . Choose this command, o r press the F key followed

by the S key, to display the file selector panel, from which you can load a script file created in a word processor and saved in a text­ only format. Script files are described later in this chapter.

Figure

14.3 The File menu.

The File Selector Panel Choosing any command from the File menu displays the file selector

panel . This panel differs slightly from the file selector panel described

in Chapter 2 in that it offers no + button, and it can be operated entirely from the keyboard. To facilitate keyboard usage, the file selector panel accepts instructions in one of two modes-entry mode and alternate mode. In entry mode, all typed letters appear in the current option box. In alternate mode, typed letters operate commands: you can press keys to change drives, search directories, and view different portions of the scrolling file list. 432

14-Playing Animations On-Screen When the file selector panel first displays, as shown in Figure a rectangular text entry marker appears in the File option box, indicating that you are in entry mode. Type several letters and you will see that those same letters appear in the option box. You can edit the contents of the option box by pressing the keys listed in Table 1 4 . 1 . 14.4,

F I LE

�I BBA LL . F L I

BOSST A L K . F L I G LASS . F L I G LASS0 1 . F L I GO LFER . F L I GO LFE R0 1 . F L I HANOS . F L I .JABBER . F L I - LOGO .. F L I l.:!J LOG00 1 F L I

I

•

Figure

= '== ' �I '-=-:_I §!J @il F I LE � ==========: D I R : le : 'AN I MATOR! le : I @71 IE : I W I LOCARO : l�* · F L I I��� _____ ( O K J f CANCE L 1.

14.4 The file selector panel in entry mode.

Table 14.1 Key Functions when the File Selector Panel is in Entry Mode Key

Function

Backspace

Delete the character to the left of the text entry marker.

Escape

Delete all characters in the current option box.

Left Arrow

Move text entry marker left one character.

Right Arrow

Move text entry marker right one character.

Up Arrow

Move text entry marker to first character in option box.

Down Arrow

Move text entry marker to end of text in option box.

Now press the Tab key. The text entry marker disappears, leaving a thin line in its place, as shown in Figure 1 4 . 5 . You are now in alternate mode. You can select the options in the file selector panel by pressing the keys listed in Table 1 4 . 2 .

433

Input and Output

� BBA L L . F L I

I �

BOSSTA L K . F L I G LASS . F L ! G LASS0 1 . F L I GO LFER: . F L I GO LFER:0 1 . F L I HANDS . F L I .JABBER: . F L I LOGO . F L I LOG00 1 . F L I

� O IA : l ls : I le : I lo : I IE : I

F I L E ..1 : 11 ==========: ::: le D I R: : : "-AN I MFITOR:f

H I LDCA R:D : � . F_L_I�I��--' l �__

El (cANCE L}

Figure 14.5 The file selector panel in alternate mode. Table 14.2 Key Functions when the File Selector Panel is in Alternate Mode

Key

Function

Up Arrow

Scroll up one file name in the scrolling file list.

Down Arrow

Scroll down one file name in the scrolling file list.

A, B, C, D, E, etc.

Select a different drive button.

\ (Backslash)

. Move to root directory of current drive.

. (Period)

Back up to the directory containing the current directory.

Enter

Select the OK button.

Spacebar

Select the Cancel button.

You can only select files and directories from the scrolling list if you have a mouse. If you are working exclusively from the keyboard, you must type the literal file name into the File option box and the literal directory name into the Dir option box. Press the Tab key again to toggle back to entry mode. This time, the text entry marker will appear in the Dir option box. Press the Tab key again to return to alternate mode, then press the Tab key once more to display the text entry marker in the Wildcard option.

434

14-Playing Animations On-Screen

Therefore, to load a flic file into the Player window when you are working exclusively from the keyboard, proceed as follows: •

•

Directory names in the

•

scrolling list are

preceded by backslash characters, clearly distinguishing them from file names.

•

•

At the Player window, press the F key twice to display the file selector panel. Press the Tab key to change to alternate mode . Use the letter keys along with the B ackslash and Period keys to change drives and search other directories. Use the Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys to search for file and directory names in the list. Press and hold one of these keys to scroll many files at a time. If you have to change directories, press the Tab key to display the text entry marker i n the Dir option box, then type the name of the directory. Press Enter to change to that directory, then return to alternate mode. After you locate the file you want to load, press the Tab key five times in a row to display the text entry marker in the File option box. Type the name of the file, then press Enter. The file selector panel will disappear and the first frame of the flic file will appear in the Player window.

For example, if you load the TIDES.FU file, the image shown in Figure 14.6 will appear on the screen.

Figure 14.6 The TIDES.FU file has been loaded into the Player window.

435

Input and Output

The Frame Control Panel After you load a picture or animation file into the Player window, you can view it by applying options in the frame control panel at the bottom of the window. This panel contains the following five items: •

•

•

•

Keep in mind that smaller play speed values produce faster animation, and larger values produce slower animation.

•

Click the up arrow frame icon to back up to the first frame in the current flic. Drag the box inside the current frame slider bar to display a differ­ ent frame. Click the arrows to back up or advance by a single frame. Click the double arrow frame icon to play the current flic or to display the current picture file. C lick t he down arrow frame icon to advance to th e last frame in the current flic. Drag the box inside the Play Speed slider bar to change the num­ b e r of jiffi es each frame is displayed when played. Click the arrows to decrease or increase the display time by a single j iffy.

If the current file is a picture file, the only useful option in the frame control panel is the double arrow. By clicking the double arrow icon, you hide the menu bar, the panel, and the cursor; you then have an unobstructed view of the picture. If you do not have a mouse, you can use the keys listed in Table 14.3 to operate the options in the frame control panel. Even if you do have a mouse, many of these keyboard-driven functions are useful. Table 14.3 Key Functions in the Frame Control Panel Key

436

Function

Left Arrow

Back up to the previous frame in the sequence.

Right Arrow

Advance to the next frame in the sequence.

Up Arrow

Back up to the first frame in the current flic.

Down Arrow

Advance to the last frame in the current flic.

Enter

Play the current flic or display the current picture file.

Backspace

Freeze a playback at the current frame.

Escape

Breaks loop in script playback, as explained later in this chapter.

- (Minus)

Decrease the Play Speed value by 1 j iffy, thereby speeding up the sequence.

1 4-Playing Animations On-Screen

Table 14.3 (cont.)

Key

Function

+ (Shift-Equal)

Increase the Play Speed value by 1 jiffy, thereby slowing down the sequence.

Fl

Change the Play Speed value to 0, the fastest speed available.

F2

Change the Play Speed value to 3.

F3

Change the Play Speed value to 6.

F4

Change the Play Speed value to 9.

F5

Change the Play Speed value to 1 2 .

F6 F7

Change the Play Speed value t o 1 8 . Change the Play Speed value to 24.

FB

Change the Play Speed value to 36.

F9 FlO

Restore the original Play Speed value saved with flic.

Change the Play Speed value to 48.

Play speeds of 18 or higher are generally too slow for animation purposes. They should be reserved for displaying scripts of picture files (explained in Chapter 1 5 ) .

Press any key except - o r + t o stop a playback, o r to continue a playback that has been frozen by pressing Backspace. Press the - or + key to speed up or slow down a playback.

Keyboard Lock If you are using the Pl a y er u til it y to pl ay a s el f- runni n g demonstration, you don't want viewers to be able to stop a playback from the keyboard, load a new file, or otherwise disturb your presentation. The Player al­ lows you to enforce a keyboard l ock, which turns off all keyboard func­ tions, by pressing the Control key in combination with any letter key. You can press Control-A, Control-B, and so on; j ust remember which letter key you pressed. The combination you press to lock the keyboard is the only combination that will unlock the keyboard. This prevents even people who know how to operate the Player from easily dis­ ru p ti n g your prese nta tio n .

431

Input and Output

If you forget the letter key you used to lock the keyboard or you need to cancel someone else's presentation, all is not lost. Though tirne­ consuming, the following steps will unlock the keyboard:

To lock or unlock the keyboard of an 80286 machine, you must press Control-M.

•

Press Control-A.

•

Press the Spacebar to cancel the playback.

•

If the playback does not cease, press Control-B.

•

Press the Spacebar to cancel the playback.

•

If the playback does not cease, press Control-C.

•

Repeat these steps thro ugh each le tter of the alphabet to Control-Z.

Unlocking the keyboard does not produce a visible change. Locked or unlocked, the animation sequence continues to play unless otherwise interrupted. The only way to know whether or not the key­ board remains locked is to try to cancel the playback between each unlocking attempt; otherwise, you may well unlock the keyboard with one Control key combination only to relock it with the next. If you aren't patient enough to run through every letter combina­ tion, simply press Control-Alt-Delete to reboot the computer.

Using Scripts In addition to playing flic and GIF pictures, the Player utility can load a script file containing specific instructions created in a word processor. By creating a script file, you can tell the Player how many times to play various sequences, what order to play them in, and when to stop the playback. Script files are crucial to producing self-running demonstra­ tions and to recording sequ ences to videotape, which are both dis­ cussed in the next chapter.

Flic Scripts A script file is simply a roster of FLI and GIF files, listed in the order they will be played. For example, suppose you wanted to play the MRNUMO.FLI file followed by the GLASS.FU and TIDES.FL! files. As­ suming all files are located in the Animator directory on the C drive, you would type the following list into a word processor:

438

1 4-Playing Animations On-Screen

c : \ a n i m a t o r \ m rnumo . f l i c : \ a n i ma t o r \ g l a s s . f l i c : \ a n i m at o r \ t i des . f l i

You would then save this list as a text-only file without format­ ting. After quitting the word processor, you have two ways to load the script file into the Player utility. You can launch the Player, choose the Script Load . . . command from the Files menu, and then select the text file in the file selector panel. Alternatively, you can type the name of the file after the AAPLAY command when you launch the Player util­ ity initially. For example, if the script file is named SCRIPT l . TXT, you would type the following text at the DOS prompt inside the Animator directory: aap l ay s c r i pt 1 . t x t

Then press Enter t o launch the Player and begin playback of your script. After playing each flic listed i n SCRIPT 1 .TXT through one time, the Player will return you to the point at which you loaded the script. If you launched the Player and loaded the script file separately, you will be returned to a blank Player window. If you loaded the script file when you launched the Player, as in the example j ust given, you will be returned to DOS.

Adding Pictures What happens if you insert picture files between the flic files i n your script? Since a picture file consists of only one frame and contains no play-speed information, does it merely flash by o n the screen in be­ tween flies or will it display indefinitely? The Player treats scripted picture files slightly differently than scripted flic files. The default length of time that a GIF (picture) file displays is five seconds. For ex­ ample, suppose you change your SCRIPTl . TXT file to the following: c : \ an i mato r \ m rn umo . f l i c : \ an i m at o r \ g l a s s . f l i c : \ a n i m a t o r \ wa l k . g i f c : \ an i ma t o r \ t i des . f l i

When you play the script i n the Player, the MRNUMO flic will play once, followed by the GLASS flic. Then the astronaut picture will

display for five seconds, followed by the TIDES animation. 439

Input and Output

The transition between scripted flic files and picture files differs as well. After one flic finishes playing, another begins immediately, as if the two were spliced together. However, because the Player has to decompress a GIF file before displaying it, a picture is wiped onto the screen. This transition is inconsistent with the standard clean splice between flies. For this reason, you may want to limit the number of picture files in your scripts, or simply exclude them. If you want a consistent playback, don't include GIF files in your scripts. Instead, change them to flic files inside Animator, using color animation and 3-D transformation techniques.

Additional Scripting Code The Player allows you to specify four parameters with each file name in your scripted list. The parameters on each line determine how the Player will play the file listed on that same line. The file parameters and their functions are listed in Table 14.4. Table

14.4 File Parameters for a Scripted List

Parameter Function -L

Loop. Determines how many times a flic file is played.

-S

Sp eed . Determines the display time for each frame, in j iffies.

-P

Pause. Determines the number of seconds the last frame in a flic is displayed before the next file in the script is displayed.

-T

Transition.

Determines the manner in which

a flic enters and exits the screen.

When you enter the Loop, Speed, and Pause parameters, type the value of the parameter immediately after the parameter letter; for example, LS - S 1 5 , and -P1360. When you enter the Transition param­ eter, leave a space between the parameter letter and the value, as in -T f a d e i n. If only one value appears after the transition parameter, this value determines how the sequence enters the screen. If two values follow the parameter, as in -T f ade i n f adeout, the first value controls the entrance and the second value controls the exit. -

440

,

14-Playing Animations On-Screen

All parameters must be entered after the file name and on the same line as the file they are intended to control. For example, suppose you play a script file containing the following text:

c : \ani mator\m rnumo . f l i -L3 c : \ an i mator\g l a s s . f l i S14 P3600 c : \anima to r \ t i des . f l i -LS -T fade i n f adeout -

Because the Player's transition effects are crude, you may want to create all transition effects in Animator prior to the scripting process.

-

The MRNUMO flic will play three times in a row, then cut to the GLASS flic. Each frame in th e GLASS flic displays for 14 jiffies; in other words, 5 frames are displayed every second. Because of the Pause pa­ rameter, the last frame in this sequence displays for 3 600 seconds, or a full hour. Afterwords, the first frame in the TIDES flic fades in from a white screen, plays five times i n a row, then fades out to

a

white screen.

When a parameter is not included after a file name, the Player assumes the default value for that parameter. The default values are as follows: a single loop

(-L 1),

the play speed value saved with the flic file,

no pause (-PO) for flies and a 5 -second pause for pictures spliced transition

(-T cut).

(-PS),

and a

Scripting Options The Player also accepts four options that are entered on different lines from the file parameters, generally at the end of the text file. These options are listed in Table 1 4 . 5 .

Table 14.5 Options for a Scripted List Options

Function

Link

Loads and plays another script file after finishing the

current script.

Loop

Loops all flies listed above the Loop option a specified number of times.

ExitToPlayer

Returns to an empty current script.

ExitToDOS

Returns to the DOS prompt after finishing the current sc ript .

Player window after finishing the

When you enter the first two options, leave a space between the option and its value; for example, l i n k s c r i p t2 . t x t and loop 50. How441

Input and Output

ever, do not leave spaces between any letters in the options e x i t t op l a ye r and e x i t t odo s . The following example demonstrates how you might use the Link and Loop options in a script file: c : \ a n i m a to r \ m rnumo . f l i c : \ an i m a to r \ g l a s s . f l i Loo p

5

c : \ a n i m at o r \ t i d e s . f l i L i n k s c r i p t 2 . tx t

When you play this script, the MRNUMO flic plays once followed by the GLASS flic. These two flies then repeat four more times. After the GLASS flic plays a fifth time, the TIDES flic plays. Following this, a script file called SCRIPT2.TXT is loaded and played. If the Player utility cannot understand a line in your script, an error will occur. An error will occur under any of the following condi­ tions: •

•

•

•

One of the flic or picture names is spelled wrong in the list, or is not located in the directory listed. The script file itself is not saved as a text-only file, is not spelled correctly, or is not located in the correct directory. A parameter has been typed incorrectly. A space exists where none should, a space is missing, a parameter or option value exceeds the allowed range, or the dash (-) is missing from in front of the parameter letter. An option is spelled wrong or used incorrectly. If an error occurs, correct your mistake in the word processor and

play the script again.

What You've Learned Take a moment now to review the important points of this chapter: •

442

You can include the public domain Player utility (AAPLAY. EXE) with your flic file on the disk you distribute to PC users. The util­ ity is so simple to operate that most PC users will understand how to use it immediately and won't need the instruction file also included.

14-Playing Animations On-Screen

•

•

•

•

•

•

All commands and options in the Player utility can be accessed from the keyboard. In the file selector panel, you enter text into options boxes in entry mode and select options in alternate mode. You toggle between the two modes by pressing the Tab key. If you are using a mouse, you can select a fil e by clicking on the file names in the scrolling list. If you are working from the key­ board, you must enter the literal file name into the appropriate option box. Use the frame control panel at the bottom of the Player window to view different frames, to change the play speed, and to play an animation sequence. All frame control panel options can be oper­ ated from the keyboard. You can lock the keyboard to prevent the interruption of a self­ running presentation; press the Control key in combination with any letter key. It is important to remember which letter you pressed, since you will have to press the same combination again to unlock the keyboard. To play multiple flic an d picture files in a specific order, create a script file. Four parameters and four options that affect how and when each file is playe d can also be included in the script file.

443

F

I

F

T

E

E

N

Recording Flies to Film or Videotape The previous chapter described how to create animated sequences that can be viewed on PCs equipped with VGA or MCGA graphics cards. Unfortunately, while PCs are fairly common office machinery, most of them serve non-graphic purposes, such as word processing or number crunching, operations which do not require graphics cards. If your ani­ mation can only be played on PCs with a graphics card, you will miss out on a large audience. To make your flies accessible to more people, you will need to record them to film or videotape.

Film Recording Transferring Animator

flies to film is an inexpensive but primitive process, generally acceptable only to

students and other non­

professionals.

Film is not the best medium for displaying Animator flies. Most people don't own movie projectors; in fact, movie proj ectors are less common these days than personal computers. Furthermore, transferring com­ puter art to film is a time-consuming process since each frame has to be shot individually. You also sacrifice quality in the process. Frames must b e printed before they are shot, and no printing program does j us­ tice to an image, even o n the highest quality printer. However, the film option is cheap. It requires no special hardware except a printer, which you probably already own. The only costs are the camera itself, the paper for the printer, the film, and the developing fees. All these costs can be managed on a fairly limited budget. Because of the poor quality and cheap cost of film recording, you may want to think of it as the student's option-a method to be reserved for use in a non-professional market.

445

Input and Output

Print and Shoot Animator provides no built-in printing capabilities. Therefore, a sepa­ rate utility is required to produce printed output of GIF files. Many such utilities exist, and most are available in the public domain or as shareware, software which can be accessed for free and used with the author's consent for a nominal purchase price. These utilities print to just about any device, from low-end dot-matrix printers to laser print­ ers to full-color plotters. Refer to Appendix C for information on acq uir­ ing GIF print utilities. Note that these utilities print the single-image GIF files, as op­ posed to the multi-frame FLI files. Therefore, you must save each frame of an animated sequence as a separate picture file prior to printing, a predictably slow process. You then shoot each printed GIF file with a stop-action Super 8 or 1 6mm film camera. The entire print-and-shoot procedure consists of the following steps: •

Create your flic file and play it several times to make sure you're satisfied with the entire sequence.

•

Save each frame to disk individually as a GIF file. If two or more frames are identical, do not save duplicates. Simply note their locations and shoot the same printed frame at each location dur­ ing the filming process.

•

Load and print each GIF file with your printing utility.

•

Shoot each page on a flat surface. A tripod is best for anchoring the camera in a steady position. Many stop-action cameras also include remote controls, which allow you to operate the camera without touching, jarring, or moving it.

Filming Considerations Film plays at 24 frames per second-the equivalent of an Animator Play Speed setting of 3 j iffies. If you want a sequence to play at a slower speed, you must shoot each GIF picture more than once. For example, to film a sequence created at 1 2 frames per second (6 jiffies), you must shoot each picture twice in a row. To ensure that each frame lines up correctly with the previous and succeeding frames, you can add alignment marks to your pictures. Or better yet, punch two holes in consistent locations at the top of each page. Secure two pegs to your flat surface, then align each page by posi­ tioning the holes on these pegs.

446

15-Recording Flies to Film or Videotape

Felt-tip marker colors and watercolors reproduce to film better than any other hand­ coloring medium.

Many printers print in black and white only. If your printer is monochrome, or your printing utility doesn't handle colors to your sat­ isfaction, you will probably want to create your drawings in black and white, or experiment to see how on-screen colors reproduce on paper. You may have to apply colors to each printout by hand. Colored mark­ ers and watercolors generally produce the best results. As you can see, recording animation to film robs the overall pro­ cess of the efficiency afforded to it by the p ersonal computer. Each ad­ ditional step you take-printing, hand-coloring, stop-action filming­ also diminishes the high-tech appearance of the animation. This can be a bonus, in that many audiences find computer animation to be cold and severe, whereas they frequently consider hand-drawn animation to be whimsical and entertaining. Many people use personal computers for creating animation spe­ cifically for the efficiency they provide or for the high-tech appearance of the animation, or for both reasons. If you are one of these people, you will not find fil m to be an adequate medium. You should use videotape instead.

Recording to Videotape Videotape is fast becoming one of the most common methods for re­ cording presentation s equences. This is especially true in the computer market. Software packages often include videotaped introductions or tutorials. Your Animator package, for example, includes an entertain­ ing videotaped demonstration, which was created in its entirety in Ani­ mator and then transferred to videotape, using hardware described in the Video Output Devices section.

VGA to NTSC Even i f you are able to locate cables to hook up a video recorder (VCR) directly to your computer's VGA card, you will need additional hard­ ware so that the two devices can understand one another. When you play a flic file in Animator, your computer transmits this visual infor­ mation to your monitor as a VGA signal. The VCR will not be able to interpret this digital information. A special piece of hardware, called a converter box, is required to convert the VGA signal to a composite video signal, also known as an NTSC signal . A VGA signal describes colors using 64 levels o f red, green, and blue primary light intensities, which were discussed in Chapter 5. The 441

Input and Output

Reds and blues do not reproduce well to videotape. Before recording a flic file to videotape, add a little green to your high­ intensity colors.

NTSC signal describes colors in terms of hue and luminance, similar to the HLS option, also discussed in Chapter 5 . However, the NTSC signal emphasizes luminance more than hue, which limits the range of colors that can be successfully recorded. Colors near either end of the color spectrum, such as red or blue, become unstable when recorded to vid­ eotape; they bleed into surrounding colors as if they are somehow too bright to be recorded accurately. Colors containing green are the most stable, and therefore the least likely to bleed. To avoid color-bleeding, you should adjust your palette colors be­ fore recording an animated sequence. Color intensity is the key. Avoid using colors that are composed entirely of one of the RGB primaries. For example, if the RGB slider bars for a color slot in your palette grid are set to 63 ,0,0, the color is 1 00% red without any green or blue. An RGB setting of 32,0,0 uses less red, but remains exclusively red. Both colors will reproduce badly to videotape. To take the edge off a pure primary, add equal amounts of the other two primaries. A red with an RGB set­ ting of 63,8,8 does not look much different than pure red, but it will reproduce better. A special palette included with Animator, named NTSC.COL, is optimized specifically for recording to videotape. You should load this palette before creating your animated sequence. To change the palettes of an existing flic file, however, load the NTSC.COL file while the Time button is highlighted and apply the palette change to all frames.

Recording Your Flic While there are some high-end camcorders that allow you to record to videotape frame-by-frame, it is easier to record an animation sequence simply by playing it. For example, you can play the flic file in Animator and record the animated sequence over and over again as the sequence loops. However, the most successful video presentations have a definite beginning and a definite end. You can plan and execute your recording more carefully by creating a script file, as described in the previous chapter, and playing the script in the Player utility. This way, you can specify the number of times a sequence is played, the speed at which each sequence is played, and the order of the sequences. Sound becomes an option when you are recording to videotape. Many VCRs and other video-recording devices provide two or three RCA input jacks. One jack is for the video signal; the remaining jacks are for sound-one j ack for mono VCRs, two for stereo VCRs. Since Animator itself provides no means to generate sound, only the video jack is linked to your computer. The sound jacks remain open, allowing you to si m ul tan eously record sound to tape from a separate source, 448

15-Recording Flies to Film or Videotape

such as a cassette tape deck, a compact disc player, or an electronic instrument like a guitar or keyboard. If your presentation requires dialogue, arrange for your characters to speak off­ screen whenever possible, or use an unseen narrator.

Dubbing sound to video can be a time-consuming project. Dub­ bing is most effective when your sound and action have no specific cor­ relation. Background music, for example, can b e added to your animated sequences with very little planning. Sound effects are more difficult since timing is critical. Adding dialogue is next to impossibl e. If a character's words don't match the movement of their mouth, your video may appear unprofessional, like a seedy foreign film. If you want to add dialogue, but don't want to go through the tedious process of lip­ synching, arrange for your characters to speak offcscreen. Use the tactic of an unseen narrator, for example, to add words to a video without risking bad dubbing.

Video Output Devices The following hardware is required to record flic files onto videotape: •

Video converter. The video converter changes the VGA signal gen­ erated by Animator to a composite video (NTSC) signal. Some con­ verters are available in the form of an internal video board; others, as external converter boxes.

•

Vi deo recorder. A VCR or camcorder records the composite video signal.

•

Connector cables. A cable must connect your video output board to the video recorder. If you purchase a converter box, two cables are required, one to connect the box to the VGA board and another to connect the box to the video recorder.

Because each video converter is installed and operated differ­ ently, we cannot provide a set of general instructions. Instead, we pro­ vide brief descriptions of the converters available, so that you can choose the one best s uited to your situation.

The Targa

16

First discussed i n Chapter 1 3 , the Targa 1 6 videographics adapter oper­ ates as both an input and output device. On the input side, it can cap­ ture live images and convert them to TGA files, which can then be read

by Animator's Converter program. On the output side, the Targa 16 also 449

Input and Output provides a composite video (NTSC) output signal, which can be fed to a multisync monitor for viewing purposes or to a video recorder for re­ cording purposes. Because the NTSC output is separate from the output of the standard VGA board, you can view a sequence on-screen at the same time you are recording it to tape. Unfortunately, the Targa 16 cannot translate Animator's VGA output to composite video. It is only capable of displaying Targa-com­ patible images. T herefore, to record Animator flies, you must first save each frame separately as a GIF file, then use a third-party utility to con­ vert the GIF files to TGA files. Next, you open each TGA file individu­ ally using Targa's TIPS utility (introduced in Chapter 13), and shoot the images one frame at a time, just as you do when transferring animation to film. This certainly isn't the best method for recording animation sequences to videotape, but if you own a Targa board and can't afford additional hardware, this method is better than nothing.

VGA/NTSC Board Combos The best, and more expensive, video output boards provide both a VGA signal to drive your monitor and a composite video signal suitable for an external recording device. Two such boards are the Willow VGA-TV and VGA/NTSC Recordable. Both are top-of-the-line VGA boards in their own rights, capable of displaying pictures at resolutions of 640 by 480 pixels with 256 colors. In addition, they provide NTSC output jacks, with full documentation on how to use them. If you don't own a VGA board or intend to purchase a new one, you should consider the Willow VGA-TV or VGA/NTSC R ecord­ able, which also output NTSC signals.

If you have not yet purchased a VGA board, you should strongly consider either of these boards. T hey are perfectly suited to manipulat­ ing and outputting presentational sequences created in Animator.

The VIN Controller If you already own a VGA board, it doesn't make sense to buy another one just because it can output an NTSC signal. A less expensive alter­ native is the VIN (VGA/RGB Into NTSC) controller box. T his device is external to the computer and connects between the VGA board and the

450

15-Recording Flies to Film or Videotape

monitor. The VIN outputs a standard NTSC single as well as a special separated NTSC Y /C signal, designed especially for Super VHS recorders. The VIN controller's color-handling abilities are perhaps the best of any device listed in this chapter. If you own a Super VHS video re­ corder or camcorder, you will find that the NTSC Y /C signal provides better handling of full-intensity colors, such as bright reds and blues. The VIN box also provides a color burst switch, which allows you to adjust the NTSC color output while you're recording. Finally, the box automatically resizes your 3 2 0-by-200-pixel flic frames to fill the video­ tape frame size. For complete company and address information on the products mentioned in this chapter, refer to Appendix C.

What You've Learned Take a moment now to review the important points of this chapter: •

•

•

If you cannot distribute your animation sequences to fe llow PC users on disk, as described in Chapter 1 4 , you can record your flies to film or to videotape, avenues of distribution open to more peo­ ple. Film is not the most suitable medium for recording computer ani­ mation, but it can be the cheapest. Rather than filming directly from the screen (which doesn't provide enough light), you must save each frame as a separate GIF file and print each GIF image using a special printing utility. Then shoot each page individually using a stop-action camera.

If your printer cannot print colored GIF files, you can hand color

each printed frame using fe lt-tip markers or watercolors. •

•

•

Presentations generally appear more professional when recorded to videotape. A special output device is required to convert the VGA signal provided by Animator to the composite video, or NTSC, signal used by a camcorder VCR. Images colored with intense reds and blues tend to bleed into neighboring images when recorded to videotape. To avoid bleed­ ing, add a little green to your high-intensity colors. Included with Animator is a special color palette , named

NTSC. COL, designed for outputting to composite video. For more information about loading palettes, refer to Chapter 5 . 45 1

Input and Output

•

•

452

If you plug in a casette tape deck or a CD player to the audio input jack of your VCR, you can record a soundtrack for your animation sequence while you are recording the NTSC signal from your computer. By itself, Animator provides no me ans for recording to videotape. You must purchase the makings of a composite video-recording system, including an NTSC output device, a video recorder, and the necessary connector cables.

A

Installing and Configuring Autodesk Animator The first half of this appendix contains complete instru ctions for in­ stalling Animator on your computer. The second half explains how to configure the program to your specific operating requirements. Both steps are prerequisites to using Animator and to learning the informa­ tion contained in this book.

Installing Autodesk Animator Before you can use Animator, you must install the program onto your computer. Luckily, you install Animator only once, not every time you operate the program. If Animator has already been installed, you may want to skip to the Configuring Autodesk Animator section of this appendix. To begin using the program, refer to the Starting Autodesk Anim ator section of Chapter 1 .

Required Equipment Before installing Animator, make sure that your IBM- compatible AT-model PC (or better) is equipped with the following: version 2.0 or higher-numbered versions.

•

DOS

•

640K of internal memory (RAM).

•

VGA or MCGA di splay board and compatible monitor. 453

The Best Book of Animator •

Microsoft-compatible mouse or SummaSketch II tablet.

•

10 megabyte hard disk (optional, but highly recommended).

If any of these items is missing from your current computer sys­ tem, you will not be able to run Animator. Contact your local computer dealer to purchase or seek information concerning any additional equipment. Assuming you have the proper equipment, you can proceed with the installation process.

Power On If you have not done so already, turn on your computer and load the operating system. If your computer has a hard disk, the operating sys­

tem will probably load au t omatically The following DOS (Disk Operat­ .

ing System) prompt will appear on your computer screen:

c> Alternatively, your computer could be set up so that it boots up inside a directory other than the root directory or on a different hard drive, or partition. In such a case, the prompt might look like this:

c:\dirname> or like this:

d> If either of the last two prompts appears on your screen, your hard disk could be organized unconventionally, and installing new software

could disrupt this organization. If someone else set up your computer's hard disk, you may want to consult with this person before installing Animator. If your computer has no hard disk, you will have to load DOS from a floppy disk. The resulting prompt will look something like this: a> Animator works most efficiently if your computer is equipped with a hard disk. You can still use the program if you don't have a hard disk, but accessing sample documents, saving files, and using conver­ sion utilities will take longer.

454

A-Installing and Configuring Autodesk Animator

Installing Autodesk Animator on a Hard Drive Complete the following procedure to install Animator on your com­ puter's hard drive: 1. Change to the root directory of the current drive by typing c d \ and pressing Enter. 2. Including its utilities and sample files, Animator requires about 2 . 5 megabytes of space on your computer's hard drive. To make sure 2.5 megabytes of space are available, type di r at the prompt, then press Enter. A list of files will scroll by. At the end. of the file list, a message appears, stating the number of files contained in the current directory and the amount of space available on the drive. If the amount of free space is less than 2 ,5 00,000 bytes, you will have to delete some files to make room for Animator. If your hard disk is organized into several partitions, you can try to find more space by moving to a different drive partition; type the drive letter followed by a colon (such as d : ) , then press Enter. 3. Make a new directory for the Animator program b y typing md \ an i ma t o r and press Enter. 4. Change this directory to the current directory b y typing c d \ a n i ma t o r and pressing Enter. 5 . Your Animator package includes either four 360K disks or two 720K disks. Insert the disk labeled "Disk 1 " into your computer's A drive. Type c opy a : * . * , then press Enter to copy all files from Disk 1 to the current directory. 6. Repeat step 5 for the remaining disks. 7. After copying all disks, type unpack 1, then press Enter. This runs a utility program which converts the sample picture and animation sequence files in Animator to a useable form.

8. If your version of Animator included two 7ZOK disks, you

have now completed the installation. If your version of Animator included four 360K disks, type unpac k 2 and press Enter after the first unpacking utility is finished.

9.

Eject all original floppy disks and put them in a safe place.

1 0. Delete the UNPACK l . EXE and U NPACKZ .EXE files from you r current directory. From your current directory, type de L u n p a c k 1 . e x e and press Enter. Then type d e l unpac k2 . e x e and press Enter. Animator i s now installed in the Animator directory on the cur­

rent hard drive.

455

The Best Book of Animator

Checking Your Work Your files will not neces­ sarily appear on-screen in the order they are listed in the table.

To make sure you have completed the installation procedure success­ type di r/w, then press Enter. Check your on-screen list of files against the files listed in Table A. 1 . The instructions and sample pro­ jects discussed throughout this book assume you have access to virtu­

fully,

ally every one of these files.

Table A.1 Files Appearing on Your Disk after Animator Is Installed

File Name

456

Description

AA.EXE

Animator program

CONVERT.EXE

T he File Format Converter utility

FUMAKER.EXE

The FLimaker program

AAPLAY.EXE

The Animator Player utility

UNPACK1.EXE

Compressed animation and picture files

UNPACKZ.EXE

More compressed animation and picture files

README.DOC

Documentation update

AAP LAY.DOC

Animator Player utility documentation

MOVIES

Script file for the Animator P layer utility

NTSC.COL

Special palette file for video transfer

AMBER.GIF

Sample picture file

BACKGRND.GIF

Sample picture file

CIT Y.GIF

Sample picture file

HUMBIRD.GIF

Sample picture file

MOON.GIF

Sample picture file

P LAZA.GIF

Sample picture file

PORTRAIT. GIF

Sample picture file

REDLlNE.GIF

Sample picture file

SAMBURU.GIF

Sample picture file

SKYUNE.GIF

Sample picture file

TORP ZOB.GIF

Sample picture file

WALK.GIF

Sample picture file

BBALL.FLI

Sample flic file

BOSSTALK.FU

Sample flic file

GLASS.FU

Sample flic file

HANDS.FU

Sample flic file

JABBER.FU

Sample flic file

MRNUMO.FU

Sample flic file

A-Installing and Configuring Autodesk Animator

Table A.1 (cont.) File Name

Description

TIDES.FU

Sample

TIGERCAT.FLI

Sample

flic file flic file

FISH.CEL

Sample eel file

ARCHP14.FNT

Sample

ARCHP36 .FNT

Sample

BLOCK20.FNT

font file font file Sample font file Sample font file

DEC024.FNT

Sample font file

DEC048.FNT

font file font file Sample font file Sample font file Sample font file Sample font file Sample font file Sample font file Sample font file Sample font file Sample font file Sample font file Sample font file

ARMY24.FNT

EARLY14. FNT POST54.FNT SCIFIOB,FNT SUPBOL22 .FNT SUPBOL3 2 . FNT SYSTEM.FNT VELVET14.FNT VELVET24.FNT WEST10.FNT WEST36.FNT WINDY1 1 .FNT WINDY18. FNT

Sample

Sample

If any of these files is missing from your hard drive, check your original disks for the missing file(s). Also, make sure you have run the UNPACKl .EXE and UNPACK2.EXE programs according to steps 7 and 8.

Installing Animator on Floppy Disks If your computer does not have a hard drive, you should go out and purchase one. As a last resort, you can install Animator to floppy disks, although you will find the experience of running Animator from a floppy disk to be arduous, and sometimes exasperating. The following steps describe how to install Animator to one 720K floppy disk or to two 360K floppy disks: 1.

Format one 720K floppy disk or two 360K floppy disks by typing

fo rmat a : and pressing Enter. A message will appear requesting 457

The Best Book of Animator

that you insert a disk. Make sure that you insert a blank floppy disk or a disk whose data is no longer needed, then press Enter. Be very careful not to format your system disk, an original Animator disk, or another floppy containing important infor­ mation! You should check the directory of a disk before for­ matting it.

2. After you format the first disk, a message will appear asking if you

3.

4.

5. 6.

want to format another. If you are formatting two 360K disks, type Y and insert the second disk. If you are using a 720K disk, type N. Your Animator package includes either four 360K disks or two 720K disks. Only Disks 1 and 2 of the four-disk set are required. Only Disk 1 of the two-disk set is required. Insert Disk 1 into your computer's B drive. Type copy b: *. * and press Enter to copy all files from the original Disk 1 to the current floppy. If you are using 360K disks, repeat step 4 for the second pair of disks. Eject the original floppy disks and put them in a safe place. Label the new Animator disks so that you don't confuse them with other software or system disks.

Animator is now installed to floppy disks. However, the sample files required to complete many of the sample projects in this book will be inaccessible. To use these files, you must have a hard drive.

Configuring Autodesk Animator If you are unfamiliar with mouse operations like

clicking, rgi ht-clicking,

choosing commands, or selecting options, read Chapter 1 before continuing.

458

After installing Animator, you may want to configure the program to your specific requirements before actually using it. However, if you are impatient to start using Animator, that's okay too. Sometimes you ac­ quire a better understanding of your configuration requirements after you have had some experience with the program. Launch the Animator program following the instructions in the Starting Autodesk Anim ator section of Chapter 1. The Home window will display. All of Animator's configuration features are accessed by choosing the Configure ... command from the Extra menu, shown in Figure A.1. If your mouse is not operating correctly, you can also

A-Installing and Configuring Autodesk Animator

choose the Configure . . . command by pressing the E key followed by the C key. EXTRA 'MAS K • • , GP. I D • • • ,R:ECOR:O • • • S.ETT I NG.S • , CONF I GURE ,. �'. '• NFO '? •

Figure A.1 The Configure . . . command from the Extra menu.

After you choose the Configure . . . command, a list of configuration options labeled Adj u s t An i m a t o r c onf i gu r at i on appears, shown in Fig­ ure A.2. These options operate as follows: •

Drive for Temporary Files. Click this option or press 1 to change

the floppy disk or hard drive partition to which Animator saves all te mporary buffer files.

•

Save Default.fix. Click this option or press 2 to save the current flic, color palettes, and command and option settings to a new DEFAULT. FLX file.

•

•

Clock Driver. Click this option or press 3 to change the mouse driver used by Animator. Input Device (Mouse/Tablet). Click this option or press 4 to use

Animator with a Summagraphics-compatible tablet instead of a mouse.

•

Display Coordin ates. Click this option or press 5 to determine

whether a status bar displays when you are using the Box tool, Move tool, or a number of other commands and options. Clicking t oggle s this option on or off.

459

The Best Book of Animator

•

Cancel. Click this option or press 0 to hide the configuration options and return home.

Each configuration option is discussed separately in the following pages.

Figure A.2 The configuration options.

Temporary Files Animator is a powerful graphics program, especially when you con­ sider that it runs on a personal computer with only 640K of memory. To operate within this limited amount of RAM, Animator creates more "memory" for itself by using disk space. The program creates a series of temporary files on disk that it saves to and loads from automatically as you access various buffers. Table A.2 lists these temporary files. From the screen, Animator looks the same, whether it is accessing files in memory or on disk. These files serve two purposes: they allow Animator to operate with a small amount of memory, and they also save the current artwork and window settings ' e ven after you quit the program. For example, if you create a flic then quit Animator without saving the file, the flic and settings will be just as you left them the next time you launch the pro­ gram. Animator is one of the few applications that provides this out­

standing feature. 460

A-Installing and Configuring Autodesk Animator

Table A.2 File Name AATEMP. CEL

Temporary Files Created by Animator

Description The eel buffer, used by commands from the Ce! menu of the Home window and by the Tile tool.

AATEMP. PIC

The swap buffer, used by commands from the Swap menu of the Home window and by the Scrape tool.

AATEMP.TXT

The text buffer, used by the Te xt tool and by the Titling panel.

AATEMP.MSK

The mask buffer, used by the Mask ... command from the Extra menu of the Home window.

AATEMP.REC

The macro buffer, used by the Record . . . command from the Extra menu of the Home window.

AATEMP.CCL

The color buffer, used by the Cut, Paste, and Blend com­ mands from the Value menu of the Palette window.

AATEMP2.PIC

The frame buffer, used by the Restore command from the Pie menu of the Home window.

AATEMP3.PIC

The previous frame buffer, which stores the frame before the current frame for use by the left arrow frame icon.

AATEMP.FLX

The flic buffer, which retains the current animation sequence even after you quit Animator.

AATEMP. OPT

The settings of options and commands in the Optics window.

AATEMP.PLY

The last shape created with a tweenable shape tool.

AATEMPl.PLY

The current start shape i n a tweening sequence.

AATEMPZ . PLY

The current end shape in a tweening sequence.

AATEMPP.PLY

The current transformation path created using the Path button in the Optics panel.

The temporary files are in a constant state of flux. Various com­ mands and options alter the contents of a single file . The most influen­ tial command is the Reset command from the Pie menu. When you choose this command, you delete or alter the following temporary files: •

AATEMP2.PC

•

AATEMP3.PIC

•

AATEMP.FLX

•

AATEMP. OPT

•

AATEMP1.PLY

•

AATEMP 2 .PLY

•

AATEMPP.PLY

Choosing the Reset command does not affect the contents of the

following files: 461

The Best Book of Animator

•

AATEM P. CEL

•

AATEM P. PIC

•

AATEMP. TXT

•

AATEMP.MSK

•

AATEMP. REC

•

AATEMP.CCL

•

AATEMP. P LY

R eset is the only command that can destroy so much information at once, making it the most dangerous command in Animator. Be very sure that you don't want any of the information stored in the buffers it Alternatively, you can create a virtual disk in your computer's memory and allocate that space for temporary files.

affects before you choose this command. ' All temporary files are stored in a special directory, named AAT, on the drive of your choice. You can change the drive location of this direc­ tory by choosing the Configure . . . command from the Extra menu and selecting the Drive for Temporary Files option. A list of options labeled Choose drive for temp. fi Les will appear, as shown in Figure A.3. Your list will contain more options or fewer options, depending on the number of drives available on your computer. The current drive will be identi­ fied by an asterisk. Select a different option or press a number key to change drives. Animator will automatically create an AAT directory on that drive and save the necessary temporary files to it.

Figure A.3 The temporary drive options. 462

A-Installing and Configuring Autodesk Animator

Animator does not delete the old AAT directory when you change drives. You will have to do that manually at the DOS prompt using the DOS delete (del) and remove directory (rdir) commands. Incidentally, swapping buffers to and from the hard drive is a slower process than accessing buffers in RAM. If you want to speed up Animator, you can create a virtual disk (Vdisk or RAM disk) in your computer's memory and allocate that space for temporary files. Refer to your DOS documentation for more information.

C h anging t h e Default Settings By choosing the Configure . . . command and then selecting the Save De­ fault.fix option, you can save the current settings to the DEFAULT. FLX file. This file is used by the Reset command from the Pie menu. The DEFAULT. FLX file records the following information: • •

Every frame in the current animation sequence.

•

All palettes and Palette window settings.

•

All Home panel settings.

•

Settings of all tool and ink options.

•

The size and location of the text box.

•

All Frame and Time Select panel settings.

•

All Optics window settings.

•

To return to Animator's

original default settings, delete the DEFAUL T. FLX fife from the Animator directory and relaunch the program. Before replacing the existing DEFAUL T. FLX file, you may want to save it as a settings file so that it is not lost permanently.

The current contents of the drawing area.

The states (on or off) of the mask and grid, as well as the current grid increment.

The DEFAULT. FLX file does not record or affect the contents of the eel, swap, text, mask , macro, color, and polygon buffers. When you select the S av e Default . Flx option, a new DE­

FAULT. FLX fil e c ont a i n ing the current settings replaces the old file containing Animator's origin al default settings. You can no longer ac­ cess the original settings unless you delete the current DEFAULT. FLX file and relaunch Animator. You can get around this problem by saving the original DEFAULT.FLX file as a settings file b efore you replace it. You can create multiple settings files by choosing the Settings command from the Extra menu, shown in Figure A.4. The Files panel will display; you can then load, save, or delete settings files, which are recognizable by their SET extensions. All settings files record the same information contained in the DEFAULT. FLX file, e x cept for frame images, number of frames, and palette colors. I n other words, settings

files record settings only.

463

The Best Book of Animator

Figure A.4

The Settings command from the Extra menu.

The Clock Driver If your mouse is working properly, don't change the clock driver.

Animator works best when used in combination with a Microsoft-com­ patible mouse. However, if you own a mouse that is not compatible with the Microsoft standard, you may still be able to use it by changing Animator's clock driver, a special program attribute that determines the speed at which Animator tracks the current pointing device. Select the Clock Driver configuration option to display the list of options shown in Figure A.5. These options operate as follows: •

Autodesk Animator Normal Clock. Click th i s option or press 1 if

you are using a standard Microsoft or compatibl e mouse. •

Slower Clock That Works with More Mice. Click this option or press

2 to change the clock driver to work better with a non-Microsoft mouse.

•

Leave Thin gs as They Are. Click this option or press list of options and return home.

0

to hide the

If the mouse isn't working properly or if Animator has displayed a error, you may want to try the second clock driver option. To access this option from the keyboard, type EC32 from the Home window. If selecting the slower clock speed doesn't fix your problem, then Mou s e not i n s t a L Led

464

A-Installing and Configuring Autodesk Animator

Figure A.5 The clock driver options.

the mouse may not be connected to the computer properly. If all con­

nections are okay, and the mouse works properly in other applications, then it simply isn' t compatible with Animator. You'll have to purchase a new Microsoft-compatible mouse.

Using a Tablet The mouse isn't the only input device that can be used with Animator. The program also works with digitizing tablets compatible with the Summagraphics SummaSketch II tablet. To configure Animator for use with such a tablet, select the Input Device (Mouse/Tablet) configura­ tion option, which will display the list of options shown in Figure A.6. These options operate as follows: •

Microsoft-Comp atible Mouse. Click this option or press 1 if you are using a standard Microsoft or compatible mous e.

•

Summagraphics MM 1201 1 2 x 1 2 Ta blet. Click this option or press

•

Set Serial Port for Tablet. Click this option or press

2 if you are using a Summagraphics-compatible tablet.

•

3 to select the serial port into which the tablet is currently plugged.

Cancel . Click this option or press

O to hide the list of options and

return home. 465

The Best Book of Animator

Select the Summagraphics MM 1201 12x12 Tablet option to use a Summagraphics-compatible tablet. T h e list of options shown in Figure A.7 will then appear. If you intend to use a pen-like stylus as the

Figure A.6 The input device options.

Figure A.7 The Summagraphics tablet options. 466

A-Installing and Configuring Autodesk Animator

Figure A.8 The serial port options.

primary pointing device, select the first option. If you prefer to use the larger puck, select the second option. If the tablet is plugged into the computer's first serial port, it is ready fo r use. If the tablet is plugged into a different port, select Set Serial Port for Tablet from the input device options to display another list of options, shown in Figure A.8. Then select the correct serial port so that Animator can track the movement of the stylus or puck.

Display Coordinates The Display Coordinates configuration option is turned on and off by clicking on it or by pressing 5. When this option is on, a status bar dis­ plays at the top of the screen when you are using the Box, Move, and Text tools, and commands like Get from the Cel menu. If you turn the Display Coordinates option off, no status bar will display. You will prob­ ably only want to hide the status bar when you need to see how a tool or command affects an image at the very top of the drawing area.

461

B

Error Messages This appendix is devoted to a list of error messages you might encoun­ ter when using Animator. Errors are listed in alphabetical order along with an explanation of the error and a solution to the problem. An i ma t o r i s n ' t c on f i gu r ed .

Assum i ng Defau l t s . During launching, Animator cannot locate the drive path infor� mation, clock driver speed, and input device information contained in the file AA.CFC. This file is created using the Drive for Temporary Files, Clock Driver:, and Input Device (Mouse/Tablet) options for the Configure . . . command from the Extra menu. Select the Continue button to create a new AA.CFC file using de­ fault settings. If you want to change these settings, apply the Config­ ure . . . command from the Extra menu following the instructions in

App e ndix A . Bad [f i l e t ype] f i l e f o rmat .

The file you're trying to load does not match the current format expected by Animator. Return to the Files panel and make sure that the selected file type button-Flic, Picture, Cel, and so on-matches the type of file that you 're trying to load. If the file type button and the file do not match, select the correct file button and try to load the file again. If the button and file are compatible, the file may be corrupted; that is, part of the file cannot be read because of a bad disk sector. In this case, you should

469

The Best Book of Animator locate a backup copy of the file. If no backup copy exists, you're out of luck. Let this be a lesson to always keep a backup copy of every file you create on a separate floppy disk. If the file was not created in Animator, the problem may be that it is not compatible with Animator. You may be able to convert the file to Animator's GIF format using the Animator File Format Converter util­ ity, which is described in Chapter 12. Disk write-protected.

The floppy disk to which you are attempting to save a file is write­ protected, or locked, such that its contents cannot be altered. After the disk drive light goes out, eject the floppy disk and unlock it. If it's a 5.25-inch disk, expose the indented tab to unlock the disk. If it's a 3.5-inch disk, position the tab so that it covers the small hole. Then insert the disk into the drive and try to save your file again. Fi le corrupted: Cdrive:path\fi le name]

The structure of the file you're trying to load is somehow disar­ ranged. This problem is generally caused by a bad disk sector. If you have a backup copy of the file, load it instead. Otherwise, you're out of luck. Let this be a lesson to always keep a backup copy of every file you create on a separate floppy disk. Fi le isn't

320x200.

Use Autodesk Animator Converter

The file you're trying to open is a valid GIF file, but it was saved at a resolution higher than 320 by 200 pixels. The most common examples of this are GIF files acquired by modem from CompuServe, or a similar bulletin board system. Convert the file to Animator's GIF format using the Animator File Format Converter utility, which is described in Chapter 12. Then try to load the file again in Animator. Fi le Truncated!

If this error occurs during a save operation, it means that the cur­ rent disk drive is too full to accept the file being saved. On rare occa­ sions, this message may appear when you're trying to load a truncated file. Save the file to a different disk or hard drive partition by selecting a different drive button in the file selector panel. Alternatively, you can

410

8-Error Messages

return to the Files panel, click the Delete button, then delete enough files from the current directory to free up adequate disk space. The average picture file requires about 30K of disk space. An ani­ mation file requires as much as 30K per frame. A typical 100frame flic requires over 1 megabyte of disk space.

If this error occurs while you are loading a file, the file will be loaded up to the point where it was truncated. Locate a backup copy of the file and load it instead. If no backup copy exists, you 're out of luck.

Let this be a lesson to always keep a backup copy of every file you create on a separate floppy disk. I s n ' t a [f i le type] f i Le, s o r r y .

The file you're trying to load does not match the current format expected by Animator. Return to the Files panel and make sure that the selected file type button-Flic, Picture, C el , and so on-matches the type of file that you 're trying to load. If the file type button and the file do not match, select the correct file button and try to load the file again. If the button and file are compatible, the file may be corrupted; that is, part of the file cannot be read because of a bad disk sector. In this case, you should locate a backup copy of the file. If no backup copy exists, you're out of luck. Let this be a lesson to always keep a backup copy of every file you

create on a separate floppy disk. If the file was not created in Animator, the problem may be that it is not compatible with Animator. You may be able to convert the file to Animator's GIF format using the Animator File Format Converter util­ ity, which is described in Chapter 1 2. Ma c ro f i Le tru n c ated

The macro file being loaded isn't as long as Animator expects it to be. This problem is generally caused by a bad disk sector. If you have a backup copy of the file , load it instead. Otherwise, you 're out of luck.

Let this be a lesson to always keep a backup copy of every file you create on a separate floppy disk. Mouse not i n s t a l Led .

Use a r row keys to move c u r s o r . 471

Left shift for left button. Right shift for right button.

This message will undoubtedly appear if you are trying to operate Animator without a mouse. But it may also appear if the mouse driver is not installed properly or if the mouse you are using is not Microsoft­ compatible. Check that the mouse is connected properly to your computer. If it is, press the E key, then press the C key to display the list of options labeled Adjust Animator Configuration. Press 4 to select the Input De­ vice (Mouse/Tablet) option, then select the proper input device from the list displayed. If you don't own a Microsoft-compatible mouse, go out and buy one to use jn Animator; it will be the best investment you'll ever make. No macro recording defined.

You have selected the Use Macro or Repeat Macro options, or are trying to save a macro, when the macro buffer is empty. Define a macro using the Start Record or Realtime Record option followed by the End Record option. These options are described in the Making Macros section of Chapter 6. You can also load a macro from disk by selecting the Files ... option and clicking the Load button. Not a [file type] file. Not a good [file type] file.

The file you're trying to load does not match the current format expected by Animator. Return to the Files panel and make sure that the selected file type button-Flic, Picture, Cel, and so on-matches the type of file that you're tryfog to load. If the file type button and the file do not match, select the correct file button and try to load the fil e again. If the button

and file are compatible, the file may be corrupted; that is, part of the file cannot be read because of a bad disk sector. In this case, you should locate a backup copy of the file. If no backup copy exists, you're out of luck. Let this be a lesson to always keep a backup copy of every file you create on a separate fl.oppy disk. If the file was not created in Animator, the problem may be that it is not compatible with Animator. You may be able to convert the file to Animator's GIP format using the Animator File Format Converter util­ ity, which is described in Chapter 12. Not a VGA/MCGA display, sorry.

412

8-Error Messages

Your graphics board and monitor are not capable of displaying graphics in the VGA or MCGA mode. You simply cannot run Animator unless your PC is equipped with a VGA display board. If you're sufficiently interested in using this pro­ gram, purchase a VGA board at your local computer dealer. Not enough memory, s o r r y .

There i s n o t enough memory available t o launch Animator. Either your computer is not equipped with the 640K of RAM necessary to launch the program, or you are running a memory-resident utility program. If you don't have enough memory, purchase more at your local computer dealer. If you are running a memory-resident utility, turn it off and reboot your computer b y simultaneously pressing the Control. Alt, and Delete keys. Not enough room o n tempo r a r y d r i ve .

You have run out o f space o n the temporary drive while operating the program. This error generally resu lts from ignoring a previous error, "Scratch drive only has [quantity] bytes free . ' ' I n the future, you are best off taking care of this disk space problem before it goes this far.

Change the temporary drive using the Drive for Temporary Files option available by choosing the C onfigure . . . command from the Extra menu, as described in Appendix A. Alternatively, you can display the Files panel, click the Delete button, and delete several files from the current temporary directory. Out of memo r y .

You have run out o f RAM space while operating t h e program. Choosing the Quit command and then relaunching Animator may reallocate enough memory to allow you to continue working. If you are running a memory-resident utility, you may want to turn it off and reboot your computer (simultaneously press the Control, Alt, and De­ lete keys) before relaunching Animator. As a last alternative, void the buffers. Choose the Release command from the C el menu, choose the

473

The Best Book of Animator

Release command from the Swap menu, and/or select the Release Mask option after choosing the Mask . . . command from the Extra menu.

Scratch drive [drive:] only has [quantity] bytes free. You have almost run out of space on your temporary drive. You can continue to operate the program, but you probably don't have much time left until the "Not enough room on temporary drive" error appears and prevents you from applying any more commands. Change the temporary drive using the Drive for Temporary Files option of the Configure. . . command from the Extra menu, which is de­ scribed in Appendix A. Alternatively, you can display the Files panel, click the Delete button, and delete several files from the current tempo­ rary directory.

Shape too big, sorry.

An example of this error, as well as a possible solution tor it, is included in the sample project at the end of The Optics Panel section of Chapter 10.

During a transformation from the Optics window, an affected image has become too large to fit inside Animator's three-dimensional coordinate system. The image is extending b eyond the 5 00-pixel boundary of the X, Y, or Z axis. Change the Size, Move, or Path settings in the Optics panel and try again. Preview the transformation before proceeding to the Time Select panel by clicking the Wireframe button.

Sorry, Autodesk Animator can't create: [drive:path\file name] This error can mean one of two things: Either the current floppy disk is write-protected, or the drive is too full to accept the current file. If the disk is locked, wait until the drive light goes out and eject the floppy disk. Unlock a 5 . 2 5 -inch disk by exposing the indented tab.

Unlock a 3.5-inch disk by positioning the tab so that it covers the small hole. Then insert the disk into the drive and try to save your file again. If the drive is full, save the file to a different disk or hard drive partition by selecting a different drive button in the file selector panel. Alternatively, you can return to the Files panel, click the Delete but­ ton, and delete several files from the current directory to free up disk space.

Sorry, Autodesk Animator can't find: [drive:path\file name] The file name entered into the file selector panel during a load operation does not exist in the current directory.

414

8-Error Messages

Use the drive and directory buttons to see if the file is located else­ where. Also check the spelling of the file name. If you enter * . * into the Wildcard option box, you can view all file names in the current direc­ tory, regardless of their extension. Sor r y , menus wou l d n ' t be v i s i b l e .

The Menu Colors command from the Palette menu cannot be completed because applying the colors in the last five registers of the palette grid will make the menus and panel options unreadable. Change one or more colors in registers 251 through 255 of the pal­ ette grid and try the command again. Refer to Chapter 5 for more infor­ mation. Too man y c o lo r s , t r y f e we r f r ame s .

The One Palette command from the Palette menu cannot be com­ pleted because the number of colors in all frames of the current flic is greater than 2 1 , 000, the command's limit. Save the flic in its current state. Then right-click the Delete but­ ton in the Frames panel to delete the first half of the frames in the cur­ rent flic .. Save this new flic under a new name. Load the original flic file, delete the second half of the frames, and save this flic under a new name. Apply the One Palette command to each h alf-flic separatel y. Then use the Join . . . command from the Flic menu to splice the two half­ flics together again. U n k n own G I F r e v i s i on , s o r r y .

The file you're trying t o open i s a valid GIF file, b u t i t employs a format not recognized by Animator, or the GIF file has been cor­ rupted. The most common examples of this are GIF files acquired by

new

modem from CompuServe or a similar bulletin board system. You can neither load nor convert GIF files employing such a format. W r i t e e r r o r on ma c ro f i l e !

If this error occurs when you are saving a macro, it means that the specified drive is too full to accept the macro. Save the macro to a different disk or hard drive partition by select­ ing a different drive button i n the file selector panel. Alternatively, you can return to the Files panel, click the Delete button, and delete several macros from the current directory to free up disk space.

415

c

Guide to Peripherals and Utilities This appendix contains the names of products which can be used in conjunction with Animator. Vendor names, addresses, and telephone numbers are also provided so that you can obtain more information on these products.

Screen Capture Utilities The following PC painting programs include screen capture utilities that save files to a format which can be converted to the Animator GIF file format. The Animator Converter utility described in Chapter 1 2 is used to convert the files. Animator screens can likewise be captured for use by other programs or for use in documentation; fo r example, the figures used in this book are screen captures. ColoRIX VGA Paint Includes PRINTRIX.EXE Saves to PCX format Rix Softworks, Inc. 18552 MacArthur Blvd., Suite 3 7 5 Irvine, CA 92 7 1 5 (800) 345-9059 (800) 2 3 3 - 5983 DeluxePaint II

Includes CAMERA.EXE 417

The Best Book of Animator Saves to LBM format Electronic Arts 1820 Gateway Drive San Mateo, CA 94404

(415) 571-7171 HotShot Graphics Includes GRAB.EXE and WINGRAB.EXE for Windows S9ves to PCX and TIFF formats Rix Softworks, Inc. 18552 MacArthur Blvd., Suite 375 Irvine, CA 92715

(800) 345-9059 PC Paint Includes CAP.COM Saves to PCX and GIF formats Mouse Systems Corporation 47505 Seabridge Drive Fremont, CA 94538

(415) 656-1117 Publisher's Paintbrush Includes FRIEZE.COM Saves to PCX format ZSoft Corporation 450 Franklin Road, Suite 100 Marietta, GA 30067

(404) 428-0008 Splash! Includes WHITECAP.EXE Saves to PCX and TIFF formats Spinnaker Software Corporation 1 Kendall Square Cambridge, MA 02139

(617) 494-1200 A large supply of public domain and shareware utilities is also available; many of these utili ti es can be found through the Compu­ Serve bulletin board system. If you subscribe to CompuServe, log on and type go pi cs to enter the Graphics Support Forum. Then typedL3 or dl4 to enter one of the data libraries containing PC screen capture utili­ ties. You can also locate GIF format clip-art pictures over CompuServe. 418

C-Guide to Peripherals and Utilities

Type go ga l l e r y to enter the Graphics Galley Forum, which contains clip-art images in many different formats. Type f i nd g i f to locate all the GIF pic t ur es in the system .

Input Devices and Cables The following is a list of video capture boards and scanning devices, which are designed to digitize images from video cameras, VCRs, and slides, as well as from printed photographs and artwork. These devices are discussed in Chapter 1 3 .

Barneyscan 3 5 m m Slide Scanner Barneyscan

1 1 98 1 Oth Str ee t B erkeley, CA 94 710 (41 5) 524-6648 Everex Vision 16 Videographics Adapter Vision Technologies, Inc. 48350 Milmont Dr. Fremont, CA 94538 (41 5) 683-2900 Jovian VIA (Video Input Adapter) Jovian Logic Corporation 42808 Christy Street, Suite 230 Fremont, CA 94538 (415) 65 1 -4823 Scanmaster 35mm Slide Scanner

Scanmaster II Flatbed Scanner

Howtec, Inc. 21 Park Avenue Hudson, NH 03055 (603) 882-5200 Targa 8/1 6/24/32 Videographics Adapter TIPS Imaging Software Truevision Inc. 7 3 5 1 Shadeland Station Indianapolis, IN 46256 (800) 858-8783

(3 1 7) 841 -0332

479

The Best Book of Animator Incidentally, if you're having cable problems, the Cables to Go people seem to be the best in the business. T hey are unusually compe­ tent and not at all deterred by the prospect of creating custom cables, no matter how bizarre, provided the price is right: Cables To Go

1-800-826-7904

Output Devices and Printing Utilities T he following is a list of video output boards and boxes, designed to record animated sequences from Animator to videotape. These devices are discussed in Chapter

16

Everex Vision

15.

Videographics Adapter

Vision Technologies, Inc. 48350 Milmont Dr. Fremont, CA 94538 (415) 683-2900 VGA/NTSC Recordable VGA Board US Video

62 Southfield Road Stamford, CT 06902

(203) 964-9000

Targa 8/16/24/32 Videographics Adapter TIPS Imaging Software Truevision Inc. 7351 Shadeland Station Indianapolis, IN 46256 (800) 858-8783 (317) 841-0332 VIN (VGA/RGB Into NTSC) Controller Box Jovian Logic Corporation 42808 Christy Street, Suite 230 Fremont, CA

(415) 651-4823

94538

Willow VGA-T V Board Willow Peripherals 190 Willow Avenue Bronx, NY 10454

(212) 402-0010 480

C-Guide to Peripherals and Utilities

A large supply of p ub l i c domain and shareware printing utilities is also available; many of these utilities can b e found through the Compu· Serve bulletin board system. If you subscribe to CompuServe, log on and type go p i c s to enter th e Gra p h i c s Support Forum. Then t yp e d L8 t o enter the data library containing GIF format p ri n ti ng u ti li ti e s

.

Selected Bibliography If you are interested in learning more about the art of animation, you may want to read the following highly recommended books: Animation (Also called Advanced Animation or Animation: Learn How To Draw Animated Cartoons) by Pre ston Blair Walter Foster How-To-Draw Books 1 949 Although long out of print, this 40-page tabloid-sized book is one of the best animation tutorials of its kind. The author, Preston Blair, was one of the Disney Studios "Nine Old Men , " the head animators responsible for such films as Pinocchio, Bambi, and Fantasia. He also worked under Tex Avery to create Swing Shift Cinderella and similarly memorable (though almost never televised) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer classics. If you can find it, this book is a gold mine of visual information. And to think, I got mine at a Woolco for $ 1 . 00.

The Animation Book: a Complete Guide to Animated Filmmaking-from Flipbooks to Sound Cartoons by Kit Laybourne Crown Pub lisher s 1979 I f i t has t o d o with animation, it's i n this book. Although only five pages are devote d to computer animation (including tweening tech­ niques), the book provides an unequalled insight into the history of ani­ mation and the animation process as a whole. You'll find that many of

t he traditio n al tech ni que s translate effortlessly to the computer envi­ ronment. The book also includes a complete list of animation distribu­ tors, screening centers, and film festivals, with the serious animation student in mind.

481

The Best Book of Animator

Other noteworthy books include the following: The Animated Film

by Ralph Stephenson A. S. Barnes

1981

The Animator's Workbook

by Tony White Phaidon and Watson-Guptill Publications 1986

The Complete Kodak Animation Book

Solomon and Stark 1983

Computer Animation: Theory and Practice

by Magnenat-Thalmann Springer-Verlag Press 1985

Computers for Animation

by S. Hayward Focal Press 1 984

The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons

by J. Lenburg Da Capo 1983

Masters of Animation

by J. Halas Salem House 1987

If you simply can't wait for late-breaking animation news, you can subscribe to Animation Magazine, a periodical devoted to animation and published by Expanded Entertainment in Los Angeles.

482

Index + button, 28

-v (FLirnaker parame te r) , 4 1 2

\ (root directory) button, 2 8 000 tota l colors used, pa cki ng • message, 164 1 Color command, 1 9 1 , 201- 203 1/2 button, 361 1/4 button, 361 116 button, 3 6 1

. •

animating titles, 269-270 animation, 2 2 7 - 2 2 9 eel, 3 7 1 - 389 color, 2 9 5 - 3 1 4 process, 230 selected bibliography, 4 8 1 -482 theory, 227-230 Animator confi guri ng, 4 5 8-46 7

1/8 button, 361

files list, 456-457

1/360 button, 361

hardware requirements, 3, 4 5 3-454

2-color button, 59-60, 70 - 7 1 , 73, 7 5 , 79

installing, 3 - 4 , 4 5 3 - 458 quitting, 19 st art i ng , 4-6

A A (all) buttons, 2 3 3 , 2 3 8 , 349-350

AA.EXE file, 5-6 AAPLAY .DOC fil e, 429

AAPLAY.EXE file,

temporary files list, 4 6 1 -462 Animator File Format Converter Converter

see

429-442 About command, 4 0 1 , 4 3 1

Ani ma tor i sn . t conf i gu red . Assumi ng Def a u lts . message, 469

accessing colors, 145-148 other inks, 108- 1 1 2 tools, 54 Add ink, 1 1 2 - 1 1 3 additive primary model, 1 5 7 - 1 5 8

anti-aliasing, 13 7 Apply Ink command, 24, 1 0 5 - 1 06 Arrange menu, 1 74-1 7 7 ASCII text fil e , 409, 4 1 3 Atari ST files, importing, 3 9 7-398 Auto fit colors, 205-207

Adjust End option, 3 1 9 Adjust Start option, 3 1 9 Air Sp ee d slider bar, 84 alternate mode, 4 3 4 AMBER.GIP fi l e , 1 9 1-193 , 254 - 2 56 Amiga files, importing, 397 -398 ANI fi l e extension, 395

AutoCAD slides, saving, 4 1 0

AUTOFILE .TXT file, 412-413 AutoShade slides, s av i ng , 4 1 0 -411 AutoSketch slides, saving, 410 axes, 3 34-335 axis slider bars, 358 -362 Axis

button,

3 5 9-360

483

The Best Book of Animator

B

Chop at End option, 249-250

Backwards.... command, 245 Bad command or file name message, 5-6

Bad Cfi le typeJ file format. message, 469-470

Below command, 190, 194-195 bias slider bar, 83, 365, 369

bibliography, animation, 481-482 BIRD.GIP file, 54 Blend command, 179, 185-186 blending colors, 305 exercise, 306-311

blue primary, 376 secondary, 376

Blue Frame command, 376 Blue Numbers options, 258 Both button, 362 Box tool, 47-51, 58-59 Boxed button, 78 Bright ink, 114-115 brush shape, 51 exercise 52-54

indicator, 52-54, 238, 350 buffers

eel, 97-100, 107, 190-195, 207 color, 185-186 frame, 231 swap, 94-97, 196-201 text, 88-89, 271-275

c cables vendor list, 479-481 Cancel, 247-248, 250-252, 258 Cancel button, 28, 238 Cel command, 339 eel animation, 371-374 exercise, 378-389 process, 375-378 eel buffer, 97-100, 107, 190, 207 adjusting images, 201-203 exercise, 202-203 emptying, 207 exercise, 196-200 importing images, 194-195

storing images, 191-193 Cel menu, 97, 189-207 eels exercise, 97-100 Center button, 359-360, 362 options, 359-360, 362

character animation, 371-374

Choose drive from temp. files message, 462

484

Circle tool, 60 Circle Wipe option, 252 Clear command, 23, 36 key color, 204-207 option,341

Clear Track button, 350 clearing drawing area, 45-47 screen, 36 clicking, 6 left/right, 6, 8 puck, 8 stylus, 8 Clip Changes command, 377

Clip command, 95, 190-193 Clock Driver option, 459, 464-465 Clocked button, 365-367 Close ink, 115

Closed button, 73, 365, 368

clustering box colors, 17-18

limited ranges of colors, 172-173 Cluster button, 77, 151 menu, 167-174 clusters changing, 152-156 manipulating, 177 selecting, 152-156

CMYK color scheme, 157 color animation, 295-314 buffer

importing colors, 185 mixing colors, 185-186 storing colors, 185 cycling, 120-121 exercise, 312-313

mo del, 156-160

buttons, 151 slider bars, 151

theory, 156-160 wheel, 158-160 colors

accessing, 145-148 blending, 305-311 clustering a limited range, 172-173 cluster cycle, 177 repeating, 174 replacing, 173-174

reversing, swap, 177

174

Index

create new color gradation, 1 7 9-1 81 creating, 1 5 9-160 cycling, 162-164 , 31 1 - 3 1 3 false, 303-304 gradation selection, 1 7 2-173

importing, 183-185 menu and panel, changing, 1 65-166 merging into one palette, 1 64

converting images from other systems, 393-40 1 , 403-408 real-life images to Animator files, 4 1 5-41 6 input devices, 423-426 slides from other systems, 409-413 coordinates (x/y/z) , 334-3 3 5

palette grid, changing 1 7 7-186 producing contrasting versions,

counting frames, 2 78-279

182-183 unus ed, 1 69-170 removing, 1 79

Create option, 2 1 4 Crop options, 2 5 7 Cross-fade option, 246-247

Combine Color Maps option, 247 combining scanned images, 4 1 8-420

Correct Aspect Ratio, 403

current cluster, 1 5 2 - 1 5 6

command buttons, 1 3- 1 6 commands, 9 Complete option, 407 command, 343 button, 306 Compos i te f l i c s ta rt i ng t h i s f r ame?

message, 249 Composite . . . . command, 244-250 CONFIG.SYS file, 6 Configure . . . . command, 458-46 7 Clock Driver option, 459, 464-465 Display Coordinates option, 4 5 9 , 467 Drive for Temporary Files option, 459-463 Input Device (Mouse/Tablet) option, 459, 465-467 Save Default.fix option, 459-463 configuring Animator, 458-46 7 connector cables, 449, 4 5 1 Continue Move button, 3 5 0 continuity slider bar, 8 1 , 3 6 5 , 368-369 contoured , 1 2 5

contrasting colors,

18 2·183 exercise, 1 8 2-183 converter box, 447-448 Converter menu About command, 401 Memory command, 401 Move command, 401, 405 Quit command , 401 Scale command, 401 , 403-405 Slide command, 4 0 1 , 405-407 Converter utility, 393-394, 397-398 adjusting pictures, 399-40 1 , 403-407 compatible file types, 395 saving files, 408-409 using, 395-396 viewing fi les, 408-409

convertible file

types, 395

color indicator, 2 3 8 , 3 5 0 color, changing, 1 4 9 element seri es, 340 frame indicator, 232 ink indicator, 2 3 7-350 range indicator, 2 3 3 , 2 3 8 Current Frame slider bar, 2 3 2 current segment slider bar, 2 3 3 , 2 3 8 cursor, 9-10 movement, 1 1 curve, spline, 8 1 -84 Cut option, 250 command, 1 78, 1 8 5 cycle cluster colors, 1 7 7 Cycle Clusters command, 1 7 7 Cycle command, 1 7 5 Cycle Draw command, 1 6 1 -164 cycling colors, 3 1 1 - 3 1 3 exercise, 1 6 2 - 1 64

D D (delete] button, Dark ink, 1 1 6

26

Default, 403 button, 360, 362 command, 1 78, 1 83-1 84 default settings. changing, 463 DEFAULT.FLX file, 46-4 7 , 177, 1 8 3-184, 463 Delete button, 2 3 3 deleting files, 2 5 description box, 5 5-56 determinants move, 364-365 path, 365-369 size, 3 62 -364 spin, 3 5 9-361 transformation,

357-369 485

The Best Book of Animator drive button, 2 7 Drive for Temporary files Driz tool, 60-62 Drizzle see Driz, 60-62

digitization, 415-416, 423-426

digitizing tablet, 7-8 directory button, 27 Disk write-protected. message, 470 disks floppy. 457-458 hard, 455-457

displaying the Palette window, 150-151 Dissolve option, 252 Dither, 403 button, 114 Do Titling button, 271, 279

E E (exit) button, 26 Edge tool, 61-6 3 Edit button, 88-89, 365, 367 Edit Text button, 272

Do Tween option, 319 dragging mouse, 7 puck, 8

Move tool, 67-69 Oval tool, 69-70 Petal tool, 70-73 Poly tool, 73-75 RPoly tool, 75-77 scrolling tool list, 54 Sep tool, 77-78 Shape tool, 79 Spiral tool, 79-80 Spline tool, 81-84 Spray tool, 84-85 Star tool, 85 Streak tool, 86-87 Text tool, 87-89

tool slots, 54 drawings see pictures, 2 3 486

459-463

dynamic transformation, 350, 352 creating, 353-355 exercise, 353-355

Display Coordinates option, 459, 467

stylus, 8 Draw tool, 47-51, 60 drawing a rectangle exercise, 31-32 drawing area, 9-11 importing from eel buffer, 194-195 resetting, 45-47 storing in eel buffer, 191-193 drawing on-screen, 10-11, 31-32 drawing tablet, 6-8 Drawing tools panel, 317-319 Box tool, 58-59 Circle tool, 60 description box, 55-56 Draw tool, 60 Driz tool, 60-62 Edge tool, 61-63 Fill tool, 63-64 Fillto tool, 63-65 Get tool, 65-66 Line tool, 66-6 7 modification options, 56-57

option,

editing flies, 234-237 Effects .... command, 244, 257-258, 421 Element menu, 339-340 Cel command, 339 Flic command, 339 Outline command, 339 Polygon command, 339

Spline command, 339 ellipses (.. ) following commands, 12 Emboss ink, 116-118 emptying the eel buffer, 207 emulating a color series exercise, 171-172 End Record option, 218

·

End to Start option, 319 Engrave option. 258 enhancing scanned images, 418-420 enlarging screen images, 36-39 entry mode, file selector panel, 433 Erase Guides command, 377 error messages, 469-475 see also messages, 469 Everex Vision 16, 425-426 exclusive or see XOR. 140-141 exercises animation, 18-19

blending, 306-311 br us h shape, 52-54

eel animation, 378-389 eel buffer, changing images within

202-203 eel buffer, changing and pasting images, 196-200 eel buffer, storing images, 191-193 eels, working with, 97-100 color cycling, 162-164, 312-313 colors, changing panel and menu, 165-166 colors, creating gradations, 180-181 colors, importing, 183-184

drawing a rect angle , 31-32

Index

dynamic transformation, 353-355 emulating a color series, 1 7 1 - 1 7 2 fading, 297-303 file selector panel, 28-30

flic file, editing, 234-23 7 grids, using, 2 1 5 - 2 1 7 images, importing from eel buffer, 1 94-195 importing colors, 1 8 3-184 inking the drawing area, 1 05-106 inks, original, 1 00-104 j oining flies/special effects, 262-266 macr o s recording and playing , ,

2 19-220 masking images, 2 1 0 - 2 1 3 mini-palette, 147-148 modification options, 56-57, 109-1 1 2 Options . . . . , 205-207 painting with images, 93-95

producing contrasting colors, 1 8 2 - 1 8 3 Restore command, 34-35 selecting and changing clusters, 152-156 starting orientation, 3 5 5 - 3 5 7 swap menu, 96-97 text animation, 2 79-290 three-dimensional transformatior >, 344-349 time operation, 2 3 9-242 tools, experimenting, 4 7 - 5 1 transition types, 253-257 tweening, creating a sequence, 323-333 Undo button experiment, 3 3 unused colors, 169-1 70 using the color slider bars, 159-160 viewing a painting, 32 Zoom button in action, 36-39 Exit menu, 3 1 9 , 403, 407

file extensions, 28, 342, 3 9 5 , 409-4 1 1 F i L e i s n . t 320x200 . Use Autodesk Ani mator Conver t e r message, 47 0 File menu, 432-434

FLI Lo a d . . . c om m an d 4 3 1 GIF Loa d. . . . command, 4 3 1 Script Load . . . . command, 4 3 2 file selector panel, 2 6 , 432 + button, 2 8 . . (directory) button, 2 8 \ (root directory) button, 28 Cancel button, 2 8 directory button, 2 7 drive button, 2 7 key functions, 433-434 OK button, 2 8 sc ro lling file l is t 2 7 title bar, 2 7 tutorial, 28-30 Fi le Trunca ted . me s sage 47 0-4 7 1 file type buttons, 2 6 file types, convertible, 395 filelist (FLimaker parameter), 4 1 2 files AA.EXE, 5-6 AAPLAY .DOC, 429 AAPLAY.EXE, 429-442 AMBER.GIF, 1 91 - 193, 254-256 Animator list, 456-45 7 , 461-462 ASCII, 409, 4 1 3 AUTOFILE.TXT, 4 1 2-41 3 BIRD.GIP, 54 CONFIG.SYS, 6 DEFAULT.FLX, 46-47, 1 7 7 , 1 8 3-1 84, 463 de l eting , 25 listing, 4 1 1 loading, 2 5 , 396-399 .

,

,

,

exit ing, Animator, 19

MOON.GIF, 96

Expand x2 options, 2 5 7 Extra menu, 208-220

MOONWALK.FL!, 2 4 2 , 264 MRNUMO.FLI, 2 39-242 NTSC.COL, 1 6 7 , 448 overwriting, 4 0 Palette, 1 6 7 REDLINE.GIF, 97, 1 83 - 1 84 saving, 2 5 , 408-409 script, 4.38-442 temporary, 460-463 TIGERCAT.FLI, 262 UNPACKl.EXE, 4 UNPACK2 . EXE, 4 viewing, 408-409

Configure . . . . command, 45, 458-467

F F (filled) button, 2 3 7 , 350 F (frame) button, 233, 2 3 8 , 349-350 Fade Out option, 2 5 2 fading exercise, 297-303 fading in/out, 296 fading off/on, 296 false colors, 303-304

Fi le corrupted : [d r i ve : path\fi le name] message, 470

WALK.FL!, 254-256 WALK.GIF, 36-39, 93, 167, 2 5 3

487

The Best Book of Animator Files button, 25, 73-75 Files panel

D (delete) button,

counting, 278-279 key, 375 tween, 375-376

26

Frames panel, 232-233 fully justified, 275

E (exit) button, 26 file type buttons, 26 Files button, 25-26 frame icons, 26 L (load) button, 26 S (save) button, 26, 39-41 Files.... option, 218, 341-342 command, 24-25, 161, 167, 191, 245

G Gel tool, 65-66 Get Cluster command, 167 Get command, 190-193 getting back to the Home window, 9-10 GIF file extension, 28, 395, 409 GIF files, importing, 399 GIF Load .... command, 431 Glass ink, 100, 118-119 Glaze ink, 119-120 Glow ink, 120-121

Fill tool, 47-51, 63-64 Filled button, 59-60, 70-71, 73, 75, 79 Fillto tool, 63-65 film recording, 445-447 Find Ramp command, 168, 172 Fit button, 150, 175, 178, 295-296 flatbed scanner, 426 FLI extension, 395 FLI Load.... command, 431 Flic command, 339 flic file, editing exercise, 234-23 7 Flic menu, 244-258 Effects.... command, 421 Load command, 396-397 Reset command, 46-47 Save command, 408-409 View command, 408 flies, 231 editing, 234-237 joining, 250-257 linking, 244 merging, 245-250 recording film, 445-447 videotape, 447-451 FLimaker utility, 393, 409-411 -v, 4 12 filelist, 412 fliname, 412 parameter viewing, 412-413 speed, 412 fliname, 412 Flip Five command, 378 flipping images, 196-201 floppy disk, installing Animator, 457-458 Font button, 89 frame buffer, 231 Frame Control panel, key functions, 436-437

Frame Count button, 271, 278-279 frame icons, 26, 151, 231-232, 237, 350 frames, 231

488

gradation of colors create new colors, 179-181 exercise, 180-18 i selecting, 172-173 gradient inks, 121-122, 125-126, 128-130, 140

gradients, sorting, 176 Gradients command, 175-176 Gray ink, 121 Grays Only options, 258 Grid Snap Control Create option, 214 Paste option, 214 Use option, 214 View option, 214 Grid.... command, 213-217 grids, 213-217 exercise, 215-217

H H Grad ink, 121-122 hard disk, installing Animator, 455-458 requirements, Animator, 3, .

hardware

453-454

hiding menus, 12 HLS button, 160 color models, 151, 156-160 Hollow ink, 122-124 home, 9-10 Home button, 13-16 Home panel, 9, 13-18, 100, 231 Box tool, 47-51 brush shape indicator, 52-54 colors, 145 ·

Draw tool, 47-51

Index

Emboss, 1 16 - 1 1 8 Glass, 1 0 0 , 1 1 8-1 1 9

Fill tool, 4 7 - 5 1 Poly tool, 4 7- 5 1 Spray tool, 4 7 - 5 1 Text tool, 47-5 1 tool slots, 54 Home window, 8

Glaze, 1 1 9- 1 2 0 Glow, 1 2 0 - 1 2 1 gradient, 1 2 1 - 1 2 2 , 1 2 5 - 1 2 6 , 1 2 8-1 30,

getting back, 9 - 1 0 horizontal gradient ink How to join the ends?

Gray, 121 H Grad, 1 2 1 - 1 2 2 Hollow, 1 2 2 - 1 2 4

140

see

H Grad ink

Jumble, 1 2 3 - 1 2 5 L Grad, 1 2 5 - 1 2 7 modification options, 109- 1 1 2 Opaque, 1 00 , 1 2 7

Cancel option, 2 5 1 Cut option, 2 5 0 Transition option, 250 hue, 1 56-160

Pull, 1 2 7 R Grad, 1 2 8-130

I

Scrape, 1 00 - 1 3 0 Smear, 1 3 1 Soften, 1 00 , 1 3 2 Spark, 1 3 3 Split, 1 3 4 Sweep, 1 3 5- 1 3 6

icons, frame, 2 6 , 1 5 1 , 2 3 1 - 2 3 2 , 2 3 7 , 3 5 0 images adjusting in eel buffer, 2 0 1 - 2 0 3 drawing on-screen, 3 1 - 3 2 flipping, 1 9 6-201 importing from eel buffer, 1 94 - 1 9 5 importing from other systems, 393-408 masking, 209-2 1 3 painting with, 93-95 protecting parts, 208- 2 1 3

Tile, 1 0 0 , 1 3 7 Unzag, 1 3 7 V Grad, 1 0 0 , 1 4 0

_

resizing, 1 9 6 - 2 0 1 rotating, 1 96-201 scanned, 4 1 8-420 storing in eel buffer, 1 9 1 - 1 93 importing colors, 1 8 3-185 exercise, 1 83 - 1 84 images from eel buffer, 1 94 - 1 9 5 exercise, 1 94 - 1 95 images from other systems, 393-408 slides from other systems, 409-4 1 3 I n Slow

button,

XOR, 1 4 0 - 1 4 1 inks, original exercise, 100-104 Inner Radius Ratio slider bar, 7 1 Input Device (Mouse/Tablet) option, 459, 465-4 6 7

input devices converting real-life images, 423-426 mouse, 465 tablet, 465-467 vendor list, 4 79-4 8 1 Insert button, 2 3 3 Insert Tween command, 3 7 7 installing Animator, 3-4, 4 5 3-454 floppy disk, 45 7-458

hard disk, 455-457

306

command, 343 incoming flic, 245-250 ink buttons, 1 3- 1 6 description box, 1 0 9 , 1 1 1 - 1 1 2 slots, 1 0 8 - 1 0 9 , 1 1 1- 1 1 2 Ink Strength slider bar, 1 1 4 - 1 1 5 inking the drawing area exercise, 1 05-106 inks, 100-104, 107 accessing, 1 0 8 - 1 1 2 Add, 1 12-113 applying, 1 0 5 - 1 06 Bright, 1 14-1 1 5

Close, 1 1 5 Dark, 1 1 6

Invert command, 168, 1 7 3 - 1 74 irregular polygon, 7 3 - 7 5 Isn . t a [ f i Le type] fi L e , sorry. message, 4 7 1 jiffy, 2 3 3

J Join Flic? Cancel option, 2 5 0 To End option, 2 5 0 To Start option, 2 50 Join . . . . command, 244, 2 5 0 -2 5 7

joining flies,

250-257 special effects exercise, 262-266

489

The Best Book of Animator Jovian VIA, 424-425 Jumble ink, 123-125 justification, 275-278 Justify options, 271, 277-278 Center, 275 Fill Line, 275 Left, 275-276 Right, 275

K K (clear key color) button, 237, 245-247, 350 Keep Current Colors option, 247 key color indicator, 151 key frames, 375 key functions File Selector panel, 433-434 Frame Control panel, 435-437 keyboard lock, 437-438

L L (load) button, 26 L Grad ink, 125-127 Lace options, 258 LBM extension, 395 left button, mouse, 6 left-clicking, 6 left-justified, 275 Line Cluster command, 168, 171-172 Line tool, 66-67 Line-Contour Gradient ink see L Grad ink, 125-127 linking flies, 244 listing files, 411 Load command, 397-399 load button, 365-368

Load Amiga

command, 397-398

Files .... option, 218 Realtime Record option, 218 Repeat Macro option, 218 Start Record option, 218 Use Macro option, 218 macros, 217-221 macros, recording and playing exercise, 219-220 manipulating clusters, 177 Marks button, 233 Mask menu, 208-213 Clip option, 208 Create option, 208 Files.... option, 209 Invert option, 208 Paste option, 209 Release option, 209 Use option, 208 View option, 209 Mask. ... command, 208-213 masking, 208-213 images, 209 exercise, 210, 211, 212, 213 Max blend percent? message, 185-186 Max tint percentage? message, 181 Memory command, 401 menu bar, 9, 11-13 Menu Colors command, 161 menus Arrange, 174-177 Cel. 97, 189-207 changing colors, 165-166

Load button, 89

Cluster,

Load Flic command, 397 Load Font button, 273 Load GIF command, 399 Load Macintosh command, 399 Load PCX command, 399 Load ST command, 397-398 Load Targa command, 398 Load Text button, 273 loading files, 25, 396-399 Palette, 167 Loop Segment command, 378 Luma Sort command, 175-176

Converter, 401, 403-407

luminance, 158-160 sorting, 176

490

M M (mask) button, 237, 350 Macintosh files, importing, 399 Macro fi Le truncated message, 471 Macro Recording End Record option, 218

167-174

Element, 339-340 Extra, 45, 208-220, 458-459, 463-467 File, 431-434 Flic, 46-47, 244-258, 396-397, 408-409, 421 hiding, 12 Mask, 208-213 Movement, 342-343 Palette, 160-174 Pie, 23, 39-41, 105-106, 397-399 Player, 431 Presets, 340-341 selecting, 12-13

Index Swap, 95-97 Trace, 3 76-378 Value, 1 7 7-186 merging colors into one palette, 164 flic files, 245-250 messages 000 tota l co Lo rs used, packi ng

Unknown G I F revi s i on, sorry . , 4 7 5 U s e t h i s co lor set for menus'? , 1 6 6 Wri te e r ror on ma c ro f i L e ! , 4 7 5

mini-palette, 1 7- 1 8 changing, 1 4 7 - 1 4 8 , 1 5 1 exercise, 147-148 •

.

•

mixing colors, 1 56-160 color buffer, 1 8 5-186 mode buttons, 13-16, 237

,

164 Ani mator i sn . t conf i gured . Assumi ng Defau l t s . , 469 Bad command or f i Le name , 5-6 Bad [fi Le type] fi L e f o rmat . , 469-470 Choose d r i ve f rom temp. fi Les , 462 Composi te f l i c s ta rt i ng t h i s f rame'? , 249 Di s k w r i te-protected . , 470 F i L e cor rupted : [d r i ve : pa t h \ f i Le nameJ , 470 F i Le i sn . t 320x200 . Use Autodesk Ani mator Conve rt e r , 4 7 0 F i Le Truncated . , 470-4 7 1 Isn . t a [ f i Le type] f i L e , s o r ry . , 4 7 1 Ma c ro f i Le t runcated , 4 7 1 Max t i nt percentage? , 1 8 1 Mouse n o t i n s t a L Led , 464 Mouse not i ns t a l led . Use a r row keys to move cursor . , 471-472

ink, 109-1 1 2 exercise, 5 6 - 5 7 , 109-112 MOON.GIF file, 96 MOONWALK.FLI file, 242, 264 mouse clicking, 6

Mouse not i ns t a l led . U s e a r row keys t o

No ma c ro record i ng def i ned . , 472

move curso r . message,464, 4 7 1-472

Not a VGA/MCGA d i sp lay, sorry . , 4 72-473 Not a [fi Le type] fi Le. Not a good [ f i Le type] f i L e . , 472

Move button, 3 5 0-3 5 1 , 364-365 command, 1 90 , 2 0 1 - 2 0 3 , 401, 405 tool, 67-69 move determinants, 364-365

Not enough memory, sorry, 473

Not enough room on tempo r a ry d r i ve . , 473 Out of memory, 4 73-474

Reset to def au L t . f lx , 46 S c r a t c h d r i ve [dri ve : ] on ly has [quant i ty] bytes f ree . , 474 Set zoom Leve L , 38 Shape too big, sorry . , 474 Sorry, Autodesk Ani mator c a n . t c re a t e : Cd ri ve : pa t h \ f i Le name] , 474 Sorry, Autodesk Ani mator c a n . t f i nd : [d r i ve : pa t h \ f i Le name] , 474-4 7 5 •

.

•

,

166 S o r ry menus wouldn . t be v i s i b le , 475 Ti n ti ng sou r c e , 1 8 1

Too many colors, t ry fewer f rames . , 475

M (mask) button, 3 5 0 T (time) button, 3 5 0 modes (file selector) alternate, 434 entry, 4 3 3 modification options, 5 6 - 5 7

dragging, 7 input device, 465 left/right button, 6 moving, 7 Mouse Control buttons, 3 5 0

Max b lend percent? , 1 8 5 - 1 86

Sor ry, menus wou ldn . t b e v i s i b le

F (filled) button, 350 K (clear key color) button, 3 5 0

X axis slider bar, 364 Y axis slider bar, 364 Z axis slider bar, 365 Movement buttons, 239, 305-306 Complete, 306 In Slow, 306 Out Slow, 306 Ping-Pong, 306 Reverse, 306 Still, 305-306 Movement options, 2 7 1 Scroll Across, 2 74 Scroll Up, 2 7 3-274 Still, 2 74 Type On, 2 74 Movement menu, 342-343 Complete command, 343

In Slow command, 3 4 3

Out Slow command, 3 4 3

491

The Best Book of Animator Ping-Pong command, 343 Reverse command, 343 Still command, 343 moving the mouse, 7 MRNUMO.FLI file, 239-242 multiply frames button, 233

N Near button, 77-78 Near Color command, 168, 172-173 near threshold, 173 Near Threshold slider bar, 78 Negative command, 178, 182-183 NEO file extension, 395 New command, 244 New Text button, 271-272 Next Blue Frame command, 377 No Fitting option, 248 No macro recording defined. message,

472 Not a VGA/MCGA display, sorry. message, 472-473 Not a [file type] fi Le. Not a good Cfi Le type] fi Le. message, 472 Not enough memory, sorry. message, 473 Not enough room on temporary drive. message, 473 NTSC signal, 447-448, 450-451 NTSC.COL file, 167, 448

0 OK button (file selector panel), 28 One Palette command, 161, 164 Opaque ink, 100, 127 Open button, 365, 368 OPT file extension, 342 Optics

button,

349

command, 333-334 Optics panel, 339-343 brush shape indicator, 350 Clear Track button, 350 Continue Move button, 350 current color indicator, 350 current ink indicator, 350 F (frame)/S (segment)/A (all) buttons, 349-350 frame icons, 350 mode buttons, 350 Mouse Control buttons, 350 Optics button, 349

transformation buttons, 362-369

492

350-351,

Use button, 350 Wireframe button, 350 Optics window, 335-336 Options ... , command, 191, 203-207 exercise, 205-207 orientation, starting, 350, 355-357 origin,transformation, 352 Out of memory. message, 473-474 Out Slow button, 306 command, 343 Outline command, 339 output devices vendor list, 480-481 video, 449-451 Oval tool, 69-70 2-color button, 70 Filled button, 70 Overlay option, 246 overwriting files, 40

p painting with images exercise, 93-95 paintings see pictures palette, replacing, 183-184 Palette button, 150 menu, 160-174 panel, 149, 295-296 window, 149, 167-186 displaying, 150-151 Palette files loading, 167 saving, 167 palette grid, 151 colors, changing, 177-186 panel and menu colors exercise, 165-166 panels changing colors, 165-166 Drawing tools, 54-89, 317-319 file selector, 26-30, 432-434 Files, 25-26 Frame Control, 435-43 7 Frames, 232-233 Home, 9, 13-18, 47-54, 100, 145, 231 Optics, 339-343, 349-351, 362-369 Palette, 149, 295-296 Time Select, 237-239, 305-306 Titling, 269-279 Paste option, 214 Paste command, 96, 179, 185, 190 Pasting command, 194-195

Index Player window, 4 3 1 -442

Path button, 3 50- 3 5 1 , 365-369 determinants, 365-369 bias slider bar, 365, 369 Closed button, 365, 368 continuity sli der bar, 365, 368-369 Open button, 365, 368 p ath command buttons, 36 5-368 path type buttons, 365-367 tension slider bar, 3 6 5 , 368

path command buttons, 3 6 5-368 path type buttons Clocked, 365-367 Polygon, 36 5-366 Sampled, 365-366 Spline, 365-366

PC Paintbrush files.importing, 399 PC1 file extension, 395 PC2 file extension, 395 PC3 file extension, 395 PCX file extension, 395

Petal tool, 70-73

2-color button, 71 Filled button, 7 1 Inner Radius Ratio slider bar, 7 1 Points slider bar, 71 PI1 extension, 3 95 PI2 extension, 3 9 5 PI3 extension, 3 9 5 P i e menu, 2 3 - 2 5 , 105-106 Apply Ink command, 24 Clear command, 2 3 , 36 Files .... command, 24-2 5 , 39-41 Load command, 3 9 7-399 Restore command, 24 Separate command, 24 View command, 24 pictures ca nceli ng

,

33

creating, 2 3-35 drawing on-screen, 3 1-32 restoring, 34-35 saving, 39-41 Ping-Pong button, 3 0 6 command, 168-169, 1 7 4 , 343

Points slider bar, 7 1 , 7 5 Poly tool. 47-51, 7 3 - 7 5 2-color button, 73 Closed button, 73 Files button, 7 3 - 7 5 Filled button, 7 3 Reuse button, 7 3 - 7 5 Tween button, 7 3- 7 5

polygon irregular, 7 3 - 7 5 regular, 7 5 - 7 7

Polygon button, 365-366 command, 339 polymorphic tweening, 74, 3 1 7- 3 3 3 p ower o n , 4 5 4 Presets menu, 340-341 Clear option, 341 Files .... option, 341-342 Pull Back option, 341 Spin option, 341 Spin Small option, 341 Squash option, 341

Twirl option, 3 4 1 Whirl option, 3 4 1 Preview button, 2 3 8 option, 4 0 7 primary blue, 3 7 6 colors, 1 56 - 1 5 8 puck, 8

Pull Back option, 341

Pull ink, 1 2 7

Q-R quick animation exercise, 18-19 Quit command, 401 , 431 quitting, Animator, 19 R Grad ink, 1 2 8 - 1 3 0 Radial Gradient i n k s & e R Grad ink RAM (random access memory), 2 0 7 RA M disk, 4 6 3 Ramp command, 1 78 - 1 8 1

Pixelate options, 2 5 7-258 pixels, 36

range buttons, 1 5 1

Place Window button, 2 7 3

Record . . . . command, 2 1 8-220

Play Speed slider bar, 2 3 3

Player (AAPLA Y.EXE) utility, 429-442 Player menu

Realtime Record option, 2 1 8 recording flies film, 445-447 videotape, 447-4 5 1

About command, 4 3 1

REDLINE.GIF fil e , 9 7 , 1 83-184

Quit command, 4 3 1

regular polygon, 7 5 - 7 7

493

Book of Animator

Release command, 96, 191, 207 removing unused colors, 179 render, 271, 403 Render and Save option, 407 Render button, 238 Repeat Changes command, 377 Repeat Macro option, 218 Reset command, 46-47, 244 Reset to default.flx message, 46 resetting the drawing area, 45-47 resizing images, 196-201 Restore command, 24, 161 restoring pictures, 34-35 exercise, 34-35 returning to the Home window, 9-10 Reuse button, 73-75, 88, 317-318 Reverse button, 306 command, 169, 174, 343 reversing cluster colors, 174 Revert, 403 RGB button, 160 RGB color models, 147-148, 151, 156-160 RIF file extension, 395 right button, mouse, 6 right-clicking, 6, 8 right-justified, 275 RND file extension, 409-411 rotating images, 196-201 rotation, three dimensional, 336 RPoly tool, 75-77 2-color button, 75 Filled button, 75 Points slider bar, 75

s S (save) button, 26, 39-41 S (segment) button, 233, 349-350 Same as Size button, 360 Same as Spin button, 362 Sampled button, 365-366 saturation, 121, 158-160 save button, 89, 365, 368 Save command, 408-409 Save Default.fix option, 459, 463 saving files, 25, 167, 408-409 pictures, 39-41 Scale command, 401, 403-405 Correct Aspect Ratio, 403 Default, 403 Dither, 403 Exit menu, 403 Render, 403 494

Revert, 403 Set Height, 403 Set Width, 401 scanned images combining, 418-420 enhancing, 418-420 scanners, flatbed, 426 scanning, 415-416, 423-426 devices, 426 Scrape ink, 100, 130 Scratch drive (drive:] onl y has (quantit y ] bytes free. message, 474

screens clearing, 36 zoom feature, 36-39 script file, 438-439 codes, 440 options, 441·442 parameters, 440 Script Load.... command, 432 Scrolling options, 271, 274-275 By Character, 275 By Pixel, 275 scrolling file list (file selector panel), 27 ink list, 109, 111-112 tool list, 54 secondary blue, 376 Segment button, 233, 238 Segment Flip command, 378 selecting and changing clusters exercise, 152-156 Sep tool, 77-78 Boxed button, 78 Cluster Button, 77 Near Button, 77-78 Near Threshold slider bar, 78 Single Button, 77 Separate command, 24 Separate see Sep SEQ file extension, 395 Set End Position option, 319 Set Frames option, 406 Set Height, 403 Set Start Position option, 319 Set Width, 401 Set X option, 406 Set Y option, 406 Set zoom level message, 38 $hape too big, sorry . message, 474 Shape tool, 79 2-color button, 79 Filled button, 79 Shrink x2 options, 257

Index

Single button, 7 7

Size button ,

3 5 0- 3 5 1 , 362-364 size determinants, 362-364 Both button, 362 Center button, 362 X button, 362 Y button, 362 SLD file extension, 409-4 1 1 Slide command, 40 1 , 405-407 Complete option, 407 Exit Menu option, 407 Preview option, 407 Render and Save option, 407 Set Frames option, 406 Set X option, 406 Set Y option, 406 Slide with Mouse option, 406 Slide with Mouse option, 406 slider bars Air Speed, 84 axis, 35 8-362 Bias, 83 bias, 365, 369 color, 1 5 1 Continuity, 8 1 , 3 6 5 , 368-369 current segment, 2 3 3 , 2 3 8 Ink Strength, 1 14- 1 1 5 Inner Radius Ratio, 7 1 Near Threshold, 78 Play Speed, 2 3 3 Points, 7 1 , 7 5 Spray Width, 8 4 Tension, 8 1 , 3 6 5 , 3 6 8 X axis, 364 Y axis, 364 Z axis, 365 slides importing from other systems, 409-4 1 3

saving, 410-41 1

slots

ink, 108-109, 1 1 1- 1 1 2 tool, 54 Smear ink, 1 3 1 Soften ink, 1 0 0 , 1 3 2 Sorry, Autodesk Ani mator can . t c rea t e : [d r i ve : pa t h \ f i Le name] message, 4 74 Sorry, Autodesk Ani mator c a n . t f i nd : [d r i ve : pa t h \ f i Le name] message,

474-475 Sorry, menus wou ldn . t be v i s i b l e messa g e, 1 6 6 , 4 7 5

sorting by gradients/luminance/spectrums, 1 76

Sp acebar function, 1 0

Spark ink, 1 3 3 special effects, 4 2 1 -422 Blue Numbers options, 258 Cancel options, 258 Crop options, 257 Engrave options, 258 Expand x2 options, 257 Grays Only options, 2 5 8 Lace options, 2 5 8 Pixelate options, 2 5 7-258 Shrink x2 options, 2 5 7 Trails options, 2 5 7 spectral groups , 1 7 6 spectrums, sorting, 1 76 Spectrums command, 1 75 - 1 76 speed (FLimaker parameter] , 4 1 2 Spin option, 3 4 1 , 3 5 0-3 5 1 , 359-361 spin determinants, 3 5 9- 3 6 1 Axis button, 3 5 9-360 Center button, 3 5 9-360 Turns button, 359, 3 6 1 Spin Small option, 3 4 1 Spiral tool, 79-80 Spline

button,

365-366 command, 3 3 9 curve, 8 1-84

Spline tool, 8 1 -84 Bias slider bar, 8 3 Continutity Slider bar, 81 Tension Slider bar, 8 1 Split ink, 1 3 4 Spray tool, 47-5 1 , 84-85 Air Speed slider bar, 84 Spray Width slider bar, 84 Spray Width slider bar, 84

Squash option, 341 Squeeze command, 1 7 7 - 1 7 8 Star tool, 8 5 Start Record option, 2 1 8 starting Animator, 4-6 orientati on, 350

Still

changing, 3 5 5 - 3 5 7 exercise, 3 5 5 - 3 5 7

button, 305-306 command, 343 storing colors in color buffer, 185

images in eel buffer, 191-193 exercise, 1 9 1 - 1 93

495

rhei &est B�ok of Anjmat�r story line developing, 374 importance of, 373 storyboard, 375-378 Streak tool, 86-87 Stretch command, 190, 196 -201 stylus clicking, 8 dragging, 8 subtractive primary model, 157 SummaSketch MM1201, 8 swap buffer, 94-97, 196-201 cluster colors, 177 Swap menu, 95-97 function exercise, 96-97 Sweep

ink, 135·136

T T (time) button, 151, 237, 350 tablet drawing/digitizing, 7-8 input device, 465-467 Targa 16, 449, 451 videographics adapter, 425-426 Targa files, importing, 398 target color, 305 temporary files, 460-463 Tension slider bar, 81, 365, 368 text ' animation exercise, 279-290 buffer, 88-89, 271-275 entry marker, 433 text editing buttons, 271 Edit Text, 272 Load Font, 273 Load Text, 273

New Text, 271·Z72

Place Window, 273 Text tool, 47-51, 87-89, 277-278 Edit button, 88-89 Font button, 89 Load button, 89 Reuse button, 88 Save button, 89 TGA extension, 395 three-dimensional rotation, 336 transformation, 333-344, 350-369 exercise, 344-349 TIGERCAT.FLI file, 262

Tile ink,

100, 137

Time button, 177, 233

496

time operations, 237 exercise, 239-242 Time Select button, 237 panel, 237-239, 305-306 Tint command, 178, 181 tint source, 181 Tinting source message, 181 TIPS (Truevision Image Processing Software) program, 425-426 title bar (file selector panel), 27 titles, animating, 269-270 Titlirig button, 270 command, 269 panel, 269-279 To End option, 250 To Start option, Z50 Too many colors, try fewer frames. message, 475 tool buttons, 13-16 tool slots, 54 tools accessing, 54 Text, 277-278 exercise, 47,51 total frames indicator, 232 Trace menu Blue Frame command, 376 Clip Changes command, 377 Erase Guides command, 377 Flip Five command, 378 Insert Tween command, 377 Loop Segment command, 378 Next Blue Frame command, 377 Repeat Changes command, 377 Segment Flip command, 378 Unblue Frame command, 377 Trade Clusters command, 176-177 Trade command, 96 Trails (effects) options, 257 transformation, 189-207 determinants, 358-369, 350, 357 dynamic, 350, 352-355 origin, 350, 352 three-dimensional, 333-369 transformation buttons Move, 350-351, 364-365 Path, 350-351, 365-369 Size, 350-351, 362-364 Spin, 350-351, 359-361 Transition option, 250 transition effects, 250

Index

Transition Type

Use Cel command, 1 78, 1 8 3-184

Incoming

Cancel option, 2 5 2

Use

Circle Wipe option, 2 5 2

Use Macro option, 2 1 8

Dissolve option, 2 5 2 Fade Out option, 2 5 2 Venetian option, 2 5 2 Wipe option, 2 5 2 transition types exercise, 2 5 3 - 2 5 7 Truevision Image Processing Software TIPS

see

Turn

Colors option, 24 7-248

Use thi s co lor set f o r menus? message, 166 utilities Converter, 3 9 3 -409 FLimaker, 393, 409-4 1 3 Player (AAPLAY.EXE), 429-442 printing vendor list, 480-481 screen capture vendor list, 47 7-479

button, 359, 3 6 1

command,

190, 1 96-201

Turns option axis slider bars, 361

1 button, 361 1/2 button, 3 6 1 1/4 button, 3 6 1 1/6 button, 361

v V Grad ink, 100, 140 Value menu, 1 7 7-186 vector point, 360 vendor list input devices and cables, 479 -48 1 output devices and printing utilities,

1/8 button, 361

480-481

1/360 button, 3 6 1 Tween button, 7 3 - 7 5 , 3 1 7- 3 1 8 Adjust End option, 3 1 9 Adjust Start option, 3 1 9 D o Tween option, 3 1 9 End t o Start option, 3 1 9 Exit Menu option, 319 Set End Position option, 3 1 9 Set Start Position option, 3 1 9 tween frames, 3 75-376 tweening, 3 1 7-333

screen capture utilities, 4.7 7-479 Venetian option, 2 5 2 Vertical Gradient ink see V Grad ink VGA card, 425-426, 447-448, 450-4 5 1 VGA/NTSC combination boards, 450-451 VIA, Jovian, 424-425 video converter, 449, 4 5 1 Video Graphics

see

see

VGA

VIA

video output devices, 449-45 1 Targa 1 6 , 449-450

creating a sequence exercise, 3 2 3 - 3 3 3

VGA/NTSC combination boards, 4 5 1

polymorphic, 74 , 3 1 7 - 3 3 3 Twirl (presets) option, 3 4 1

Adapter

video input adapter

VIN controller, 451-452 video recorder, 449, 4 5 1 video recording, fl i e s , 44 7-4 5 1

u Unblue Frame command, 3 7 7

Underlay option,

Z46 Undo button, 3 2 -33, 150, 160 exercise, 3 3 undrawing, 3 1 - 3 2

Unknown G I F rev i s i on , sorry. message, 475 UNPACK1 .EXE fil e, 4 UNPACK2.EXE file, 4 unused colors exercise, 1 6 9 - 1 70 removing, 1 7 9 Unused Colors command, 1 68-1 70, 1 79 Unzag ink, 13 7 Use button, 350 option, 214

View button, 365, 368 command, 24, 96, 408 option, 2 1 4

viewing

painting, exercise, 3 2 files, 408-409 parameters, FLimaker utility, 4 1 2 -4 1 3 VIN controller, 450-451 virtual disk, 463

w WALK.FLT file, 2 54-2 5 6 WALK.GIF file, 36-39, 9 3 , 1 6 7 , 2 5 3 What about the color maps? Cancel, 248

Combine Color Maps option,

247

491

.

,_I

The