Cut-outs

benjaminhiatt · Post by **benjaminhiatt** » Wed Apr 09, 2008 3:24 pm

I've done some Flash animation in the past, but I'm just starting with Anime Studio.

My question: When creating a new character, can I draw my character and separate it into parts/layers/whatnot, or do I have to draw it in seperate parts then put it together?

Thanks!

1999 · Post by **1999** » Wed Apr 09, 2008 4:11 pm

let's see you ask a question that as the same meaning,if you draw in parts then you could use layers.......use the reparent tool.

Rasheed · Post by **Rasheed** » Wed Apr 09, 2008 4:14 pm

It depends, but I ask you kindly to do the tutorials in the Help menu first, because it explains a lot you don't understand or know at this moment.

Another point of advice: Anime Studio is not like Flash, so don't expect it to be like Flash. It makes getting used to working with Anime Studio so much easier for you.

BTW Disregard 1999. He seems to like to play the village idiot around here.

benjaminhiatt · Post by **benjaminhiatt** » Wed Apr 09, 2008 4:32 pm

I see from the tutorials how to go about putting a character together from pieces, but I'm hoping to find a way to draw the character as a whole, then take it apart, fill in the gaps so there aren't any holes during movement, then put it back together in layers.

I haven't found a way to do that in the tutorials. Did I just miss it?

slowtiger · Post by **slowtiger** » Wed Apr 09, 2008 4:42 pm

You have to be exact. "Draw my character" could be anything from paper to photoshop to AS.

A good idea is to draw the character on paper as a whole, scan in this sketch and use it as a reference in AS.

In AS, it is easier to draw separate parts on their own layers. Drawing the character as a whole makes it difficult to cut up the parts for animation.

benjaminhiatt · Post by **benjaminhiatt** » Wed Apr 09, 2008 4:48 pm

Slow,
I was referring to drawing in AS and your answer is what I was looking for. I had looked at ToonBoom before deciding on AS and the one TB feature I can't figure out how to do in AS is the knife tool that you can just cut a drawing up with. It's beginning to seem that there was a good reason I couldn't figure it out. Thank you.

benjaminhiatt · Post by **benjaminhiatt** » Wed Apr 09, 2008 4:50 pm

Oh, and Rasheed, Flash itself was the reason I wanted to use something else, so I don't anticipate having a problem forgetting its methods. Thanks for the tip, though.

Rasheed · Post by **Rasheed** » Wed Apr 09, 2008 6:56 pm

Don't forget you can use images as objects in AS and bind them to bones. That works best with separated (PNG) images. However, with vectors you have much more flexibility. You can bind layers, areas of a layer and points of a shape. Besides that you can also move individual points of a shape with points translation, independently of bones.

This means you have full control over how you draw your characters (in layers or in a single layer) and how you manipulate them. There is no prescribed method.

If you want to see a sophisticated example, look at VENT by Erik van Schaaik (file -> import -> user movies -> VENT_ErikVanSchaaik).