Moho Forum

Hello,

I am completely new to animation and had just a few questions I was hoping someone might be able to help me with:

1. On that free download on the Anime Studio webpage that says it will convert .psd to .anme what version of Photoshop does it require? I've got Photoshop 7.0 and when I download the file nothing happens. If it requires an advanced version of Photoshop is there an alternate way to convert .psd's to .anme's?

2. Can I make a character walk in Anime Studio 5 or do I need the upgrade?

Thank you

khegerberg wrote:On that free download on the Anime Studio webpage that says it will convert .psd to .anme what version of Photoshop does it require? I've got Photoshop 7.0 and when I download the file nothing happens. If it requires an advanced version of Photoshop is there an alternate way to convert .psd's to .anme's?

I'm no sure, but I seem to remember that CS2 is required.

All the script does is export the layers to 24-bit PNG images with alpha channel, and import the references to those PNG files into image layers of an .anme file. So it is possible to do this manually:

• export each layer in Photoshop 7 as a PNG image (24-bit with alpha)
• import each PNG image into Anime Studio

khegerberg wrote:Can I make a character walk in Anime Studio 5 or do I need the upgrade?

No, it is possible to make a character walk with the tools supplied in the standard version of Anime Studio.

Of course, I never claimed it was easy, because you still have to animate the walk cycle. The standard version doesn't have onion skinning, and, therefore, you'd be mainly relying on you visual memory to do the onion skinning for you. This means what takes probably a few minutes in the pro version, while take you several tens of minutes in the standard version, because you will need to do each pose of the walk cycle by going from one frame to another, and back again, for each part of your character.

I you're planning to do a lot of cartoon walk cycles, the pro version is really necessary.

On the other hand, onion skinning doesn't work really well for image layers. So for that you don't need the pro version. For walk cycles with image layers, you probably want to use sketched key poses as a template and align your image layers accordingly.

Thank you Rasheed.

I tried the png import. It does import my picture (of a hand). I tried to add a bone to it so I could make it move around. The bone moves fine but it doesn't attach to the picture of the hand so they move together. I thought per the tutorials that things automatically bind (I did move the image into the Bone layer just like the tutorial says). Not sure what I am doing wrong??

There are several methods of binding. The default type for image layers is dyna-binding. The binding force depends on the strength of a bone, and acts only on that part. The other type is layer binding, in which you can bind one bone to one layer.

Now I created this rough image of a hand from some photo:


click to see the actual image

I imported this hand image into Anime Studio, and got an image layer. Next, I created a bone layer, and dragged the image layer into the bone layer.

Then I changed the layer properties of the bone layer, the Bones tab, into Region binding, instead of Flexible binding, and created this skeleton of bones:

and adjusted the bone strength:


Now I can manipulate the hand by moving the bones:


click on image to see the animation

That doesn't look very pretty, but you can improve this by chopping the original image into bits, so each bone has its own layer, as is explained in the Hula girl example (Tutorial 4.1)

To bind the hand image to a single bone, go to the image layer inside the bone layer, and use the Bind Layer tool to select the bone you want to bind the image layer to. If you use separate images for each moving part of the photograph, I suggest you use layer binding (Bind layer tool) instead of dyna-binding.

If you chop up an existing photo, you may want to retouch the individual pieces, so you will not see that they are indeed pieces.

I hope this helps.

It worked! Wow this is soooooo neat! Thanks so much Rasheed I really appreciate your help.

Here is some help for doing a walkcycle.

I wanted to create a 24 fps animation, with a walk cycle of 16 frames (8 frames for left step and 8 frames for right step). According to the Animator's Survival Kit, a step in a normal walk cycle has four stages:

1. contact
2. down
3. pass through
4. up

This would be in frames 1, 3, 5 and 7, respectively for the first step, and frames 9, 11, 13 and 15, respectively for the second step in a walk cycle.

If I want a guide for my animation, and I don't have onion skinning, I can draw those four stages of a step in an image editor like Photoshop, or a natural painting program like ArtRage 2, each in its on layer. Next, I export each layer as a PNG image, and import those into Anime Studio.



Because I used a stick figure, I can re-use the frames from the first step for the second step, only translated in the walking direction, keeping the feet in sync with each other.

So, in Anime Studio, I used the images of frames 1, 3, 5, and 7, made copies of those, translated them so, that the copies of the frames 1 through 7 formed the next step, and so on.



I put those image layers inside a switch layer, and switched the image layers in frame 1, 3, 5, 7, .... 47.

Next, I drew a character in a new vector layer, with switch frame 1 as a guide, and put the vector layer inside a bone layer, which I used to rig the character in the vector layer. In frame 1, I turned off the vector layer's visibility through the layer menu (uncheck the box before that layer), and manipulated, scaled and translated the bones, so the match up with the stick figure of frame 1. I did the same for all the frames in the animation.

I had to tweak the animation, because I hadn't drawn the arms in the down position at their widest apart. After I had done that, the result was pretty impressive, compared to the result if you had onion skinning at your disposal.

Here is the result:



Now I'm a poor draftsman, but if you can draw better than me, this could be a very good workaround for not having onion skinning in the standard version of Anime Studio.

BTW Here is a ZIP archive with the relevant files:

walkcycle.zip (596 KB)

That's interesting I like the walking effect. One other sort of related question I had was I'm working on an education piece and if I want a figure to say something face front and then have that same character turn around to face a blackboard is that possible or would I have to just create one animation with the character's front and then a different file completely for the blackboard portion when all you would see is the back of the character's head? From what I've seen it looks like I can rotate a character from side to side only and not necessarily make them turn.

Indeed, 3D effects have to be done by (a combination of):

1. separate drawings in a switch layer
2. moving and changing the form of parts of the character
3. using X and Y layer rotation

Anime Studio Pro is a 2D animation program with 3D features, which could be called a 2.5D animation program. This means that you animation in a flat layer, which only show one view of your character. This is unlike real 3D programs, where you build character in three dimensions, and you can view this character from all sides without any trickery.

This means you have to be more creative than with 3D animation programs. It also means that doing 3D effects in a flat layer gives more methods of expression.

In the standard version of Anime Studio most 3D tools are absent, so, in essence, it is a true 2D animation program. So you can only do 3D features by methods 1 and 2.

I've tried to do this on a very limited scale in this animated girl, and put the result on YouTube:


click on the image to watch the video

When the girl looks to her right, the eyes, eye brows, nose, mouth, hair locks, etc. move to the left, and vice versa.

If you search this forum on "head turn", you will find some interesting techniques you could use. Alternatively, use Google, with "site:lostmarble.com" as the last of the search phrase (without the quotes).

Here are the files in a zip archive:
2d-girl.zip (104 KB)

You can open the Moho file in Anime Studio. I'm still using the predecessor of Anime Studio Pro (Moho 5.3), because of bugs in Anime Studio Pro for the Mac.

Interesting I'll play around with it and see what I can come up with. Thanks again for all your help.

Hey Rasheed!!! this is a pretty beauty girl!!!!
Good drawing!!! I like her.

@khegerberg: Sorry if disturb your thread but Rasheed is always claiming about his poor drawing hability. I thing He has improved a lot since I met him 5 months ago.

Cheers!
Genete

Here is an example of using switch layers, switch layer interpolation, and point motion between the switched layers.


click the image to see the animation

This way you can create fluid animation between extremes. That is much easier than animating with point motion only. Inside a switch layer, you put several identical vector layers, with their points moved by point motion. Using switch layer interpolation, when you switch between these almost identical vector layers, the points move from their position in the first vector layer to the next.

@Genete: I had slapped my face, in order to get the creative juices flowing

Anyway, the basic idea is that you invent your own method of doing a head turn (or body turn), using the tools you have. If you look around on the forum, you will see a myriad of ideas which you could use, or combine.

Let the limitations of the program rather be a strength than a weakness. To get around the limitations, you need to be creative, and this creativeness is what makes your animation interesting.

Here's another use of switch layer interpolation I did some time ago:



I hope this will give you enough ideas to help you on your way.

Wow lots of great ideas - thank you. I agree the limitations do force you to be more creative but then that is fun too. I'll keep at it and see what sort of stuff I can come up with.

I can't wait to see what you've come up with. There no substitute for practice. Practice a lot, and show some of that in the Share Your Work subforum.