Thinking about returning

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wizaerd
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Thinking about returning

Post by wizaerd »

I used to use this app when it was MoHo, and I also upgraded to Anime Studio Pro when MoHo was first changed over, although I haven't kept up to date with the app.

I mostly do sprite based animations and am currently using Flash CS4, although I've never really cared for Flash, but it works on my laptop, whereas ToonBoom wouldn't. Where Flash is useful is in building re-usable animation snippets out of individual sprite images.

Say for example a character walking, I create a symbol and drop the appropriate images into the symbol to create a walk cycle. Then in the timeline I can set a keyframe, swap the "standing" symbol with the "walking" symbol, then tween the position of the symbol to make it look like the character is walking. Then add another keyframe, and swap the "walking" symbol with the "standing" symbol, and continue with whatever else I need to do... (BTW, the "standing" symbol is also a multi-frame, multi-sprite animation sequence as well).

Would this type of animation work well in AS 6? I'd really like to stop using Flash but I don't want to completely alter how I make my sprite based movies...
Danimal
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Post by Danimal »

Am I completely insane or does that not describe actions in ASP?

Well, OK, I am completely insane but I think in this particular case they sound the same to me.

And yes, any excuse to stop using an Adobe product is an excellent one.
~Danimal
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jahnocli
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Post by jahnocli »

If you intend to export animations as SWF files, don't give away your copy of Flash. AS can produce SWF files, but they are by no means optimised for size. Typically, each frame of an exported Flash movie from AS is a separate keyframe -- AS cannot use symbol libraries in the same way that Flash does. This doesn't mean that AS won't save you a lot of time animating, but you need to be aware of this (and one or two other, smaller issues) if size of Flash files is important.
You can't have everything. Where would you put it?
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Touched
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Post by Touched »

It's more like switch folders than actions, since he's using bitmap sprites. I can't say how it would affect the file size, though, since I've never exported SWFs out of sprites.
wizaerd
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Post by wizaerd »

I'm not interested in exporting to a SWF, I'll be rendering it as video...

I should probably ask this in a new thread, but I have some questions about organizing my sprites...

Currently, I have 5 characters and each of them has about 100 sprites. What all of them are doesn't matter as much, but I'll give a couple of examples. 4 sprites making up a walk sequence, holding no weapon. 4 sprites making up a walk sequence, but with a weapon. etc...

So I've imported them into individual switch layers, one for each character. Then I create a series of actions for walking with a weapon, walking without a weapon, etc...

However, with 100 image layers under a single switch layer makes managing those image layers a bit unwieldy at times. What I'd really like to do is group them into categories under a switch layer, but when I attempt to make an action, it only shows folder names or group layer names, not the individual elements. So how can I create and use nested switch layers, if possible? Or a switch layer with several different group layers underneath it, but them how o I create my actions?

Also, the way I did this in Flash, since Symbols had multiple layers, I could add several mouth sprites to a given symbol to simulate moving mouths for speech. How do I combine this into a switch layer hierarchy so I can have the character speak whle walking with a weapon, walking without a weapon, etc? (I hope that makes sense...)

I have a couple of examples I've done in Flash that might demonstrate what I'm going for...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7VfEV7wTI8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtYAGS-_4f0

Any tips, hints, suggestions would be greatly appreciated...
bleep
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Post by bleep »

your 1st youtube video was very funny :D
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jahnocli
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Post by jahnocli »

It's easy to nest switch layers.
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wizaerd
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Post by wizaerd »

jahnocli wrote:It's easy to nest switch layers.
Where would be the best source for me to figure out how to use them for my situation? Because when I attempt to use them, I'm confused on where and how to create the appropriate actions to use nested layers/layers...
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jahnocli
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Post by jahnocli »

See this forum, "Tips & Techniques" section. There is a 'sticky' at the top called Resources or something similar. On page 2, about halfway down, is a link to a model rig that I made available for anybody to use as reference. There are a lot of nested switch layers in there -- you are welcome to use it...
You can't have everything. Where would you put it?
Genete
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Post by Genete »

wizaerd wrote:
jahnocli wrote:It's easy to nest switch layers.
Where would be the best source for me to figure out how to use them for my situation? Because when I attempt to use them, I'm confused on where and how to create the appropriate actions to use nested layers/layers...
When you create an action on a parent layer it is automatically available in the children layers. If you don't define the action in the child layer it doesn't do anything. But the contrary doesn't happen. If you define an action for a child layer and not for the parent or grand parent layer the action is not available for the parent layers.
The good new: when you call an action FROM the parent layer it run in cascade the same action name in all the children layers so it is the way to organize nested switches.

For example if you have this kind of nested layers:

Bone layer
*Switch eye layer
**Switch angry eyes
***Angry blue eye
***Angry green eye
**Switch happy eyes
***Happy blue eye
***Happy green eye

Then define a "close eye" action in the Bone layer. Then you have inmediately the same action in all the nested children. Just define one by one what does the "close eye" action means for each subchildren. Doing this way, when you run the "close eye" FROM the parent layer. It will trigger the same action for all the children REGARDLESS its internal status.

So you in summary, the most common action you define the most root layer you should use. If the action is specific for a set of sublayers only, define it in the inmediately parent layer, keeping it safe from the root layer.

Cons of this approaching: you end with heaps of actions in the root layer action window. Select the names carefully (with prefixes) to not be completely lost.

-G
wizaerd
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Post by wizaerd »

I'm sorry, I still don't quite get where to create the actions or how. I have created actions where the switch layer was a single tier, so no problems there. However, I want to group them by category, and when I do so, and am on the parent layer, when I want to switch the active layer in the switch layer, and right click the parent layer I am only given the choice of the switch layer themselves, not the elements in the nested switch layers.

So I right clicked on the actual children switch layer names to add the appropriate keyframes and create the action. Then I exit out to the main timeline. Because I was right clicking the child switch layer, I re-select the parent top-most switch layer, double click the action, and there are no keyframes in it. Yet if I select the actual child switch layer, then opne the action there are the keyframes. So the action itself while visible from the parent, there's nothing in it unless I select the child switch layer.

So I cant add this action to my main timeline while having the topmost parent switch layer selected, because there's nothing in it...

I hope that makes sense... I also hope I'm not being overly dense, but I just don't quite follow it yet...

Here's a screen shot of how I have the layers setup, using only several of the overall sprites I'll eventually end up using...

http://www.wizaerd.com/hold/ASP6_NestedSwitchLayers.png
wizaerd
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Post by wizaerd »

I've been reading through the Tips & Techniques section as well as the How DO I... section, but am not really finding any pertinent information or tips on how to accomplish my task...

Doing some "out of the box" thinking, am I correct in assuming I create my action on the root layer (the actual top most switch layer) and that action merely inserts a different action into the timeline, that action having been created in the nested switch layer's top most layer?

So if I had layers structured like this:

Top Switch
-- No Weapons
---- Image 1
---- Image 2
---- Image 3
-- Weapons
---- Image 1
---- Image 2
---- Image 3

I would have an action on topmost Top Switch that inserts an action from the No Weapons layer, and then on the No Weapons Layer I would have my actual keyframed frames for the action?? That seems a bit convoluted... I hope my assumption is incorrect, and there's a different easier explanation....
wizaerd
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Post by wizaerd »

I was a way for a four day weekend, and had hoped to find an answer here... Anyone?
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dueyftw
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Post by dueyftw »

Top Switch
-- No Weapons
---- Image 1
---- Image 2
---- Image 3
-- Weapons
---- Image 1
---- Image 2
---- Image 3
I would have this:

Switch weapons
---- Vector (null)
---- Image 1
---- Image 2
---- Image 3

The vector layer would be a place holder that has nothing.

This is assuming that the weapon is separate image sequence form the character.

Dale
wizaerd
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Post by wizaerd »

dueyftw wrote:
Top Switch
-- No Weapons
---- Image 1
---- Image 2
---- Image 3
-- Weapons
---- Image 1
---- Image 2
---- Image 3
I would have this:

Switch weapons
---- Vector (null)
---- Image 1
---- Image 2
---- Image 3

The vector layer would be a place holder that has nothing.

This is assuming that the weapon is separate image sequence form the character.

Dale
The weapon is not a seperate image... each image is a individual pose, some images he's holding a weapon, some images he is not...

Where I need to understand is how to create my Actions n the root layer, and use them appropriately even though there are nested switch layers, because I'm obviously not doing something correctly... I do not want to continue using Flash for this, but it's kinda looking like I'm going to have to...
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