I'm a total newbee with Anime Studio -- bought it yesterday -- and all of my experience (20+ years) was with 3D programs (mostly Max).
I'm trying to figure out a good character workflow -- finally got one with Max after all these years and now I'm starting all over again (g). I found a site which sells characters for AS and while I don't need to buy any it looked like they have a "basic" setup which might be useful to copy:
http://www.cartoonsolutions.com/store/c ... 16595.html
Is this how most folks rig their characters? The one thing that doesn't show up here is facial expressions -- with 3D morph controls we can add a smile, for example, to the basic phonemes so there is only one set of phonemes needed, but here I'm guessing you have to create separate sets of mouth positions for when the character is smiling when they are talking versus talking when they are angry -- is that correct?
And while I don't quite fully understand actions, am I right in assuming I can use them for eye blinks?
General Workflow?
Moderators: Víctor Paredes, Belgarath, slowtiger
Actions for blinks etc - definitely.
Mouth shapes as different layers grouped inside switch layers. I have a project which has all mouths in one switch, named a_smile and a_angry and so on. You don't need that many mouths over all.
Rigging strongly depends on your character and your style of animation.
Mouth shapes as different layers grouped inside switch layers. I have a project which has all mouths in one switch, named a_smile and a_angry and so on. You don't need that many mouths over all.
Rigging strongly depends on your character and your style of animation.
Thanks.
I'm understand more since I took apart the sample file that comes up when you first bring up AS -- I see how switch layers are used to contain the expressions. I assume you do this as well for hand positions.
The learning curve for this stuff is *much* shallower than 3D -- I'm finding I feel very comfortable creating animations that look pretty darn good even after one day (whereas it can take literally years to learn to do the same thing in 3D).
I'm an older guy and 2D animation holds a whole lot of nostalgia for me -- while I still create 3D stuff (and like watching it) nothing really touches my heart quite so much as 2D done right. I'm sure glad I stumbled across this program (years ago I bought Toon Boom and never could make anything work with it -- but the bones in AS really sold me, as all my work in 3D is done with bone structure and I understand it very well. It was very very clever to make a 2D program have this capability).
I'm understand more since I took apart the sample file that comes up when you first bring up AS -- I see how switch layers are used to contain the expressions. I assume you do this as well for hand positions.
The learning curve for this stuff is *much* shallower than 3D -- I'm finding I feel very comfortable creating animations that look pretty darn good even after one day (whereas it can take literally years to learn to do the same thing in 3D).
I'm an older guy and 2D animation holds a whole lot of nostalgia for me -- while I still create 3D stuff (and like watching it) nothing really touches my heart quite so much as 2D done right. I'm sure glad I stumbled across this program (years ago I bought Toon Boom and never could make anything work with it -- but the bones in AS really sold me, as all my work in 3D is done with bone structure and I understand it very well. It was very very clever to make a 2D program have this capability).
I'm really looking forward to see what somebody with a decent 3D background would be able to create in AS. Especially since there's a group of people here who always strive to create "like 3D" stuff in AS - which it is not designed to in the first place.
As for the oven-ready characters to buy: I don't recommend it. From the website it looks like they spent a lot of time on attitude and faces, but abandoned the body and its moveability. Also it is not specified wether the characters where really done in vector as it should be, or just made of a bunch of PNGs (yes, that already happened, and some people got the nerve to sell crap like that).
I strongly recommend to dig through this forum as here's a ton of good advice for free - unfortunately spread all over the place. Especially the art of rigging can be learnt, some people invented great solutions for that.
(Sorry for the short answer yesterday, I was totally spent.)
As for the oven-ready characters to buy: I don't recommend it. From the website it looks like they spent a lot of time on attitude and faces, but abandoned the body and its moveability. Also it is not specified wether the characters where really done in vector as it should be, or just made of a bunch of PNGs (yes, that already happened, and some people got the nerve to sell crap like that).
I strongly recommend to dig through this forum as here's a ton of good advice for free - unfortunately spread all over the place. Especially the art of rigging can be learnt, some people invented great solutions for that.
(Sorry for the short answer yesterday, I was totally spent.)
Well, I'm not so sure being well skilled in 3D is any kind of asset here -- one of the prime advantages of 3D is (as I like to put it) a triumph of technology over talent. I can't draw worth a darn, but I can make 3D animations that look spectacular (even if I do say so myself).
Perspective, shading, motions are all things that a good 3D package can take care of for you. What you learn are most technical things -- how to set your lights, how to create motion, how to move the camera, etc. While artistic talent certainly is key, it doesn't have to translate into a pen/paper physical sort of thing, but exists more in the mind. I can have my character walk down the street, stop in front of the camera, and give a passionate speech all without having a clue as to how to draw a single line.
In 2D the technical aspects are much more limited -- as I said, I think I mostly "get" what AS can do now, and I'm *still* learning my principle 3D program after nearly two decades. But what it requires then is artistic sensibilities that I'm not sure I have -- my style will definitely be as primative a cartoon as anyone can create.
Still -- it appeals to me in a way 3D never does, touches something within my heart that makes me want to try. And the feedback is certainly more immediate -- we typically wait a day or two for a minute of animation and I can see that here that's not the case at all. Anything with fast feedback tends to result in quicker learning, so that will be helpful.
And it's fun! (Well, 3D is fun but it's also a tremendous amount of work).
Perspective, shading, motions are all things that a good 3D package can take care of for you. What you learn are most technical things -- how to set your lights, how to create motion, how to move the camera, etc. While artistic talent certainly is key, it doesn't have to translate into a pen/paper physical sort of thing, but exists more in the mind. I can have my character walk down the street, stop in front of the camera, and give a passionate speech all without having a clue as to how to draw a single line.
In 2D the technical aspects are much more limited -- as I said, I think I mostly "get" what AS can do now, and I'm *still* learning my principle 3D program after nearly two decades. But what it requires then is artistic sensibilities that I'm not sure I have -- my style will definitely be as primative a cartoon as anyone can create.
Still -- it appeals to me in a way 3D never does, touches something within my heart that makes me want to try. And the feedback is certainly more immediate -- we typically wait a day or two for a minute of animation and I can see that here that's not the case at all. Anything with fast feedback tends to result in quicker learning, so that will be helpful.
And it's fun! (Well, 3D is fun but it's also a tremendous amount of work).