Using Ani Pro
13 messages in this thread
No, I do have enough understanding to recognise left from right and one
click from two. My problem appears to be largely with the device drivers.
I have less problems when I chuck out the puck.
What I can't understand is the damn starfield program that gives me,
effectively, a black screen.
ALi
Ali:
The starfield generator requires, I believe, a certain number of blank
frames to be set up… then you execute the poco routine and it will put
moving stars into a flic.
If I can offer a brief description of what I >think< would be typical, Left
clicking on the drawing area will always do something with the current
drawing tool unless you are in the optics panel or are diddling with cels
and the like. Right clicking on the drawing area will generally return you
to the previous menu. Click and drag is normally used for the slider bars.
I can't figure why you would end up with a 'bunch of lines' on the screen.
C#
One of my problems is that when I reset Ani Pro returns to SOFTEN, rather
than opaque. Took me a while to work that out.
What is the expected time for completing the Ani Pro tutorial? Anyone
know? I'm sort of having fun, but when I make a mistake I'm in deep
trouble. For example, I accidentally hit the main screen when I was doing
the interior of the space ship. I tried putting a black box over it, but
now the starfield doesn't show. AAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! I
haven't had so much fun since I had three root canals done on the same day.
ALi
If AniPro is returning to Soften ink when you reset the program, it's
because you've saved your default settings with Soften ink active. (See
Configure in the Extra menu.) If you want to get back to the default
shipping configuration to do the tutorials, delete the aa.cfg file from
your ani directory and restart the program.
– Jack
Ali:
Snort, chortle, guffaw….choke…gak…ahem.
Well, it's true that I did a few of those kinds of things, too… Which is
a GREAT lesson to learn in Animator. Save your work in pieces and put it
together from pieces… you will find that changing your mind about what it
is you're doing is much more painless and that making a mistake is less of
a disaster. There are four books out on Animator. They all have good tips
and tricks and I would recommend that you pick one up. If you don't like
tutorial style learning (an important ingredient in Animator skill
development, nonetheless) Using Animator is oriented for the reader. Inside
Autodesk Animator is well illustrated and it is possible to follow alot of
it without actually doing the tutorial. There is also the Best Book of
Autodesk Animator, and another by Mitch Gould, I think, but I don't recall
the name (I never can, for some reason…with no inference implied).
You >may< find that, now that you have diddled with the program, you can
learn alot more by sitting down and reading a book that isn't a
manual…but I don't know… everyone learns differently.
C#
I find tutorials useful for the first version. I never got very far with
Animator, so I don't begrudge the tutorial. Are the ANIMATOR books
relevant to ANIMATOR PRO users?
ALi
Ali:
Absolutely… Anim Cels and Poco plus screen resolution are the major
differences, but the use of the similar tools is exactly the same… and
Animator Pro contains all of Animator's tools.
There's also some improvement in morphing, too, but I can't remember
Animator vs. Animator Pro any more… other than if you learned Animator
you just 'start using' Animator Pro…<g>.
C#
I'm getting lines because the same device is used to draw as is used to
manipulate the program. I am frequently getting boxes or lines while I try
to get the menus down.
I use a stylus (no button), if I relax my arm Ani Pro takes it as an entry.
It's a very unforgiving product. ALi
Ali:
Then maybe you should start using the keyboard shortcuts… they are in
menus immediately following the command. In general, you will be glad you
learned the keyboard stuff. I don't know how to use Animator with a
non-button stylus…. in fact, I can't imagine how it would work? <not
saying it won't> Maybe that's the problem?
C#
A pressure stylus uses degrees of pressure for left click, and the control
key for right. So if I relax my hand, its a left click. Keyboard commands
are much more my style. ALi
Oh… I didn't realize you were using a pressure stylus. Is it a Watcom? I
think that would make for interesting effects but I can see where there
might be a problem with clicks. I like a Summa with a button stylus.
C#