Anime Studio 8 Questions and Answers

[Lost Marble]

I'm starting this thread to answer any questions you may have about Anime Studio 8. Feel free to post any questions you may have about the new version, and I'll do my best to answer everything.

Moderation Warning
I'm going to heavily moderate this thread. I want to keep it readable and not a place to argue. So if anyone posts something like, "Feature A is such a waste, you should have done B instead," I'm going to delete it. I'm even going to delete things like "Thanks for much for adding XYZ - I love it!".

My intention is not to censor you. If you want to express frustration or gratitude or whatever, you're still free to start a new thread about whatever topic you're interested in. I just want to keep this one particular thread under control.

So, fair warning. Questions and answers only here. For further commentary on anything that comes up in this thread, start a new thread.

-Mike

[ulrik]

1) Is it possible to make your own, or to modify, the skeleton inside character wizard?
2) I think I read something about "saving styles", is it possible and if so, how?

regards Ulrik

[ponysmasher]

1) Will there be any updated scripting documentation?
2) Is it possible to make custom bodies in the character wizard? Or is it only features like feet, mouth etc.

As for future updates, are there any plans for implementing velocity curves for keyframes?

[Lost Marble]

1) Is it possible to make your own, or to modify, the skeleton inside character wizard?

You can't change the skeleton that will be generated by the character wizard. They're all the same (other than body proportions) so that actions can be reused between different characters.

However, once you've clicked OK the character appears in your project as a set of regular layers. At that point you can modify it in any way you like.

2) I think I read something about "saving styles", is it possible and if so, how?

I'm not sure what that was referring to. If this is also about the character wizard, you can save character presets so that you can use the same character over and over again in different projects.

[Manu]

I didn't upgrade to ASP7, as I read about a bug where embedded scripts crash AS7 when rendering on multiple cores. Has this been resolved?

[Lost Marble]

1) Will there be any updated scripting documentation?

Yes. Here it is:

viewtopic.php?t=19038

2) Is it possible to make custom bodies in the character wizard? Or is it only features like feet, mouth etc.

You can edit parameters for the body, like shoulder width, arm length, etc. But because the body is generated procedurally, you can't drop in new parts like a new torso.

Hands, feet, heads, eyes, etc. you can add your own.

But once you click OK to accept the character, it gets turned into regular layers. At that point you can modify or completely replace any part of the body you choose.

As for future updates, are there any plans for implementing velocity curves for keyframes?

Sorry, I can't comment on what will be coming in future updates.[/url]

[ulrik]

2) I think I read something about "saving styles", is it possible and if so, how?

I'm not sure what that was referring to. If this is also about the character wizard, you can save character presets so that you can use the same character over and over again in different projects.

I don't remember where I heard it, or read it. The styles I am referring to is the custom styles (in the styles window) for shapes and outlines.

Have you considered the option to have the "blend morphs" window open while scrolling or playing the timeline?

[Lost Marble]

I didn't upgrade to ASP7, as I read about a bug where embedded scripts crash AS7 when rendering on multiple cores. Has this been resolved?

Yes, in two ways:

1) Embedded scripts now render without crashing on multiple cores.

2) However, it isn't necessarily straightforward to write a script that works properly on multiple cores. For example, with multiple cores you can't make any assumptions about what order the frames will be rendered in. Frame 1 may start rendering before frame 2, but for whatever reason frame 2 may finish before frame 1. Then frame 4 may start before frame 3. A lot of scripts store data in global variables that is generated on a per-frame basis. If one frame overwrites what another frame is expecting, bad things can happen.

So, because it can be difficult to get a script working correctly on multiple cores, there's an option in the Export dialog to use only a single core. For most people, most of the time, multiple cores are the way to go. But there's a user-controllable option now.

[Lost Marble]

I don't remember where I heard it, or read it. The styles I am referring to is the custom styles (in the styles window) for shapes and outlines.

To re-use between multiple projects? No, there is no built-in feature for that. However, it is possible to create your own "style library". Just create a blank document with a bunch of little circles in it (the shape doesn't really matter). Create as many new styles as you want, and assign one to each circle. Save this document as your "style library". Whenever you want to re-use some styles in a new project, just import the style library into the new project and the styles will come with it.

Have you considered the option to have the "blend morphs" window open while scrolling or playing the timeline?

No, I don't think it's come up before (not that I'm aware of, anyway). I can see how that could be useful, but it's not something in version 8.

[Manu]

AS used to render frame sequences with a zero kb, un-numbered image file. This would often interfere with other software that would try to read the image sequences. Does AS still render this image file?

[Lost Marble]

AS used to render frame sequences with a zero kb, un-numbered image file. This would often interfere with other software that would try to read the image sequences. Does AS still render this image file?

I just tried it on Mac OS 10.6 and Windows 7, and no, that file doesn't get created. This sounds vaguely familiar. It may have been fixed in version 7, and since you didn't upgrade you may have missed that.

[Manu]

1. Is it possible to make a style from an existing shape?
2. Can we multiple select fills?
3. Is it possible to drag keyframes past other keyframes?
4. Is it possible to copy and paste keyframes between layers?
5. Is there a system for saving and re-using animations between scenes?

[sbtamu]

In the Webinar it was said that you can edit your images in Photoshop and have AS update it automatically. My question is, will it work with other software like GIMP, Audacity, Wings3d?

[Lost Marble]

Just a note to those on "the other forum":

I understand some of you are watching this thread, and I would welcome you to go ahead and ask questions here. I'm not going to ban anyone for asking a question I don't like, and I'm sorry if my moderation comment above was taken the wrong way. I don't intend to remove any questions I don't like either. You're even free to start a new thread here entitled, "It was a bad decision to do X instead of Y in Anime 8".

The only moderation I plan to do is to keep this one thread strictly to questions and answers about Anime 8. If you want to go into more depth on any topic, you can still do it here, just on a different thread.

Seriously, you guys are welcome here. I don't want anyone to feel chased away.

-Mike

[Lost Marble]

1. Is it possible to make a style from an existing shape?

Yes. If a shape is selcted when you create a new style, the new style will start out with the settings of that shape.

2. Can we multiple select fills?

No.

3. Is it possible to drag keyframes past other keyframes?

No.

4. Is it possible to copy and paste keyframes between layers?

No *

5. Is there a system for saving and re-using animations between scenes?

No *

* Some additions have been made to the Lua scripting interface in response to user requests that could make this possible through add-on scripts. For example, it's possible to iterate through every single animatable parameter for any layer.