svala`s graphics

This is a tutorial on how I do my animations. I`ve been asked several times already how I do it. Each time I tried to answere as best as I could. But (almost) each time, as soon as I mentioned I`m using PaintShopPro, most people ran away, never to be seen again.

Now I thought I finaly put together this tutorial. This way I don`t have to explain everything again next time I`m asked about my animations, and I save a lot of time in case the next one asking goes running also because of PSP.

Soooo, I`m using PaintShopPro 9 for my graphics, AnimationShop3 for my animations.

(do NOT ask me because of Photoshop and ImageReady. There are hundreds, thousands, of tutorials for PS and IR)

For this tutorial I`m not going to explain PSP to you. I take it you know your way around the program, are familiar with the layer settings, and the image settings (how to create and open a new picture aso)

I`ve added a few (awesome!) external tutorials for some of the PSP features, and for screencap programs.

I`m using PaintShopPro to prepare all of my screencaps for the animations, I use AnimationShop3 ONLY to put together the finished animation caps

I`ve tried to explain everyting as good as I can.

REMEMBER: this is NOT a tutorial about how to run PSP and AS3 the best way possible, this is a tutorial about how I do it!

I never import a video to get my animations, I always use screencaps. I take the caps, and put them into seperate folder, scene by scene. I prefer to work with caps, this way I can delete all caps not needed right away, I can re-arange the scenes for my animations, I can make one scene out of two, or three, or ..., I can make jump cuts *purrs* (that´s the vidder within talking), I can reverse a scene, aso, aso, aso.

So, yeah, caps are LOVE.

1. Taking screencaps (frame by frame)

I use different programs to get my screencaps. What I use the most is VirtualDub and the KM Player. Both programs can do autocapping, frame by frame.

Since I`m too lazy to explain ALL the programs I use, I just link to some tutorials:

- VIRTUALDUB SCREENCAP TUTORIAL

- KM PLAYER SCREENCAP TUTORIAL

Since I do sidebar animations most of the time, I screencap either each frame, or each 2nd frame. I create a new folder for each scene I want to use for animations! This makes it easier to sort the caps out when I get to the point of actually working on the animations (size, color aso).

2. (and I can`t say this too often) I do ALL the image changes for my animations with PaintShopPro, I use AnimationShop3 ONLY to put together the finished animation!

What I need for this is the script tool and the batch tool that comes with PSP

Since explaining how to use the script and the batch would take forever, I link, once again, to a tutorial (and it´s even a video tutorial, it`s shiny):

This tutorial is done with a PaintShop ProX version. I`m using PaintShopPro9, so the tutorial can be used with previous PSP version as well, not only ProX.

How to record an action and save as a SCRIPT and How to use a BATCH

- PSP SCRIPT & BATCH TUTORIAL

(btw, this is a great page, with lots of awesome PaintShopPro tutorials)

What I don`t care about, when it comes with this tutorial, are the picture settings that are done half way into the tutorial. I`ve added this tutorial only to show you how to use an action, a script, and the batch function. That`s what I always use for my animations, always.

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And here comes the "this is how svala`s doing it" part (keep in mind that I, more or less, havo no idea what I`m doing. This is all learning by doing, while trying to figure out what works the best for me and my animations. I`m sure there are better ways to get it done. BUT, this is not about how others do it, it`s about my "crazy, around the corner, it takes forever" way on getting the animations done. And since I`m used to it by now, it actually doesn´t take this long anymore to get an animation done.

Step 1: take the screencaps of the scene you want to make an animation from, and save them into a folder

Step2: Action/Script:

I open a picture from the previously take caps, start the recording, and add all the changes I want to add to the picture, starting with the size (by now I resize all images to 450x253), copy layer, add color fill layer, add adjustment layer, even add a texture, aso, aso, aso. I add basically all the changes I want to make for the animation
(think of it as if you`d be working on a single picture, which you do, more or less.)

random add: if I want to add more than one texture, I need to make another action/script recording using the 2nd texture. I can only copy/paste one texture at a time for an action/script.

Meaning, I run the first script on the original picture folder, then run the 2nd script on the 2nd folder (the folder I used to save the script no.1 images)

Now we`re moving to the fun part ;D (because I`m lazy, I used one of the recently done SPN animations)

We`ll be going from this (47 caps):

(YES DEAN! I`m using you as my very own, personal, lab rat *grins*)

(these are the original DVD caps, capped with VirtualDub. I capped every frame and re-sized them to 450x253, using a PSP script.
This is a Region1 NTSC DVD = less caps for a scene = less size for the finished animation. The Region2 PAL DVD would have spit out more caps for this scene, but with NTSC I need to delet every other frame because it looks like s***)

to this (62 caps):

This is what my 2 folder look like, from taking the 1st caps to the finished pictures for the animation:

1.

DIRECT LINK

2. DIRECT LINK

HUH? so, what happened inbetween? And where do all the extra caps come from?

and again, all I can say is: WELCOME, to my crazy world of animations *rubs hands*

But it`s actually easy, no secret tool, no hidden feature

Step3: Batch:

After I`ve done the action/script, I run the batch for all animation pictures. Folder by folder.

Sometimes I get lucky, and I can run the same script/batch for several folder. Sometimes I need to go back to work on the images some more, sometimes I need to make a new script for each folder. Because what might look good on one folder, looks like crap on the next folder.

This is the part that can take forever, even more if you`re doing as many animations at once as I do at times. For the last SPN GAG REEL BATCH, I used two main scripts on different folder, then went back to each folder and played with the settings some more, added a few more adjustment layer aso. I thought I`d never get it done *duh*, but I did *yah*

What you do with your picture is up to you. That`s why I don´t add the coloring tutorial for the animation I use as an example.

Step4: FADE IN/FADE OUT

Now you have your caps, re-sized and shiny, all waiting in one folder. Go to this folder, select the FIRST 5 caps, and drag them intp PSP. In PSP you put them IN ORDER (PSP tends to just slap the caps, out of order, so it is IMPORTANT to sort them by nubmer. Highest number goes first, lowest number goes last)

My PSP looks like this (I put the caps in order from left to right, row by row):

DIRECT LINK

go to - FILE - NEW - create a new image, select WHITE as color, using the size of the cap (in this case 450x253)

select this new image, go to - LAYER - MERGE ALL - this is IMPORTANT! if you don`t merge the new white image, PSP goes *nananana* as soon as you want to copy/paste this new white image onto your cap

once the white image is merged, copy/paste it onto each cap, as a new layer (right click on white image, select copy, go to cap, right click on cap, select paste as new layer, done)

NOTE: If you want to avoid to do this all over for each cap, just copy the white image, paste it onto the first cap as a new layer, select the next cap, hit CTRL and Y ...! This is the (MOST IMPORTANT & LOVE) short cut that tells PSP to repeat the previous step)

LAYER SETTINGS: ignore the first cap, the new white layer will be at 100%

select the 2nd cap, set the new white layer to 80%
select the 3rd cap, set the new white layer to 60%
select the 4th cap, set the new white layer to 40%
select the 5th cap, set the new white layer to 20%

DIRECT LINK

merge all layer, for each cap, save each cap = TADA ... White fade in

a fade out works the same, just the other way around. Copy/paste the LAST five caps into PSP (once again, check the numbers of the caps, and put them in order! lowest number goes first, highest number goes last), add the white layer on each

select the 1st cap, set the new white layer to 20%
select the 2nd cap, set the new white layer to 40%
select the 3rd cap, set the new white layer to 60%
select the 4th cap, set the new white layer to 80%
select the 5th cap, set the new white layer to 100%

merge all layer, for each cap, save each cap = TADA ... White fade out

Most of the time I fade in/fade out in black or white, sometime I mix black and white within an animation. Like, a black fade in, a white flash inbetween, and a black fade out.
The flash inbetween I do the same way as I do the fade in/fade out (select the caps in the folder, drag and drop into PSP, put them in order, add the while layer, change the layer setings, merge, save, done)
Only if I decide to add a flash after I`ve run the animation in AnimationShop for the first time, I do it in a different way. Well, different means I open the caps using AnimationShop`s export file to PSP feature, the white layer and the layer settings are the same.

The AnimationShop export/import I`ll explain as soon as we`re in AnimationShop, for now we`re going to have some more fun in PSP.

Step5: ADDING TEXT

As you can see, when you take a closer look at the folder no.2, I have the text for this animation saved as a new picture. The text is done the same way I`ve done the fade in/fade out

Only this time I`ve opened a new white picture (or whatever the color of your fade in/fade out is), and changed the layer settings of the text layer. For a fade in text it`s 20% - 100%, for a fade out text it`s 100% - 20%. I saved each of the text layer as a new image.

THIS, is what I always do. I always use PSP to create my fade in/fade out text. AnimationShop provides text features also, but I prefer to work with PSP. This way I have all the images needed for an animation in one folder, I don`t have to mess around in AnimationShop also.

Now you`re pretty much done with PSP, you don´t need it anymore (except you decide to add some minor changes to the caps, like the flash inbetween)

The only thing left for PSP to do is to open AnimationShop 3 (I use PSP9, AS3 is included. Some PSP versions might use AS3 as an extra program? Could be, I don`t know)

In PaintShopPro, go to FILE - select SOFTWARE PRODUCT - RUN ANIMATIONSHOP

DIRECT LINK
(YES, I know, it says JASC SOFTWARE PRODUCT. By now it`s Corel. Did I mention I use PSP9? I bought it in 2005, and I still just love to use it. The ProX upgrade doesn´t do it for me, for now. I`ve tried ProX4, and deinstalled it after the trial was done and over with *hugs PSP9*)

I guess so far everything is as clear as mud? Awesome. If there`s any question you might have, just ask, I don`t bite (often)

btw, do NOT close PaintShop, it might come in handy later on. So, leave it be, it`s only running in the background.

And here comes prt.2 of the tutorial:

move your body caps ... ANIMATIONSHOP 3 ... CLICK CLICK

- prt.2 can be found here: @OverTheHills

- prt.3 can be found here: @OverTheHills