Animo NT User's Guide - Version 2.0

Contents

How to use this guide

Putting your system together
Conventions used in this guide

Basic concepts in Animo 2.0

The application programs
The production process
File types
A suggested directory structure

How to make drawings

Tips for creating drawings
Using the paper
The numbering system
Backgrounds, layouts and overlays
Tone Effects
Registering to the background
Processing drawings

General techniques

Finding the applications
Starting applications
Using the menus
Undoing your changes
Using Toolkits
Managing your work
Choosing colors
Commonly used buttons
Commonly used techniques and tools
Processing stage of your drawings
Minimizing and restoring application windows
Quitting applications

Using scanners

Types of scanners
Using manual-feed with a scanner
Using auto-feed with a scanner
Scanning artwork which is longer than the scanner bed
Scanning artwork which is deeper than the scanner bed

Scanning line artwork

Assumptions
Procedure for scanning line artwork
Starting the ScanLevel application
Creating a level for scanning
Connecting to the scanner
Setting the type of scanning
Selecting the pegbar to use
Selecting the field chart to use
Setting the scan resolution
Setting the scan area
Scanning the drawings
Saving the level
Viewing scanned drawings
Previewing scanned drawings
Changing level names
Changing drawing names
Editing the pegging information
Adding images
Scanning in color reference models
Adjusting your Scanner Settings
Calibrating the scanner
Setting the preferences
Troubleshooting while scanning in line artwork

Scanning backgrounds and overlays

Assumptions
Procedure to follow
Overview of splicing
Starting ScanBackground
Scanning the image sections
Splicing the image sections
Finishing using ScanBackground
Scanning overlays
Adding images
Touching up small areas of unacceptable quality
Setting the Preferences

Processing the scanned images

Why you need to process the images...
What the image processor does
Procedure to follow
Starting the Image Processor
The Browser window
The Results window
The Controls panel
Opening levels or color models for processing
Opening drawings to preview results
Adjusting the Region Layer values
Adjusting the Trace Layer values
Setting the values in the browser
Copying values from an existing drawing
Applying Trace values
Processing the files
Closing files

Color correction

When to use color correction
Assumptions
How to read this chapter
Starting a color correction
How color correction works
Common buttons and tools
Using Advanced mode
Using tiled views
Using RGB mode
Using HSV mode
Using Tint mode
Correcting multiple images
Examples

Ink and Paint process

Summary of the process
About palettes
About reference drawings
Ink and paint layers

Painting basics

Getting started
The Painting window
The Reference window
The Palette window
The Palette wells
The Browser window
The Painting window's toolkit
Interworking between tools and palette wells
Display modes
Zooming facilities
Panning facilities
Correcting mistakes with the Undo feature
Printing the Painting window
Setting the Preferences

Creating a color reference model

Assumptions
Getting started
Procedure
Adding colors to the Painters' Palette
Defining attributes for the palette wells
Saving the color reference model
Creating additional palettes
Marking up the color reference model
Adding color model reference drawings
Using level reference drawings
Editing palettes
Adding backgrounds
Creating a color model from an existing level

Painting drawings

Assumptions
Getting started
Painting procedure
Before you start painting...
Changing the Background color
Choosing a color to paint with
Painting regions
Painting subsequent drawings
Checking your work
Advanced use

Inking drawings

Assumptions
Getting started
Inking tasks
General techniques
Changing the color of ink lines
Cleaning up blemishes in the Trace layer
Inking self-traced lines
Correcting auto-tone mattes
Using the tracing tools

Starting Director
Creating or opening a scene
The main Director windows

The Scene Graph

How the Scene Graph panel works
Using the Scene Graph panel
The Output node

Summary of nodes

Position nodes
Filter elements
Image elements
Ink&Paint elements
Miscellaneous elements
The Output node

Using the XSheet panel
How keyframes work
Using keyframes in the XSheet
Controlling the timing of keyframes
Controlling columns in the XSheet

The Drawing Window

The Drawing Window
Rendering
Moving between frames
Showing borders and tags
Setting the camera outline
Setting the view
Showing field charts
Setting the image display
Restricting the images you view
Using the lightbox
Setting the display quality
The standard Draw toolkit
Selecting nodes in the Drawing Window

Adding images to your scene

Adding or creating a level
Adding drawings
Retiming a level
Choosing a level's palette
Adding a background or overlay
Adding a color card
Changing the order of images
Switching images on and off

Moving images about the scene

Moving images
Moving the camera
Rules for movement
Field charts
The Transform-type nodes
The Camera node
The numeric column Properties
Changing the number of columns in a move
Transforms versus fieldings
Nudging drawings to change their registration
Setting transforms and fieldings in the Drawing Window

Using ratios

Setting a ratioed keyframe
How ratioing works

Using paths

An introduction to paths
The toolkits
The standard tools
Drawing a curved path
Drawing regular shapes
Using the Select tool
Adding, removing and moving knots
Joining and breaking paths
Adding, removing and moving keyframe markers
Scaling paths
Rotating paths
Mirroring paths
Using fills

Using a multiplane camera

The Depth and Multiplane Camera nodes
Procedure for using a multiplane camera
Using the Multiplane Camera window
Using the Drawing Window
An alternative to the Multiplane Camera node

Distorting images

Flipping images
Scaling images
Shearing images

Changing the colors of images

The Color Correct node
The Tint node
The Silhouette node
The Monochrome node

Using mattes

The Matte node
Adding tones
Vector mattes
The Matte Over node

Lighting effects

The Lighting, Exposure and Lighting Composite nodes
Procedure for using lighting effects
Using the Lighting node
Using the Exposure node
Using the Lighting Composite node

Using special effects

Blurring
Changing opacity
Rippling
Alpha thresholding
Using Chromakey effects

Organizing your Scene Graph

The Transmit and Receive nodes
The Null node
The Group node

Other features of Director

Setting the preferences
Printing from Director
The Cover Sheet
Merging drawings
Importing pencil tester files
Loading and saving motion data

Types of regging
Terminology
Making reg drawings
Using overlays and background
Procedure for regging
Creating your artwork for regging
Setting the regging up in Director
Image processing regged drawings
Inking and painting regged drawings

Using soundtrack files from earlier versions of Animo

Sound hardware
Adding a sound file to a scene

Previewing your work

Introduction
Procedure
Setting up a replay
Generating the replay
Playing back the replay
Saving a replay
Using the batch system
Opening an existing replay
Working with multiple replays
Checking detail in a replay

Rendering your scene

Rendering using the batch system
Rendering from the command line

Using the batch system

Starting the Batch Monitor
How the batch system works
Viewing a queue
Deleting jobs
Viewing the Workers
Changing the inactive times for Workers
Quitting the Batch Monitor

Overview of the Demonstration Material

Introduction
Copyright
Contents of the demonstration material
The DemoScenes directory
The MovieScenes directory
The Regging/Reg_Scenes directory
Extra movies

Glossary of terms

Glossary

The dependency lister

Using the dependency lister

Utilities for use with imported images

Using the image utilities
Converting images to tiled files
Using non-premultiplied TIFF files
Setting the DPI of TIFF or PICT files
Renaming TIFF files to use DOS-compatible filenames

Copying files to a disk recorder

Getting ready to transfer images
Transferring the rendered images
Default values

Using ICC color profiles

Color profiles

Using production files from earlier versions of Animo

Production file compatibility
Rendering differences
Updating levels and color models
Fixing lost files
Finding out more...

Keyboard shortcuts

Keyboard configuration
Selecting menu items from the keyboard
General Animo 2.0 shortcuts
General window keyboard shortcuts
Application shortcuts

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Tel: +44 (0) 1223 488200
Fax: +44 (0) 1223 488201
e-mail: support@cambridgeanimation.com

Animo NT User's Guide - Version 2.0 - 29 Jan 1999
Copyright © Cambridge Animation Systems