Hello,
I have a very fundamental question. I want to create animation that basically imitates old 2D videogames, meaning that a main character will run through a variety of environments, jump on platforms, kill enemies etc. while he stays in the center of the screen. So far so good.
Here is how I would go about achieving that:
Create the entire environment, put the character at the beginning and use paths and waypoints to move him along the level until the end. Then create a “camera object” that only captures a small part of the entire scene and is always centered on the character. Only what this camera sees would be rendered in the end.
That’s the theory. However, I couldn’t find a convenient way to achieve this in Synfig. I know about animation using .lst files and I have worked through the “Follow bline” tutorial and both of these techniques work well. However, I couldn’t find a way to create and control a camera.
My first and most basic question is: Is my way of doing things even common/sensible? I’m completely new to 2D animation and as such have never worked with any other program. And if my way is valid, does Synfig enable me to do it? Or would I have to use another program like Toon Boom, Flash, etc.?
I know that in traditional animation, the camera is stationary and only the cells/layers are moved. This however appears to be a bit tedious for my purposes…
I just need some pointers. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
NOTE: I stumbled upon this thread, leading me to believe that Synfig doesn’t support my method out of the box. But my basic question remains: Is my way of doing things sensible, or is there an easier, more efficient way?
