I’m working on coding a platformer for Android, using Android Studio. I’m trying to figure out how to animate my player and enemies as they walk/jump/etc. I am making my art in inkscape, and I’m not sure whether Synfig is the right tool to do my animation.
Can I make an animation in Synfig, and then convert it into sprite sheets? Or, is there an easy way to use the animations that I make in synfig for my player animations in my game? I’ve been trying to research how to use non-sprite-sheet animations in my android development, but I think I’m missing the documentation for that. I will need to be able to change animations quickly as my player changes states. I do know how to work with sprite sheets in my game, but first, I need to be using the right tool to get my animations right, and then if I can make a smoother animation in synfig than I would get by making sprite sheets, I’d love to use the smoother animations.
So, I guess my question is multi-fold:
Can I use animations from Synfig instead of sprite sheets without having to use a tool like Unity?
If so, can someone point to some good documentation?
If not, can Synfig be used to make my sprite sheets?
Hi!
You can use Bones, Skeleton Deformation, Switch Layers and Vertex Animation in Synfig to make your animations and export them into a spritesheet, but Synfig comes with a learning curve. The Synfig Training Course https://gumroad.com/l/synfig-training-1-en# and the Synfig wiki http://wiki.synfig.org/Category:Manual are your best friends. You can export your Inkscape drawings into sif and use them in Synfig, but not all features of Inkscape are supported by Synfig. My advice would be to make your drawings straight into Synfig. If the steep learning curve is a problem then there is always Spriter and Spine. So in short the answer to your questions would be: No, The Synfig Training Course, The Synfig Wiki, this forum and youtube, and Yes.
Greetz!
Second the answers has given by darkspace above here, that’s quite comprehensive one. I had been experiencing something like the same issues (not with Synfig, but it also was connected to Android Dev) when was new to Java at all. To be blunt, I still barely can describe myself as an experienced java coder or backender itself. But this very website is still pretty in use to me https://explainjava.com/category/java/ Here are all the answers on most common and even sort of basic problems experienced by newbies. And it is written in quite easy-to-get manner as well, not like all those “teach yourself coding in 2 hours” handbooks at all, so it’s easy to understand them and follow by the book even if your coding background had ended with HTML tags or something