Synfig is alive

At first it seemed fine, but as I worked through this happens. I don’t really understand why it keeps horribly deforming without my consent. :frowning:

Two things needed:

  1. Separate modification controls for Encapsulated Layer, and ability to change the pivot point for rotation.
  2. Separate timeline for encapsulated layer, so it doesn’t interfere with the keyframes of child layer.

Hi tushantin,
the ears of the character are moving away because you have not established any waypoint at 10f and you have waypoints for the head and the rest of the body. Please use keyframes at 8f and 10f to fix the bad ear movements.

Regarding to the requests:

Separate the controls in which sense? And the pivot for rotation fro the Rotate tool, right?

Yes I want that too, but I don’t know yet how to do code it.
-G

But I did! I just have no idea where it disappeared to. And it’s not just the ears. See, here’s what I did: Frame 1 was where I started, added a keyframe. Did a falling animation from top to bottom, worked fantastically and no errors. Selected all Bear elements at a certain frame, used CTRL to rotate (with normal tool) sideways. When checking the frames in between, everything seemed to deform (especially the hands) without properly following the simple rotation I had in mind. Also, even the fall animation which initially worked perfectly, also deformed.

I wonder if the problem is with, not the points but, the tangents? When selecting “all child layers” the points can be keyframed but for some reason not tangents. Or something else is going wrong.

Ever use Flash? Basicall, in Flash you’ve got a whole bunch vector drawings in a single layer you can select all of them and group them in a symbol, much like Encapsulation. Like an Exported Canvas, you can animate directly within the symbol with its independent timeline, without affecting the Master Timeline, but unlike Encapsulation, the Symbol also has its own transform controls (for scaling, rotating, etc.) Scale the Symbol and everything inside scales with it, without affecting what’s inside. It’s like a pocket dimension.

I think that could be possible by re-using the codes from the Warp Layer. See, the Warp Tool already has the capability to scale an object’s perspective without directly modifying the object itself. Problem is that the current Warp Layer isn’t a 100% accurate with this AND is usually at the center when summoned, thus affecting everything in view.

Using similar codes as Warp Tool, when objects are encapsulated they will be closely packed in a rectangular box with controls similar to the Warp Tool. This should help us with three things: Independent controls, separate keyframing, and minimize time animating and/or fixing each element.

Ah, yes, and a pivot for rotation. How do you set the pivot for rotation?

Hello Tushantin :slight_smile:
I try now a way to have the equivalent of clips in flash:
in my main file, I delete everything except the part to be animated separately.
I save under another name.
I re-open the main file, and erase the part I just save.
And I import the saved file.
I think it allows for have completely different keyframes, but I’m not sure, it is a method that I try just once or twice… :blush:

Mad0, thanks for the tip, but it still doesn’t seem to work. XD For one thing I can modify the drawing but I can’t animate it (I’ll have to do that in the original file rather than the one I tried to import in). Secondly, it still doesn’t give me controllers, thus I can’t animate the group as whole. :frowning:

But even if this DOES work, it’s too much of a hassle. See, Synfig was founded on the idea of giving low-budget studios/animators an ideal software to work with. Making simple have complicated workthroughs simply defeats the purpose.

I’m sorry for transmit that sensation tushantin, but we are all our best to do all the improvements we can do for the workflow.
-G

Ah, yes, I understand. My current project was actually meant to attract artists and developers to contribute code and ideas to Synfig, but we’ve also got our foir share of deadline. And since we’re running out of time I have no choice but to use Flash. The best thing I like about Synfig is its SVG import, though it seems to miss certain elements and colors, it’s been a life saver.

Tushantin,

I’ve had similar problems trying to rotate limbs by moving the ducks with the normal tool: it all gets crumpled up between the keyframes… actually synfig is doing its job properly, the ducks and tangents are taking direct paths to their keys
One solution is to use extra keyframes - pretty easy, you just go half way between the two keyframes, duplicate the last one, and rotate to your taste
Better, is to use rotate layers, and only animate the ducks for fine-tuning

(at least I hope I’ve understood your problem!)

Yes, I figured that, but it doesn’t help if half of the elements are already badly distorted. :frowning: I still don’t see the use of the Keyframes parameter if it doesn’t add anything to the Timetrack; this might be why some of my elements get messed up at frame one.

Speaking of which, how do you use Animation Curves?

Blimey… Rotate Layers! Now I see where I was going wrong… Not Rotate Tools. Shoulda used Rotate Layers! :smiley: Holy Jesus! The answer was right under my nose and I failed to see it! And to say this is exactly what I was looking for: rotation as one element and not a thousand ducks.

This has put me back on track. Thanks a bunch, Saorsa!