I was so happy when I found out about this software but soon after I installed it on my computer (Ubuntu 11.04) I saw that something’s really wrong.
First of all, I can’t do basic transformations on objects like circles and rectangles. Concerning rectangles I can’t even move filled-in area, only border is movable while the rest (fill) can only be re-sized (basic re-size, on corners, rotation is not working…)
I see also that some option from the menu are missing while they are described in the tutorial.
So I was wondering if anybody there is using Synfig on Linux and is there dedicated support for Linux users where I can find help and explanations on how to use this studio?
Thanks
Hi milica,
I think that you’re missunderstanding some concepts of Synfig. In Synfig the primitive layers create objects that just do that, the primitive.
In particular the Rectangle layer will going to create a rectangle parallel to the x and y axis always, regardless the position of its opposite corners.
To translate a Rectangle you have to:
Move both corners the same amount or
Add a Translate layer onto it and use it to translate the rectangle or
Encapsulate the rectangle and move the Origin parameter of the Paste Canvas Layer created (after encapsulate.
Same happen with circles, they will be always a circle, defined by center and radius. If you want a ellipse you can deform the circle with a Stertch or a Warp layer for example.
Alternatively to rectangle or circles you can use the BLine Tool to create circles and rectangles and later deform them using the bezier capabilities.
Please read and do the firsts tutorial and read the How Do I section from the manual to make your firts steps on animation.
Can you please point us to that missing menu option? Maybe it is a wiki error or a bug in the application but we need to know more about it.
-G
Now I get the idea about the layers concept in Synfig, it’s a bit confusing but at least I got it
I got used to standard principles like in Flash or Photoshop or CorelDraw, and I begun with Getting Started (http://wiki.synfig.org/wiki/Doc:Getting_Started) from your wiki but soon after I came to this Transformation problem I closed the program…I mean, Transform Tool is mentioned there and I can’t find it in toolbox because it’s not there at all. No layers are mentioned in this first chapter or I just didn’t got it right…
Anyway I’ll continue with the manual and post here problems if I come up with some.
I see also that some screenshots do not correspond with the layout of the version I’m having installed (synfigstudio_0.63.03_i386.deb) so is it possible that the manual is not updated?
(basic re-size, on corners, rotation is not working…)