Anim8or V 1.0 Build 1.01.1318 Manual Page
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1 Page Anim8or V 1.0 build 1.01.1318 Manual Anim8or v1.0 User Manual Current development release is v1.01.1318, January 25, 2018 Like Anim8or, this manual is a work in progress. While it is intended to be a manual for Anim8or v1.0 it has been worked to be backwards compatible to Anim8or v0.95c and forwards compatible to Anim8or v1.01.1318. Obviously the older versions will be missing the newer functions and while Anim8or is in a state of development there may be changes to commands, functions, and buttons. Sorry about any redundancies or errors! On the cover: anim8or-splashscreen-thecolclough.png Copyright 2017 thecolclough Anim8or® is a registered trademark of R. Steven Glanville. Copyright 2018 R. Steven Glanville 2 Page Anim8or V 1.0 build 1.01.1318 Manual Contents 1. Introduction ... 18 •What's New in V1.0 19 •User Interface •Modeling •Animation •Features •System Requirements 21 •Windows •Linux •Installation Instructions 21 •News on update •News on development release •Compatibility 22 •File Formats 22 •Load and Import •Save and Export •Scripting Language Specification 22 •Anim8or Tutorials 23 •Anim8or Support 23 2. Basics ... 24 •Anim8ors' New User Interface 24 •Menu and Toolbars 24 •Menu 3 ◦Modes and their menus Page Anim8or V 1.0 build 1.01.1318 Manual •Top Toolbar •Side Toolbar •Common Button Meanings •Viewports 29 •Mouse Usage 30 •Keyboard Shortcuts 30 •Undo and Redo 30 •Tool Tips 30 •Project Description 30 •Arc Rotate 31 •Editing Widgets 32 •Grid Control 33 •Snap-to-Grid •Material Editor 33 •Anim8or Object Libraries 34 •Visual Quality 34 •OpenGL Workspace •File Output •User Attributes 35 •Saving .jpg, .png and .bmp File 36 •Printing 36 •Auto Save 36 •Configuration 36 •User Interface Configuration 37 •CAD Notations 38 •Alignment Ruler •Layers 39 4 Page Anim8or V 1.0 build 1.01.1318 Manual 3. Object Editor - Basics and Object/Edit Mode ... 41 •Object/Edit Tools 42 •Basic Objects 43 •Meshes vs. Parameteric Shapes 44 •Object Materials 45 •Plug-in Shapes 45 •Splines 45 •True Type Fonts 46 •Filling 46 •Extrusion 47 •Lathing 48 •Modifiers 49 •Mirror Image 49 •Smoothing 49 •Subdivision Objects 50 •Morph Targets 50 •Continuously Mirrored Meshes 51 •Reference Image 52 4. Object Editor - Object/Point Mode ... 53 •Points / Edges / Faces 53 •Normals •Object/Point Operations 54 •Point Editing 54 •Edge Editing 54 5 •Forum Note: Edge-Point Joint selection Page Anim8or V 1.0 build 1.01.1318 Manual •Face Editing 56 •Applying Multiple Materials 56 •A Note on Selecting Faces •Adding Points and Edges 57 •Adding Faces 57 •Connecting Meshes 58 •Merging Points 59 •Connecting Meshes (2) by Merging Points •Connecting Meshes (3) by Merging Points •Point and Line Parameters 59 •Face Extrusion and Manipulating Tools 60 •Bevel •Inset •Shell •Bump •Cut Faces •Slide •Edge Extrude •Topographical Knife 63 •Split Faces •Add Edges •Dissolve •Move Edges and Points •Move by Normal •Face Editing Commands 64 •Bridge •Flatten 6 •Merge Faces Page Anim8or V 1.0 build 1.01.1318 Manual •Misc. Commands 66 •Selection Commands ◦Quad Loop Select ◦Quad Ring Select •Editing Commands ◦Connect Edges ◦Cut Edges ◦Detach Faces ◦Subdivide Faces ◦Loop Cut ◦Spin Quads ◦Invert Selection ◦Grow Face Selection ◦Select Connected ◦Select by Material ◦Select Malformed Edges ◦Select Orphans •Fast Select 67 5. Figure Editor ... 70 •Figure Basics 71 •Edit Operations 71 •Visibility •Building a Skeleton 74 •Flexible Joints 75 •Adding Body Parts 76 7 •Skinning 78 Page Anim8or V 1.0 build 1.01.1318 Manual •Influence Volumes •Skinning Weights 6. Sequence Editor ... 80 •Time Track 80 •Scrubber Bar 81 •Sequence Basics 82 •Edit Operations 82 •Visibility Options 82 •Animate Button 83 •What is a Key? •Making a Key Pose 83 •Using the Trackball •Trackball Rotation for Bones •Click-dragging on Bones •Inverse Kinematics 84 •Forum Notes: Updated IK tool •Editing Key Frames 87 •A Circle Has 720 Degrees 88 •Ghost Views 88 •Making a Sequence 89 •Exporting and Importing Sequences 89 7. Scene Editor ... 90 •Scene Parameters 91 •Name 8 •Menu Folder Page Anim8or V 1.0 build 1.01.1318 Manual •Frames •Environment •Global Lighting •Movie Image •Elements of a Scene 93 •Adding Objects 93 •Adding Figures 93 •The Camera 95 •FOV •Lights 96 Infinite (or directional) •Local •Spotlights •Targets 97 •Object Properties Dialog 97 •Name •Object •Location (Position) •Parent •Orientation •Enable Roll •Visible •Shadows •Editing Properties •Other Elements •Light Properties 101 •Advanced Light Properties 103 9 Page Anim8or V 1.0 build 1.01.1318 Manual •Shadows 103 •Volume Shadows •Ray Traced Shadows •Environment Settings 105 •Advanced Environment Editor 106 •Z Limits •The Time Track 107 •Previewing and Saving Images 108 8. Scene Animation ... 109 •Animation with Key Frames 109 •Animating with Inverse Kinematics 109 •Forum Notes: Difference between Lock and Hold •Inverse Kinematic Walk Cycle 111 •Animation Figures with Sequences 111 •Animating with Expressions 112 •Controllers 112 •Kinds of Controllers ◦Float ◦Point3 ◦Orientation ◦Boolean •Editing Keys •Editing Expressions •Graph Editor •Editing Segments 10 Page Anim8or V 1.0 build 1.01.1318 Manual 9. Materials ... 117 •Material Editor 117 •Name •Ambient •Diffuse •Specular •Emissive •Rough •Transparency •Brilliance •Two Sided •Texture Selector 121 •Advanced Textures 122 •Normal Maps 124 •Environment Maps 124 •Texture Mode 127 •Material Layers 128 10. Scripts ... 129 •Creating a Script 129 •The Script Directory 129 •Installing a Script 130 •Plug-in Scripts 130 •Parametric Plug-in Scripts •Export Plug-in Scripts •Installing Plug-Ins 131 •Running a Modeling Script 131 11 •Controller Scripts 131 Page Anim8or V 1.0 build 1.01.1318 Manual •Script Errors •Writing Scripts 132 •Data Types 132 •Variables 132 •Expressions 132 •Function Calls •Unary Operators •Binary Operators •Statements ◦Compound statements ◦if statement ◦while statement ◦for statement ◦User Functions •User Attributes 135 •Forum Notes: Sample Script ◦ASL Functions to make glass 11. ART Ray Tracer ... 138 •Art Materials 138 •Class anim8or ◦phong ◦reflection ◦glossy •Class glossyreflector ◦Kr •Class transparent ◦IOR •Class dielectric 12 ◦IOR Page Anim8or V 1.0 build 1.01.1318 Manual ◦UnitDistance •Light Attributes 144 •sampler •Ambient Occlusion 144 •Ray Tracing and Anti-Aliasing 145 12. Rendering ... 147 •Rendering Images and AVIs 147 •Renderer 148 •Scanline •ART Ray Tracer •Alternate Renderers •Rendering Images 149 •Rendering your Image •Saving your Image •Anim8ors Image Formats 149 •BMP •JPG •PNG •Saving Your Images 150 •Channels 151 •The Alpha Channel •Image Compositing •The Depth Channel •Rendering .AVI Movies 153 •AVI format 153 •Rendering and Saving your AVI 154 13 •Scene Parameters Page Anim8or V 1.0 build 1.01.1318 Manual •Movie Parameters Appendix A. Keyboard Shortcuts ... 158 •Menu Shortcuts 158 •Viewpoint Shortcuts 158 •Top Toolbar Shortcuts 159 •Object Editor Shortcuts 159 •Point Editor Shortcuts 160 •Figure Editor Shortcuts 160 •Sequence Editor Shortcuts 161 •Scene Editor Shortcuts 162 Appendix B. Standards and Aspect Ratios ... 163 •Image Standards 163 •Graphic Image Standards •.BMP •.JPG •.PNG •Film Standards •35 MM Film ◦Silent Film ◦Talkies (pre-Academy) ◦Academy ◦CinemaScope ◦Paramount VistaVision ◦Techniscope ◦Super 35 •16 MM Film ◦Standard 16 mm 14 ◦Super 16 mm Page ◦Ultra 16 Anim8or V 1.0 build 1.01.1318 Manual •8 MM Film ◦Standard 8 mm ◦Straight 8 ◦Super 8 mm •Television Formats 167 •SDTV •EDTV •HDTV ◦Formats ◦Frame Rates used for HDTV •Analog Standards 168 •NTSC •PAL •SECAM •MUSE •Digital Standards 169 •ATSC •ISDB-T •DVB-T •DTMB •Aspect Ratios and Resolutions 170 •Paper ◦Pixels and Dots ◦Common paper sizes ◦Common Print Sizes •Common Resolutions •Film •Displays 15 Page Anim8or V 1.0 build 1.01.1318 Manual •Interlaced and Progressive 176 •480i •576i •576p •720p •900p •1080i •1080p Appendix C. an8format ... 177 •Overview •Tokens •Chunk Format •File Layout •Headers •Description •Environment •Texture •Material •Object •Figure •Sequence •Scene •Misc. Items Appendix D. ASL specifications ... 196 •Introduction •Kinds of Scripts • Variables and Names •Data Types •Comments 16 •Predefined Constants Page Anim8or V 1.0 build 1.01.1318 Manual •Variable Declarations •Expressions •Statements •Special Type Details •Predefined Variables •Functions •Script Kinds •Specifics of Script Kinds •Object Export Plug-in Script •Controller Expression Script •Debugging •Tracing Script Execution Appendix E. Learning ASL ... 226 •Forum Notes Special: (by member: polyGon_tError) Appendix F. Anim8or Scripts List ... 229 •Anim8or Scripts 229 •Parameteric Shape Plug-Ins •Object Export Plug-Ins •Sample Scripts •Scripts from Users •ASL Scripts Database 231 •Shape Scripts •Command Scripts •Export Scripts •Complete History of ASL forum Scripts 236 License ... 241 About The Author ... 243 17 Page Anim8or V 1.0 build 1.01.1318 Manual 1 Introduction Anim8or is a 3D computer animation program that is designed to allow straightforward creation of animations. You interactively create and edit objects, figures, and scenes directly on the computer's screen. The basic interface is similar to most 3D animation and CAD programs, as shown in the following screen shot: You control various aspects of your work using an ordinary computer mouse or tablet. You select and drag, rotate, scale and place objects by clicking in the various views of your work. There are two toolbars that you can use for common tasks. The one at the top of the screen has buttons for general commands that are used throughout Anim8or, while the one on the left allows you to change your mode of operation for common tasks in the current editor that you are using. The usual menu is there for less frequently used tasks. You can control the view of your objects to see how they appear from the front, left, top, back, perspective, etc., and you can show either multiple views or a single view on your screen. There are four editors. 18 First, there is an object editor that is used to build (mostly) static objects. This is where you Page Anim8or V 1.0 build 1.01.1318 Manual create and refine the basic models for your 3D world.