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Eunice Beady
Cartoon Animator (CTA) is used by animators and media presenters for a wide range of practical uses, from storytelling to explainer videos. Vincent LoGiudice from Squashed Bug Games is taking Cartoon Animator even further and using it to create a side scrolling console game targeted for home arcade consoles.
Q: Hi Vincent. Thank you for sharing your project with us. Gaming is such a great opportunity for using Cartoon Animator. When did you come up with the idea of making a console game, and how did you discover Cartoon Animator?
Cartoon Animator has been an instrumental piece to our game Heavy Metal Titans. When I first started Heavy Metal Titans(HMT) in college, I knew I wanted to make a 2D Character/3D Background, linear side scroller game (Metroidvania) like Contra and Metal Slug, since I grew up playing those games in the arcade. I started the project solo and wore all the hats on this project, so I needed a time hack; an excellent tool to boost animation speed, while keeping the game quality maximized.
I then thought, how can I make something like this, that can target the newer and older generations gamers while promoting art and 2D animation with 3D backgrounds, because I personally really appreciate 2 dimensional artwork, but can appreciate some depth to the playing field. So I added a 3D background similar to other games in the 90s like Paper Mario.
In addition to Metal Slug, I really love Heavy Metal Music and instantly thought of television cartoon series Metapocalypse; so my art style was really influenced by that show, along with some of the 2D character designs; hence, the game has a lot of metal music (all licensed of course) to keep the vibe very metal.
It has. Cartoon Animator has streamlined the character creation and 2D animation process greatly. CTA is not the only Reallusion tool I use though! iClone and Character Creator have both also helped me create poses to generate characters, monsters, and other animated props used in Heavy Metal Titans
Most of the rigs that I've seen (or created) can only achieve a certain degree of automated rotation before the face direction controller reaches its limits. After that point, it's usually up to the animator to custom pose the rig into the desired shape. Sometimes I keep separate dummy animation tracks to store the keyframes for these custom angles, then just copy those keys into my main animation timeline when I need to hit that pose again. So you can't get a 360 automated rotation, but you can do some extra legwork and still achieve it manually.
I've seen a lot of people asking about ways to rig up automatic custom poses to achieve more smoothly automated controllers like CA4 has. As Erika mentions in this thread, a lot of cartooning programs use scripts to achieve this effect, which she also confirms aren't planned for Spine for the near future.
Now if I can take a moment to hijack your thread to address Nate... Hi, Nate! I've been ruminating on this matter for a while now, though I'm sure you've put no small amount of thought into it as well. I should obviously preface this with the fact I'm not a programmer, but I feel like a script-free and potentially lightweight solution may be possible. It may also be somewhat related to the planned Range Constraints feature, but it doesn't seem encompassed by it, so bare with me.
In my mind, this is identical to if one were to go to the Preview panel and slowly drag the Alpha up from 0 to 100 on a separate animation track containing keys on only the necessary elements of the target pose.
The benefit to a system like this is that the animator could control that alpha-blend-like process themselves using any elected bone as the controller. Maybe they make a dedicated control box bone like the one this user envisioned. Maybe they grab a forearm and connect the activation of the target pose (a swollen bicep) with a specific rotation value of the forearm.
With each of these yellow dots representing a defined target pose coordinate, a single controller bone moving through these coordinates could blend seamlessly through many extremes and a rigger could add breakdown poses to fix any zones where the posing falls apart, which seems to be quite similar to how CA4 is treating the setup.
If, like in the Preview panel, there were the option of applying that target pose additively, a rigger would even be able to set up a system where specific elements of an expression could be applied through control sliders, behaving very closely to Maya's Blendshapes feature.
Much of this is already possible to some degree if an animator were to work extensively with a programmer to create a control system in something like Unity, wherein some scripted sliders in Unity would control the Alpha blend of a list of 'target pose' animation tracks to achieve dynamic expressions at runtime. If that much is possible, then it feels like having that sort of system directly controlled within the Editor could significantly empower animators, compared to the classic 'store a special pose keyframe in another timeline to paste in when you need it' approach, and could be applied to a wide range of custom poses outside the classic example of a head turn.
In addition to overhauling rudimentary animation with the secondary motion from Spring physics, free-form deformation (FFD) makes cartoonish anticipation and exaggeration accessible to any aspiring animator. CTA5 also supports vector animation giving rise to boosted render quality with high-res output and a highly-acclaimed SVG pipeline.
Cartoon Animator is a 2d animation software designed for ease of entry and productivity. It can turn static images into animated characters, drive facial expressions with facial mocap animation, generate lip-sync animation from audio, create 3d parallax scenes, and produce 2d visual effects. Artists can access content resources and wield a comprehensive photoshop/vector pipeline to rapidly customize sprite characters and create interesting content. While implementing the most innovative workflow by synergizing industry-leading applications, 3d animation resources, and motion capture devices, Cartoon Animator brings the ultimate freedom for high-quality production.
FFD can easily exaggerate motion by simply moving the bounded lattice points. With 109 FFD presets and customizable timeline keys, designers can create cartoonish effects like squash and stretch, anticipation, and exaggeration. FFD presets can be dragged and dropped onto static objects to make them come alive.
Vector graphics support lets users import widely available SVG vector assets to CTA5; whether they are downloaded from stock image sites, or custom created with Illustrator, Coreldraw, or other compatible tools. Unlike raster images that allocate file size to store pixel data, you can zoom in and out of vector graphics and still enjoy a picture quality that is both crisp and sharp. There is no better way to build a large scene than with vector graphics that can be scrolled, zoomed, and navigated throughout.
Smart Content Manager lets users one-click install purchased assets and free designer resources. Artists can easily search and browse personal works, upload, and download items to and from their online inventory.
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SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov. 11, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Cartoon Animator 5 (CTA 5) launches with several crucial features introduced to level the playing field for amateur and professional artists alike. In addition to overhauling rudimentary animations with the secondary motion from Spring physics, free-form deformation (FFD) makes cartoonish anticipation and exaggeration accessible to any aspiring animator. CTA 5 also supports vector animation giving rise to boosted render quality with high-res output and a highly-acclaimed SVG pipeline.
Cartoon Animator is a 2D animation software designed for ease of entry and productivity. It can turn static images into animated characters, drive facial expressions with facial mocap animation, generate lip-sync animation from audio, create 3D parallax scenes, and produce 2D visual effects. Artists can access content resources and wield a comprehensive photoshop/vector pipeline to rapidly customize sprite characters and create interesting content. While implementing the most innovative workflow by synergizing industry-leading applications, 3D animation resources, and motion capture devices, Cartoon Animator brings the ultimate freedom for high-quality production.
While implementing the most innovative workflow by synergizing industry-leading applications, 3D animation resources, and motion capture devices, Cartoon Animator brings the ultimate freedom for high-quality production.
Few things are more rewarding than watching your static 2D artwork suddenly turn into living and breathing animations. CTA's autonomous Spring dynamics puts you in creative control without fussing over complex physics and follow-through motion. These flashy physics effects are perfectly fit to energize character and prop animation.
Within the digital canvas of Cartoon Animator, artists paint their dreams, transforming ideas into animated realities. The diversity of styles and techniques within the group is nothing short of awe-inspiring. From whimsical characters to awe-inducing landscapes, each creation is a testament to the boundless imagination that resides in the hearts of these talented individuals.
As we delve deeper into the virtual gallery of Cartoon Animator Users, prepare to be captivated by the sheer brilliance on display. From seasoned animators with years of experience to emerging talents breaking new ground, each contributor adds a unique brushstroke to the collective masterpiece. This showcase is not just a celebration of individual talent but a testament to the strength of artistic synergy within the group.
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