anyone used Celaction?

[AnimatorX]

Hi Steve,

I've been using CelAction since it was first introduced. Is there anything specific you want to know? ...or do you just want a general overview?

[steveblake]

General overview really. I'd like to know what you think of it, but I guess I do have a few specifics too.

1. How easy is it to use?

2. What type of 'dope sheet' functions are available?

3. Is there a Graph Editor, if so does it do spline/stepped/flat keys?

4. What are the benefits over tradional 2D? (ie cell and ink)

Any help appreciated... :)

[AnimatorX]

CelAction is very easy to use. Admittedly I've grown with it and it's obviously a lot more complex than it was five years ago, but I reckon it still only takes a day (or less) to get someone up-and-running and animating with it. A little more time would be needed to get to grips with all the features (character construction, scene set-up, effects,etc) but basic animation is really easy. In particular it's very easy for traditional animators with little or no computer experience to learn.

The thing to remember about it is it's essentially a cut-out animation system where you build 2D 'puppets' and move them around under a virtual camera. Although it's a lot more sophisticated than traditional 'cut-outs' and it's quite possible to get animation in CelAction to look and move like traditional drawn 2D. At this point I've personally worked on five different projects for UK TV broadcast that have used CelAction.

The dope sheet looks exactly like a traditional animators sheet and sits down the side of the screen (very cosy and familiar for us traditional animators ;) ). There's no graph editor because CelAction isn't a key-framing system, think of it more like traditional cut-out (or even 3d claymation) where you work straight ahead. Having said that though it's obviously possible to go back and edit previous frames as well. The whole system is more akin to the traditional animation process than most keyframe-based digital systems and is therefore more comfortable for traditional animators to use. There is an algorithm system that enables you to generate inbetween poses between extremes, there's an extensive suite of graphic effects that can be applied to the animation and also a multiplane camera system all of which which can really lift the finished look to a high level.

The major benefit over traditional 2D is speed (and, by implication, cost). One of the projects I work on that uses CelAction is the animated sketch show "2DTV". I don't know if you are aware of it but it's a topical show, written, designed and animated in the week it's broadcast. CelAction allows us to do that, keep the high production values required, and be able to keep an animation studio in the heart of London. Frankly I can't think of another 2D system we could do that with.

All in all, I'd give it one of these... :thumbsup:

[Chesticles]

Hello there Steve. Like Animator X, I too have been using this program since 1998/9, on a show called The Big Knights. Since then, I have been pretty much using this software more and more. I was a cut out animator to start with, and this this programme just suited me right down to the ground.

It is brilliant to use (in my honest opinion), and I am currently using it for the Beeb's Monkey Dust series that will soon be due out. Why I like it is that it is quick to animate with, easy to navigate around, and you can get some beautiful FX work with it, instead of using After FX or similar at the end of the production.

I have done seven projects using this software, The Big Knights, Yoko, Jakamoto, Toto and 2DTV are some examples of them.

I think the main reason I like using this programme so much is it's flexibilty. You can get some fantastic results, depending on how much you put into the puppet making side of it. All in all, I would agree with my esteemed collegue Animator X about CelAction. It's well worth checking it out!

It rawks! :buttrock:

[steveblake]

Thanks chaps, I'm almost entirely sold...

I appreciate the feedback. I originally trained as a 2D animator but have had my head in the 3D world for the last 10 years.

Yet, I'm still interested to hear more of the puppet making process.

I'm guessing that it's a matter of drawing up the various angles of each part of the body, together with all of the mouthshapes, eyes and etc.

Oh and does CellAction have IK and constrains of any sort??

Thanks again...

:)

[AnimatorX]

The puppet making process ('actor building' is the CelAction appellation ;) ) is probably the most important part. Of course a lot of what you do at this stage depends entirely on the style and needs of your project so it's difficult to generalise. Needless to say it's extremely flexible.

As an example the characters in 'The Big Knights' were in a particular graphical style and only (usually) seen in a kind of 3qtr/front view - that was a part of the style of the series. So in this case the 'actors' were relatively simple to build and could be used over and over again. On my current project, however, we are building actors to fit particular scenes rather than having generic models used throughout as this better fits the style and requirements of the project.

As you suspect - a more complex character would be built using different 'shapes' for each part of the body depending on the angle required. Each of the various 'pieces' (elements) of a CelAction actor can have more than one 'shape' assigned to them. You can then flip between these different shapes as required. The obvious use for this is mouth shapes, but it would also work for different 'angles' of other areas of the body. One of the features enables you to 'link' shapes between different elements - so that shape changes made to one element automatically affect those linked to it.

This is a powereful function as it is the careful mixture of the pivoted 'cut-out' technique and this shape flipping function that enables CelAction to emulate the more traditional drawn animation look.

[AnimatorX]

....oops forgot a bit.

IK. There's no IK or constraints in CelAction at present but there's the facility to reverse the heirarchy of all or part of an actor, which is quite useful and the facility to 're-attach' an element or elements out of their usual position in the heirarchy onto another part of the actor or onto an entirely different actor.

[Manimator]

>Oh and does CellAction have IK and constrains of any sort??<

The nature of this type of animation (i.e. not 3D) doesn't lend itself to IK and constraints - you end up breaking so many joints and squashing and stretching individual bones that IK would just get in the way. Hence the FK and Reverse FK being sufficient.

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