HOME | DD
obtusity — Quick introduction to animation in FireAlpaca 1.5
by-nd
#animation #tutorial #firealpaca #tutorialhowto #firealpacatutorial
Published: 2015-10-30 13:09:57 +0000 UTC; Views: 46746; Favourites: 583; Downloads: 151
Redirect to original
Description
A very quick introduction to the new animation feature in FireAlpaca 1.5, in response to a few questions.Note that the result is a set of PNG files (one per animation frame or one per layer), and you will have to join them together as an animation using a separate program (e.g. a GIF creator, a video editor, animation software, etc, depending on your output requirements).
Follow up: (using AlpacaDouga to combine the output PNG sequence into an animated GIF).
Blue-Ten also posted a guide on Tumblr
Update:
A layer folder counts as a single frame when exported, so you can use layer folders to contain multiple layers in a single frame.
You might use folders to add and re-use background layers, to retain separate outline and colour layers, or for other purposes.
Transcript:
From the View menu, turn on Onion Skin Mode
As you add new layers, the next layer below will be shown in shades of pale red
[In animation terms, the red preview shows the previous frame, earlier in time]
If there are any layers above, the next layer above will be shown in shades of pale green
[In animation terms, the green preview shows the next frame, later in time]
In the View menu, the AutoPlay option will open a preview window flipping through eaxh layer as an animation frame
From the File menu, selecting Export Layers (Onion Skin Mode) will export each layer as a numbered PNG file, starting from 000.png
The bottom-most layer is layer 000, and layers count upwards
[ Google Translate | Bing Translator | Oxford Dictionaries ]
Related content
Comments: 275
This was really helpful! Thank you so much!! ^-^
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
This is great! Now I just need to download a GIF maker. xD Thank you!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
For Windows, I'm fond of the freeware Photoscape (a toolkit program, including making animated GIFs): photoscape.org/ps/main/index.p…
For professional work, the commercial GIF Movie Gear (US$30) produces excellent quality: www.gamani.com/index.htm
The FireAlpaca team also offer AlpacaDouga (an online converter): firealpaca.com/en/douga
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
how would you color it? with all the layers? thank you for the tutorial, very helpful!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Place the layers inside a layer folder. Each layer folder will be exported as a single image.
Optionally merge layer folders into a single layer before export.
👍: 0 ⏩: 2
I have a question. You said that each folder will be exported as a single image. So does that mean you have to put each layer in a different folder?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
No, standard layers will export as an image.
You only need to use a folder if you want multiple layers to be combined into an image.
Layer = frame 4
Folder = frame 3
- Layer
- Layer
- Layer
Layer = frame 2
Layer = frame 1
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Okay. I was asking because I wanted to do animated Warrior cats GIFs and those may require multiple layers per frame.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
There is also the option to work with multiple layers (e.g. duplicate static elements or a background layer for each frame), [save the file in this state for changes or correction], then merge the layers into one layer per frame before export.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thanks a bunch for bringing this up
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
i didn't even know about this :'o
thank you so much for creating this!! <3
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I'll have to play around with this later!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
that was very usefull thanks!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Aw sweet!! I had JUST thought of a gif I wanted to do, but I didn't know how to make one in FA. I didn't know they updated. Thanks for the tutorial! Just downloaded the new FA & will be having some fun with this!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I'm glad it's been helpful for you!
The current 1.5.x builds seem to be having some pen accuracy issues on Macs, so Mac users might want to keep an eye on the release page for a bug fix. Windows users seem to be OK.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
For some reason, when I drop down the menu in FA there's no Onion Skin option. Is there any way to allow that option or do I have to download another version?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
You probably need to download a later version. The FireAlpaca team frequently releases new versions with bug fixes and new features.
Look under the Help menu, About... to find the version you are using.
Animation features were only introduced quite recently, in version 1.5.0 (with a few bug fix releases, the current version is 1.5.4)
Download the latest version from the official site only, firealpaca.com/en (a couple of users have reported viruses from fraudulent download sites).
👍: 0 ⏩: 2
Thanks for this! I had no clue how to save it XD When I did save it was just a mess of pictures and I just face slammed.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
One of the recent updates also added the option to connect to AlpacaDouga, an online GIF creator that takes all the sequential images output from FireAlpaca and combines them into one animated GIF.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Turns out I had ver 1.4.1 so I've gone ahead and downloaded the latest version, thank you very much!
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Hello~
I would like to ask a question if you don't mind?
I have a little animation ready...yet when i get to Alpacadouga it says my images aren't in a supported format? I have saved them as .png's. I also tried my luck with other gif makers with no success...help would be appreciated :3
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Hi! Questions are welcome, although correct answers are not guaranteed.
Were these files created by the Export Layers (Onion Skin Mode) in FireAlpaca, or some other way?
Have you done any other processing to them, or are they exactly as they were exported, straight from FireAlpaca?
Did you use anything other than standard colour layers? (text layers, folders, 8-bit or 1-bit layers) Did you use any blending modes or clipping?
Is there any possibility you could upload two or three images for me to check how they read internally? You could zip them together (in Windows, select them, Ctrl-click will toggle the selection of multiple individual files, right-click on one of the selected files, Send To, Compressed (zipped) folder), and upload them into your DeviantArt sta.sh .
👍: 0 ⏩: 2
UPDATE: Just addded 2 frames into my stash!
Seems im not the only one having this issue- two japanese users commented saying even though the pictures are PNG, they cant get it to convert (My issue exactly) Maybe its a bug?
👍: 0 ⏩: 2
Might be a bug in the Mac version, or even a specific FireAlpaca release (I haven't tested output from 1.5.3 or 1.5.4).
I'd like a look at the internal structure of the images to see if they are JPG files named PNG, for example, or 8-bit PNG instead of 24-bit, or even MDP files named PNG.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Could you send me the addresses please?
If you don't want to make them generally public here as a comment, you can send them to me as a Note.
If you click on them in your stash, you can copy the address directly from the web browser or there should be a Share box with the address.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I got it to work! Seems as if it was a website error, the pictures finally went through~!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Yay! I'm glad it's working for you.
Thanks for the update.
My apologies for not getting back to you earlier about the frame images - between Christmas shopping and wrapping, and meeting up with family, I didn't get a chance to have a look at them.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thanks, and no prob!
Its totally alright- i get it
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Thank you!
I don't believe so, I exported the layers into a folder. I used normal sketch layers.
Could the issue be that I'm using a Mac?
And since I am kind of new here that may take me a little to do, and I'd have to do it a bit later because of school
But it seems like something is wrong with the files, trying to export them into another GIF maker would make the frames invert/ become insanely pixelated?
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
It's called "Onion Skin Mode" because onions have layers, isn't it?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Well, that and it makes people cry. It should have been called cake mode, because so many people like it . 
Actually, I believe it's called "Onion Skin Mode" more because, like the thin dry outer skin of an onion, it is translucent - you can partly "see" the previous layer "through" the current layer. In traditional hand-drawn animation, the initial animation sketching was often done with partly translucent paper, with or without a light box behind it.
Note: never try to discuss layers with a chicken farmer.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I can't find Onion Skin Mode and I got FA recently, like in October I think.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Have a look under the Help menu, About to see your version. Onion Skin mode was introduced very recently, with version 1.5.0 (currently 1.5.3 after a few bug fixes and minor feature enhancements).
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I did. And apparently mine's 1.4.1. No wonder I can't find Onion Skin mode.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Time to re-download
FireAlpaca is constantly being updated with new features and bug fixes - I wish some paid-for software did the same.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
wow! I never knew you can animate in firealpaca! Thanks for post
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Animation is only a very new feature with version 1.5.0, so you haven't missed an existing feature. Have fun animating!
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I cant save my work, whn i click export it forces me to "open a file" and i can t d o antything further, thi s is frustrating i just spent an hour on this animation
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Firstly it should ask you to select a folder as the output location for the output frames (which will be named 000.png, 001.png, 002.png, etc - you don't have an option to select another name).
Secondly, if you have the latest version, it should ask you whether you want to open AlpacaDouga, the online web page that enables you to combine those separate .png frame images into an animated GIF. You can just say no to this if you don't want to use AlpacaDouga to create an animated GIF.
You are seeing something else?
Could you post a screenshot of the message? You can upload it to your sta.sh or somewhere like pasteboard.co
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Hmm, It does not give me an option to choose a name or anything, prntscr.com/97vv44 like this, when i click the open button absolutely nothing happens, when i select some other picture, then i get a message about alpacadouga prntscr.com/97vvhg and thats all, I cant save it in any other way than saving each layer off the onion skin layer mode, as png, which is problematic on longer animations
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
You do not select a name, solely a folder, pasteboard.co/2trqxSIk.png
Nothing appears to happen, but you must look in the folder afterwards with a separate file manager to see the exported frame images.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
(this photo doesnt appear),
But the export window doesnt close at all (after clickign the button), and when i look into folders there really is nothing there, so what kind of file manager am I supposed to use.. not even total commander sees the file because they really arent saving...
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Try clicking the folder name ("frames" at the top of the folder selection window) before clicking the button.
Also try a folder path with only ASCII characters (maybe C:\frames).
If it still fails, maybe report the problem as a bug.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Eh, its just my computers problem, i dont have this problem on any other computer
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
<= Prev | | Next =>