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Home ? General Discussion ? Real animation - A world of pain!

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03/05/2015 20:13:59

DreekoMuvizu mogulExperimental user
Dreeko
Posts: 1257
I've recently been dabbling with 2d animation and boy what an absolute pain in the arse it is!

If there are any traditional animators out there reading this then I bow to the superior levels of patience you have! The phrase "Bugger this, life's too short!" comes to mind!

Honestly we Muvizu-ers are spoiled beyond belief with our "direct don't animate" approach to cartoon creation. Why someone doesn't make a 2d version I don't know. It would make a fortune. Iclone and Crazytalk Animator come close and Anime Studio has all the right ingredients but falls short of the true real time direction approach.
Imagine having the ability to select (or create character actions for selection) in the same way as Muvizu or loading them up in a list to trigger at the right moment on the timeline....Sigh!


Yup I'd rather direct than animate any day of the week!


D
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03/05/2015 21:37:18

JS36
JS36
Posts: 11
Hello, D

D; you talk about pain, let me tell you, I came from the generation where hand painted cells were the norm. I was involved in the creation of many 20 to 60 second cell animated commercials, where each overlay was painstakingly crafted, by hand! We didn't have handy backgrounds then, we created them. All of this in order to produce decent products. I personally remember, rotoscoping then painting several dozen 20 and 30 second commercial bits - all Disney style.

I can understand your frustration, but you should be thankful for the creative genius of the folks at Muvizu, and others like them, because they've made life a lot easier, especially for those of us who remember!

But I also completely agree, as you wrote,"Yup I'd rather direct than animate any day of the week."

Anyway, yes; it would be handy, so all I can say to you is - create create, you've got the juice.

Best regards,
js36
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03/05/2015 21:57:51

DreekoMuvizu mogulExperimental user
Dreeko
Posts: 1257
Hi JS36!

I applaud and marvel at your animated achievements.

If it were not for yourself and those like you then we would not have Muvizu and its ilk and trust me, I am more than grateful to the good folks at Muvizu HQ (past and present!)

I fully intent to reboot my YouTube channel with more original cartoons so the juices will be a flowing I promise

D
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03/05/2015 22:22:36

JS36
JS36
Posts: 11
Hey,

Good for you D, your ilk will do it!

Let the juices flow.

js36
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03/05/2015 22:42:00

primaveranz
primaveranz
Posts: 520
The problem I have with Muvizu is that it isn't really "Directing" an actor anyway. It is more like trying to control a string puppet, and if you get it wrong you can't go into the timeline and make small adjustments - you have to record it all over again (and again and again) or just settle for the closest you managed to get. If you could just make those fine tunings on the timeline or merge different animations then I agree their "directing" approach might save time. As it is though, it is more of a pain than iClone (which does allow this) or even Moviestorm where you can try to hack a solution, especially with Muvizu's useless and obstructive physics interfering.
edited by primaveranz on 03/05/2015
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04/05/2015 01:31:10

imjschool
imjschool
Posts: 11
primaveranz wrote:
The problem I have with Muvizu is that it isn't really "Directing" an actor anyway. It is more like trying to control a string puppet, and if you get it wrong you can't go into the timeline and make small adjustments - you have to record it all over again (and again and again) or just settle for the closest you managed to get. If you could just make those fine tunings on the timeline or merge different animations then I agree their "directing" approach might save time. As it is though, it is more of a pain than iClone (which does allow this) or even Moviestorm where you can try to hack a solution, especially with Muvizu's useless and obstructive physics interfering.
edited by primaveranz on 03/05/2015

Hello primaveranz,
Muvizu isn't a perfect program but it's not too bad with practice. I had some frustrations with the program when I first started using it. In time, I learned to have fun with the program and not take it to seriously. In time, you will learn to overlook the flaws of the program and focus on your creativity. Just focus on what the program can do, not the flaws.
Isadore
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04/05/2015 01:44:13

primaveranz
primaveranz
Posts: 520
imjschool wrote:
In time, you will learn to overlook the flaws of the program and focus on your creativity.



Muvizu has some nice touches I will grant you that, but there comes a point when the compromises you have to make in your creative aspirations are too great. So if you want to focus on your creativity and not just the mechanics of Muvizu, you have to find another tool. I reached that conclusion quite quickly.
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04/05/2015 06:04:06

mystoMuvizu mogulExperimental user
mysto
Posts: 471
When I started animating (Many years ago) it was all done "frame by frame" and in 2d. Also, when I started animating it was all done by hand. The "traditional way". No computers or other fancy machines to help. I remember spending many many hours and even days working on an animation that was only 15 or 20 seconds long. The only thing I had going for me was that I had the patience to actually stick with it and see it through to the end result.

It was a VERY painstaking process!

I've used many of the high end animation programs available today, Maya, 3d studio max, Softimage, Lightwave etc. and each one has a very steep learning curve in order to produce a quality animation.

Then I found Muvizu. Muvizu, for what you can do with it, is truly an amazing piece of software. With just a little creativity and patience one can create quality animations in just a few hours rather than days or months. Muvizu isn't perfect, but what it does it does very well.

I personally like the style of Muvizu and really enjoy using it and I have some new animations I've been working on that I'll be posting soon.
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04/05/2015 13:37:26

DanimalMuvizu mogulExperimental user
Danimal
Posts: 477
Dreeko wrote:
Anime Studio has all the right ingredients but falls short of the true real time direction approach.

Every so often I drift back to Anime Studio and marvel at how good it looks and the depth of its features. Then I spend three days making a character walk ten feet and remember why I don't use it anymore. In fact, years before knowing of Muvizu I used to wonder aloud "why can't they build in actions so you can make a character walk with the click of a button? Also, when did I start talking to myself?" Then I stumbled upon Muvizu thanks to one Dreeko himself and have enjoyed it ever since.

mysto wrote:
I have some new animations I've been working on that I'll be posting soon

Any Garage Band Blues stuff? You really need to get that lazy collaborator of yours in gear to crank out some more of those!Goofus
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04/05/2015 18:18:21

mystoMuvizu mogulExperimental user
mysto
Posts: 471
I'm ready when ever you are to crank out some more Garage band blues stuff!!! Just let me know!
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05/05/2015 17:48:54

theotherguy
theotherguy
Posts: 176
I would say Muvizu is about 80% great, what would make it 100% great would be the ability to create your own custom movements, more precise movement controls, (trying to get multiple characters to start and stop walking at the same time is horrendous) and a less opaque 'Prepare character actions' section. There is definitely a big need for more more complete help section too.
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05/05/2015 22:11:03

ziggy72Muvizu mogulExperimental user
ziggy72
Posts: 1988
In about 1982 or 3, I learned that I could position pixels by putting in their coordinates (on my ZX Spectrum) to create an image - then wipe the page, and do it again, and you could do it fast enough to make animations. I tried to make an animation to match up with Shine On You Crazy Diamond by playing and rewinding a tape and trying to get the timing right... Yeah, I prefer Muvizu Big Grin I remember when the internet was in black & white y'know...
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06/05/2015 00:53:24

mystoMuvizu mogulExperimental user
mysto
Posts: 471
ziggy72 wrote:
In about 1982 or 3, I learned that I could position pixels by putting in their coordinates (on my ZX Spectrum) to create an image - then wipe the page, and do it again, and you could do it fast enough to make animations. I tried to make an animation to match up with Shine On You Crazy Diamond by playing and rewinding a tape and trying to get the timing right... Yeah, I prefer Muvizu Big Grin I remember when the internet was in black & white y'know...


Around that same time I had a Timex Sinclair 1000 and did those same kind of things. They called it "plot and Un-plot". I spent a lot of time "plotting and un-plotting" trying to make things move around. Was a lot of fun back in the day.
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