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General Discussion / New pixel art (animation) program development
« on: August 01, 2009, 10:28:35 am »
So the lack of decent pixel art animation programs on Mac has pushed be over the edge. I'm in the first stages of developing a multi-platform tool.
I'm not really looking for feature suggestions (I've looked over happymonster's topic http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=7405.0).
What I would like to discuss is the best approach to layered animation (animation functionality will be a priority).
So I know of a few different approaches but none of them seem ideal - I've tried to conceive a hybrid but so far no luck.
Known approaches;
a/ New frame = Blank canvas = Layers only accessible on their frame of origin.
b/ New frame = All layers available.
a. This approach keeps things simple. As long as onion skinning or something similar is available its ok. But it can really slow down your work-flow if you need access to a constant layer (e.g. a background).
b. Its easy to get confused. Inexperienced users accidentally edit the look of an early frame. Can lead to far too many layers.
So does anyone use or know of a program that handles things differently? Please post a screenshot and description.
Does anyone want to help try and conceive a system? I've had some ideas but so far I think they'll just confuse new users.
I'm not really looking for feature suggestions (I've looked over happymonster's topic http://www.wayofthepixel.net/pixelation/index.php?topic=7405.0).
What I would like to discuss is the best approach to layered animation (animation functionality will be a priority).
So I know of a few different approaches but none of them seem ideal - I've tried to conceive a hybrid but so far no luck.
Known approaches;
a/ New frame = Blank canvas = Layers only accessible on their frame of origin.
b/ New frame = All layers available.
a. This approach keeps things simple. As long as onion skinning or something similar is available its ok. But it can really slow down your work-flow if you need access to a constant layer (e.g. a background).
b. Its easy to get confused. Inexperienced users accidentally edit the look of an early frame. Can lead to far too many layers.
So does anyone use or know of a program that handles things differently? Please post a screenshot and description.
Does anyone want to help try and conceive a system? I've had some ideas but so far I think they'll just confuse new users.