Computer Stuff

hey - nice to see Nottingham pop up as your location! I di uni there so I had a look at your site - Nice homepage.

Photoshop isn't really an animation program -- any way of working on multiple images is kinda hard. good proggie - but not really for animation. Flash I still sware by. Find someone who's allready got a computer and get him to lend you a few programs for you to try out.

Well, this begs several questions:

- What are you planning on using the computer *for*. Do you want to do Flash-type animation (Vector Art) or digitally scan your 2d work and color it on the computer? Do you want to get into 3D animation? Interactive design?

- What sort of budget are you on? There's free software out there that will get the job done, and pay software that probably gets the job done with a bit more ease and functionality...

- What sort of machine are you running...PC? Mac? How much RAM do you have?

~Ender

Well, I did not wont to start a new thread so...

I have Painter and a Wacom tablet. My pen will only act as a mouse and will not leave paint, or whatever, when I try to draw. I have the latest version of the driver for the tablet and I have tryed the Wacom's FAQ's. I have gone over the preference and I am at a lost to get this thing working.

I'm not sure, I'd try ringing them, or write a formal letter of complaint. Try the help forums.

yogyog, hey! I live in Nottingham, but go to Southampton institute. Nottingham's a cool place, getting very cutting edge, but pricey too! What did u study?

The site will be changing over the summer, after end of June (when I come back from surfing in France).

I can't say for sure. I finally took painter7 off my old computer last year, hadn't used it for a while but I know Corel had bought it and most of my Corel stuff will work with a tablet....but then again I don't have a Wacom, I've got an old cheap Aiptek thing, but I know I played with it for a while and there were some settings in the "preferences" for it.

I'm not sure, I'd try ringing them, or write a formal letter of complaint. Try the help forums.

I did all of the above and I am waitting for a responce. I was just hoping for a fix so I could use it this weekend. (Surfing in France, I am getting a voodo doll .) :D

phacker: You took Painter 7 off, so what would to get to take its place. The people on the phone wont me to get Painter 9. I am not sure where to go to compare all the different drawing software.

Problem fixed. Now on to animating. :)

I think you are going to have to budget for a copy of PhotoShop at least, and I wouldn't be able to get by without Flash.

Actually I prefer Corel PhotoPaint and CorelDraw over Adobe PS and Illustrator, but those are the ones most used in the industry. AfterEffects and Premier would be good for video work, and if you want to get into 3d, probably Maya.

For Websites, Dreamweaver is my best friend.

You don't always have to have the latest version so shop around at ebay and other auction sources for the best deals.

If you are going 3d make sure you have lots of ram.

Yes, there are lots of questions! But as you said you're a pencil and paper guy, I take it you're planning to at least start with 2D traditional animation/illustration.

I think Photoshop is a MUST, just because any still image, photo, line art, etc can be edited well in it. If you want to look after your budget but want the main tools, I'd go with Photoshop Elements, you sometimes get it free with a scanner! And its really good and simple to use, with lots of features(I normally use it cos its quicker).

You could also look at Corel Painter Classic, which I also got with a Wacom tablet (for digital drawing) and that does pretty much the same stuff. Great brushes too.

If you're looking at 2D animation programs, there are lots. But I'd say if you want your work to look REALLY good and traditonal, stay away from Flash, because it messes up the line art and is fiddly, especially if you just want to draw!

I'd seriously look into Digicel's Flipbook. We use it at university and it is really good. Amazing for pencil tests, very quick and easy to use, does full colour, line and palette editing, camera moves, file import, etc. It's also very cheap.

If you want more 'Photoshop' looking animation, like REALLY high end, (like the Coco Pops adverts on TV) then look into Photoshop with a video editing program, like After Effects. Although now you're startign to talk BIG money!

As far as computer spec goes, I'd say get a PC. Flipbook only runs on pc (although mac version in the works apparently) and generally more programs, cheaper parts,etc.

Get a BIG hard drive. Good screen, (you're going to be looking at it alot!) AT LEAST 512mb RAM (especially for video editing) CD Writer/DVD Writer if you want to make your own DVD demo reels or whatever. A nice processor, lots of USB slots and ports for other connections, so you can plug stuff like scanner, digital camera etc in, and last but not least, a graphics card (look for about 128mb minimum, not 'shared' or 'on board', but a seperate piece of kit that goes in your computer. Like a named brand.)

You can buy a lot of this stuff pretty cheap on the Internet, so it might be worth researching into building your own as you can make a top-end PC for £500 easily. Maybe a friend or someone about knows how to? You can get magazines and books on how-to build your own, so have a go! I might!

Hope this helps,

Adam:)

Correction to one of Flashman's points. After Effects is not really a video editing program. Yes, you can edit in it, but it's designed more for compositing and effects work. Premiere is Adobe's video editor.

I'll second the recommendation for Flipbook, but don't hold your breath for the Mac version. That thing has been "in the works" for three years or more. I'm sure they're sincere about it, but I wouldn't buy a Mac thinking Flipbook will be available soon.

Yeah, DSB's right about both things!

After Effects isn't a full video editing program, (I didn't make it clear) but as far as scanning in stills into Photoshop then importing them into A.E and doing camera moves, storyboards, text etc it's really good for animators.

And yes, I wouldn't hold my breath either for the Mac version of Flipbook, although they are getting more demand for it now, they still won't put a date down.

Kent Braun (apologies for incorrect spelling Kent!) is from Digicel and is on the forums, you could email or PM him.

Adam

After Effects isn't a full video editing program, (I didn't make it clear) but as far as scanning in stills into Photoshop then importing them into A.E and doing camera moves, storyboards, text etc it's really good for animators.

Yep - it's an absolute must in my book. Think of it as Photoshop for moving images.