Overview

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As you probably know, animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images in order to create an illusion of movement. Traditionally 2D animation is created by drawing each displayed image individually. Those images are called "frames" and thus such method is called "frame-by-frame animation". To create a good illusion of movement you need to draw many frames, that's why this method requires a lot of time and resources.
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[[File:Traditional-animation.gif|x150px|frame|center|A traditional frame-by-frame animation, taken from : http://flipily.com|link=http://flipily.com]]
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{{literal|Synfig Studio}} is an [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_software open-source] 2D vector animation software. It is designed to produce film-quality animation with less people and resources.
  
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Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images ("[[frame]]s") to create the illusion of movement. Convincing movement requires many such frames, but 2D animation is traditionally created by drawing each frame individually, a method called "frame-by-frame animation".
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Synfig Studio is built to eliminate the need to draw each frame individually. There are two techniques for that:
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* Morphing animation
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* Cutout animation
  
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Digital animation makes it easier for artists to animate more quickly, efficiently, and consistently.  It introduced concepts such as automatic in-betweening ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tweening|"tweening"]) of frames and [[Reuse Animations|reuse of small animations]]. Synfig Studio is free, open source, 2D animation software that implements those concepts.
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== Morphing ==
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[[File:Rose4b.gif|thumb|100px|right|Morphing animation of a rose, by Rore]] '''Morphing''' is a technique that takes two images and creates a smooth transition between them. In the process of morphing, one shape is deformed into another and this transformation is usually defined by control points.
  
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==Layers are Different==
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In Synfig Studio images are constructed from vector shapes and the morphing is done automatically. This allows us to create animations by drawing only the key positions at relatively wide time intervals. You need only to draw a few frames as needed to create a basic sense of motion for the scene, and Synfig Studio will create the in-between frames.
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[[File:overview-layers.png|thumb|Each shape is a layer.]]
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== Cutout animation ==
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The [[Layer]] in Synfig is a different structure than in most 2D vector editors.  Every object, be it a rectangle, circle, [[BLine|bezier]] outline or region is a layer on its own.  The properties of layers control how they look.
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[[Image:Cutoutsample.gif|thumb|100px|left|Cutout animation in Synfig's tutorials]]
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'''Cutout animation''' is created by splitting objects into parts and applying some simple transformations to them (like translation, rotation or scale) at different moments of time.
  
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==The Power of ValueNodes==
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Synfig Studio uses those values to interpolate the motion for in-between frames. Cutout animation can be produced from bitmap images or vector graphics.
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Synfig's [[ValueNode]] system gives us flexible control over repeated data and complex relationships.  All layer properties are stored as reusable ValueNodes, which can be linked to each other or even derived from mathematic formulae.  An important aspect of ValueNodes is that ''they can be animated and tweened''; in fact, the vertices of a shape are ValueNodes, and animating them morphs the shape.
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== Synthesis and other functionalities==
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In both cases the role of Synfig Studio is to fill the gaps between the drawn frames (also called "keyframes") and produce smooth and fluid animations. This process is called "tweening".
  
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A real-world example of ValueNodes' usefulness is clothing.  If a character's clothing must be colored alike in multiple shots, each instance's colors can be [[linking|linked]] across files. Whenever one instance's color is changed, they are all changed simultaneously.
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Although Synfig Studio is not directly intended to draw animation frame-by-frame, it can be used to bring your hand-drawn frame-by-frame animation to the film-quality level by converting bitmap data of each frame into vector format. This process is called "tracing" and usually done by hand by constructing vector shapes on top of bitmap images. In the process of construction you can apply a lot of fascinating effects built into Synfig Studio to achieve a professional look for your animations.
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<!-- TODO: Illustration - bitmap image and same image traced in Synfig Studio -->
  
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Aside from linking simple pieces of data, you can also define relations between them using a functions and conditions.  We have the ability to create automatic animation based on defined laws and brings the whole animation process to a new level. A ball from a cannon can be realistically fired, or a pseudo-3D character's face can rotate accurately with its head.
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Whether you do frame-by frame animation or not, Synfig Studio gives you flexible control over the repeated data, such as colors, outline characteristics, textures, images and many more, even animation trajectories and their sets (actions). Reusing repeated data is achieved via linking. This is a power of Synfig Studio, which is especially important for big animation projects.
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<!-- TODO: Write a few lines here that Synfig can be used to produce simple animations too -->
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==Possible Animation Types==
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Among the plain linking pieces of artwork data you can also define relations between them using a set of functions. That allows to create automatic animation based on the defined laws and bring whole animation process to the next level.
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[[Image:Parabolic-shot.gif|frame|center|Parabolic shot in Synfig's tutorials]]
  
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===Morphing===
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Morphing takes two images and creates a smooth transition between them. This is done by tweening the vertices of one shape to the vertices of another.  Intricate nimation with this method is done simply by supplying frames in key positions ([[keyframe]]s) at relatively wide time intervals, and allowing Synfig to fill in the gaps.
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All those features of Synfig Studio are covered in detail in the chapters of this manual.
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<!-- TODO: Insert illustration of morphing animation here -->
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===Cutout animation===
 
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[[File:Boris-munchausen-cut-out.png|thumb|right|[https://munchausenproject.wordpress.com/ The Adventures of Boris Munchausen], an example of cutout animation]]
 
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Cutout animation is created by splitting objects into parts and applying some simple transformations to them (like translation, rotation or scale) at different points in time. Synfig Studio uses those values to interpolate the motion for in-between frames. Cutout animation can be produced from both bitmap images and vector graphics.
 
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==Simple or Complex?==
 
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What if we don't need all these special features?  Not everybody wants to make complicated animations, and sometimes we don't want to worry about intricacies in animating.  Although the interface can take some familiarizing, you aren't forced to connect ValueNodes or "program" your shapes to do math.  Animating with Synfig can be done in a very straightforward way without extensive knowledge of ValueNodes.
 
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Synfig Studio is not directly intended to draw animation frame-by-frame (see [http://www.pencil-animation.org/|Pencil] for that), it can be used to bring your frame-by-frame animation to film-quality level. Artists can trace each frame's bitmap data into vector format, after which fun and fascinating effects can be applied during the creation process to achieve a professional animation look.
 
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Synfig Studio's features are covered in detail within this manual.
 
  
 
<!-- TODO: About this manual/Structure of this manual: The purpose of first chapter is to give you overview of the animation creation process using Synfig Studio. Without diving deep into details it will guide you through the basic concepts and offer few exercises that help you to understand how this software works. -->
 
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Latest revision as of 12:33, 28 March 2020

Navigation Navigation:  Manual • >>

As you probably know, animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images in order to create an illusion of movement. Traditionally 2D animation is created by drawing each displayed image individually. Those images are called "frames" and thus such method is called "frame-by-frame animation". To create a good illusion of movement you need to draw many frames, that's why this method requires a lot of time and resources.

A traditional frame-by-frame animation, taken from : http://flipily.com

"Synfig Studio" is an open-source 2D vector animation software. It is designed to produce film-quality animation with less people and resources.

Synfig Studio is built to eliminate the need to draw each frame individually. There are two techniques for that:

  • Morphing animation
  • Cutout animation

Morphing

Morphing animation of a rose, by Rore
Morphing is a technique that takes two images and creates a smooth transition between them. In the process of morphing, one shape is deformed into another and this transformation is usually defined by control points.

In Synfig Studio images are constructed from vector shapes and the morphing is done automatically. This allows us to create animations by drawing only the key positions at relatively wide time intervals. You need only to draw a few frames as needed to create a basic sense of motion for the scene, and Synfig Studio will create the in-between frames.

Cutout animation

Cutout animation in Synfig's tutorials

Cutout animation is created by splitting objects into parts and applying some simple transformations to them (like translation, rotation or scale) at different moments of time.

Synfig Studio uses those values to interpolate the motion for in-between frames. Cutout animation can be produced from bitmap images or vector graphics.

Synthesis and other functionalities

In both cases the role of Synfig Studio is to fill the gaps between the drawn frames (also called "keyframes") and produce smooth and fluid animations. This process is called "tweening".

Although Synfig Studio is not directly intended to draw animation frame-by-frame, it can be used to bring your hand-drawn frame-by-frame animation to the film-quality level by converting bitmap data of each frame into vector format. This process is called "tracing" and usually done by hand by constructing vector shapes on top of bitmap images. In the process of construction you can apply a lot of fascinating effects built into Synfig Studio to achieve a professional look for your animations.

Whether you do frame-by frame animation or not, Synfig Studio gives you flexible control over the repeated data, such as colors, outline characteristics, textures, images and many more, even animation trajectories and their sets (actions). Reusing repeated data is achieved via linking. This is a power of Synfig Studio, which is especially important for big animation projects.

Among the plain linking pieces of artwork data you can also define relations between them using a set of functions. That allows to create automatic animation based on the defined laws and bring whole animation process to the next level.

Parabolic shot in Synfig's tutorials


All those features of Synfig Studio are covered in detail in the chapters of this manual.


Navigation Navigation:  Manual • >>
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