Doc:Flower Animation
Tutorial WIP.
- Note: Need to improve the text, the formating, and add images.
- I will link this page from the Tutorial page when ready :)
This tutorial will show you how to create a simple animation of a growing flower with blines.
Basic settings
Click on File > New. You can keep the default values here and just click OK.
Click on the foreground and background color in the toolbox, in order to create a gradient you like. (You can also directly edit the gradient by clicking on it). Select the Gradient Tool and drag your cursor across the canvas to fill it with the gradient.
Select the Bline Tool and in the tool Options dialog, make sure that only "Fill" is checked. Set the foreground color to green. Now draw a kind of triangle with the Bline tool. To close the shape after drawing the 3 vertices, right click on the first vertex and choose "Loop Bline".
- Note: If only the "Split Tangent" option is available, drag a little the red dot that covers the firt vertex, then right-click again on the vertex (the orange dot) to make the Loop Bline option apear.
To create the bline shape, select another tool or press the Create button (gear-like icon) at the bottom of the tool options. This will be the base of the stem. Right-click on each vertex and select "Split Tangent", so the tangent handles of each vertex could be moved separately. We're done with the basic settings.
Animate the stem
We need to change our simple image into something that can be animated. In the Canvas Menu, select Edit > Properties. Go to the Time tab and set the End time to 5s. There's now a timetrack at the bottom of the canvas.
Click at the beginnig of the timetrack (0f), then, on the Keyframes tab (the one with a key icon) click on "+" (add a new keyframe). Click again on the timetrack, at 1s, and add a new keyframe. Press the green circle at the bottom right of the canvas, to switch to the Animate Editing Mode (the circle is now red).
With the Normal Tool, select the green sprout, and move up a little the upper vertex. Click on 2s on the timetrack, add a new keyframe, and move again the upper vertex to make the plant grow. You can play with the vertex handles to bend the shape a bit if you want. Add some new keyframes at 3s and 4s, and make the stem grow some more.
While you are still on the 4s keyframe, right-click on the stem border, close to the top, and choose "Insert Item (smart)". Do the same on the other side of the stem. Right click on those new points and choose Split Tangent again. Then try to make a shape that looks like the one on the image. The animation of the stem is now finished, but it still lacks the petals.
