2. CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

Welcome

CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper Version: Beta CrazyTalk Animator is a revolutionary animation suite with all the necessary tools to easily create pro-level animation. It provides an exciting new approach to traditional 2D animation with innovative new tools that allow users to apply 3D motions to 2D characters. The 2D characters are composed of multi-angle elements and can be made by following the steps in this whitepaper. Please note that this whitepaper is suitable for Pipeline version only.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

Introduction of CrazyTalk Animator 2 Before you get started, please download the Pipeline Template and Tools zip file. You will find four files contained within this zip file. These are the files that you will be working with. You will learn how to use these files in this whitepaper document. Please refer to the following sections: • • •

Basic Concepts of G2 Characters Noteworthy Points Note:

•

If you intend to download the Pipeline Template and Tools zip file, then please register the Pipeline edition of CrazyTalk Animator 2 under your Reallusion member account to gain access to the valuable templates and tools in your personal member page.

How to Register | Log in

Basic Concepts of G2 Characters CrazyTalk Animator 2's G2 characters have the ability to perform 3D motions. In order for a G2 character to do that, it needs 10 different angles. Please refer to the G2 Character with 8 Angles page to observe the 8 separate angle profiles. •

The image below shows the 8 angles of the character. The 8 angles showing are: 0, 45, 90, 135, 180, 225, 270, and 310 degrees. By combining all these 8 angles, you can get a character that is able to turn 360 degrees horizontally.

•

Altogether, these 10 angles give you much more freedom with your character's animation possibilities.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

To make a working G2 character in CrazyTalk Animator 2, you must first create your character in Adobe Flash (CS4 or above). Once you complete a series of settings in Flash, you can then import the character to CrazyTalk Animator 2. Your character in Flash should look like the below illustration:

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline Each CrazyTalk Animator 2 G2 character is composed of 16 sprites or body parts. The sprites are:

The names of the 16 body parts

Noteworthy Points Before you start drawing your character, there are a few points you need to notice.

Perspective

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline Do not draw a character with perspective in Flash! CrazyTalk Animator 2 will automatically give your character perspective settings according to its angles. If you draw a perspective effect in Flash, it may unnatural motion results when you import the character into CrazyTalk Animator 2.

Heights of Sprites You must make every sprite of every angle of your character the same height to ensure a smooth and stable motion when your character is performing. To observe the result when the sprites are not at the same height, please refer to the Height Issue page.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

Sizes of Sprites For good multi-angle motion results, make sure the sprites for every angle of every body part are the same size. The connecting points between sprites should also be the same width, especially at the waist or elbow. Make sure not to change the width for different angles.

The widths of each sprite are identical Two angle views of the character (the character's overlapped views)

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline If the joint widths of two connecting sprites are not the same, visual flaws will occur.

Same widths of joints for the connecting sprites Different widths causes visual flaw - lower and upper torsos

Length of Hair Long-haired characters are not suitable in CrazyTalk Animator 2. It is recommended that the hair does not exceed the length of the face.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline Short hair (same height as the face) is recommended If the hair is too long, there may be visual defects caused by the normal layer order for each body part.

The long hair penetrates the neck and the other body parts

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

DrawPlus Character Creation In this chapter, you will learn how to create a character that is compatible with CrazyTalk Animator 2 in DrawPlus. Please refer to the following sections: • • • • • • • •

DrawPlus Structure Suggested Workflow Drawing Techniques Open and Close Chart Pivots and Pivot Bases Setting Pivots ◦ Sprite Settings Creating Multi-pose Elements

DrawPlus Structure Please open the Dummy_Template_Body.dpa with DrawPlusX6 (this .dpa file is within the zip file that you downloaded earlier) You will see a view that is similar to the picture below:

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

The three major parts in DrawPlus are:

1.Stage 2.Layer 3.Element Properties (Naming Rules)

Stage On the stage, you will see the character in 10 different angle profiles. These angles must be replaced later on with your own sprite content when creating a custom character.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

Layer In the layer panel, an angle has 4 parts including: 1. Angle name 2. Pivot 3. Pivot Base 4. Sprites

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

Suggested Workflow If you are a new developer and you want to create a G2 Character for use with CrazyTalk Animator 2, then please follow the suggested workflow to create a custom character. However, if you are already familiar with the theory and the workflow, feel free to create your own custom workflow.

Basic Steps for Single Angle These steps are suitable for the ordinary characters or non-symmetrical characters.

1. Open the downloaded Dummy_Template_Body.dpa in DrawPlus.

2. Please find the body layer of angle 0 on stage or in the layer panel as we are about to modify the character at the 0 angle profile

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

Note:

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline o Do not edit any sprite in the 0, Pivot_0 layer unless you're very familiar with its purpose. o You may hide or lock these three Layers to avoid accidentally editing those shapes.

o In the following steps, the Upper Torso is taken as an example. 3. Expand the Body_Face_Angle_0 layer to show its sublayers.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

4.Select the Upper_torso_0 layer, and the upper torso shape will be highlighted.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

5.Draw a new upper body.

6.Delete the dummy's original upper body.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

7. Align the new upper body to an appropriate position.

8. Follow the same steps to replace the facial features. Please refer to the Creating Multi-pose Elements section for creating multiple pose facial features. 9. Show the pivots in the Pivot Layer. Adjust the pivot positions as described in the Setting Pivots section. 10. Change the layer order by using the Arrange panel to move layers up or down the hierarchy according to the joint styles.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

Note: Please note that the layer order in Angle 0 is the base order. Even if you set different orders for other angles in Flash, the final character's sprite layer order in each angle will be determined based on the one in Angle 0 in CrazyTalk Animator 2 after you click the Confirm Multi-angle Settings button.

Copy and Flip for Symmetrical Character You may use the previous steps to replace the character sprites in each angle profile one by one, but if you want to skip the redrawing steps, you can also utilize the Copy and Flip skill. Note:

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline Please note:

�

This is an optional workflow not recommended for beginner users.

�

It only works for perfectly symmetrical characters.

�

You should never use this workflow for any symbol in the Number, Pivot and Pivot Base tracks; it can only be used for body parts and facial features.

1.Make sure you have correctly replaced a character in an angle (in this case, 45 degrees).

2.Select all of the replaced symbols of the character from the stage.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

Note: Hide the Number, Pivot, and Pivot Base tracks because you do not need them for this skill.

3. Copy the shapes from Body_Face_Angle_45 and Angle_45_Front_Hair. 4. Paste to the Body_Face_Angle_315 layer and Angle_315_Front_Hair. 5. Flip the character horizontally.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

6. Follow the naming rules to rename every sprite of the flipped character.

7. Repeat the entire procedure to complete all of the angle profiles.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

Exporting Character After all of the angle profiles have been completed, export the data.

1.Save this template as another project file (*.dpa) first because you may need it for further fixing in the future. 2.Export the entire project as a SWF file (*.SWF) by either File >> Export >> Export Movie... or Ctrl + Alt + Shift + S. 3.Refer to the Refining G2 Multi-angle Character in CrazyTalk Animator 2 section for the next steps.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

Drawing Techniques When you want to create different body parts with Flash, there are certain drawing techniques that will ensure successful assembly results.

Lower Torso Size When drawing the lower torso of a character, do not draw it shorter than the diameter of the thigh joints. Otherwise, the joints of the thigh will penetrate to the bottom of the upper torso as shown in the illustration below. Make sure that you always create a lower torso that is longer than the diameters of the joints of the thighs.

The thigh penetrate into the bottom of the The lower torso is shorter than the diameter upper torso. It can not be fixed via joint of the thigh. masks.  

Set a lower torso that is longer than the diameter of the thigh to prevent the penetration issue.

The Outlines It is very important that you draw lines for your character in Flash. These lines will become outlines of your character in CrazyTalk Animator 2. Although you can show/hide outlines

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline in CrazyTalk Animator 2, if you did not draw outlines in Flash, the character will never have outlines in CrazyTalk Animator 2 even if you turn it on in the Render Style panel.

The basic structure of an element from Flash can be divided into three main parts, Shape, Line and Fill.

A. B. C.

Line: Single line or multiple lines are supported. Each line is an independent entity. Fill: An enclosed area that is filled with solid or gradient color. Shape: A shape includes lines and an enclosed area filled with a color.

 

Outlines for Joints You can draw open edges or closed edges for the joints. An open edge means that there is no outline on the edge connecting with another sprite; while a close edge means that there is outline on the edge connecting with another sprite.   You need to draw outlines differently according to different joint styles and the desired results.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline The sprite with closed (left) and open (right) edges. When you draw the outlines, if the parent is closed and the child is open for angle 0, then you must follow the same rule for all the other angles as well. In the illustration below, the edge of the upper arm is closed while the one of the forearm is open in each angle.

If the parent sprite and the child sprite are the same color, and the joint style is extended, you must draw the outline with one joint closed and the other open. Otherwise the visual flaws will show when the character is performing. For more information about hiding the joint outlines, please refer to the joint mask section. The illustration below shows the visual flaws when you close up the connecting edges of both the parent and child sprites. With two closed edges, utilizing the mask joints for attempting to mask out the outlines will not be valid and one of the arcs will definitely show.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

Please refer to the Open and Close Chart section for more information.

Open and Close Chart There are tons of appearance combinations for parent and child body parts. In the chart of this page, you can quickly find the joint style that is best for your custom character and determine the open or closed status of the outlines for your custom character's body parts.

Basic Joint Styles The basic joint styles can be described in the table below: Joint Styles

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline Extend

Child Covers Parent

Parent Covers Child

Open and Close Chart Please draw your custom body parts in accordance with the chart below: Child

Upper Torso

Arms

Parent

Style

Lower Torso

Layer Sequence

Close or Open

Parent: Front

Parent: Close

Child: Back

Child: Close

Parent: Back

Parent: Close

Child: Front

Child: Close

Parent: Back

Parent: Close

Child: Front

Child: Open

Parent: Front

Parent: Close

Child: Back

Child: Close

Parent: Back

Parent: Close

Child: Front

Child: Close

Upper Torso

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

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Parent: Front

Parent: Open

Child: Back

Child: Close

CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

Forearms

Hands

Thighs

Parent: Back

Parent: Close

Child: Front

Child: Close

Parent: Front

Parent: Close

Child: Back

Child: Close

Parent: Back

Parent: Close

Child: Front

Child: Open

Parent: Back

Parent: Close

Child: Front

Child: Close

Parent: Front

Parent: Close

Child: Back

Child: Close

Parent: Back

Parent: Close

Child: Front

Child: Open

Parent: Back

Parent: Close

Child: Front

Child: Close

Arms

Forearms

Lower Torso

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

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Parent: Front

Parent: Close

Child: Back

Child: Close

Parent: Front

Parent: Open

Child: Back

Child: Close

CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

Shanks

Feet

Parent: Back

Parent: Close

Child: Front

Child: Close

Parent: Front

Parent: Close

Child: Back

Child: Close

Parent: Front

Parent: Open

Child: Back

Child: Close

Parent: Back

Parent: Close

Child: Front

Child: Close

Thighs

Shanks

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

Neck

Child: Back

Child: Close

Parent: Front

Parent: Close

Child: Back

Child: Close

Parent: Back

Parent: Close

Child: Front

Child: Open

Parent: Back

Parent: Close

Child: Front

Child: Close

Parent: Front

Parent: Close

Upper Torso

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

Parent: Back

Parent: Close

Child: Front

Child: Open

Parent: Close Neck

Parent: Back

Upper Torso

Child: Close Child: Front

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

Pivots and Pivot Bases The pivots are divided into two main types: Pivot and Pivot Base.

Pivots The pink circles that you see in Flash are represent the pivots for the joints. Every pivot has a name next to it. When you import your character to CrazyTalk Animator 2, the pivots will act as the centers of the turning point of the sprite and also be used to connect the body parts. Please note that every pivot in Flash must be a Movie Clip.

The Pivot track stores every pivot movie clip (pink).

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline Locating the pivots to a wrong or inadequate place can cause disconnecting issue when the character performs motions.

Pivot Bases The green circles are the pivot bases. They help you to easily position the pivots because it is not very easy to locate the pivot to the center of two connected sprites without any assistance. By using the Pivot Bases, you can simply align the Pivots to the center of the pivot bases to prevent the disconnecting issues described in the previous section.

The size of a Pivot Base is determined by the size of the connecting sprites. Form a circle that perfectly fits and covers till the edges of the connecting sprites to make it pivot base and then put the pivot in the center of the pivot base.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

Setting Pivots It is highly recommended that you set your pivots according to our template, and name them properly. Please refer to the downloaded DrawPlus Actor Naming List_Sprite_Pivot_Pose.xls to find the correct names for the pivots. Note: If you delete the pivot by accident, you can copy data from the other pivot and change the pivot name to restore the pivot you deleted. For best accurate pivot location and smooth joint motion, please follow the steps below:

1.Make sure your lower torso pivot is right in the center of the lower torso sprite.

2.Create certain straight lines by aligning pivots. The straight lines are: o Body Perpendicular Line: this line is formed by the head nud, face, neck, and upper torso pivots. They must be on a straight line. You can set precise values (especially the X value) by keying in the properties panel.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

o Hand Straight Lines: The hand pivots should form a straight line, and they are arm, forearm, hand and Hand nud pivots.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

o Foot Straight Lines: The thigh, shank, foot and foot nud pivots should also form a straight line.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

3.Regulate the pivots in the Top and Bottom views; To avoid mistakes, please place the pivots in the correct position in the Top and Bottom view according to our template. o The ear pivots must be higher than the face pivot.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

o The back hair pivot must be above the face pivot.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline o The hand nud pivots must be lower than the hand pivots.

o The foot nud pivots must be below the foot pivots.

Note:

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline o Please note that the character's sprites in these two views are separated, however CrazyTalk Animator 2 will automatically assemble the elements together. In Flash, you can leave the sprites separated so they are easier to draw. o The straight lines mentioned in the previous steps must be kept in the Top and Bottom view as well.

Sprite Settings Please open the DrawPlus Actor Naming List_Sprite_Pivot_Pose.xls that is in the zip file you downloaded earlier. In this file, you will find names for different sprites and angles. You must follow the naming convention provided to name your sprites. Otherwise, some sprites might be missing when you import your character into CrazyTalk Animator 2. In addition, when you are replacing the sprites, please makes sure the locations of the sprites and pivot points adhere to the recommended rules.

Layer Naming When you find sprite in layer panel, you can click the later name to rename. And you can find right name in DrawPlus Actor Naming List_Sprite_Pivot_Pose.xls.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

The Widths of Sprites The widths of the two upper arm sprites (as well as the pivots) in the top and bottom views must be the same as the one in the front view (angle 0).

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

The joint widths (diameter) for each body part should also be the same for every angle.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

Creating Multi-pose Elements Open the downloaded Brows.dpa, Eyes.dpa, Hands.dpa, Mouths.dpa, Nose.dpa.  There are 5 elements (facial features and body parts) that have multiple poses. These elements are eyebrows, eyes, mouth, nose, and hands. The multi-pose facial features give the character different expressions and emotions when it talks; while the hand poses enable the character to produce different hand gestures. To observe the animation of these elements, please refer to the Changing Poses page. Note:

� You must follow the naming rules as shown in the template. 1. Layer structure: . Every multi-pose body parts is an independent file. . Once you open a file, you will observe five heads presented on the stage, with every pose stored in an individual layer. . You can change the background shape from the body file you create. . You can change every pose shape to match your own. . Place the pivot points where they can act as connecting points to the body. . Please adhere to the pose naming convention laid out in the template.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

2. The Eye Template:

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

Note:

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline There are only 5 angles that you need to create for one pose of a specific facial feature (eyes, eyebrows, nose, Mouth) and 10 angles for one hand pose.

Producing Roll-able Eyeballs in DrawPlus : In order to make pupils rotate in CTA 2, please adhere to the following rules. .The pose with the pupil must have 3 layers to accommodate the Mask, Pupil, and Image. . The Mask and Pupil layers must contribute to the mask function. . Mask layers must be locked. . Please follow the naming convention laid out in the template for all pose names.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

Exporting multi-pose: After all of the angle profiles have been completed, export the data. 1. Save this template as another project file (*.dpa) first because you may need it for further fixing in the future. 2. Export the entire project as a SWF file (*.SWF) by either File >> Export >> Export as Flash SWF.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

Refining G2 Multi-angle Character in CrazyTalk Animator 2 After you have created a .SWF file for your G2 character, you can import the character into CrazyTalk Animator 2. Although the character can be loaded into CrazyTalk Animator 2 and has 10 angles already, you still need to perform some steps to finish creating a custom G2 character.

The basic steps are as shown below:

1. Loading .SWF Files 2. Progressive Import and Refinement Procedure 3. Joint Masks 4. Render Style and Color Profile 5. Post-Processing

Loading .SWF Files The first step for you to complete the custom character in CrazyTalk Animator 2 is to load the .SWF file that you have exported from DrawPlusX6. Please follow the steps below:

1.Create a new project in CrazyTalk Animator 2 and apply

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline the Dummy character from the Actor library.

2.Select the character and click on the

Actor Composer

button to enter the Composer Mode.

3.Open the browse dialog box in order to load the .SWF file in

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline two ways: o Press Alt + Q. o Click on the

Load G2 Actor Design Template-

SWF button. 4.Navigate to the .SWF file you prepared, select it and click the Open button.

5.You may encounter the following message, so please choose an option that suits your preference. These are normally used when re-loading an already loaded character.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

o If it's your first time loading the .SWF file: simply press OK, and leave the boxes unchecked. o If you're loading a .SWF to update an existing character, please refer to the Progressive Import and Refinement Procedure section for more information about the check boxes in this panel. 6.The custom character you have made will be loaded into CrazyTalk Animator 2 and replace the dummy one in few seconds.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

7.Use the Angle Switch to check if you are satisfied with the character’s appearances in every angle.

8.Press the

Confirm Multi-angle Settings button and

press OK on the dialog that pops up.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

This will add joint masks to your character. For more information about joint masks, please refer to the Joint Mask section. Note: If you find any problem with the sprites after the character is imported, open the Error Log to check if there is something wrong with the sprite or the pivot by either pressing Alt + T or clicking on the link at the bottom of the SWF Replace message to view the error log file.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline 9. Select a sprite with multiple pose elements such as the hands, brows, eyes, nose, and mouth, then open the Sprite Editor. There should only be a single pose element; all other poses need to be imported via the Update Actor Multi-Pose SWF file.

10. Click the Load Pose Swf Files, and load the sprite with the multiple pose elements. After this step, you will be able to see the pose elements updated in the Sprite Editor.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

Note:

This step is one way to update the pose elements within a sprite. If you reload the body file, you will need to perform the same procedure again. In this step, you can choose several files to update at once.

Progressive Import and Refinement Procedure If you want to change your DrawPlus character, but still want to keep the content that you have already edited in CrazyTalk Animator 2 when you are importing the .SWF character

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline file, there are 4 options you can choose to maintain the current status of your character in CrazyTalk Animator 2.

� Bone Settings: Keep the bone positions in CrazyTalk Animator 2. Even if you change the pivot setting in DrawPlus, it will not change the current pivot position when you reload the .swf file.

� Sprite Settings: Keep the current sprite size and position

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline in CrazyTalk Animator 2. Even if you change the size and position of sprites in DrawPlus, it will not change the current sprite status when you reload the .swf file.

� Joint Mask Settings: Keep the joint masks size and position. They will not disappear after you reload the .swf file unless you press the Confirm Multi-angle Settings button again. In that case, the joint mask will change to its default status

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

� Profile Settings: Keep all the group names that you assigned for the Render Styles. They will not disappear after you reload the .swf file. However, if you change the appearance of the shape, or change a color to the shape, activating this box does not help you to maintain the vector group settings you previously defined.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

Joint Masks The purpose of joint masks is to conceal unwanted outlines. Therefore, when the character is performing, the joint outlines will not show during the performance. Take a look at the comparison of a character with and without joint masks in the illustration. The image on the right is not showing joint outlines because the joint masks are in place.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

Click on the Joint Mask tab in the Scene Manager, and you can choose any joint mask and adjust it. Be sure to verify the result in every angle so there is no oversight.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

Move the joint mask

Resize the joint mask

Note:

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Rotate the joint mask

CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline •

The recommended shapes for standard character shape joint masks are as shown below:

•

The size of the joint masks should be neither too big nor too small.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

Render Style and Color Profile CrazyTalk Animator 2 provides Render Styles so that you can change the color style of your characters. In order to use the Render Style function, you need to use the Vector Grouping Tool to group the sprites of your character so the right color value will be assigned to every element. * Please note that the Render Style function only supports vector-based characters but not image-based characters.

Grouping Sprites Once you have loaded the character .SWF successfully, it will only have 3 default render styles:

Please follow the steps below to assign 10 default render styles as shown in the illustration at

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline the beginning of this page.

1.

Pick a sprite on the character and click the

2.

The Vector Grouping Tool panel will open and you will see all the poses of every angle (In this case, the forearm) for the picked sprite on the stage.

3.

Note:

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Vector Grouping Tool button.

CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline ◦

4. 5. 6. 7.

The Group Name Selection is the default group name where you can decide which group that part belongs to. ◦ The same group name (e.g. Upper01, Upper02...) has multiple numbers. This is because there are also many different shades and colors. For more information on what the color group stands for, please refer to the Index Color page. ◦ The Angle column displays the angles of the parts. ◦ The Part Name column displays the names of the parts. ◦ The Group Name column displays to which group a specific part is assigned. Click on the part in the Style List. You will see the corresponding part blinking on the stage. Decide which Group Name Selection group you want and click on it. Click on the Apply button. The Group Name is assigned.

Setting Render Styles After you have used the Vector Grouping Tool to assign group names to the sprites of the character, you will see that the sprites turn blue. This is normal. It means that these sprites already belong to designated color groups. At this point, if you click the Render Style button to show the panel, you will only find three default render style presets.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline Only three render styles for a bluish character. 1.

Click Modify > Toggle between G1 G2 render styles on the Menu bar.

2.

You will now see 10 render styles instead of 3.

*Please note that the Default render style currently shades the character with blue colors. You need to retrieve the original color manually. 3. Select the Default render style. 4. Click the Advance Settings button to expand the panel for utilizing more controls.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

5.

Choose the Upper 01 from the Group Name Selection pane.

6.

Use the Brightness, Contrast, Hue and Saturation sliders to change the color to your desired color.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

7.

Repeat the same steps until all the sprites have been returned to their original colors.

8.

Note:

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline ◦

CrazyTalk Animator 2 will automatically assign colors for the other render styles in accordance with the Index Color. You may switch these render styles to see if the results are ideal.

◦

You are allowed to manually change the setting for the 10 render styles.

Post Processing After a custom character has been set correctly (joint masks, render styles, etc.), you still

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline need to perform some post-processing to make the character complete.

Using Calibration Panel 1. 2.

In the Composer Mode, click the Calibration button to show the panel. Click on one of the template buttons to examine the look when the character performs these default motions.

3.

In addition to the default motions, you can also use the Load Motion button to check your character's results with your own prepared motions.� You can check the hand motion by loading the Check Hand Pose.ctMotion, which can be found in the zip file that you downloaded earlier.

Default Pose You can give your character a different default pose as well, which will be its default pose every time you apply it to the stage. The default pose is meant to give an actor a specific personality. 1.

Go back to Stage Mode and right click on the character. Choose Action Menu >> Action Menu Editor from the right-click menu.

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CrazyTalk Animator 2 Online Whitepaper for Pipeline

2. 3.

The Action Menu Editor will show. Click on the Add button and load a prepared motion.

4.

Put the motion on the top of the Action Menu list. The first frame of that motion will become the character's default pose.

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Naming and Saving Character The final step to complete the character creation procedure is to give the character a name and then save it into the library. 1. 2. 3.

Select the character in Stage Mode. Open the Scene Manager. Rename the character.

4. 5. 6.

Open the Content Manager, switch to the Actor tab. Add this character to the Character library by clicking the Add button. Rename the character. Now the character is a complete G2 character.

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Questions and Feedbacks We will constantly enhance this document so it is easier for you to make your own G2 character for CrazyTalk Animator 2. If you have any questions about this document or CrazyTalk Animator 2, you are more than welcome to post your questions on our Forum. You can also post your ideas on how to enhance this document or CrazyTalk Animator 2 or your showcases that you want to share with other developers.

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