Autodesk Animator: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 22:16, 11 August 2019

Revision as of 10:14, 13 September 2019

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== Functionality ==

Animator gave the ability to do frame-by-frame animation (creating each frame as an individual picture, much like traditional [[cel animation]]). Animator Studio also had [[tweening]] features (transforming one shape into another by letting the computer draw each in-between shape onto a separate frame). Animator and Animator Pro supported [[FLI/FLC|FLI and FLC]] animation file formats, while Animator Studio also supported the [[Audio Video Interleave|AVI]] format. Animator was particular strong in [[Palette (computing)|Palette]] based editing, effects (like [[Color cycling]]) and animations a favouredfavored technology in the time of [[Indexed color|indexed]] [[List of 8-bit computer hardware palettes|CGA and VGA]] [[graphics mode]]s.

Unlike other DOS software from that time, Animator was not restricted by the [[640k barrier|640 kilobyte]] [[conventional memory]] limitation as it utilized a [[DOS extender]] by [[Phar Lap (company)|Phar Lap]]. Animator's combination of twenty tools multiplied by twenty inks, 3D 'optics,' unparalleled palette handling, custom fonts and many other useful features (such as its own internal [[scripting language]] POCO), put it many years ahead of better known animation tools of the time.

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Animator was considered to be groundbreaking in the field of [[computer animation]] when it was initially released, and was very popular in the late 1980s and the early 1990s. In the debut year 1989 Animator won [[PC Magazine]]'s ''6th Annual Technical Excellence Award for Graphics''.<ref>[https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,1167636,00.asp Graphics - Winner: Autodesk Animator] ''"Robert Bennett, Lewis Gartenberg, David Kalish, Jim Kent, Jack Powell, Gary Yost"'' on pcmag.com (1989)</ref>

Also, [[video game developer]]s used the software for intros and other animated sequences in their games, for instance [[Formula One Grand Prix (video game)|Formula One Grand Prix]] (1991, [[MicroProse]]) and [[Cannon Fodder (video game)|Cannon Fodder]] (1993, [[Virgin Interactive]]).

Animator Studio attempted to do more than previous versions of the program, yet it had limited success. It also lost the ergonomic fluidity that the DOS versions had. Animator Pro, though, was by far the most useful, and was exceptionally fast compared with today's animation programs.