ofxmanual-2.0.pdf

2.0

Introduction and Basic User Manual

Progam Modules

There are three main modules, an Animator, a Designer, and a Renderer.

The Animator module is where animations are staged and Actors perform in front of the camera.

The animations are rehearsed and previewed in wireframe or shaded mode in near real time. The

other modules are loaded from the Animator and remain active until explicitly closed.

The Designer is used to design and build costumes for Actors, it uses a conventional triangular

faceted 3D representation with facets attached to a network of vertices. Like the Animator the

user is given three view windows in which a wireframe for the model is built up.

The Renderer is used by both the Animator and Designer and will continue to execute in the

background if activity continues in the other modules.

Other External Libraries are available that add functionality and if suitable program development

tools are available it is possible to build additional libraries. Textures , image processors, and

animation effects are examples of external libraries.

The Approach to Animation and Modelling

The Main concept of the program is to observe the standard conventions of:

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Click on an item to select it.

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Double click for extended information

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Click and drag to move the item.

All the user actions take place in a cubic volume called the Working-Volume . A 3D Cursor may be

placed anywhere inside the Working-Volume by moving it in one or more of the view windows.

The Animator and Designer modules have two main user interface components, Tools and

Actions. Tools are appropriate for repeated use and actions are usually applied one at a time.

When a tool is activated it stays active until another tool is selected. In the Designer, actions are

normally prohibited unless the default tool is in use.

The language of the Animation and Modelling

We use a "Triangular Faceted" model of the objects that are to be animated.

Objects can be anything you like, a car, a plane, a spaceship, a cup, a box of

breakfast cereal, a dog or a human figure.

The triangular faces are joined together to form the surface of the models and the

more numerous the triangles, the more realistic the representation of the object

the model is.

Deciding how many triangles to use in the model is not an exact science. The

triangular faces can be given additional attributes such as color and texture to

make the models look realistic. They can even have a picture or another animation

painted onto them.

The triangular facets (faces of the model) are positioned using a vertex at each

corner. Each triangular face is surrounded by three edges . The edges make up a

"wireframe" description of the model.

You use the mouse to move the vertices of the model in 3D space and thus change

the shape of the model. There are many tools and actions to help you.

The action takes place over a number of ' frames ', a movie usually plays 24 frames

per second, conventional cartoon animation usually shows 12 different frames per

second. A reasonable animation will consist of about 60 frames. But it could stretch

to nearly 1000 frames for just one shot!

Models are built inside a cubic region of space called the " Working-Volume " . The

size and position of the "Working-Volume" is easily changed.

A Keyframer specifies costume, movement, orientation and scale in " Keyframes ".

Animations are rehearsed in "wireframe" in the Animation module before the

drawing is rendered in full color, frame by frame. Each frame may be compressed

together into an FLI or FLC animation file.

In an animation the term " Actor " is used to describe each directable element. An

Actor can be a "Star" which performs in front of the camera, the Camera from

which the animation is viewed, one of a number of lights, or a path along which

smooth and accelerated motion is possible.

The "Star" Actors wear a " Costume " which is an model created in the Designer.

Actors can change costume during the animation. (This allows model morphing -

changes of shape, for example. a fish can turn into a bird).

Animating

The Animator module is where animations are set up. Three orthogonal views and a camera view

show the world where the action takes place.

The visible region of the world is inside a cubic volume known as the Working-Volume . The

Working-Volume may be moved through space and changed in size.

A major component of the Animator is the Keyframer , the keyframer shows the timelines and

keyframes for all the Actors in a spreadsheet format.

Keyframer

To direct the activity of an Actor during an animation requires the use of timelines and

keyframes . The Keyframer is a module where the timelines and keyframes of all Actors can be

viewed and edited in one display. Normally timelines and keyframes are created implicitly as

Actors are added and the tools are used to move then into position and tell them what to do.

In the keyframer window time runs in the horizontal direction and for each Actor the extent of

timelines and position of keyframes is displayed.

The timelines are the red horizontal lines and the colored dots at the end of the timelines are the

keyframes.

Designing

The Designer module is where models are built.

Three orthogonal views give working access to a volume of space, known as the Working-

Volume , where Vertices edges and faces may be placed. This gives a triangular faceted model for

real or imagined objects. The Camera View in the upper right hand corner displays a perspective

rendering of the contents of the three views.

Renderer

The Renderer is the module that creates the photographic images of models built in the Designer

and the animated sequence of images as directed in the Animator .

Rendering is quite a time consuming process and the time it takes is very dependent on the size

image being produced and the complexity of the Actor's costumes.

The Renderer module can be used in a mode (called the Script Renderer) that does not need

either the Animator or Designer modules to be loaded. The Script Renderer may also be run on

several others PCs at the same time.

3D Cursor

The 3D Cursor is used indicate an exact position in 3D space. The intersection of any two 3D

cursors in the Working-Volume Top, Front, or Side views indicates an exact position in 3D space.

The 3D Cursor is positioned with the Windows' Mouse Cursor.

The 3D Cursor can take the form of either a Cross Hair or a Cross Wire. Note you can toggle

between these two 3D Cursors with the F9 Key.

Cross Hair 3D Cursor

Cross Wire 3D Cursor

Moving and Sizing the Working-Volume

The Working-Volume may be moved through space and changed in size. To move it use the Hand

tool and to change its size use the Zoom tool. Both these tool have keyboard accelerator key

equivalents.

Pan by pressing the space bar and then click and drag.

Zoom In by holding the Space bar and Ctrl keys simultaneously then click to re-center window

box and zoom. Click and drag to define region to be viewed in full window.

Zoom Out by holding the Space bar and Alt keys simultaneously then click to Zoom out and re-

center.

Double-click on the Zoom Tool to enclose all parts of the model and its vertices in the

WindowBox.

Designing with - Vertices, Edges, and Faces

All Models are described by the arrangement of it's Vertices , Edges , and Faces .

It is the placement of the Vertices and arrangement of Edges that give a model it's shape and

form. How the Faces are painted and textured gives a model it's realistic appearance.

Face and Edge Creation

The central theme of the triangle-based modelling system used by the designer module is

faceting.

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