Adonhiram | 7 months ago | 32 comments | 2 likes | 394 views
michiel and songbaojin like this!
Dear community, dear Blufftitler team,
I have some basic experience with Blufftitler but none with Bixangelo which I just bought. I am working on a humoristic video clip featuring a fictional Medusa represented as a 1960s housewife sitting in her hairdresser's shop, to give you the context.
The idea is to make arrows spreading from her hair/her serpents and I thought Bixangelo would be ideal for this. But these arrows are also supposed to be the vector path for a small square or rectangular image (which will be a simple 2D image).
In Blufftitler, the usual method would be to make a container grouping the arrow and the image, but the movement would be static in that the image would just move with the arrow according to the movement of the container.
My question is if I can use the arrow tool in Bixangelo to make a visible arrow which would simultaneously be the trajectory path for the small 2D square/rectangle image ? I haven't understood what the whole rollercoaster thing is, do I need this to create paths for objects ?
The goal is that the final export with Blufftitler shows arrows spreading out of Medusa's head and the little square/rectangle 2D images "travel" on these arrows from the base to the head of the arrow.
I have read the Bixangelo guide, but to be honest, I haven't understood all and I am unsure if I need to mix the arrow tool and the rollercoast tool.
Thank you in advance if you could give me some basic guidelines I could follow :)
Adon
Something like this? :
outerspace-software.com...
Filip, 7 months ago
Hello Filip and thanks for answering ;) Yes, sort of ! The eyeballs would be my 2D image and a more traditional curve shape and appearance (visible as such) for the arrow, but I guess it is the right direction. For now, I am slowly experimenting with drawing an EPS layer with Bix.
Adonhiram, 7 months ago
I made a draft with paint.net to show what I want to do with my Medusa images, perhaps this would be clearer than explaining with text. The colored lines would be the arrows and the "nodes" would be my 2D images :
Adonhiram, 7 months ago
Bixelangelo's arrows tool uses a transparent PNG picture as the launching platform. So the first step is to create this PNG file. In the top left you can see a 3D avatar model. I used this model: sketchfab.com...
After saving as a transparent picture I cropped it in Photoshop, leaving only the head (top right) and saved as PNG.
This PNG is used in the arrows tool of Bixelangelo as the launching platform (bottom left).
The arrows tool generates a BluffTitler show file featuring the PNG launching platform. Replace this picture layer by a model layer rendering the avatar model. Every arrow head can be replaced by a picture. And every arrow is a separate layer so it's easy to delete the ones you don't need.
This has nothing to do with roller coasters so don't worry about that.
michiel, 7 months ago
Thank you Michiel ! I will use your method for one of the final sequences which will be more complex and your example images are 100% in line for that. For the first "easier" sequences I was thinking of something simpler, I made another draft to show you what I had in mind. I wanted to achieve a result similar to following example, but the arrows going down should be animated and the boxes would be the node images. Ideally the boxes would glide down the arrow to end their path fixed at the end of the arrow ; alternatively they can just be "pushed" by the arrow.
Adonhiram, 7 months ago
Adonhiram, when you only need a few identical arrows I would draw the arrow by hand in Bixelangelo and use BluffTitler to render copies of it at different positions and rotations. Trying to use the arrows tool for that will only make it more difficult.
michiel, 7 months ago
Understood, many thanks Michiel ! But how do I turn the default lines I have started experimenting with in Bixelangelo into pretty looking arrows ? I have now succeeded in drawing the correct curves and importing the eps file into Blufftitler, but it looks ugly (just a narrow white line).
Adonhiram, 7 months ago
Attach a picture layer to the sketch layer using the PYRAMID style (1st dropdown). Set the POINTS prop to something like (100, 30, 0), set the ROTATION prop to (0, 0, 270). Fine-tune the POSITION and SIZE props.
michiel, 7 months ago
Sorry to bother you Michiel, but why are the curves looking elegant and perfect in Bixangelo and not so elegant and perfect once imported as sketch layer into Blufftitler ?
Adonhiram, 7 months ago
once in BT, they lose the perfect curve shape --> I suppose I am doing a current mistake for Bixangelo and sketch layers beginners :)
Adonhiram, 7 months ago
use the smooth option!
Filip, 7 months ago
Thanks all, I made it after some struggling (of course in the video, it is animated) ! I appreciate the help and I will use Michiel's mini-tuto for the arrow tool for another sequence in the video.
Adonhiram, 7 months ago
Looking good!
About the curves, they are built out of straight lines. More lines means a smoother curve, but also slower rendering so this is a compromise. In BluffTitler, the number of lines is fixed and depends on the length of the curve.
Yes, the SMOOTH prop makes the curve more smooth. But also changes the shape of the curve.
A better way is this:
1) create a bigger curve (press - a few times or use your mouse wheel in Bixelangelo before drawing)
2) unmark the NORMALIZE SIZE checkbox in the FILE > SAVE AS... dialog
michiel, 7 months ago
Writing that down Michiel, thank you !! I finished the other sequence still using Smooth because I saw your reply too late, but as the lines hadn't to be too big, it finally worked out even if it changed their initial shape.
Adonhiram, 7 months ago
Michiel, you made my day. I made a (actually two, the second sketch layer was cloned, made invisible and writer shortened so the button moves only half way of the curve after start of the animation) wonderful elegant 3D curve as you told me, using mouse to enlarge the sketch in Bixangelo. Dank je wel !
Adonhiram, 7 months ago
Michiel, I was looking at your model layer page and saw that BT has evolved a lot these past years in termes of supported 3D formats. What software would you recommand to turn this kind of AI generated image (pre-3D rendered so to speak with the transparency, the lighting, etc) into a format which I can then import into BT as 3D model ?
Adonhiram, 7 months ago
The reason why AI is struggling with lighting, relationships between parts and physics is because it does not have a full 3D representation of the scene. If it had, it could offer your cat as a 3D model.
michiel, 7 months ago
Adonhiram, the website has improved since this post:
outerspace-software.com...
Worth a shot.
Decentralized, 7 months ago
Thanks guys ! Actually I solved the issue by just using a traced picture layer - it made the portals and the cats look "enough 3D", sufficient for what I had in mind right now.
Adonhiram, 7 months ago
SLowly making progress with the arrows tool from Bixelangelo ! @Michiel, I followed your tuto but skipped the 3D part. I have set the background image in 3D in 3D mode and cheated a bit with Z axis and rotations for the sketches, as long your character doesn't move, it's fine.
Just a question, exporting even in uncompressed AVI still gives some aliasing on the curves (see screenshot). Is there any workaround for that ? I exported in 29.97 1920x1080 uncompressed (my project in the video editing software is 29.97 FHD).
Adonhiram, 6 months ago
Looking good 👍
Choosing SETTINGS > SUPER HIGH QUALITY should remove all jaggies. This looks better but also makes rendering slower so only use this when exporting. When returning to editing choose SETTINGS > NORMAL QUALITY.
michiel, 6 months ago
Never mind, I just realized that the exported uncompressed BT AVI file is perfect (no aliasing), it's the video editing software which introduces some aliasing, not sure why as both the Blufftitler export and the Pinnacle project settings are at 1920x1080 29.97 FPS.
About the settings, I am always working in "SUPER HIGH", my GPU is beefy enough for that thankfully. Thank you for replying :)
Adonhiram, 6 months ago
Strange issue. I would export as 1920 x 1080 PNG. Just like uncompressed AVI, PNG is a lossless format. When Pinnacle also adds jaggies to this, you have the simplest repro possible. Experiment with different Pinnacle settings and consult the Pinnacle forum/support if necessary.
michiel, 6 months ago
Good point, thanks. Well, I'll finish first the clip before finetuning, this is becoming a neverending story...
Adonhiram, 6 months ago
Hello Michiel and the community,
Sorry to bother you again, I am running into an issue. In following picture, the BT scene features a launching ramp (the Goa'uld geek sends his creatures across the galaxy to sell his one-click-installers, just so you know the context). The woman is a video (the "click here" button rotates) layer.
I want her to be shooted by the launching ramp towards the galaxy.
I tried first with a container, because there will be 3 more of these women, but that didn't work well. Then I made a line sketch which would follow the ramp and point towards the open space, but that got messy. I increased the x size of the sketch line to 10 and kept y and z to 1 and positioned the sketch to follow the ramp.
But when I use the Writer function of the layer, the woman poofs too soon, kinda halfway of the ramp, not even reaching the open space, whereas the sketch clearly goes further till over the planet you see in the opening. My idea was that she would launch like a rocket and would become smaller and smaller till she isn't visible anymore once she reaches the deep space.
I tried to increase the x size of the sketch more, but that got messy too.
I would like to know if the method is the right one to produce that rocket shooting effect or if I should go another path. I am unsure if I just haven't my settings tweaked correctly or if using a sketch line is not a good option to achieve the desired 'rocket shooting' effect.
May I ask for your advise, I tried for 4 hours now and am getting a bit frustrated :)
Thank you in advance
Adonhiram, 6 months ago
Adonhiram, When the camera is static as in your screenshot, animating the position (POSITION prop) and size (SIZE prop) of the woman will be enough the give the suggestion of being shot towards the galaxy.
Why don't you post this as a new article? This way more users will see it and be able to give you tips.
michiel, 6 months ago
it's weird, in principle if the sketch has the property 'attached layers follow the sketch' and the attached object has coordinates close to x=0,y=0,z=0 it should work.
vincent, 6 months ago
Thank you Michiel and Vincent, sorry I didn't think of posting a new article, I'll do it right now.
Adonhiram, 6 months ago
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