Tutorial 1.5 question (cycling)

[Flapjack]

I'm in the process of learning the most current version of ASP (I'm new to animation) and today started going through the tutorials.

Right now I'm at the part (1.5) where I cycle "Franks" animation. When I select the 4 key frames and then right click on one and choose "cycle" the dialog box that appears is different visually. I also cannot input a value of "0" (as they want me to do in the tutorial). When choosing 0 it automatically reverts back to a 1.

So in the tut it says to go to frame 24, choose the 4 keyframes, right click hit cycle, then input 0 and hit OK to create the cycle.

For ME, I go to frame 24, choose the 4 keyframes, right click and hit cycle, then the dialog box shows TWO input fields (one next to Absolute and one next to Relative). It displays a 1 in the top box and a 23 in the bottom. I don't have an OK button but I exit out of this. I hit play and the cycle works.

However, the cycle is starting on frame 1. In the tutorial the screen shot shows the arrows going backwards from frame 24 and then over to frame 0 and down. On MY screen it shows the arrows going backwards from frame 24 and then over to frame 1 and down.

Does having a cycle start on frame 1 as apposed to 0 cause problems? Is this just new for version 11 and possibly the manual wasn't updated?

Hope this makes sense, thanks for any help!

[synthsin75]

Yeah, looks like the manual didn't get updated. Not sure why it won't let you enter frame zero (except that good cycles usually cycle back to frame one). You can easily get around that though. Go ahead and select Absolute and frame 1. Then on the timeline you can hold ctrl/cmd and drag on each keyframe to move the cycle arrow to frame zero.

[Hellyar]

Hello Fellow Beginner!

There are anomalies in the tutorial... I spent quite some time on that one, too! And others. [IF you get stuck on 2.4, look at the answers to my posting "ASP 11 Tutorial 2.4: Varying Line Widths - can't do it".]

And if you're looking for a video tutorial course, the Infinite Skills one for version 10 (very close match for most of the beginner stuff) is the only one I've found that hits the spot.

Good luck! I bet you're more successful than I've been. I nearly gave up. Only being a stubborn Northern Brit stopped me from doing so: "I've paid for it, so I'm going to get my money's-worth!" However, I suspect I'm never going to be approached by Disney... unless they just want Frank bouncing up and down.

Finally, this forum is AMAZING. There are so many really smashing people on here who are so generous with their help.

[Flapjack]

Yeah, looks like the manual didn't get updated. Not sure why it won't let you enter frame zero (except that good cycles usually cycle back to frame one). You can easily get around that though. Go ahead and select Absolute and frame 1. Then on the timeline you can hold ctrl/cmd and drag on each keyframe to move the cycle arrow to frame zero.

Thanks for confirming my suspicions about the manual, as well as the additional info on how to move the cycle arrows (I tried a couple times but didn't happen upon the right key command, lol).

Since you mention that good cycles start on frame 1 I think I'll not mess with it. If you don't mind, what is the reason for that anyway? And is there any instance where you might want to start at frame 0?

Thanks again!

[Flapjack]

Hello Fellow Beginner!

There are anomalies in the tutorial... I spent quite some time on that one, too! And others. [IF you get stuck on 2.4, look at the answers to my posting "ASP 11 Tutorial 2.4: Varying Line Widths - can't do it".]

And if you're looking for a video tutorial course, the Infinite Skills one for version 10 (very close match for most of the beginner stuff) is the only one I've found that hits the spot.

Good luck! I bet you're more successful than I've been. I nearly gave up. Only being a stubborn Northern Brit stopped me from doing so: "I've paid for it, so I'm going to get my money's-worth!" However, I suspect I'm never going to be approached by Disney... unless they just want Frank bouncing up and down.

Finally, this forum is AMAZING. There are so many really smashing people on here who are so generous with their help.

Many thanks for the video recommendation, I'll check that out. This forum is definitely a pleasant surprise. I tried getting into Toon Boom at one time, but the dead forum and lack of any relevant tutorials made it a hard program to learn. I was actually shocked that there was an active animation community online, lol!

[synthsin75]

Since you mention that good cycles start on frame 1 I think I'll not mess with it. If you don't mind, what is the reason for that anyway? And is there any instance where you might want to start at frame 0?

Thanks again!

When making a cycle, we usually want it to be seamless. So you'd typically copy the first keyframes to the end, to make sure they are exact. Doing this at the start of an animation usually means copying frame zero. So if you cycled back to the keyframe you copied, you'd end up with a little pause in the cycle, where the exact same frame is repeated twice (at the beginning and end). Cycling back to one frame after the copied frame keeps this pause from occurring in the cycle.

[Hellyar]

Hello again.

So far, it strikes me that this program is quite complex... a reflection of its power more than anything else.

You may be a more talented learner than I. I'm thorough but slow (i.e. I find it difficult to pick up features that aren't semi-self-evident or context-driven which, btw, is why I love Adobe's products). What I'm personally finding beneficial is to use several sources.

I was struggling with the pdf course... so bought the SmithMicro (v.11) video course. As a beginner, I found it off-putting... in part because they've recycled some old videos (i.e. for features that haven't changed) and so the dialogue boxes don't always match, and also because I thought that some explanations assumed a level of knowledge that I didn't have.

In desperation (!), I bought the Infinite Skills course (V.10) which I found clear, well-paced and often humorous. I really enjoyed it and came away with features and a "feel" for the program.

I'm now working through the pdf tutorial which I'm now finding helpful. And when I finish that, I plan to work through the SM course to fill in any gaps. I suspect that by my having reached a non-beginner stage, I shall find it invaluable.

This may, as I said, be a reflection of my learning limitations; but, I have found multi-sourced information beneficial: in terms of understanding and speed of knowledge acquisition.

Oh, and there are some exceptional YouTube videos, too.

I genuinely hope that you have a less bumpy ride than I have had.

[Hellyar]

Hello!

Ignore my witterings above...

I've just heard that Infinite Skills have just released their training video for ASP 11!

Here's the link if it's of interest (they've got 40% off at the moment): http://sites.fastspring.com/smithmicro/ ... i=27173377

I could kick myself: I bought their version 10 only two weeks ago!