thanks from another one of the angry mob Vern.
Comments:
Ticking "render at half dimensions" in the export dialog DOESN'T work only for this image layer - therefore using this option messes the relative dimensions of the image layers.
Ticking "render at half frame rate " DOES work.
I tried to work out what was going on selecting different project frame rates but ASPro is just confusing me on this point. I was trying to work out if your script disregards the project frame rate but .
I think the idea of linking with another app is great since replicating a really decent raster editor in ASPro will not be possible.
You could choose a specific app that is free like GIMP or mypaint, and then its accessible to all.
Actually mypaint allows to draw on transparent canvas which you could overlay onto your ASPro frame for a kind of direct painting effect. Perhaps that's getting a bit fussy. Another thing I have noticed is a mypaint animation project/hack to adapt it for a raster animation workflow. My paint is a fast useful smooth tool for tablet pcs - if in doubt check out the work of David Revoy with this tool.
~Because of what I've done so far, I may be able to jury rig a script to change the "frame rate" at render time for traditional animation in AS, for example changing all the keys to only render every 2 or 4 frames. Not sure but I will give it a shot.
I think this type of "render out" workflow has the most immediate potential for your script. This is exactly what you do in audio apps and it seems to me a really good idea to get this smooth in ASPro. It could really help to build up multi layer scenes and multi character scenes. I am thinking for instance of the famous "Tango" animation, here if you haven't seen it:
http://video.libero.it/app/play/index.h ... 0fc174675c
I guess you lose future flexibility by rendering out but it may be worth it to get ASPro animation capabilities more supercharged...
The render out would have to be to lossless alpha format like png (is bmp alpha capable?) otherwise you would end up with a finished animation with a mixture of qualities and also wouldn't be able to layer
Would love to see this script approach grow along those lines. As far as a scripted raster drawing thing goes I say give it a go but think of it rather as a 'grease pen' to make notes on frames rather than a tool for creating the frames themselves. A grease pen would be GREAT.
Also agree with poster suggesting your script as a tool for StopMo. Too true! A bit like the 'Directory Watch' feature you see in some stop mo programs; your have fresh digital cam frames automatically incorporated. Too cool!