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- {fon:homFF0000}
- PLAYER
- The PD Animation package
- {fon:tri}
- Version 1.00
-
- ANIMATION and CARTOONS
-
- My first memory of any form of animation or "cartoon" was 'Felix
- The Cat' which was created in the pioneering days of TV in the early
- part of the century. Felix was a black and white cat that got up to
- all sorts of silly things - a bit like 'Mickey Mouse' who came later
- in the 1940s. Both of which were quite simple yet very effective
- forms of entertainment. As with many cartoon characters that followed
- they were indestructible, as personified by the legendary
- 'Wile Coyote' who over the years has been squashed, blown up, drowned
- and generally treated badly, as too was 'Sylvester' the cat, and Tom
- from 'Tom & Jerry'. It's escapism! And that's what attracts me to
- animation. The word cartoon is often misused as it in refers to a
- preparatory drawing for a possible subsequent painting.
-
- So, on to my review of the PD animation program for the Arc by
- Emmet Spiers named 'Player', a very simple yet effective sprite
- displayer.
-
- When 'Player' is clicked, it installs on the icon bar and fully
- multi-tasks. From the menu the is the obligatory INFO and QUIT, and
- also OPTIONS which controls the speed of the animation and the scale.
- The animation can also be made to reverse at the end of the sequence,
- therefore doubling the amount of time on screen, which is useful in
- some situations and can make a few frames seem like a lot more,
- providing an endless, continuous film.
-
- So how do you create an animation for 'Player' to animate? Well
- this is very simple. First you create a sprite file and drag it to
- the TV icon that is the 'Player' icon. A small window will open
- displaying whatever the sprite is. If there is more than one sprite
- (treated like a frame) 'Player will display the sprites in sequence.
- No need to number them or give them special names as 'Player' just
- shows them in the order they appear in the file - simple!
-
- Now if this has whetted your appetite to create some animations of
- your own you can contact Emmet at the address below. Send him a
- formatted disk and the postage for it's return. (a first class stamp
- should be OK, but I'm sure he'd also appreciate any donations. You
- will then be sent the current version of 'Player'. "Simple Init?"
-
- Emmet Spiers, 6 Parklands Place,Guildford,Surrey GU1 2PS
-
- {spr:l04}
- {end}
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