Vector Graphics: Image Tracing, Morphing Animator

You don't need to spend alot of time producing Quicktime animations!

Double Click on the "Intro" file.

This document contains:

• What is Etchelon TRACER?
• Controls
• Description of a worked example
• Other programs
• Licensing

What is Etchelon TRACER?

Etchelon TRACER provides a useful tool for Quicktime development for animated movies. It uses vector graphic morphing to develop animated movies quickly for multimedia applications. Special effects and animation can also be applied to existing Quicktime movies.

Speed of development is Etchelon TRACER's main benefit.

Clean line drawings can be traced from an existing PICT image to allow rapid development of high quality vector graphics. Etchelon TRACER will morph from any TRACER-frame-of-vector-graphics (hereafter known as a "frame") to any other to provide animation, morphing or special effects.

Features

• Animation in-fill between key frames.
• Morph animation from a frame to any other frame
• Rapid development of vector graphics from bit mapped images.
• Ability to experiment with outline animations.
• Build up layers of animation to develop sophisticated multi-object movies.
• Easy-to-use drag-and-drop frame-copying and animation sequencing.
• Morphing Text.
• Anti-aliased reduced sized output.
• "Morph to any frame" using the frame navigator (side bar)

Etchelon TRACER is fully functional shareware and while not save-disabled has some output restrictions until registered.

Etchelon TRACER outputs multiple files in PICT format. Separate programs (see below) allow the development of Quicktime Animations and overlays onto existing Quicktime movies.

Terminology

Etchelon TRACER has 35 frames (key frames). Between each frame TRACER can in-between 999 frames of animation. Each frame are made up of points drawn together to form "vectors". A vector graphic can contain straight lines or curves of a single colour. There is a limit of 600 points in a frame. Each frame can have a separate "Trace image". Vectors can be colour-filled to form a "filled shape". All frames use the same main window. The main window title gives the frame number.

Controls

This section covers the Menus, Drawing, Morphing and Sequencing controls

File Menu

File Menu Commands	Action
New (ðN)	Open empty Etchelon TRACER document.
Clear Frame	Clears current frame of all vectors.
Clear Trace Image	Clears the image associated with current frame.
Close (ðW)	Close Etchelon TRACER document.
Open... (ðO)	Opens a Etchelon TRACER file of frames.
Open Trace Image...	Opens a PICT file for the current frame - this image is used for tracing only.
Save (ðS)	Saves a TRACER file of frames.
Save As...	Saves all frames in a TRACER file with a new name.
Export Frame Image...	Saves current frame vector data as a PICT image.
Save Trace Image...	Saves current Trace Image as PICT image. (Trace Images can be modified by TRACER by the Move Trace Image command).
Export Frame Data...	Export a frame's vector information
Import Frame Data...	Imports vector information to current frame. This data is appended to any existing data.
Quit (ðQ)	Quits the program.

Edit Menu

Undo (ðZ), Cut (ðX), Copy (ðC), Paste (ðV), Select All (ðA) and Clear work with text fields.

View Menu

View Menu Commands	Action
Display Image (ð\)	Switch on or off image. This command helps with tracing an image.
Display Vectors (ð/)	Switch on or off vector graphics. This command helps with tracing with an image below.
Display Filled Shape (ðD)	Switch on or off filled-shape viewing. This command is helpful when tracing and morphing - switch off for a smooth line drawing morph.
Display Outline	Displays shapes with an outline colour (selectable in the Draw Menu). Warning: filled shapes of a white colour are invisible unless this option is on.
Bold	Bold lines on or off. When Bold is off, all lines are one pixel wide. This command also available on Command Palette where different line thicknesses can be selected.
Zoom In	View vector graphics in finer detail. Command also available on Command Palette where further zoom scales can be selected.
Zoom Out	Return to full size. Command also available on Command Palette.
Grid	Switches on or off a grid for drawing assistance.

Draw Menu

Frame Menu

Morph Menu

Morph Menu Commands	Action
Morph (ðM)	Morph current frame with next frame. This command is also available from the Command Palette (Morph icon). Holding the mouse button when over the Frame Navigator bar allows you to morph from any frame to any other frame.
Sequence... (ðE)	Open Sequence Control Drag and Drop Window. (See "Sequencing" below).
Run Sequence (ðG)	Executes sequence control statements. This command is also available from the Command Palette (Robot icon). For long sequences, the control can be aborted by re-selecting the menu option. Sequences can be fast forwarded by depressing the SHIFT key. (This removes any delays in the sequence and cuts the number of steps in transitions).
Background...	Specifies the type of background to be used during a morph - either white, transparent (needed if multi-object animation is required - see Backgrounder), a Trace Image or a PICT file.
Output to file...	Prompts for filename for output. All subsequent morphs are recorded until this option is selected again whereupon the animation is saved to a sequence of files. Use the PICT to Movie utility (or similar utility) to create QT movies.

Drawing

Modes

Etchelon TRACER works in several Drawing Modes

• Selection mode - cursor is the usual arrow.
• Pen Mode - cursor is a pen - click to put pen down or form a point, double click (or SPACE) for pen up. Enter and exit by Menu/Draw/Pen, ðI, Command Palette icon or ESC key.
• Edit mode - cursor is a cross, allows vector resizing, repositioning, colour change, shape fill, cut and paste. Enter by selecting a vector point. Exit by selecting blank space or ESC key.
• Point Edit Mode - cursor is diagonal cross, allow point position changes, line-to-arc changes, colour changes and shape fill. Enter Edit mode from vector selected mode by clicking a point. Exit by clicking blank space or ESC key

Information messages and the different cursor types will guide you through the Drawing Modes.

Creating Vectors

Selecting the pen command from either the menu, ðI or by clicking the pen icon on the Command Palette, starts Pen Mode and allows vector line drawing. The Command Palette will change to allow changing the colour and pen thickness.

Mouse clicks provide break points on the vector. The Arc (ðR) command bends the current vector line. DELETE removes the last line. The SPACE bar or a double-click ends a vector (pen up) and the next mouse click is pen down and so on, until the pen mode is cancelled (by ðI, clicking on the Command Palette or ESC).

Vectors can be "traced" over a base image - in fact, this feature will save a great deal of time and aid in producing good quality art work.

Resizing, Repositioning and Rotation

With the pointer cursor, vectors can be selected, moved, rotated or re-sized. Selected vectors can also be cut, copied or moved within the frame structure (i.e. moved to back or front).

To select a vector, either:

• click on a vector point, or
• encompass an area containing a vector by click and drag.

If you encompass all vectors in the frame, this causes all vectors to be selected (Same as ðA) and allows all vectors to be resized, repositioned and rotated.

The cursor will change when it positioned over any control point. The cursor will change to a diagonal cross when it is positioned over a vector point. When a vector is selected vector points are highlighted and a boundary box around the vector is displayed. The vector can be cut, copied, moved to back or front. Holding down the mouse key when the cursor is on any corner of the boundary box (the cursor will be a bold cross) allows the vector to be re-sized. Holding down the mouse key when the cursor is on the boundary box edges allows the vector to be repositioned - the cursor will be a hand. Holding down the mouse key when the cursor is on the highlighted bottom circle on the boundary edge allows the vector to be rotated - again the cursor will change, this time to a rotate symbol.

While the vector is selected its colour can be changed or it can be switched to a filled shape or back to an outline shape (ðU) - also avaiable from the Command Palette.

Zoom

Zoom can be selected from the Command Palette or menu (further zoom is possible from the Command Palette), or return back to standard size. The Command Palette Direction icon moves the frame in the selected direction. (Filled Shape Display is automatically disabled during zoom moves but it can be re-enable once you have scrolled to the area of interest).

Vector Amendment

Having selected a vector, clicking on a vector point allows editing of the point positions. The cursor will change to reflect Edit mode. The vector can be modified at that point. Edit mode will continue if points (on any vector) are selected (and changed). Also while in this mode, the line drawn before the selected point can be changed to an arc (ðR) or the whole vector's colour can be changed or the vector can be changed to/from a filled polygon (ðU) .

Edit mode is entered after resizing, repositioning or rotation, to perform another resizing, repositioning or rotation action, click on empty space and re-select the vector.

The Command Palette

The Command Palette provides additional drawing tools:

• Text Shapes
• Outline/Filled Squares
• Outline/Filled Circles
• Outline/Filled Regular polygons
• Outline/Filled Regular Star Shapes
• The ability to change the number of points within a polygon or star up to 20 sided Polygons or 20 pointed stars.

Sequencing

Sequencing is performed by dragging and dropping frames within the Morph Sequence Control window (Morph/Sequence Menu Option (ðE). To start a sequence of morphs from say, frame 1 to frame 5 to frame 2, hold the mouse down over frame 1, drag it to frame 5 and release. Pick up frame 2 and drag it to frame 2. Control language statements will appear in the text field on the right hand side of the window. The sequence is played by the Morph/Run Sequence menu option (ðG) or Robot icon on the Command Palette.

The number of transitions per morph is set by the scroll bar on the right. Adjust the scroll bar before performing the drag and drop otherwise, edit the YYY figure in the @tNN/YYY command.

For most circumstances this is all you'll need. For those who need more precise control, there is a simple set of control instructions. A sequence control instruction statement looks like this:

@m01/05

which means morph from frame 1 to frame 5.

The sequence instructions exist in blocks of 255 characters and have the same general format:

@<letter><parameter>{/<parameter}

and are separated by a colon ":" or end of block. The @ character is required before all commands. If no @ is found the rest of the line in the block is ignored.

The list of commands are as follows:

Worked Example

1. Find a PICT file, such as a picture of a face, and load the image on frame 1.
2. Alter the size of the frame window to match the image.
3. Trace an outline of the main features: jaw-line, eyes, mouth, nose using the Pen tool (Draw Menu/Pen Item). (Remember the SPACE bar to lift the pen between vectors).
4. Select Frame Control (under the Frame Menu).
5. Click and drag frame 1 onto frame 2. Frame 1 is copied to Frame 2. Do the same for Frame 3.
6. Close the window.
7. Move to frame 2 (using Command Palette tool or Frame Menu/Next Frame)
8. Click on a point to enter edit mode. Move a shape.
9. Click on a point to enter edit mode. Change a point position.
10. Move to frame 3 and make further changes.
11. Select Morph Sequence Control window (Morph Menu/Sequence)
12. Click and drag frame 1 onto frame 2. Click and drag frame 2 onto frame 3. Click and drag frame 3 onto frame 1. Note sequence instructions appear in edit box on the right.
13. Close the window.
14. Click on the Robot Icon on the Command Palette to view the animation sequence.
15. Select "Output to File" from Morph Menu. Enter the root file name and location where the output PICT files will be saved. Each file's name will a three digit number appended.
16. Click on the Robot Icon again.
17. When the animation completes. De-select "Output to File" from Morph Menu.
18. Each animated PICT file can be viewed using SimpleText.
19. Load the PICT files into a Quicktime creation program such as PICTs-to-Movie. Play the Quicktime movie using Apple's Movie Player or equivalent.
20. Alternatively add a background PICT or series of background PICTs using Backgrounder (see below) before creating the Quicktime file.

Other Programs

Movie to PICT

To work upon existing Quicktime Movies, use Movie-to-PICT to generate the Quicktime Movie as a series of PICT files. Use selected images as "key frames" within Etchelon TRACER and build up animation and morph sequeunces with the number of transition steps to match the numbered files generated by Movie-to-PICT. Backgrounder and PICTs-to-Movie will rebuild the quicktime movie with your animation superimposed. Note that any sound track is lost and would have to be re-dubbed by another software utility. (WARNING: This program is incompatible with MacLinkPlus and Mac Easy Open extensions, they need to be disabled while this program is required)

Backgrounder

Etchelon TRACER produces Line drawings and simple filled-shape animation. To provide more sophisticated animations, you can use "Backgrounder" which adds a Background picture. Instructions are provided in the program. The background does not have to be static, a moving background can also be added (for example, the files created by Movie to PICT). Indeed the output of backgrounder can be later used as its own input to allow multiple layers of animation.

Backgrounder relies upon sequence numbers for both moving background images and foreground images. The sequence numbers do not have to be aligned or even the same quantity. Experiment and see.

PICTs-to-Movie

PICTs to Movie is a Freeware package to convert the output of Etchelon TRACER to a Quicktime movie. It is available as a separate product from the Info-Mac Archives and thanks go to David Rees to allow it to be distributed with Etchelon TRACER. Comments about this program should be addressed to him. Despite what it says in the program itself, a more up-to-date address for David Rees is: "drees@altorsys.com".

System Requirements

Etchelon TRACER will run on both 68nnn and PowerPC systems. It has been tested on MacOS 7.5.5, System 8.0 and System 8.1 although it should also run on earlier versions of System 7. It requires at least 1.5Mb of RAM. Etchelon TRACER requires a colour Macintosh (probably with a 13 inch monitor screen). TRACER produces lots of output files, it is recommended to ruthlessly delete these output files once you have finalised your Quicktime movie. If limitations within the software are stopping you, let me know and I'll see what I can do!

Bug reports are welcome. Please send them to etchelon@kagi.com.

Other programs you will need are: Apple's SimpleTEXT to view output from TRACER. To view and edit Quicktime Movies, you will require Apple Quicktime Movie Player. A paint program such as that provided by Apple-Works is also useful.

TRACER's PICT output can also be used build up animated GIFs for web page development using Freeware tools such as GIFBuilder.

Further Support

NEW. Further support is available in terms of an FAQ (even for unregistered users). Email: etchelon@kagi.com with subject FAQ or email with any other comment and I will get back to you.

Topics covered in the FAQ include:

• Why use Etchelon Tracer, when I can use product XYZ?
• I need more than 35 key frames!
• How do I trace an image?
• Surely the 600 point limit is not enough?
• Am I limited to just 8 colours?
• How do I copy a frame? 
• How do I morph from, say, frame 1 to frame 20, the morph command only goes to the next frame?
• How can I have a smoother morph?
• Tell me more about Bitmap morphing!!!
• How can I stop a morph (or sequeunce) once its started?
• I want to make an animated presentation like your "Intro" file.
• How do I produce complex animations?
• How do I add special effects to existing Quicktime Movies?
• How do I control the picture size?
• How can I edit my Quicktime Movie?
• Can I use Tracer to produce animated GIFs?
• How do I know when I've registered?

Licensing

Etchelon TRACER is licensed for use for 30 days after which time you should be expected to pay the registration fee. The registration fee is low and easily paid through the Kagi payment system. Registration information can be found in the file "TRACER Registration". You can pay for Tracer via kagi online by following this link here. I'm also interested in why you do not want to register since may guide future programming effort.

Etchelon TRACER can be freely distributed providing that this file and all programs are not changed and also included in the distribution. The correct operation of this program cannot be guaranteed.

New versions can be found at:

http://website.lineone.net/~andy.pritchard

If you are pleased with any work you've developed using Etchelon TRACER and want to share it with other Etchelon TRACER users, send a TRACER file to me at etchelon@kagi.com and I'll put it on my web page.

Etchelon TRACER for Macintosh (c)1998 Andy Pritchard.

Splash screen art work by Andy Pritchard and Robert Covington.

Quicktime (c) Apple Computers.

PICTS to Movie (c) David Rees

Thanks