3-3. Frame

Tutorial

You must use frames for making an animation.
When multiple frames are displayed in sequence, the image seems to you to be moving.

Frame1		Frame2		Frame3		Frame4		Frame5		Frame6

There is only one frame when a canvas is prepared. In short, it's a static image.


Click the Add Frame button to add a new frame.
The current frame can be duplicated when clicking the Duplicate Frame button next to the Add Frame button.

Drag and drop a unnecessary frame to the Trash Box in order to purge it.


Drag and drop a frame to another frame in order to change the order of frames.

Click the button to show the properties.

	The Name is for editing. Anything will do. The Transparent is the color which is seen through a backside. It's used for transparent GIF, transparent PNG, and so on. The Delay is a time to be displaying the current frame. The Disposal is for GIF. Choose the Background normally.

To paint an animation efficiently

When you paint an animation, you must compare a current frame with back and forward frame.
For that work, GraphicsGale provides two functions.

(1) Changes the current frame by keyboard
Select 'File'-'Preferences' in a main menu to show the Preferences window.

Click Key tab. You can specify shortcut keys in that tab.
Specify S as 'Frame - Forward Frame', and Q as 'Frame - Back Frame'.
Click OK button to close the window.

Make sure that a current frame is changed by Q and S keys.

<-- Q key	S key -->

Now you can change a current frame quickly since you press Q and S keys by the left hand without the right hand on a mouse. Of course you may specify any other keys which are suited for you.

(2) Uses the Onion Skin
The Onion Skin is a function that the back and forward frames are seen through on a current frame.

The back frame is displayed transparently.

Back and forward frames is displayed on the current frame's pixels with the color which is specified as a frame's transparent color.
Show the properties window of a current frame and specify the transparent color.
Click OK to close a window.

Click the button next to the Onion Skin button on a toolbar.

Choose frames which are displayed from Back Frame, Forward Frame, or Both.
Here supposes that Back Frame is chosen.

Make sure that your image is seen like the above image.
Click Onion Skin button to cancel the Onion Skin.