Alignment problems...jumping pixels!
When an animation looks 'jumpy', it's usually because the contents of each frame are not perfectly lined up with each other. You can use the Onionskin tool in Animation Shop to preview how each frame of the animation aligns with the adjacent frame. Clicking the yellow Onionskin icon will overlay a transparent copy of the next frame onto each frame.*
Another reason an animation could look 'jumpy' is because more transition frames are needed to smooth out the action. Export your frames to PSP to create some new frame-layers with 'in-between' movement.
Onionskin Preview temporarily superimposes a transparent overlay of frame 1 onto frame 2; frame 2 overlays frame 3; etc, for all frames.** Zoom in to see how contents of one frame line up with the next and use the Mover tool to make small adjustments to pixel alignment that may correct the jerkiness of movement.
*Clicking Onionskin icon again will turn overlay off.
**This can vary, depending on preference choices...double click Onionskin icon to view preferences.
If your jumping pixels are due to stray pixels or pixels that are the wrong color...refer back to top for list of topics!
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Setting preferences to import as separate frames
I have seen many tutorials out there on the web that will tell you to NEVER set your Animation Shop Preferences to "keep layers as separate frames". They will try to tell you that "merge layers into a single frame" is the ONLY box you should ever check. That is incorrect information. Jasc would never include this option if there wasn't a use for it!! You can choose EITHER preference, both are correct! It just depends on the image you are creating at the time. Sometimes our preference is to have each (1) layer in our image become a frame in our animation or, (2) in another animation we may want to change this setting back to 'merge layers'.
(1) Keep layers as separate frames is the Preference setting I use most of the time. It is my preferred setting because I can create layers and frames at the same time! This may not be suitable 100% of the time....sometimes there's a need to change back and forth! Check whether the tutorial you are working on calls for separate layers or merged layers. When the Preference settings are set to 'Keep layers as separate frames', Animation Shop will know, when opening a .psp file containing multiple layers, to keep every layer separate....each layer will then become a separate animation frame. Layer 1=Frame 1, Layer 2=Frame 2, etc.
Note: If you are using this Preference setting, but, when opening it in Animation Shop, you still don't see all the layers you created in your PSP file, your file probably has some 'hidden' layers. If you hide visibility in PSP for any of your layers, whatever is on those layers will NOT appear in the image you open in Animation Shop. You will have to close the file in Animation Shop, return to PSP and edit the image file so that desired layers are ALL visible. Save and re-open in Animation Shop.
(2) Merge layers into a single frame is the Preference setting you will use when you want Animation Shop to open your file with all layers merged into a single animation frame (a single layer).
Animation Shop preferences can be found under File>Preferences>General Program Preferences. Under the Layered Files tab are the choices discussed in this paragraph. Note that these options will be found in Animation Shop Preferences ...NOT Paint Shop Pro Preferences!
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Background color, transparent or opaque
I receive a lot of email from people having problems with transparent backgrounds. They have followed instructions and selected transparent background using the Animation Wizard BUT when saved, the background is an opaque color!!! First let me say that I also have this problem from time to time!! I don't know why, but the following instructions just won't work for some images!! When all else fails, I send file to PSP to set transparency and start over!!
This is exactly what Jasc says to do to change background color of an animation (quoted):
Select or change the canvas color for an animation as follows:
1. Choose Animation > Animation Properties. The Animation Properties dialog box will appear.
2. Select the Canvas Color tab.
3. Use the Canvas Color tab as follows:
~ Select the "Transparent" option to have a transparent canvas color.
~ Select the "Opaque" option to have a non-transparent canvas color. The current canvas color appears in the color box. Left-click inside this color box to display the Color dialog box; right-click inside this color box to display the Recent Colors dialog box. Select the new canvas color using either of these dialog boxes.
If background color is still not transparent, try this: Select from menu Animation>Replace Color. In the dialog box select 'Replace color in all frames' and replace 'Old Color' with 'Transparent Opacity'.
If your problem is stray pixels in your background, read the section on 'stray pixels'.!
Exporting to PSP
Because not all image editing tools are available in Animation Shop, the program provides a way to export an animation file to Paint Shop Pro to make your changes. An example of this is when you want to increase the canvas size because this tool is not available in Animation Shop. When you save and return to Animation Shop, the file would automatically update. However, this ability for interaction has been removed by Corel from recent versions of Paint Shop Pro. You can still export to PSP but updating back to Animation Shop may not be available.
Program Patches: PSP X users: The command that ties Animation Shop to Paint Shop Pro, "Update Back to Animation Shop", is included in the update/patch 10.02 for PSP X. It is available as an 'Unused Command' that can be restored as a menu item using the Customize dialog. Please see corel.com for minor updates and patches to recent versions of PSP. You may have to contact Corel directly if you don't see patches for your particular version.
A workaround for this is to 'Save Frames As Separate Files' in Animation Shop instead of using 'Save as Layered Image'.
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Changing Canvas Size & Other Edits
You can crop an image in Animation Shop to reduce the canvas size but you cannot INCREASE the size of the canvas. This is not a problem when working with a new image, but sometimes you'll want to increase the canvas size of an existing animation because there's just not enough room to add text or something else to the existing animation.
If, instead of 'exporting' from Animation Shop, you open an animated image in Paint Shop Pro, you will only be able to view a single frame as if it was non-animated. If you edit that image to change canvas size or anything else and SAVE, you will overwrite the animation and lose the frames that animate the image. Consequently...to edit any animation, you MUST open the existing animation in Animation Shop first and then export frames to PSP (either as a layered image or as separate files for each frame)!
To change canvas size, first select all frames in Animation Shop. Choose File>Export Frames>to Paint Shop Pro. Lf 'Keep layers as separate frames' is the Preference setting, you should have the same number of layers in the PSP image as there are frames in your animation.
If you only have one layer, you forgot to 'select all frames' first!
In Paint Shop Pro, edit the canvas size as you normally would then choose File>Exit and return to Animation Shop (this closes PSP) or Edit > Update Back to Animation Shop (which does not close PSP)....IF your version has either of these commands. If you can 'update back to Animation Shop', this should automatically revise the animation frames to reflect your modifications. In other words, your filmstrip should now have a larger canvas size.
When I did this I ran into some problems...it didn't work the same way every time! I tried this (many times!) in different versions of PSP, and the canvas size would sometimes stay at the size I started with! If you run into the same thing, or if you don't have the 'update' option, the work around is to break the link between PSP and Animation Shop and SAVE AS a new file.
This is because, when a frame or frames has been exported to Paint Shop Pro, a link is established between Animation Shop and Paint Shop Pro. This link prevents you from altering the animation in Animation Shop until you break that link. In Animation Shop, select File > Export Frames > Break Link With Exported Frames.
In Paint Shop Pro, save this file in PSP7 compatible format (see File Format) with a new name and then close it. Return to Animation Shop and open the new file that has the larger canvas size or other revision!
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File format problems & error messages
The new .pspimage file format used by Paint Shop Pro (starting with version 8) is not recognized by Animation Shop v.3. If, when using Animation Shop, you try to open an image saved in this new format, you will receive an error message: "Not a valid psp image file". Therefore, when saving a PSP image that is to be opened in Animation Shop, users of PSP version 8 or later must change the FILE TYPE to a format that is PSP 7 compatible. Of course, you can always import .jpg, .gif or .png but we're talking about a layered PSP image here.
Users of PSP 8 and newer must save a copy of their image in the old file format for use in Animation Shop. Use the SAVE AS command and the dialog box will give you the option to change the FILE TYPE. Select 'save as PSP7 compatible' or, if it is available in your version, select 'Animation Shop' as FILE TYPE. If you have updated to PSP X or later, change file type to 'PSP Animation Shop'.
Tip: I keep all images I intend to animate in a separate file folder from other graphics. All files in my 'animation' folder are 'PSP7 compatible'. Sometimes I will save 2 copies of a graphic, one in .psp format (for animation) and one in .pspimage format.
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Changing delay time
The Display Time controls the length of time (the delay) that each frame of your animation will remain visible. The larger the number, the longer it will display (resulting in slower movement). Using a smaller number will create the effect of faster movement. Delay time is 1/100 of a second. To display a frame for a full second, the setting would be D:100.
The current display time for each frame of the animation is listed under the frame along with the frame number. Example... F:1 D:20 is frame #1 with a delay of 20/100. If you don't see these numbers on your screen, you need to change your Preferences to show frame information. Select File>Preferences>General Program Preferences. Under the Frame View tab, check the box to 'display frame numbers, delay time under animation'.
To change the Display time, first select either an individual frame or select all frames. From the menu, select Animation>Frame Properties and change the number in the Display Time box. Selecting just one frame in an animation and drastically changing the delay time can create the effect of stop action or quick movement...like a wink!
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Transparency "halo"
A "halo" is created by pixels of the 'wrong' color appearing along the edges of your image. This happens often when using an image with a gradient drop shadow or when original image was created with a different color background than is currently being used. When saving & optimizing your animation, try using different transparency settings to see if it gets rid of the halo. Sometimes selecting 'blending the background color of your page with the transparent pixels' is the best option (under 'Partial Transparency').
If the halo is appearing around a drop shadow (or any area with graduated color between opaque pixels and transparent pixels), it is partly because the .gif file format used for animations is not well suited to graduated color. Try removing areas of graduated color from your image or try using opaque drop shadows with no graduated color.
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Color oops! Stray pixels!
Stray pixels are small errors in your color that, when it occurs in only one frame, will 'blink' when animated! Sometimes it occurs in more than one frame. Use the Paintbrush tool, size 1, to touch up the pixels, one by one! You must be very fussy when doing this!!! Any pixel changed in one frame must match all other frames exactly. Use the Zoom tool to touch up! Use the Animation Preview button to see if you have any bouncing or blinking!
Sometimes, when creating a transparent background, you discover that there's also some transparent pixels within the animated area. This is because the background color matches some pixels in the animated part of the image and those pixels become transparent along with the background! The best solution to that is, when you first create your animated image, to always use a color for the background that is totally different from the rest of the image. That way, when you set transparency, only the background will be effected.
Sometimes when you try to replace the background color of an image using the Color Replacer tool, you run into problems replacing the background color without also changing some of the pixels in the image. This is because the colors are very similar. Try experimenting with the tolerance setting (2nd tab in PSP7) of the Color Replacer to see if you can avoid effecting stray pixels. Another solution is to go ahead and use the Color Replacer tool if there's only a few pixels that were erroneously changed! Then use the Paintbrush tool, size 1, to touch up the pixels, one by one! Remember, you must be very fussy when doing this!!! Any pixel changed in one frame must be changed in all other frames so that every frame matches exactly...any stray pixels will 'blink' when animated! It helps to zoom in very close!
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Jumping Shadows
Jumping or blinking drop shadows can be caused by areas of stray pixel or because the animated image does not blend with a transparent background very well. But that's not what I mean by jumping shadows. What I'm talking about here are shadows that bounce and jump around with the animation in an unnatural way! This is often caused by creating a shadow using the Drop Shadow tool in Paint Shop Pro. If you have an animation that changes position from frame to frame in an animation, using the Drop Shadow tool just doesn't work well! The shadow should stay on the ground as shown in the image below. It should never jump up in the air.
 You can solve the problem by removing the drop shadow completely...or you can manually create a drop shadow that will change with each frame of the animation. This type of shadow will 'stick' to your animated character or animated text in a more realistic way. Check my index of animations for a tutorial on creating an animated drop shadow. I'll be adding one in future, if there's not one listed.
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