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| Animax |
| Posted: Jan 17 2010, 01:52 PM |
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Hi
Wonder if anyone can advise please ?
First I'm definitely not a techie, just a mere artist (!) having big problems trying to find some programme that will join several animation sequence files (originally hand drawn sketches) of about 60 frames each into one long continuous sequence of about 500 frames. I've converted them into .gif ok but looked everywhere so far without any luck, that is the few words I was able to understand !! 
Any help or advice very much appreciated....
Thanks 
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| phaeron |
| Posted: Jan 17 2010, 09:11 PM |
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Virtualdub Developer
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VirtualDub will open image sequences, but there are a few gotchas:
- You need to number the files sequentially.
- They all have to be the same size.
- You can't use GIF. This is because VirtualDub has support for loading a single animated GIF as a video, so it won't open multiple GIFs as one.
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| Animax |
| Posted: Jan 17 2010, 10:09 PM |
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Thanks for your reply sounds promising !
Though I wasn't originally clear on its purpose, there is an image sequence button in my software programme that I'd played around with a couple of times and which I've still got coming out as jpg, all 4kb each and 60 frames.
Unfortunately as I was limited by the software programme to a maximum of 60 morphing frames per sketch (5 sketches in total) I'm now stuck with 4 x 60 frame separate files. If however I created three more similar files to the above, would it be possible to then link them all together finally making one full animation in VirtualDub ?
Hope I've got it all correct ?
Thanks again.
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| Jam One |
| Posted: Jan 17 2010, 10:36 PM |
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Create as many groups of images as you can/may/allowed by software, making sure they all have same dimensions in pixels.
RENAME ALL of the images so they had SEQUENTIALLY increasing number at the end of filename
(like 'hentai_fx_001.jpg' , 'hentai_fx_002.jpg' , 'hentai_fx_003.jpg' , etc..
Check the frame rate for images (set the one you need) in Preferences menu.
Open the first image with VD -- it will open the ENTIRE sequence
(note, whole sequence have to be in one folder on disk, VD does not search folders for "continuation of files").
You will be able to export all images as a single or a group of animated GIFs or AVIs (check File -> Export menu) (you can use Selection to limit the resulting file to the desired set of images). |
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| Animax |
| Posted: Jan 18 2010, 10:26 AM |
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Wow just fantastic thank you !!!!! I've just spent the last 2 months desperately trying to find anything even remotely positive, never mind comprehensible or possible and this was definitely going to be my last try ! 
I more or less follow what you mean, however I have noticed on the software's playback itself that the higher (i.e. the better) the resolution, the slower and more jerky the animated character's movements. I've hopefully cured this by reducing the resolution slightly but unfortunately with some loss of detail, especially around the faces. Can this loss be restored in VD afterwards, or would it be better to take a chance and go for the initial higher resolution settings which VD can then hopefully play back without any loss of speed and jerkiness ?
Next thing will be to download and learn VD so can't wait to get started. ! 
Again many thanks ! |
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| Jam One |
| Posted: Jan 18 2010, 03:21 PM |
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1)
| QUOTE | | ...on the software's playback itself ... |
-- Don't look at this =)
It means the software just can't play it fast+smooth in real time.
The thing you should look at is/are final images (those jpg-s).
Export you work in highest quality, first of all. You can do resizing and lots of other things later in VirtualDub.
(One thing you should consider yourself to be important or not is the fact VD can not set random different durations to different frames as you could have done in gif-animating software.)
2)
The loss that happened can't be restored.
What's lost is lost.
3)
VirtaulDub is not a full-scale mediaplayer, so you shouldn't bet on its ability to PLAY the whole sequence full-frame-full-motion. But you don't need it. You need to make the final product that will be playable. So, it is up to you to select some compression and store your work as a video, or to tweak frame rates an frame sizes and save your work as animated gif. Check fluidity of the motion by viewing the final product.
...Good luck! |
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| Animax |
| Posted: Jan 18 2010, 04:09 PM |
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Very helpful thanks. The original 5 sketches were somewhere around 3460 x 4860, 3350 x 5200 pixels and very clear and detailed but everything froze up before I could even start to work on each pair. No memory left in the computer I suppose ?
I've just resized all 5 down to exactly 300 x 471 pixels (didn't know it was even possible !) as per your instructions which seems just about ok with some jerkiness, so from what you're saying this would seem to be the best my software can manage before exporting ?
OOps no memory left !! Have to reboot otherwise this won't go through
___________
Ok....
Again think I follow. My main goal then for the moment is therefore to link the 5 separate jpg files of 60 frames each using VD, into just the one long unbroken GIF sequence of 300 frames ?
Then convert the 300 gif frames into a video ? Can VD do this second operation as well ?
Lastly will sticking to 300 x 471 pixels at 16 frames per second per 60 frames all the way through be ok ?
Thanks a lot for all your great advice and help, much appreciated. There's got to be a light at the end of the tunnel soon ! |
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| MaxS |
| Posted: Jan 19 2010, 05:36 AM |
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You need to prepare long unbroken image sequence.
Then you'll convert that image sequence to video using VD. |
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| Animax |
| Posted: Jan 19 2010, 10:14 AM |
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| QUOTE |
RENAME ALL of the images so they had SEQUENTIALLY increasing number at the end of filename
(like 'hentai_fx_001.jpg' , 'hentai_fx_002.jpg' , 'hentai_fx_003.jpg' , etc.. |
So far so good thanks, but because of the unfortunate limit of 60 frames for each file is there a way or a programme(s) that can do the above re-numbering and re-naming automatically as there are and will be many more to do in the future. It's also proving to be a lot of eye strain as the numbers are so small errors are almost inevitable. |
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| stephanV |
| Posted: Jan 19 2010, 10:35 AM |
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Is it in any way possible for you to start with the original images, and not the animated gifs?
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useful links:
VirtualDub, Input plugins and filters, AviSynth, AVI-Mux GUI, AC3ACM by fcchandler, VirtualDub FAQ |
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| Animax |
| Posted: Jan 19 2010, 11:16 AM |
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Oh yes I've got the original 5 sketches on hard drive (and loads more if it wasn't all so tiring and time consuming !) in the original resolutions of 3500 x 5000 or so.
I usually have to add about 40 or 50 morph points around the face and body of each of the first 300 x 470 pixels image, and whilst a long and tedious process turn out really well as they make the transitions incredibly smooth and lifelike. |
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| stephanV |
| Posted: Jan 19 2010, 12:00 PM |
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If I understand that you have to do a specific type of editing this might not work, but you could load the originals in VirtualDub as image sequence and then export as GIF.
Of course it would help if the originals are already numbered in some way.
Otherwise the easiest solution would be to load each animated GIF in VirtualDub, save it as a lossless AVI and then append the AVIs.
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useful links:
VirtualDub, Input plugins and filters, AviSynth, AVI-Mux GUI, AC3ACM by fcchandler, VirtualDub FAQ |
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| Animax |
| Posted: Jan 19 2010, 12:30 PM |
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Slight apology here I've just remembered I've got all the images saved as .jpg not .gif. Though I believe I can convert them back to .gif. ok.
Think I follow what you're saying but not knowing anything about VD yet this might sound a bit stupid. When you say in the first para. "load the originals" do you mean the 5 .jpg sketches or the 5 x 60 frames .jpg sequence ?
The other query is "load each animated gif" in VD...." Do you mean each whole file of 60 .jpg images or each individual image ? Then I can take both of your points on from there.
Apols but unfortunately no idea what a lossless AVI etc. is.... |
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| stephanV |
| Posted: Jan 19 2010, 01:11 PM |
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| QUOTE (Animax @ Jan 19 2010, 01:30 PM) | Slight apology here I've just remembered I've got all the images saved as .jpg not .gif. Though I believe I can convert them back to .gif. ok.
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VirtualDub can load jpg fine.
| QUOTE | | Think I follow what you're saying but not knowing anything about VD yet this might sound a bit stupid. When you say in the first para. "load the originals" do you mean the 5 .jpg sketches or the 5 x 60 frames .jpg sequence ? |
The individual images.
| QUOTE |
The other query is "load each animated gif" in VD...." Do you mean each whole file of 60 .jpg images or each individual image ? Then I can take both of your points on from there. |
My mistake I guess, I thought you already had made animated gifs out of them, but it seems not.
| QUOTE |
Apols but unfortunately no idea what a lossless AVI etc. is.... |
An AVI that doesn't use a form of lossy compression. VirtualDub will save automatically like this, although the filesize can turn out to be large.
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useful links:
VirtualDub, Input plugins and filters, AviSynth, AVI-Mux GUI, AC3ACM by fcchandler, VirtualDub FAQ |
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| Animax |
| Posted: Jan 19 2010, 01:47 PM |
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| QUOTE | | My mistake I guess, I thought you already had made animated gifs out of them, but it seems not. |
Just checked and made a few so all ok.
| QUOTE | | If I understand that you have to do a specific type of editing this might not work, but you could load the originals in VirtualDub as image sequence and then export as GIF |
Would this mean first loading each 60 frame separately and then being able to join all 5 x 60 frames automatically inside VD afterwards ? Immediate problem solved I think then.
Thanks....
Does lossy means loss compression ? |
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