'Leap Frog' 

 

*click here for supply folder*

Before we get started I want to let you know that I've premade a background - but you are free to create your own or go without one.

I've also premade the frog-leap + fish-swimming animation tho I didn't draw the frog nor the fish - I merely took two tubes and animated them. I did create the fishbowl and the background.

Please do Not put ©rae on your tag

 

Open the 'raeTagLayers' 

Material Palette :

  

Text Tool :

• ·     Center the text tool at the bowl rim
• ·       Apply your text
• ·       Use the Vector Nodes to shape **I chose to stretch my text Up, using the top/center node
• ·       ***If your text is too long = move the frog/bowl to the right a bit, as well as your text (keep well-centered with bowl) .. Or, reshape your text length with the side vector nodes

 

 

 

 

• ·    Grab the handle at the middle and move your text directly Up leaving space between the text and fishbowl

 

            

 

 

• ·       Convert to Raster > Rename to Text
• ·      Duplicate > Rename the copy to Splash
• ·         Turn OFF Text layer

Open the Retouch Tool :

• ·         Stroke, through your text, in arcs toward the bowl :

 

 

 

• ·        When you ve finished your smudge-strokes > Duplicate to copy of Splash layer
• ·          
• ·      Turn OFF Splash layer
• ·       At copy of layer > Open your Deformation Tool
• ·      Pull Down from the top/center node about halfway :
•  
•  

 

 

We re nearly ready to begin building your frames for animation.. but, first, we need to add a reference point = so you ll know where to place your frog/bowl animation at AS.

• ·        Highlight the Border layer
• ·         Paintbrush set at size 2
• ·         Align your brush tip directly at the bowl, bottom rim, center > place a dot of color *you don t want to see it until you turn off the frog/bowl layer

    

Turn OFF all layers but Border*leave On  :

• ·         Grab the Border layer at the palette > drag into your workspace > drop it to make a new canvas  **you ll be dragging all Merge layers there
• ·         Return to your work layers

Turn ON Copy of Splash layer

 

• ·           Merge visible
• ·         Drag off palette to the new canvas
• ·        Undo

• ·         DELETE or Turn OFF copy of Splash layer

 

 

 

Turn ON Splash layer

 

• ·         Merge visible
• ·         Drag off palette to the new canvas
• ·       Undo
•  

 

Turn ON Text layer

 

• ·         Drop the transparency of Text to 50
• ·           Drop the transparency of Splash to 70          
•  

 

• ·           Merge visible
• ·         Drag off palette to the new canvas
• ·        Undo

• ·         DELETE or Turn OFF 'Splash' layer

  

 

 8.

 Text layer : 

 

• ·       Bring transparency to 100
• ·         Merge visible
• ·        Drag off palette to the new canvas
•       undo
•  

• Drop the transparency to 80
• Merge visible
• Drag off palette to the new canvas
• undo

• ---

• Drop the transparency to 60
• Merge visible
• Drag off palette to the new canvas
• undo

• ---

• Drop the transparency to 40
• Merge visible
• Drag off palette to the new canvas
• undo

• ---

• Drop the transparency to 20
• Merge visible
• Drag off palette to the new canvas

 

Bring up your new canvas you should have 9 Rasters there

 

• ·         Save As a PaintShop Pro Image (*.psp)

 

 

 

 

Open Animation Shop :

• Browse to open your newly created file
• Select Frame #1 *only > Right Click = Duplicate Selected .. until your frames number 23  

  << bottom/right of your program screen

• Now Select Frame #19 *only > Right Click = Duplicate Selected .. till your frame count Total reaches 34  **if you run over 34 frames - individually select frames and Delete
• Edit > Select All
• Edit > Copy
• Edit > Propagate Paste

 

Browse to Open = 'raeLeapFrogBkgd.mng' :

• Edit > Select All
• Right click at the 34 frames > Paste into Selected Frame **you've copied and are now pasting in = your created text frames
• Carefully position the frame/border to be equal at all sides > Left click to set the paste

Browse to Open = 'raeLeapFrog.mng' :

• Edit > Select All
• Edit > Copy
• Right click at the 34 frames  > Paste into Selected Frame
• Carefully set the bowl-bottom line to be Centered over and Cover the dot - placed as a reference point > Left click to set the paste

• Edit > Select All
• Edit > Copy

Ok.. to explain = you will select two frames at a time and paste in your falling water drops.   Considering the length of your text/number of letters in your text - paste into each series of 2 frames = 2 or three places with your drops.  This is, again, one of those times that I will nudge you to think "less is More"

If you'd like, use Onionskin to see where your previous drops were placed (it's not perfect for this but it might help.  If it makes your job harder - turn it off) :

• Enable Onionskin : click to indent/enable

 **or :  View > Onionskin > Enabled

• ---

Select Frame #19 > Hold Shift > click into Frame #20 to Highlight both frames

• Right Click > Paste Into Selected frame
• Place your water drops at random spot at one letter 
• Repeat the right click/paste = choose another spot for your drops

Select Frame #20 > Hold Shift > click into Frame #21

• Repeat the paste/once or twice = noticing where you've already placed drops with Onionskin
• Continue = Selecting the frames in the above order and pasting in drops - until the last two frames you select together are #29 & 30
• ***Remember = Onionskin is enabled.  You may want to turn it off before exiting AS

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Play your creation .. and guess what?  You're done!!

No need to set the individual frames speeds = they're all taken care of by using the .mng file..

So!  .. resize now..  *I resized mine 85% - Bicubic

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Here's the Optimization :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**·here's Crimson's tut-test-tag·** Ü