Hi Kai,

Glad to meet you.

What I would like is a how to start-to-finish tutorial on Crazy Talk Animator 2 Standand version. I have watched your posted tutorials for CTA2 but they all seem to feature the Pro version.  In "Getting Started with CrazyTalk Animator 2" the demonstrator explains the 3-D feature in great depth, but I do not have that particuliar feature so I'm sort of fumbling around here just trying to get started.  

Also, although the gentleman is extremely knowledgeable on CTA2, I feel he is rushing through it and could slow down some. I got the feeling that he thinks the viewer is already firmiliar with all the toolbars and icons, but it's very hard to keep up. I did learn a good deal however so he cannot be  faulted for content delivery.

I also clicked through to the embedded demo folder but these were of little value as they all appeared to be just static slides. I understand producing a video takes time and money, and CTA2 Standard is an entry level product. But the sooner I come up to speed on it, I will upgrade.

Late last year I purchase CT7 and I love it! I congratulate you on that set of tutorials as I was up and running in no time. In fact that's why I brought CTA2 because CT7 was so easy to learn. I still hit a wall or two now and then but here, the Forum comes to the rescue. And ususally it's Peter the Tutor leading the charge.

Now please, if I overlooked such a video on your site, I apologize, and if you could point me to the right link bring it on. I am watching all the presently posted videos and am picking up bits and pieces as I go along.

Thank you for your time now.

All the best-
Bernieo

I'd also like to see additional tutorials on keyframing animations within CTA2, advanced tweaking and fine tuning of animations. Reason being, every time I attempt to modify or fine tune the animation, it eventually gets all mucked up, probably because of the hybrid nature of 2D & 3D motions, and where keyframes get added (which channels) that affect other keyframes. And also covering adding in subtle idel movements in between motion sequences or clips.

Thanks for the feedback on pacing rampart, that's probably one of the most common issues we try to address. Each tutorial with a specialized topic normally assumes that users are familiar with the UI, and have watched the 'Getting Started' tutorial. I think what I try to do with the first CTA 2 tutorials is cover a practical workflow that most users will come across (i.e. 3D motion editing, character creation). As a result, a single tutorial might include instructions on how to use a number of different tools and features in combination that could very well have their own tutorial, and therefore some of the basics may be brushed over a bit. We are aware that many of our CTA users are complete newbies, and are currently working on providing some more basic tutorials, similar to our Quick Fix tutorials for iClone.

I think Bernieo's sentiment is quite a common one, and we're definitely working on producing some more slow-paced and basic tutorials. In addition to that, we have tons of users whose first language isn't English, and they may have a hard time following my babbling. If there are any users out there with specialized language skills, feel free to contact me about potential 3rd party tutorials in another language.

For wizaerd, I totally understand where you're coming from that sometimes the keyframes can get all confusing after detailed editing. For now, all I can suggest is to generally follow the workflow outlines in the 'Intro to Character Animation' tutorial (i.e. starting with 3D motion editing, then moving on to 2D). Probably my best advice is that the reset/refresh key button is your best friend when doing any type of keyframe editing with layers/sprites/transform.

Hi, I'm a beginner and still getting familiar with setting up sprites in Pipeline. I've hand-drawn multiple views of my characters using Copic markers and scanned them. Then I cut out the features in Photoshop and saved each body part as separate png files. I've been using an existing character to replace the sprites. However, my character has glasses but there isn't an existing prop or other that I can use to import them. Should I use the "front hair" body part? Thanks for any help you can provide.

Sorry for the late reply! Since there are no body parts that are defined for glasses sprites by default, you'll probably want to add them in as an accessory in the Character Composer. I do something similar with a wine bottle in this tutorial here: Advanced Timeline Editing

Hope that helps!

Hi there Kal....I have recently bought the CTA for Mac....I also bought the training DVD, which I have downloaded, but have not been able to "see" it. Where and how do I see the DVD on my Mac?...I know the 3 Gig file is on my mac (.dmg) but I can't seem to open it. It does not even ask for my serial number!!!
Am I missing something basic?
I have written to Reallusion, and their responses have been poor. Its been more than two weeks now and still no resolution to my issue.

I would really appreciate your assistance
Thanks

Des Bramwell

G' day

Ive just started using CrazyTalk 2 and I'm working through the getting started tutorial. I have reached the facial expression part and I'm struggling to record as per the example given in the tutorial. I can follow up to where you record, however there is a step or more I'm not following to achieve that.

Is there anything available that provides a step be step account to mimic what the instructor is demonstrating please

Thank you
Garf

Hi Des,

Once you have the CrazyTalk_Animator_2_Training_DVD.dmg, double click it. This will open a file called CrazyTalk_Animator_2_Training_DVD.mpkg. Double click this to begin the installation procedure.

Note: At this point you may be warned that it can't install because the Developer is not known. If you receive this message, just go into System Preferences > Security & Privacy and then put a check in the box to Allow apps downloaded from > Anywhere.

Now double click the mpkg file again to install. Once complete you can find the Training DVD by selecting Launchpad.

After installation is complete, remember to set your security settings back to the original setting.

                                                                

Peter
Forum Administrator

www.reallusion.com

Recording should be just a case of selecting a "Profile" and then hitting the "Record" button followed by the "Space Key" to begin recording your puppeteering. Once recording starts you can control facial feature movement by moving the mouse, and use the left mouse button to make the character blink.

Please try this and then let us know if you still have problems. But please try to supply as much detail as possible about what isn't working. Thanks.

                                                                

Peter
Forum Administrator

www.reallusion.com

I would like to see a couple tutorials specifically about converting a character in Adobe illustrator to Crazy Talk Animator 2 pro. Flash is a complicated software because I'm not sure how to start using flash. Do I use action script or Animation key frames. How to do you convert an illustrator file to a useable file in Crazy Talk Animator 2 pro.

Can anybody help me.

thanks
daniel