This is an unofficial Q&A for Cartoon Animator 5. Hopefully Peter can answer some of our questions.

Peter, I have a few questions. Please answer what you can:

1. Will we be able to dock Windows?
2. Is there a purchase link for Cartoon Animator 5? I only see the link to purchase Cartoon Animator 4 but I already have Cartoon Animator 4.
3. Will I have to set a PSD and an SVG editor for the pipeline version or do I only need to set one?
4. Will Cartoon Animator 5 be compatible with the new iClone 8 motions? Support said they would be compatible. I want to confirm this to be true.
5. The FAQ says only one version will be released but there is reference to a pipeline version. What is the difference between the multiple versions if there are any differences?
6. Will Cartoon Animator 5 be compatible with Actor Core? Can we upload our 2d characters to preview the 3d motions?
7. Is the clothing considered accessories or is it part of the Vector Color Group? Can it be both?
8. Will we get a home screen?
9. Will we get undo/redo history?
10. Is the "Project Auto Recover when program exit unexpectedly" feature the same as autosave?
11. Is there Smart Gallery integration?
12. Will there be support for vector scenes? Is it characters and objects only?
13. Can we create custom workspaces?
14. I am sad to see m4A is not a supported export option. Will more export options be added in the future?
15. Will support to export directly to YouTube, TikTok, etc be added in the future?

Hi Deborah

Unfortunately with CTA5 still in development, and many features still not finalised, there's not much I can tell you for now apart from what has already been announced. Over the coming weeks we will add more information, detail other new features, and hopefully add some more sneak peek videos.

Some things I can answer for you now:

2. There is no purchase option now if you already have CTA4 unless you have the Pro version and you want to upgrade to the Pipeline version. You will then receive a FREE copy of CTA5 when it is released. If you already have CTA4 Pipeline then you will be able to upgrade to CTA5 when it is released for the discounted price.

4. Yes CTA5 will be compatible with iClone 8 motions and the Motion Link Plug-in will be updated.

5. There will only be one version of Cartoon Animator 5 like we did with iClone 8 and Character Creator 4. The version of CTA5 will effectively be the Pipeline version.

11. Smart Gallery became integrated with Content Manager in iClone 8 and CC4 and we hope to do the same with CTA5 (not confirmed yet).



                                                                

Peter
Forum Administrator

www.reallusion.com

UPDATE:

After checking, the Cartoon Animator team have confirmed the answers to the other questions. Here they are:




                                                                

Peter
Forum Administrator

www.reallusion.com

Hi Peter, I have even more questions:

• There are several windows in Cartoon Animator that I can't dock. Will I be able to dock all windows?
• Are the text tools going to be improved so I can animate text? For example, type out a word or phrase and animate it.
• Will new zoom options be added like we have in iClone. For example, will I be able to zoom in on a character's head at the press of a button? I would love to see zoom options that correspond to the different camera angles.

Full information about all the features of CTA5 will be made available soon as well as (hopefully) some new videos before release. It shouldn't be long before all is revealed. :)


                                                                

Peter
Forum Administrator

www.reallusion.com

Will more information be revealed before the promo is over?

Thanks for your patience. More information on the new features of CTA5 is coming soon but for now I'll try to answer your questions as best I can.

1. There are no major changes to the UI in CTA5 so everything will work pretty much the same as CTA4 with regards to docking windows and panels.
2. In the 5.0 release there is no new text tool but many of the new features can be applied to text as well to liven up your scenes.
3. The camera controls have not really changed from what you already have in CTA4. It does not feature the same camera controls as iClone.


                                                                

Peter
Forum Administrator

www.reallusion.com

I know the announced feature list isn't complete, but there are a few things I am curious about...
1. Are there any new features around character creation?  Or will it remain mostly the same, picking from long lists of folders for individual parts that may or may not match your character's desired look? I know about the SVG and PSD imports, but I'm talking more along the lines of an in-house character creator similar to CC4, but for 2D.
2. Are there going to be any export features for moving characters or scenes to other environment, such as 2D game engines or 3D engines that can work with 2d models?
3. Will there be any new effects and/or features to allow more to be done inside of CTA rather than exporting to AE (or transparent video clips) to add lighting, shadows, ambiance, etc...

Thanks Peter!

There are a few improvements, but character creation for Standard Characters is pretty much the same as CTA4 apart from now using SVG. You still can mix and match parts in Composer mode to create custom characters, or you can create completely new characters either in CTA5 itself or using external software with the SVG or PSD templates.


Not currently planned for the CTA 5.0 release.


CTA5 features several exciting new features to help bring your characters and props to life and add fantastic effects. You have Vector Animation, Spring Editor and the powerful Free Form Deformation tool which allows almost anything to have effects and animation added to them all keyable on the Timeline.


                                                                

Peter
Forum Administrator

www.reallusion.com