Autodesk Animator

Autodesk Animator

Release type: Retail
Release date: 1989
Author: Autodesk
Website: Autodesk.com
Related tools: Graphics Image Reader, Deluxe Paint, NeoPaint, Metamorf

The origin of the .FLI format that Game-Maker uses so heavily. Also a very powerful painting program, with some advanced filters reminiscent of the much-later Photoshop.

Tips

• Animator does not support the now-standard .GIF 89 file format. You can, however, often fool Animator into loading a .GIF file by simply loading the file into a text editor like Notepad++ and editing the header to read "GIF87a" instead of "GIF89a".
• If you're using Animator to assemble .GIF files into a .FLI animation, be sure to normalize the palette amongst all the frames. If your palette shifts from frame to frame, when you play your movie it may be interspersed with distracting flashes. To address this, right-click on the palette at the bottom of the screen then choose "ONE PALETTE" from the PALETTE menu at top-left. If you have upped your CPU cycles to Max in your DOSBox profile, the adjustment should be fairly swift. Otherwise, it may chug for a few minutes.

Links

• Autodesk Animator free download
• Autodesk Animator binary
• Autodesk Animator source code
• Dave's Targa Animator -- For working with .FLI files.