London-based software developer CelAction today announced the launch of version 4.1 of CelAction2D, the 2D animation software best known for being used on popular toons such as Bluey, Peppa Pig and Mr. Bean. The update features a major enhancement to CelAction2D’s bespoke scripting language, plus the ability to export movement data to Adobe After Effects.
“This upgrade is all about pipeline improvement,” said CelAction CEO Andy Blazdell. “Not all studios can afford dedicated scripting programmers, therefore we wanted to make our system as easy as possible so that animators and riggers with no prior programming experience could use it. This is going to level up a lot of small and medium size teams, so they can compete with the big players.”
Originally used as a tool for creating sequences of commands that can be assigned to a key or a button, CelAction2D Macros can now take user input while the script is running, and set, test and manipulate variables. More importantly, they can use animation stored within the character rig itself to construct customized poses or movement.
For example, users are able to set a single keyboard command to add an animated arm wave to a character, that could automatically test how the character was posed, and change the animation accordingly to avoid the need for the animator to go back in and tweak anything. So, if the arm wave would be different if the character was wearing long sleeves or holding an object, that would be handled automatically. If there were different styles of arm wave built into the character, the Macro could even ask the user which style to use.
The Macros themselves can be built up using easy to understand dialog boxes, rather than typing things in, so that the syntax is always correct and the user is always guided towards the correct solution. During testing, the CelAction team even made a simple text adventure within CelAction2D itself to push the possibilities of the system.
“The integration of easy yet powerful scripting with the actual movement of the characters is a breakthrough that will be key to increasing productivity,” Blazdell concluded. “It’s the best way forward, because it uses ‘Animator Intelligence’ instead of the artificial kind.”
A representative from CelAction will be attending the Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) and The Animation Conference (TAC) this week (September 20-24).
Visit celaction.com for more details.
