Autodesk Animator
Template:More citations needed {{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template other{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters | check | showblankpositional=1 | unknown = Template:Main other | preview = Page using Template:Infobox software with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y | AsOf | author | background | bodystyle | caption | collapsetext | collapsible | developer | discontinued | engine | engines | genre | included with | language | language count | language footnote | latest preview date | latest preview version | latest release date | latest release version | latest_preview_date | latest_preview_version | latest_release_date | latest_release_version | licence | license | logo | logo alt | logo caption | logo upright | logo size | logo title | logo_alt | logo_caption | logo_upright | logo_size | logo_title | middleware | module | name | operating system | operating_system | other_names | platform | programming language | programming_language | released | replaced_by | replaces | repo | screenshot | screenshot alt | screenshot upright | screenshot size | screenshot title | screenshot_alt | screenshot_upright | screenshot_size | screenshot_title | service_name | size | standard | title | ver layout | website | qid }}Template:Main other
Autodesk Animator is a 2D computer animation and painting program published in 1989 for MS-DOS. It was considered groundbreaking when initially released.<ref name="pcmag.com">Graphics - Winner: Autodesk Animator "Robert Bennett, Lewis Gartenberg, David Kalish, Jim Kent, Jack Powell, Gary Yost" on pcmag.com (1989)</ref>
FunctionalityEdit
Animator gave the ability to do frame-by-frame animation (creating each frame as an individual picture, much like Traditional animation) . Animator Studio also had tweening features (transforming one shape into another by letting the computer draw each in-between shape onto a separate frame). Animator and Animator Pro supported FLI and FLC animation file formats, while Animator Studio also supported the AVI format. Animator was particularly strong in Palette based editing, effects (like Color cycling) and animations a favored technology in the time of indexed CGA and VGA graphics modes.
Unlike other DOS software from that time, Animator was not restricted by the 640 kilobyte conventional memory limitation as it utilized a DOS extender by Phar Lap. Animator's combination of twenty tools multiplied by twenty inks, 3D 'optics,' unparalleled palette handling, custom fonts and many other useful features (such as its own internal scripting language POCO), put it many years ahead of better known animation tools of the time.
Development historyEdit
Animator originates back to its author's Jim Kent earlier program Cyber Paint for the Atari ST.<ref name="asterius">The Antic Cyber Graphics Software and the Pre-History of Autodesk 3D Studio and Discreet 3ds max. Asterius.com. Retrieved on 2013-04-22.</ref> Jim Kent evolved in 1989 his software into Animator for Gary Yost's "Yost Group" for 80286 PCs with MS-DOS.<ref>jim_kent/Tesla on randelshofer.ch</ref><ref name="mussy">The First Pioneer in PC Animation: Autodesk Animator by Dr. Mussy "October – November, marks an interesting anniversary for animation: 21 years ago, animation became available for the PC platform." (November 8, 2010)</ref> Animator was then licensed to Autodesk, who published the software as Autodesk Animator.
ReleasesEdit
Animator was debuted at SIGGRAPH 1989,<ref>Animation Software Companies and Individuals Template:Webarchive "At the 1989 SIGGRAPH in Boston, Autodesk unveiled a new PC based animation package called Autodesk Animator." by Wayne Carlson on Ohio State University</ref> featuring a VGA graphics mode of 320×200 pixels with 256 colors.
In July 1991, the successor Animator Pro was released, with the significant improvement of allowing almost any resolution and color depth. The software was sold for approximately US$800 (US$1,800 in 2025), significantly more expensive than the previous version, addressing the professional audience.<ref name="mussy"/><ref>PC Mag Aug. 1992</ref>
The 1995 released Animator Studio was a complete re-write for Windows 95, but was not anymore developed by the Yost Group.
Discontinuation and legacyEdit
Eventually development of the product ended and support was discontinued by Autodesk. The trademark for "Autodesk Animator", filed on December 18, 1989, expired on July 21, 1997.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Jim Kent kept copyrights to the 300,000 lines source code base of Animator Pro, and allowed it to be made available publicly under the open-source BSD license in 2009.<ref name="license">animator pro on GitHub "All source code (unless otherwise marked, or if better information becomes available) is ©1989-1994 Jim Kent and is available here under the BSD license"</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The original 256 color Animator version for DOS is also provided as a freeware download.<ref>downloads on github.com</ref> After some initial code review<ref>porting-autodesk-animator-pro-to-be-cross-platform on Stackoverflow</ref> porting to modern platforms was started on GitHub.<ref>Animator-Pro on github.com</ref> As of April 2014 most of the assembly language source code had been ported to platform-agnostic C code and SDL was used as the target back-end framework.<ref>PJ: remove add_check_tflx_toram and rem_check_tflx_toram. by wangds on github.com/AnimatorPro (23 April 2014)</ref>
ReceptionEdit
Animator was considered to be groundbreaking in the field of computer animation when it was initially released. In 1989 Animator won PC MagazineTemplate:'s "6th Annual Technical Excellence Award for Graphics".<ref name="pcmag.com"/>
Also, video game developers used the software for intros and other animated sequences in their games, for instance Formula One Grand Prix (1991, MicroProse), Cannon Fodder (1993, Virgin Interactive) and Jazz Jackrabbit 2<ref>About - Creation of Jazz Jackrabbit</ref> (1998, Epic Games); animators used the software for animation for shows such as Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist.
Animator Studio attempted to do more than previous versions of the program, yet it had limited success. It also lost the ergonomic fluidity that the DOS versions had and was overshadowed by Toonz in terms of features and functionality. Animator Pro, though, was by far the most useful, and was exceptionally fast compared with today's animation programs.Template:Citation needed
The program worked so well and had enough of an impact, that it convinced James Cameron that CGI can create a character in his next film, Terminator 2: Judgment Day; Autodesk did advertisement with this.<ref>Advertisement Autodesk Animator Pro on PC Magazine (May 26, 1992)</ref>
There were also books written about Animator for instance "Inside Autodesk Animator: The Complete Guide to Animation on a PC" by New Riders Publishing in 1990.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
See alsoEdit
- FLI/FLC Animator's file format
- Deluxe Paint
- List of 2D animation software