Animated Brush/Pen Signature
Tutorial
Depending on the length of your name (shorter the better...LOL) It will determine how many frames the animation will take. You may need lots of patience for this Tutorial, You will have to Save many times.
With this Tutorial instead of forward thinking we need to think backwards....So in other words we start with your finished signature (as below) and slowly start to rub out your name until all of your name has been completely erased.
Until you are used to making these animated sigs it's best to start with a simple background/border like this...( Once you get the hang of it then you can start to make more elaborate sigs )
So okay we have our name with the writing implement resting above, all items are on separate layers.
As it is.... Save it as a Gif File.
Now we can start to animate.
With your Mover Tool...move your Brush about halfway down towards the last letter and rotate it slightly....Click back on your Mover Tool.
Save as a Gif File.
Now we move the brush to the last point you'd have on your signature...Rotating it a little bit more...Try to remember it's how you write your signature...so move the Brush in the same way only in reverse....Click back on the Mover Tool
Save as a Gif File.
Turn OFF your Brush layer (I've left mine there so you can see what I've done)...then click on your Signature layer...With the Eraser Tool...erase part of your letter like below
Turn your Brush back ON and move your Brush to the edge of your last rub out....Like this...
Save as a Gif File.
Ok now we have to move the brush to the end of the stroke...As with this letter it will be the bottom of the R...Like this....
Save as a Gif File.
Turn the Brush layer OFF and click on your signature layer.
With the Eraser Tool...rub out a section of the letter...When your happy with that, switch back on your brush layer and move the brush up to the rub out line... Like this....
Save as a Gif File
For the last stroke we change things slightly....We move the brush FIRST to the start of the letter....Like this....
Then turn OFF the Brush Layer....Click on the Signature Layer and Erase the rest of the letter....Like this...
Save as a Gif File
OK...That's the first letter finished....Still patient?....LOL
So now we move the Brush to the end of the next letter....Like this...
Continue to Erase the Signature as we did with the letter R (always remembering to save each movement as explained above)....Try writing your letters on a piece of paper if you can't remember where the strokes start and finish...It can save a lot of time.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As we start to come to the end of the savings (bet your pleased...LOL)....We finish off the last letter like this...
Save as a Gif File
Save as a Gif File
Now all of the name has been Erased...We need to make the Brush start to move back into place (where it is at the start) and rotate it slightly
With your Mover Tool...move the Brush up about half way on the opposite side and rotate...like this
Click back on your Mover
Save as a Gif File
Now for the Animating
Hopefully we have all the saves needed for the animation in your Animation Folder in a numerical sequence...ie:- 1,2,3,4 etc....
With your PSP still open go to File....Jasc Software Products....Launch Animation Shop
Go to File....Open....Find your Saves and click on number 1 and Open.
Your first save will now have opened in a new window....click on the Maximise button (next to the Close button) to open the image out....Like this
With the blue line still round it (if it's not there click on the picture itself until it's blue)....Go to Animation.....Insert Frames....From File.....Add File.....Click on Number 2 and while holding the Ctrl Button click on all the rest of the saves...EXCEPT the last one (that's the Brush moving back to it's resting place)....If you have all the saves selected (except for 1 and the last save)...Click Open then OK.
Go to Edit and Select all
Now go to Animation....Reverse Frames
Click on Frame 2....It should now be the only frame in Blue....Like this
Go to Animation.....Insert Frames.....From File....Add File.....Find the last image.....Open then OK....Your last image should now be between the two frames above...Like this
Now we go to Edit....Select All....Then Animation....Frame Properties and change the Time Display to between 10 and 20
Go to Animation.....Animation Properties....Click on the Looping Tab...Click Repeat the Animation Indefinitely.
Now if you go to View....Animation....you will see that all the frames are still not running correctly....it's still too fast.
Close the View Animation and Click on Frame 1....This will deselect all the frames apart from frame 1
Go to Animation....Frame Properties....and changed the Display Time to 150....you want this frame to run at a slower speed than the rest.
Go back to View...Animation.
If your not happy with it fiddle with the Display Time
If you are...While the Animation is running...Go to...File...Save As....Find a place for it...Click Save....Next....Next....Next.....Finish.
THE END
(I hope)...LOL