Table of Contents - Serif

Creating Animations 207
You can modify page characteristics such as page size, orientation,
number of pages, and snapping from the Pages context toolbar.
To save an animation:
• Choose File>Save... DrawPlus saves animation documents in the
proprietary .DPA format (Drawings are saved as .DPPs).
Working with Stopframe animation
In Stopframe animation mode you'll be working predominantly with the Frames
tab. It is ideally suited for animation because of its width and easy control of
individual frames (stopframes are spread along the tab for easier management).
Use the Frames tab exclusively to insert, delete, clone or reorder frames, and
access individual frame properties. The tab also lets you preview the animation
and enable onion skinning directly; exporting as a standalone animated GIF or
video is carried out via the File menu.
The Frames tab is designed for Stopframe animation only, and only shows while
in this mode. Don't get this tab confused with the Storyboard tab, used in
DrawPlus's Keyframe animation mode (see p. 211). Each tab hosts distinctly
different tools suited to the respective animation type.
In most cases, your new Stopframe animation will have a single initial frame
(e.g., Frame 1). To create new frames, you can either clone the current frame or
insert a blank frame after the current frame. Choose to clone if you will be
reusing the current frame's contents with a transformation of some kind (the
most common way of simulating change or movement).
Once you've finished creating frames you can preview or export your animation,
just as you would play the frames of a movie.