#obtusity

by obtusity

Art technique fix: When drawing on the computer, quick larger strokes while zoomed in are better than slow strokes. See this video by LeslieLu Marie www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zoydia… especially the part from about 3:25 to 5:15 - this is the technique I've seen a few different professional comic artists using in a variety of different drawing software (including more professional comic software such as Clip Studio Paint) for smoother line art. Lots of quick strokes, lots of undo.

Software fix: See the 3 tutorials starting with this one for using FireAlpaca snaps to get smooth line art: Tutorial for Line Art in Medibang Paint

In FireAlp

It will depend on your content and context. 

The Airbrush with a nice pale colour might be useful.

I find another layer with a copy of the glow colours, blurred (Filter menu, Gaussian blur) and set to Add blending mode gives a nice glow, but I am happy with a crude cartoon-ish effect. Duplicate the Add layer for an intense effect.

Glow works best with enough dark surroundings to emphasise it.

Use Screen blending mode for a more delicate glow.

-Obtusity

No, FireAlpaca has no cloud features (unless you count the start-up advertisement and check for new versions).

Here are are some locations to find FireAlpaca brushes: 

http://firealpaca-users.deviantart.com/gallery/62027858/Brushes-and-Other-Resources 

http://fire-alpaca.deviantart.com/gallery/48388034/Brushes-and-other-resources 

http://fpacatuto.tumblr.com/tagged/custom-brushes 

http://everythingfirealpaca.tumblr.com/tagged/custom_brush 

http://zirkainfinity.deviantart.com/favourites/62889917/firealpaca-brushes 

https://www.tumblr.com/search/FireAlpaca+brush 

https://www.tumblr.com/search/FireAlpaca+brushes 

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=FireAlpaca+brush

Save finished drawings as PNG.

Search for Colour Management (or Color Management, depending on your language settings). Either of the options below is fine (they both start the same applet).

Set your Devices default and Advanced settings to use sRGB. If your image viewing software has it as an option, set it to sRGB also.

Common in photographic image manipulation, blending modes allow you to combine layers in interesting ways for adding shading, highlights, and colouring effects. The upper layer is set to a blending mode which changes how it affects the layer below.

See some more descriptions and examples of blending modes (some blending modes shown may not be available in FireAlpaca, which focuses more on digital painting effects rather than image manipulation):

https://www.getpaint.net/doc/latest/BlendModes.html

https://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2012/03/an-explanation-of-photoshop-blending-modes/

Layer folders allow you to transform multiple layers at once (move, rotate, resize, distort) e.g. one folder for a cow, for a random example, but still having line art on one layer, base colour on another layer, coat colour variations and texture on another layer, shading on another layer - but you can still move/resize the whole cow as one object.

Folders can also be used to limit blending effects to specific layers, or hide/show multiple layers with a single click. Folders make it easy to duplicate several layers at once.

Folders can also be useful for onion skin (animation) mode - multiple layers in a single folder are output as a single frame.

Here are some video editors which have free versions and can import image sequences:

VideoPad (relatively simple to use) - free version for non-commercial home use only, limited to 2 audio channels. I have tried this one - basic features but easy to use, image sequences import fine (entry in the File menu, if I remember correctly).

Lightworks (not as simple, but powerful) (free version: maximum 1280x720 resolution) I have not tried this.

HitFilm Express (more complicated but very powerful - lots of good feedback about this one but more of a learning curve). I have tried this, image sequences import fine, but not as obvious.

Personally, I am fond of Corel VideoStudio (commercial software, or in other words, you need to pay for it), although I’ve also heard good things about CyberLink PowerDirector, Magix Movie Edit Pro, and Vegas Movie Studio (formerly from Sony), but never tried them.

When working with longer animation sequences in Firealpaca, keep in mind that many animations stitch together multiple camera views of no more than 2-8 seconds long, cutting frequently to another view.

Each of these views (a sequence of multiple scenes, or a scene of multiple shots, depending on who you believe) would be a separate FireAlpaca project. FireAlpaca probably cannot handle enough memory for one long continuous animation of considerable length. Remember, each second is 24 frames (or 25, or 30, or at the lowest maybe 12, depending on which standard you are working with) that you have to draw.

To save yourself problems later, see also my advice about workflow and saving Firealpaca projects.

-Obtusity

No, the GIF format (from any program) cannot handle sound. It is basically an image format with some multi-image features bolted on. There are a few web sites that try to play an animated GIF and a sound file simultaneously, with varying success.

To add sound to your animation, you are going to have to combine your frames into a true movie/video format (MP4, AVI, MOV, WMV, etc), using a video editor.

Personally, I am rather fond of Corel VideoStudio, a consumer-level paid product, has an import timelapse feature under the File menu (Insert Media) that works well with image sequences. Tutorials here.

Many other paid editors should also work well, although not all handle image sequences well - some import sequences as a slideshow by default, with about 5 or so seconds per image, not what you want for an animation.

Free alternatives:

Simple: VideoPad - has an option under File menu, Add Images As Video option for importing image sequences (and select the folder containing the FireAlpaca image sequence). Look for the Get It Free paragraph and link for a free version for non-commercial home use (might not show up on all web browsers or on a second visit). The free edition and the cheap home edition are limited to only two audio tracks, or you can pay a bit more for a version with unlimited tracks. Tutorials here.

Intermediate: OpenShot is an open source video editor with some good features, not too complicated. If you import media and select the first frame image in a sequence (according to the file names), it will ask you whether you want to import the entire sequence as a video clip, and will then handle the sequence like a video clip, which is rather nice. User guide here.

Professional: HitFilm 4 Express - more complicated, but very powerful with many more features. Has a nice Image Sequence option under the Import menu in the Media Bin (and the fact you have to - start a new project, go into Edit mode, go to the Media bin, click the arrow to show alternative import choices, and select Image Sequence - gives you some idea of the complexity of a full professional video editor). Tutorials here.

If you have never used a video editor before, VideoPad is probably a good place to start - has a free version, fairly simple, does the basics. After you have used it for a while, you can decide if you need or want to move up to a more fully-featured program.

There are other alternatives out there and I have not tried them all but, from the reviews I have read, these are a good start.

Sorry, probably the best way is the classic way of analysing animation:  download an example, step through it frame-by-frame (a video editor comes in handy for this type of analysis, even if you are producing an animated GIF instead of a movie file), then duplicate something similar frame-by-frame.

Possibly start using transparent layers and the Background setting with a black colour, with onion skin mode turned off, so you can see all the layers easily.

Then add a black layer beneath each frame and merge each frame with it.

Here is a quick rough example - with some more care this would look smoother (I used some transform to align later layers along a curve).