PixelNEO Help

Creating your own Animated GIFs and VisualNEO for Windows Cartoons is easy with PixelNEO. Both formats consist of multiple images displayed sequentially to produce the illusion of animation - kind of like the classic cartoon flip book.

GIF files, both animated and static, have become popular thanks to the Internet. Many of the moving images you see on the Web (advertising banners, logos, buttons, etc.) are Animated GIFs. It's almost impossible to visit a Web site that doesn't have at least one Animated GIF rotating or blinking somewhere.

Designed specifically for use with VisualNEO for Windows application-builder software, Cartoons are similar to Animated GIFs but are somewhat less complicated to create.

Except for some minor differences, PixelNEO uses the same interface for editing both formats. The exception is that Animated GIFs allow you to control the properties of each individual image in the file. Cartoons, on the other hand, only have a single speed control that affects the entire file. Also, the GIF file format is limited to 256 colors.

Creating a New Animation

To create a new animation file, simply select New from PixelNEO's File menu. Under Type, select either Animated GIF or VisualNEO for Windows Cartoon depending on which type you want to create. Select the desired Size and number of Colors then click OK. That's it! You're ready to start animating.

As you know, animation files are composed of individual images or frames. In PixelNEO, individual frames are displayed in a list along the left side of the picture window. The active or selected frame will appear highlighted. The image associated with this frame is displayed in the window's Drawing Area. The selected frame will be the  target of all PixelNEO's drawing and editing commands until a different frame is selected. Only one frame at a time may be selected.

A newly created animation will contain only a single frame which, admittedly, isn't very exciting. To add additional frames, use the Insert command from the Animation menu. After you've inserted several blank frames into your animation, you will need to use PixelNEO's drawing tools to add something for your audience to look at. (Unless you're going for a polar bear in a snow storm type of thing.) Try drawing a simple shape or using the Stamp Tool to place the same image on each frame. Move the image a little in one direction each time before stamping again to create the illusion of movement. Choose Play from the Animation menu to make your drawing dance across the frame.

GIF Options

As mentioned above, Animated GIFs allow you to modify some of the characteristics of each individual frame. To access these settings, click the small Options button just below the Play button. The frame list will slide down and the Frame Settings panel will appear. To roll up the Frame Settings panel, click the button.

The Frame Settings affect the currently selected frame only. To adjust the settings of another frame, you must first select that frame. The controls in the Frame Setting panel are described below:

Duration

Specify the amount of time, in milliseconds, that the selected frame will appear during the animation sequence. (The duration will be rounded to the nearest 10 when saving.)

Undraw Method

Use the options in this list to specify how each frame is painted during the animation sequence. You may select from the following:

Left/Top

If the selected frame contains an image that is smaller than the Target Size specified in the animation's Global Settings, you can specify where the image will be drawn during the animation sequence.

Transparent Color

Enable this option if you want the image in the frame to be drawn transparently. Click the color box to select the color in the image that will be marked as transparent.