HappyCat Software EZ-Animator

Getting Started

El-Animator is a simple yet intuitive tool designed for animation enthusiasts of all ages. Whether you’re crafting mesmerizing animations from scratch or fine-tuning existing sprite sheets, images, or animations, El-Animator simplifies the process without compromising on creative control. El-Animator is meant to work in tandem with your favorite image editor as it is aimed at animation layering and compilation.

EZ-Animator workflow:

1. Arrange layers as desired;
2. Import images and sprite sheets into the layers
3. Perform light touchups or modifications as needed
4. Export to desired format

System Requirements

• Operating System: Windows 10
• RAM: 8gb

First Launch
Upon launching El-Animator for the first time, a new project will automatically be created with default settings.

Interface Overview

The EZ-Animator interface consists of several key areas: 

• A – Tool Panel
• B – Canvas
• C – Layer Panel
• D – Timeline
• E – Playback controls
• F – Export

 

Tools & Options

Drawing Tools: 

• Pen/Pencil (Ctrl+Alt+B): Used for freehand drawing.
  • Adjust Color
  • Adjust pen size
• Eraser (Ctrl+Alt+E): Erases parts of the image.
  • Adjust size
• Fill (Ctrl+Alt+F): Fills contiguous areas with the selected color.
  • Adjust Color
• Select (Ctrl+Alt+S): Selects and manipulates drawn areas.
  • Can be dragged
  • Can be moved using (Ctrl+Arrow key)
• Text (Ctrl+Alt+ T): Insert text.
  • Click a drag to place
  • Double click a text on a layer to modify it
• Grid toggle: Turn grid on or off, customize the grid in the canvas settings menu.
  • Customize grid cell size
  • Customize grid color

View Options:

• Zoom In (Ctrl++)
• Zoom Out (Ctrl+-)
• Reset Zoom (Ctrl+0)

Working with Frames

Frame Operations:

• Add Blank Frame: Create a blank frame for the animation after the selected frame.
• Clone Frame: Duplicate the selected frame.
• Delete Frame: Remove the selected frame.
• Navigate Frames: Move between existing frames quickly.

Layer Management

Layer Features: 

• Add/Remove Layers: Add or delete layers as needed.
  • New layers are added to the top of the layer list
• Extend Layer: Extends the selected layer content into the next frame if one exists or creates a new frame and clones the layer.
  • Adjust Opacity: Modify the opacity of individual layers. Layer opacity is exported in the file output.
• Show/Hide Layers: Control the visibility of layers. Layer visibility is not exported in the file output.
• Rename Layers: Keep layers organized with custom names by double clicking the layer in the list.
• Reorder Layers: Change the stacking order of layers by dragging.
  • The higher a layer in the list, the more in the foregorund it is.
  • The lower a layer in the list, the more in the background it is.

Animation Playback

Animation Controls: 

• Play/Pause Animation: Start or stop the animation playback.
• Playback Speed: Control the animations’ frames per second (FPS).
• Playback Mode: Preview the animation.
• Frame Navigation: Quickly jump to the start or end of your animation.

File Operations

Project Management: 

• New Project (Ctrl+N): Create a new project.
• Open Project (Ctrl+O): Open an existing project.
• Save Project (Ctrl+S): Save current project.
• Save As (Ctrl+Shift+S): Save a copy of the project with a new name.
• Export Animation (Ctrl+I): Export your animation to various formats.

Supported File Formats: 

• Project Files: .eza (El-Animator Project)
• Import Formats: PNG, GIF, JPG, JPEG, WEBP, BMP
• Export Formats: PNG, GIF, WEBP, MP4

Settings & Preferences

Canvas Settings:

• Canvas dimensions: Width and height of the editable canvas.
• Grid properties and color: Adjust grid visibility, size, and color.
• Background color: Adjust the canvas color as desired; this is cosmetic and does not impact exported content.
• Enable or disable smoothing: Turn smoothing on or off.

 Tips

Use layers to your advantage by placing individual animation components into separate layers. This allows for better fine-tune control for customizing your project.

Import to Layer

• Importing a static image to a layer will offer to shrink or crop the imported image.
• Importing a sprite sheet to a layer will allow you to configure dimensions of the imported content such as the specific starting rows and columns and ending rows and columns as well as any padding.

Moving a Selection
Using the selector tool, layer content can be moved by:

• dragging it by using the mouse
• or by pressing (CTRL +Arrow key). For example pressing CTRL +(the UP arrow key) would shift the selection up 1 pixel.

This allows for precise pixel placement of selections. Color Palette Management
In the color window, custom colors can be saved for reuse by selecting a custom color box, choosing a color, and then clicking “Add to Custom Colors.”

By following this guide, you should be well-equipped to start creating amazing animations with EZ-Animator. Happy animating!

Documents / Resources

HappyCat Software EZ-Animator [pdf] User Guide EZ-Animator

References

• User Manual