tmkk@uiuc.edu (K. Khan) (06/28/91)
OK, thanks to all the kind advice from the net.helpful, I was directed to the RayScene program which can generate multiple frames for 3D animations automatically. It's up and running and works fine. Next problem: My goal was to combine the separate frames, each saved on disk as a separate .GIF file, into one complete animation in Autodesk Animator (in the .FLI format). I'm currently doing the final assembly process manually - go into Animator, create X number of frames, and click through each frame importing the appropriate .GIF file. There are a few problems with this approach: #1 it's very slow and manual. There oughtta be a way to generate a .FLI file automatically from a set of .GIF files on disk. Problem #2 is that the resulting .FLI files are *enormous* - where each frame takes up about 20K when stored in .GIF format, they take up over twice as much when stored as part of a .FLI file. Problem #3 is even more serious: Animator appears to run out of memory after loading about 17 frames, and it locks up completely. This means I can't make any one animation longer than 17 frames. Next question: Is there a program which can take a set of .GIF files, named FRAME01.GIF, FRAME02.GIF, etc., and combine them into a .FLI format animation file without my having to go through Autodesk Animator? Will the resulting .FLI play back OK, or will I still run into these memory problems? Finally, anyone else out there using Autodesk Animator to do 3D raytraced animations? Is Animator Pro any better? Thanks!