1 February 2009
Due to some unforseen circumstances, mostly attributable to the flu virus and one of the coldest winters on record, EA 2009 will be somewhat delayed. If it is still not in a completed state within the next few weeks we shall release it as a beta version so that at least people will be able to use it. Appologies to everyone who was waiting for this new installment.
1 January 2009
Happy New Year to everyone using the Gregorian calender. Express Animator 2009 update is nearly ready to be released. Please be patient as we dot the i's and cross the t's. Hopefully the first version will be available in the first half of January and then further updates after that.
17 December 2008
It's that time of year again. Yes its the time when everyone catches colds. But never mind, at least there's Christmas to look forward to. As we countdown to Christmas and the New Year, we're also counting down to the launch of Express Animator 2009 (free update for all EA users). By creating simplified debugging and visualisation tools we're making creating Flash games as easy as possible. Also with the new scripting console you can try out commands interactively and examine the internals of your game on-the-fly.
But we know not everyone is interested in making Flash games so we're not forgetting the traditional animators and artists by improving the rendering speed, and tightening up keyframe manipulation.
All in all this is a giant leap forward for Express Animator. Exciting times indeed...
30 November 2008
I have been thinking about what to call the next version of Express Animator. Racking my brains I've finally come up with... Express Animator 2009. I've been putting it through it's paces this week getting it ready for its launch in a few weeks. The new scripting support is coming together well. It will be based on Actionscript 1.0 which itself is based on Javascript. The point of all this is that it will enable Express Animator users to create their own games. Already I have used it to make an asteroids space game which will be included in the samples. Here is a screenshot:
1 November 2008
Nicholas McGregor has written as nice review of Express Animator. It nicely explains some of the key features.
12 October 2008
We can confirm that the next update of Express Animator, which we expect to be finished in late December 2008, will feature full scripting support so you will be able to make full Flash games. It will also feature improved rendering for faster editing. Improved frame editing. Playback of sound in the editor including MP3 sounds. We are very excited about the new update (free to download to all Express Animator users) and we are working on getting it just right. In essence the next version of Express Animator will be faster, and more powerful than ever before! But it will still be just as easy to use. But you don't have to wait until then. Download the free trial and start learning Express Animator today!
26 July 2008
It's been a while since the news was last updated as you can see below. What can Express Animator users expect in the future? Well, we've had a few requests for video tutorials which we think is an excellent idea and we'll add some to our YouTube page. We've also been working on a media player which people can use to play their animations off-line which will be free to download. The media player will have hardware acceleration support. We are also looking at introducing hardware acceleration to Express Animator which will be available as a future update. When can you expect these new features? The aim is to incoporate the new features by Dec 2008. Yes, this is a long time to wait, but until then you still have all the features of Express Animator 1.0 to make your Flash or video animations.
10 May 2008
We have been reviewed by GameDev the forum for game developers. Express Animator is a useful tool for creating graphics or animations that you might use in games. Check out the GameDev review here.
25 April 2008
Video of the week. This previously unseen footage of the Beatles in concert captured by dinman55.
17 April 2008
The newest update of Express Animator lets you import small video files into your animations so you can mix live action with cartoon style animation. You can now also export your animations in the animated GIF format to put on your website. For example:
7 April 2008
We have implemented the import of animated GIFs so you can use them as characters in your animations. A simple example is shown below. At a later date we shall also be implementing the saving of your animations as animated GIFs and also the import of Windows Videos files. So keep tuned for these updates.
5 April 2008
If you're looking for a place to upload your Flash animations (SWF files) for free then you could do worse than having a look at swfUP.com. They even let you link to them directly which isn't bad at all! If you've made an animation in Express Animator why not upload it here and then tell us about it? Here's one we made earlier: A caveman's day.
2 April 2008
We have made it easier to interface Javascript with Express Animator. This exciting development means that you can now use Express Animator for so much more for example making games. This tutorial shows you how to do it. The advantage of this is that since Flash is on 99% of PCs, then you can use Javascript (which many people are familiar with making webpages) to make games with vector graphics that anyone can play.
26 March 2008
Movie of the week! Have a look at this brilliant little science fiction animation by Alan Sturgess as a tribute to Arthur C Clarke, the brilliant science fiction author and a writer on the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. It just shows you what can be done with Express Animator and a little imagination. Alan used other art and animation packages and combined them with Express Animator to great effect. An advantage of doing it all in Express Animator is that you can import it as a Flash animation or as a windows video file.
The star map was imported into Express Animator and animated with tweening. Other movements were done by hand. The spacecraft is a bitmap with the windows set as transparent. Recommended reading The Nine Billion Names of God23 March 2008
Hello, to all the new users. We are relatively still new so we are evolving so your feedback is always welcome. Lately we have been adding the basic functionality to import motion capture files in the BVH format.
23 Jan 2008
We have our very own Express Animator YouTube Channel. If you have uploaded your animations to youtube made with Express Animator we can add you to the friends list.
20 Jan 2008
We are working on some updates from Express Animator including SVG import. This means that you will soon be able to import loads more vector images such as from the Open Clip Art Library. This update will be available for download for everyone (at no extra charge) in a few weeks time.
11 Jan 2008
Happy New Year! We've added an RSS feed to about.com who have some great tips and tutorials on animation written by Adrien-Luc. Don't forget, if you have any questions about how to use Express Animator make use of the forum. We check it regularly and will try to answer as many questions as we can. Some people previously had trouble logging into the forum so we've made it public for the time being.
31 Dec 2007
Have a look at this simple little snowman e-card made with Express Animator. We updated Express Animator to make it easier to give names to textboxes so that the text can be set from a website. We have put a tutorial about how to make your own.
29 Dec 2007
Check out this fun tutorial on animation at cartoonster.com. Not only is it a fun tutorial on animation but it is an excellently made animation itself. It gives some great tips on giving life to your cartoons and making them look a bit less computer-graphicky (if that's a word!).
23 Dec 2007
The download is now available from this website. Please give it a go and let us know how you get on. If you decide to buy it now you will be able to download any further updates to version 1 for free if and when they become available. The price is likely to go up in the future so take advantage of this special offer now for only $20.00 (US) or £10.00 (UK)!
20 Dec 2007
Christmas is coming and the geese are getting fat. With the release of Express Animator this Christmas, we thought we'd give you some ideas of fun stuff to do with it. Why not make an animated Christmas card and send it to your friends? "How do I do that?" you may ask. Well, first of all make your animation with Express Animator. Then export your animation as a Flash file (SWF). Now do a search on Google for a Flash Hosting website, an example is zShare. Then upload your SWF file to this website. The website will give you a link which you can tell all your friends about via facebook, myspace, or if you're really old fashioned, by e-mail! For example here's one we made earlier: Merry Christmas!
