| ThingMaker Documentation Chapter 3) Introductory Tutorials

| Tutorial 2: Working with Animations In this tutorial, you'll learn how to animate Things. If you haven't already worked through Tutorial One, we strongly recommend that you do so, as Tutorial Two builds on what you've already learned in Tutorial One about individual Things and Thing States.

Here are the steps you'll perform in this tutorial:

- Import an existing Thing into the Gallery
- Create an animation from individual image files
- Add the animation to a Thing
- Edit the animation

  Getting Started

  1. Run the ThingMaker application.
  If it's not already running, launch ThingMaker.

  If you have a Scene open already, we suggest that you open a New Scene or delete the Things on the Scene by dragging them to the Trash can.

  Once you drag something to the Trash can it is deleted permanently - you cannot remove it from the Trash can - so you may want to save your work before moving ahead.

  2. Click on another Gallery Tab to switch to another section.
  There are four Tabs at the top right hand side of the Gallery Palette. These Tabs divide the Gallery into four sections. Clicking on any Tab displays the contents stored in that the Tab. Setting up sections for your Things will help you to organize your media and may reduce confusion as your Galleries grow. (See also the "Gallery" section in the Reference.) It may help you think about Things in new ways.

  3. Double-click the Gallery Tab to name or rename it.
  Gallery Tabs can be named or renamed simply by double-clicking on them and then typing a new name into the field. Once a name is entered, click on another Tab to save the name.

  If you want to, name the bottom Gallery Tab "Tutorial."

  Importing a Scene into the Gallery
  As you saw in the previous tutorial, you can import a wide range of media into the Gallery. When you import media, the program turns it into a Thing within the Gallery.

  You can also import a ThingMaker Scene file (*.tms) or a ThingMaker Gallery into the Gallery. For example, the animated Scene you created in Tutorial 1 could have been stored in the Gallery as a Scene file, if you didn't want to publish it right away or if you weren't sure it was complete. The Gallery you will develop for this Tutorial can also be saved as a Gallery file for later use.

  For this exercise, we're going to start with a Scene file that contains a single Thing which you import into the Gallery.

  1. Choose Add to Gallery from the File Menu or click the Add to Gallery Button at the bottom of the Gallery.

  2. Choose ThingMaker Scenes (*.tms) in the File Type Dialog.
  The program files all Scene files away with the .tms extension.

  3. Open the Tutorial directory.
  his folder contains the source files for the tutorials. You should be able to find it in the path: drive:/Program Files/Parable/ThingMaker/.

  4. Choose the file dogdefault.tms in the Tutorial directory and press the Open Button to import.
  Make sure the Gallery Tab you want to import to is highlighted. Click "Open" to import.

  5. Your Gallery should now contain a Thing labeled "dog".
  A single Thing labeled "dog" is now contained in your Gallery.

  Add the Thing to the Scene and try it
  Now add the Thing to the Scene and try it out.

  1. Drag the Thing from the Gallery to the Scene.

  2. Press the Play Button to preview the Thing.
  You should see the dog wagging his tail.

  3. Click the Edit Button to stop the Scene.

  4. Click on the Thing in the Scene and open the Settings Palette for the Thing.
  Because you are working with an animation, you will find that this Thing's Settings Sheet is very different from the Image Settings Sheets in Tutorial One. With an animation, there are Animation Settings parameters that need to be adjusted, including speed and playing time.

  Take a look at the Settings Palette. Notice that there are three Tabs at the bottom of the Settings sheet. A Basic Tab, a Detail Tab, and an Editor Tab. The first two Tabs let you set parameters for the animation and refine them. The function of the Editor Tab is explained later in this Tutorial in "Editing the Animation."

  You may want to familiarize yourself with some of the Settings before proceeding. Go ahead and make your changes and then play the Scene to see what happens. When you are finished playing, reset the parameters. If you cannot remember the Settings you began with, drag the Thing you've been playing with to the Trash to remove it from the Scene and drag another copy of the Thing labeled "dog" from the Gallery to the Scene.

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