Honestech Claymation Studio User Manual

honestech

Claymation Studio

User Guide

2. honestech

End User License Agreement

IMPORTANT : READ THE FOLLOWING TERMS AND CONDITIONS CAREFULLY BEFORE CONTINUING

THIS INSTALLATION.
IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, PROMPTLY REMOVE THE
SOFTWARE FROM YOUR COMPUTER AND RETURN THE SOFTWARE, INCLUDING THE
DOCUMENTATION, TO YOUR SUPPLIER AND YOUR MONEY WILL BE REFUNDED. IF YOU
DOWNLOADED THIS SOFTWARE, PLEASE REMOVE THE SOFTWARE FROM YOUR COMPUTER AND
CONTACT YOUR SUPPLIER TO REQUEST A REFUND.

In this license agreement (the “License Agreement”), you (either individual or an entity), the purchaser of
the license rights granted by this License Agreement, are referred to as “licensee” or “You”. Honest
Technology is referred to as the “Licensor”. The current version of the accompanying software
(“Software”) and documentation (“Documentation”) are collectively referred to as the “Licensed Product”.
Licensor may furnish hardware with the Licensed Product (“Hardware”)

1. License

In accordance with the terms and conditions of this License Agreement, the Software is the property of
the Licensor and is protected by Copyright Law. While the Licensor continues to own the Software,
the Licensor grants the Licensee, after Licensee’s acceptance of this License Agreement, the Limited,
non-exclusive license to use on copy of the current version of Licensed Product as described below.

The Software is “used” on a computer when it is loaded into the temporary memory (i.e., RAM) or

installed into the permanent memory (e.g., hard disk, CD-ROM, or other storage device) of that
computer, except that a copy installed on a network server for the sole purpose of distribution to

another computer is not considered “in use”. Except as may be modified by a license addendum which
accompanies this License Agreement, the Licensee’s rights and obligations with respect to the use of

this Software are as follows:

You May,

1. Use the Software for commercial or business purposes in the manner described in the
Documentation.

2. Use the Software to share Internet connection, transfer data, files and images among the
computer in the manner described in the Documentation.

You May Not,

I. Copy the documentation that accompanies Software.
II. Sublicense or lease any portion of the Software.
III. Make illegal duplication of the software.

2. Copyright and Trade Secrets. All rights in and to the Licensed Product including, but not limited to,
copyrights and trade secrets rights, belong to Licensor, and Licensor holds title to each copy of the
Software. The licensed Product is protected by United States Copyright Laws and international treaty
Provisions.

3. Term. This License Agreement is effective until terminated. Licensee may terminate this License
Agreement if Licensee breaches any of the terms and conditions herein. Upon termination of this
License Agreement for any reason, Licensee shall return to Licensor or otherwise destroy the Licensed
Product and all copies of the Licensed Product. Upon request of Licensor, Licensee agrees to certify in
writing that all copies of the Software have been destroyed or returned to Licensor. All provisions of
this Agreement relating to disclaimers of warranties, limitation of liability, remedies, or damages, and
Licensor’s proprietary rights shall survive termination.

4. Executable Code. The Software is delivered in executable code only. Licensee shall not reverse
engineer, compile or otherwise disassemble the Software.

3. Claymation Studio

5. Limited Warranty

a. Licensor does not warrant that the functions contained in the Licensed Product and Hardware

will meet Licensee’s requirements or that the operation of the Software and Hardware will be

uninterrupted or error-free. Licensor does warrant that the media on which the Software is
furnished and the hardware will be free from defects in materials and workmanship under normal

use for a period of thirty (30) days from the date of delivery (“Warranty Period”). This Limited

Warranty is void of failure of the media on which the Software is furnished has resulted from
accident, abuse, or misapplications.

b. EXCEPT AS PROVIDED ABOVE, THE LICENSED PRODUCT IS PROVIDED “AS IS”

WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED INCLUDING, BUT
NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND
PERFORMANCE OF THE LICNESED PRODUCT AND HARDWARE IS WITH LICENSE.

6. Limitation of Liability

a. Licensor’s sole obligation or liability and licensee’s exclusive remedy under this agreement shall

be the replacement of the defective media on which the software is furnished and/or the
hardware according to the limited warranty above.

b. In no event will licensor be liable for any consequential, incidental or indirect damages including,

without limitation, any loss of data or information, loss of profits, loss savings, business
interruption or other pecuniary loss, arising out of use of or liability to use the software or
documentation or any hardware, even if licensor has been advised of the possibility of such
damages, or for any claim by any third party.

7. General

a. Any Software and Hardware provided to Licensee by Licensor shall not be exported or re-

exported in violation of any export provisions of the United States or any other applicable
jurisdiction. Any attempt to sublicense, assign or transfer any of the rights, duties or obligations
hereunder is void. This Agreement shall be governed by and interpreted under the laws of the
State of New Jersey, United States of America, without regard to its conflicts of law provisions.
Licensor and Licensee agree that the U.N. Convention on Contracts for the International Sales of
Goods shall not apply to this License Agreement.

b. This License Agreement may only be modified or amended by a written license addendum that

accompanies this License Agreement or by written document that has been signed by both you
and Licensor. Site licenses and other types of enterprise licenses are available upon request.
Pleas contact Licensor or your supplier for further information.

c. Any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this Agreement, or the breach of this

Agreement, shall be settled by arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association in
accordance with its Commercial Arbitration Rules and Judgment upon the award rendered by the
arbitrator may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. The arbitration shall be held in
New Jersey, United States of America.

If you have any other questions concerning this License Agreement, or if you desire to contact Licensor for
any reason, please contact Honest Technology.

Copyright 2008
Honest Technology Inc.
All Rights reserved.

4. honestech

Table of Contents

End User License Agreement .................................................................................................. 2

Table of Contents ..................................................................................................................... 4

1. Main features of honestech Claymation Studio 1.0 ...................................................... 6

1.1. honestech Claymation Studio 1.0 functions ..................................................... 6

1.2. Minimum System requirements ....................................................................... 8

2. Installation and Un-installation of

2.1. Installing honestech Claymation Studio ........................................................... 9

2.2. Uninstalling honestech Claymation Studio1.0 ................................................ 14

3. Project Files .............................................................................................................. 16

3.1. Create new project ........................................................................................ 16

3.2. Save project .................................................................................................. 16

3.3. Open project ................................................................................................. 16

4. Capture ..................................................................................................................... 17

5. Manage frames in the Storyboard ............................................................................. 20

5.1. Add image frame(s) ....................................................................................... 20

5.2. Cut frame(s) .................................................................................................. 21

5.3. Copy frame(s) ............................................................................................... 22

5.4. Paste frame(s) .............................................................................................. 22

5.5. Delete Frame(s) ............................................................................................ 23

honestech

Claymation Studio 1.0

..................................... 9

5.6. Insert blank frame(s) ..................................................................................... 24

5. Claymation Studio

5.7. Disable frame(s) ............................................................................................ 25

5.8. Enable frame(s)............................................................................................. 26

5.9. Delete disabled frame(s) ............................................................................... 27

5.10. Record audio ............................................................................................... 28

5.11. Add audio file ............................................................................................... 29

5.12. Delete audio ................................ ................................................................ 30

5.13. Add introduction title .................................................................................... 31

5.14. Add ending title............................................................................................ 32

5.15. Delete Title .................................................................................................. 34

5.16. Move frames ............................................................................................... 35

6. Preview ..................................................................................................................... 36

7. Audio Recorder ......................................................................................................... 38

8. Rotoscope ................................................................................................................ 40

9. Chroma Key .............................................................................................................. 41

10. Create Output ......................................................................................................... 42

10.1. Create output in Windows Media (WMV) format .......................................... 43

10.2. Create output in AVI format ......................................................................... 45

10.3. Create output in MPEG format .................................................................... 46

6. honestech

1. Main features of honestech Claymation Studio 1.0

1.1. honestech Claymation Studio 1.0 functions

 Preview

 Preview the frames in the Storyboard.
 Set the frame rate to change playback speed.
 Allows you to play, pause, jump to first or last frame, or move to the

previous/next frame.

 Storyboard

 Allows you to add image files (bmp, jpg, gif)
 View frames in three different sizes (small, medium, or large)
 Insert blank frame(s) with the color of your choice.
 Delete frame(s) – remove directly from the storyboard.
 Disable frame(s) – selected frames will NOT be played during preview or

output.

 Enable frame(s) – selected frames will be played during preview and

 Move frame(s) to different position.
 Delete disabled frame(s) – disabled frame(s) within a group of highlighted

 Copy, cut, and paste frames
 Add comments to frame(s).
 Allows you to save your projects.

 Capture

 Chroma key – using the color screen of your choice, you can easily

 Rotoscope – Use a reference image to help create a new image.

output.

frames will be deleted.

change the background.

 Onionskin – Preview frames in transparent overlay to help you capture or

create the next frame/image(s).

 Compatible with DV camcorder and/or web cams.

 Audio

 Allows you to add multiple mp3 and/or wav files.
 Audio recording and dubbing.
 Works with microphone input.

 Output formats

 WMV (Ver 7,8,9)
 AVI
 MPEG (MPEG1, MPEG2, DVD, VCD, SVCD)

7. Claymation Studio

8. honestech

1.2. Minimum System requirements

• Operating system : XP, Vista

• Processor : Pentium IV 1.8GHz or equivalent

• Memory : 128MB of RAM (256MB or higher recommended)

• Microsoft DirectX 9.0 or higher

• Windows Media Format SDK 9 or higher

• Windows Media Player 7 or higher

• Image input : JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF

• Audio input : MP3, WAV

• Video Output : AVI, WMV, MPEG

• Video Capture: Web Camera, DV-Camcorder

• Audio Capture: Microphone, etc…

9. Claymation Studio

2. Installation and Un-installation of

honestech

Claymation

Studio 1.0

Note: To optimize performance of the product and your computer, defragmenting the

Hard Disk Drive (HDD) prior to installing honestech Claymation Studio
software is recommended. Also, if there is any security software on your PC that

may block or interfere with the installation or removal of the software, please disable

2.1. Installing honestech Claymation Studio

2.1.1. Insert the installation CD into your CD/DVD drive on your computer. The installation
should start automatically.

2.1.2. Click [Install] button to start installing honestech Claymation Studio 1.0.

2.1.3. Installation process will begin with the following screen.

it or turn it off prior to installing or uninstalling the software.

Note: If the installation does not start automatically, choose Run from the Windows Start

menu. Then enter “d:\autorun” (assuming the installation CD is in D drive) in the run
dialog box. You can also double-click on “Setup.exe” file on the installation CD to
being the installation.

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2.1.4. The following welcome screen will appear. Click [Next >] to continue.

2.1.5. End-User License Agreement will appear as shown below, read the agreement and if
you accept the agreement, select [Yes] to continue.

11. Claymation Studio

2.1.6. Choose Destination Location screen will appear as shown below. Accept the default or
change the installation location by clicking change. When your are ready to install Claymation
Studio, click [Next >] to continue.

2.1.7. Select Program Folder screen will be displayed next. Accept the default folder or
choose your program folder then click [Next >] to continue.

12. honestech

2.1.8. The Setup status screen will appear as shown below. This step occurs automatically.

2.1.9. Windows Media Runtime Setup window will appear, click [Yes] to continue.

2.1.10. Windows Media User License Agreement will appear, click [Yes] to continue.

13. Claymation Studio

2.1.11. Files will install automatically and the following completion window will appear. Click
[OK] to finish Windows Media Runtime Setup.

2.1.12. Claymation Studio Setup is now complete; click [Finish] to complete the installation.

14. honestech

2.2. Uninstalling honestech Claymation Studio1.0

2.2.1. Uninstall honestech Claymation Studio 1.0 using its own uninstallation file or the Add or
Remove Programs in the Control Panel.

2.2.1.1. To uninstall using the uninstallation file: from the task bar, go to Start  All Programs
 honestech Claymation Studio 1.0 and click on Uninstall honestech Claymation Studio

1.0

2.2.1.2. To uninstall with Add or Remove Programs: from the task bar, go to Start  Control
Panel  Add or Remove Programs. Select honestech Claymation Studio 1.0, and click the
Change/Remove button.

2.2.1.3. Click [Yes] to confirm and uninstall the program.

2.2.2. The uninstallation is in progress. Please wait for completion.

2.2.3. Click [Finish] to complete and exit the uninstallation process.

15. Claymation Studio

16. honestech

3. Project Files

In this section, you will learn how to create, save and open existing projects.

3.1. Create new project

To create a new project, go to File > New… .
If any of the project files within the work area are not saved, you will be prompted to save them.

3.2. Save project

To save the current project, go to File > Save… (If you want to save the current project under
a different name, select File > Save As… ) Then select a folder, name your project, and click

Save.

3.3. Open project

To open an existing project, go to File > Open…
If any of the project files are open in the Storyboard, you will be prompted to save the project.
Then select a project file, and click Open..

17. Claymation Studio

4. Capture

The Capture window allows you to capture images or frames from a PC cam or DV camcorder.

1. When using the Onionskin feature, this window enables you to view the previous frame
and next frame in overlay mode.

2. When using the Rotoscope feature, this window will display both the reference image and
next frame in overlay mode. You can use the reference image to help you create a new
image.

3. The Chroma key feature allows you to replace a colored background with another image.

(After selecting the Chroma key, click to select the color that you want to use as your
chroma key color.)

4. : select a capture device

5. : controls the overlay ratio/opacity (when using Onionskin or

Rotoscope).

6. : controls how much of the image you want to remove.

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7. : captures the frame. When using the Chroma Key feature, the overlay image will

be captured.

8. Grid option

A. Displays grid on the window to help users adjust the figure more accurately

9. Auto capture function

A. Automatically captures images at a pre-defined time interval without manually

clicking on the capture button

10. Capture brightness

A. Adjust the brightness of the image before capturing

11. Image flip

A. Allows you to flip images horizontally (mirror-image)

12. Key drawing

Draw an outline sketch of your character in the Capture window. You can then use
this sketch as a modeling guide for your figure/object. Adjust the transparency
slider as necessary.

A. Freehand drawing

Draw freely.

B. Line drawing

Draw straight lines.

C. Remove key drawing

Remove the key drawing that you drew.

19. Claymation Studio

Context Menu (Capture window)

1. Foreground Image move  Mouse Moves : Using your mouse, drag and move the
background image.

2. Foreground Image move  Move to Origin (0,0) : Moves the background image back
to its original position.

3. Capture folder : Captured images/frames will be stored in this folder.

4. Camera Setup

Camera settings

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5. Manage frames in the Storyboard

5.1. Add image frame(s)

1. Right-click on the Storyboard window.

2. Select Import image file(s) from the context menu.

3. Browse and locate the image file(s) you want to add to the Storyboard. The selected
image(s) will appear in the Storyboard.