Linker Systems announces the new 4.3 version of its Animation Stand family of products, premiering at Siggraph, July 22nd.
NEW ORLEANS, LA, July 25 Linker Systems constantly incorporates new technologies into Animation Stand as they become available, continuing an ongoing effort to make the process of digital cel animation both easier for the user, and less costly to produce.
4.3 directly supports
additional formats
“4.3 directly supports additional formats, such as Macromedia’s Flash/Shockwave format and transparent GIF-compatible files. It also supports third-party scan interfaces, such as Twain and the new Fujitsu scanners.” said Sheldon Linker, VP of R&D. “Animation Stand is the first raster-oriented animation system to support Flash. Animation Stand allows the animator to handle art as art, without worrying about the constraints normally associated with Flash or other vector formats.”
Flash Format:
Animation Stand can now output its animations to Flash/Shockwave format, in addition to a host of other formats and output hardware. Animation Stand9s Flash files can be generated at a variety of resolutions and quality levels, ranging from extremely accurate full screen, to extremely small file sizes. Using Animation Stand, animators can work using the traditional paradigm, without limiting their style to match the program. Thus, the same exposure sheet and art can be used to generate film, HDTV, TV, and Flash.
Twain Support:
The addition of Twain support allows Animation Stand to scan directly from almost any scanner. HP and Fujitsu SCSI scanners are directly supported, and will not need a Twain driver.
New Fujitsu Scanners:
The new M-3091, M-4097, and M-4097-C SCSI scanners allow high-speed bulk-loaded scanning of large images. “We have found Fujitsu scanners to be excellent for the purpose of animating,” said Toni Poper, President of Linker Systems. “We are now able to offer these scanners at a substantial discount to our users.”
Animation Stand Product Family:
There are three versions of Animation Stand to meet the needs of the animation community:
* The Cinema Edition, with unlimited resolution, is priced at $5,995, and is for film-based animation and/or special effects studios.
* The Professional Edition, with resolutions up to HDTV (1,920 x 1,080 pixels), is priced at $595, and is for professional studios producing for HDTV and TV, as well as for professionals and amateurs producing full-screen multimedia or web animations and effects.
* The Personal Edition, with a resolution of 256 x 192 pixels is free, and is for those learning animation and special effects, or producing small web animations. This edition is available on the web at www.animationstand.com, and also serves as the demo for the other versions of Animation Stand.
The Personal Edition is also useful for training and evaluations. Animation schools using Professional or Cinema editions of Animation Stand, often assign students homework, to be done using the Personal Edition, on their home computers.
Background:
Linker Systems is the leader in cross-platform tools for professional, cost effective computer-assisted 2D character animation, compositing and film quality special effects. Animation Stand is the only animation system with versions for Mac, SGI, and Windows. Since 1989, Animation Stand has been used by animation studios, post-production houses, and video facilities worldwide.
Keeping with its philosophy of providing the highest level quality at a truly affordable price, Linker Systems continually adds leading-edge features, yet sells Animation Stand at a very affordable price.
Key features of Animation Stand include special optical effects, multiplane camera control, automatic painting, 3D shading, audio editing, production cost reporting, and complete transport control to film, tape and videodisk.
