I reviewed Anark Studio (AS) version 1.0 in spring 2002 and I was fairly critical of some features. I was pleased to be offered the latest version and pleasantly surprised at the improvements that have been made during the last six months. However, as this review shows, not everything is perfect and there's still some work to be done before AS can be recommended with a clear conscience.
AS is useful for animating content prepared in other programs. If you want to integrate video, 3D objects and sound, it is a good tool to choose. It uses Microsoft's JScript to allow interactivity, but you do not need to ever learn it to get great results. The review materials stress the visually stunning output that is possible. This is accurate, but it misses the point. AS has more to it than just impressive graphic possibilities. The results can be delivered in CD format (perhaps as an interactive teaching session), in a kiosk or as a presentation. You can even use it on a web page, although I have some reservations about this. As with any tool, it's what you choose to do with it that counts. AS allows you to be creative without forcing you to learn JScript.
Specification Needed
AS runs in Windows (Win 98 SE, Win ME, 2000 or XP) and needs a P2 300 MHz and 128 MB of RAM. The manual says it needs a mimimum or 20 MB of hard drive space. I did a full install and it took up nearly 70 MB, but a lot of that space is used for sample objects, video and tutorials. It was reviewed on a P3 700 MHz with 512MB of RAM in Win 2000. The manual repeatedly stresses that if you have InterVideo WinDVD installed, AS's sound and music will not work. If you already have AS version 1.0, version 1.5 is a free upgrade. It costs $995.
What you Get
AS still comes in the attractive translucent box, there's still nothing much on the outside except the name of the product. Inside there is a CD and two manuals. One of my original criticisms was the lack of a beginner's guide. They have certainly been busy. The 165 page "Learning Anark Studio" guide is well written and really adds ease of use to the product. I particularly liked things like "Publish your presentation to a CD-ROM" on how to make an autorunning CD work. There are other tips to increase the "wow" factor. For example, they show you how to make vivid backgrounds in lesson 4. Again, anything that helps newcomers to easily create stunning effects encourages people to go further with the program. The User Manual has been revised too. The books have colour card covers and plenty of black and white illustrations. Both books are well laid out. The User Manual is also available as the Help files. I thought this was a nice touch. You can work through the tutorials either on screen (in colour) or with the book in your hand. You get the best of both worlds. I still have a problem with AS's licence conditions. It says that the software contacts Anark's servers and will inform you when updates are ready. I don't approve of software that phones home, no matter how good the intention behind it is but at least they are decent enough to tell you about it.
Working with Anark
Open the program and you are given an uncluttered view of your work area at the top with the various tools arranged around it. (I dragged and dropped the supplied Anark logo in to avoid having a large black space in the screenshot). The timeline is across the bottom. Here you can animate objects and lights. If you are already familiar with Flash and animation timelines, you will be able to use AS with little training. AS even has most of the same hotkeys as Flash. Remember that the essential difference is that AS manipulates files created in other programs, it is not for creating new content. It is great if you already have materials (sound, video and objects) that you want to reuse. If you have never used anything like this before, spend a morning working through the well-written tutorials. Each covers a different aspect of AS. Once you get started and start learning what it can do, you'll forget dinner. Want to make an animated background? Put a little fog in, animate the lights, make objects rotate behind the foreground? It's very easy! AS uses layers in the timeline. A layer can be locked so there's no chance of messing it up later. If you want to see how it looks, you can run it within AS by clicking the Play button or preview it (F12) in Internet Explorer.
Web Waiting
This is where I repeat some of the criticisms I made in my first review. A lot of designers use Macs. AS is Windows-only. I also doubt the wisdom of including animations on web sites, no matter how wonderful they look. I made a nice animated logo in the first tutorial and saved it. Perhaps 200 kb isn't a excessive download, but you'll have to have Anark Client installed on your PC to view it (3.28 MB on my hard drive). Be honest, would you go and download the (free) client just to see the animated logo on a site? That's if you have the option. If you are using a Mac or Linux, forget about seeing it. AS is a proprietary format and web designers will not use it if the pages they create involve sending the visitor somewhere else to download a file to view them. Even if you do have it installed, are you really going to be in a receptive mood as you wait for a large file to arrive, or are you going to hit the "Back" button? Unless you have a fast connection and plenty of patience (and Windows), AS's capabilities are unlikely to be seen on-line. Even Anark's own web site uses Flash.
3D Max Fun
AS still only imports .3ds models made in 3D Studio Max 2.5 or later. I said that I thought that this was a weakness in the original review. I don't own 3DS Max but I have Rhino which can export 3ds files. I tried a couple of models that I made some time ago. AS imported one reasonably well but crashed when I tried another. However, they do provide a 30 day demonstration copy of Right Hemisphere's Deep Exploration (DE) program on the CD. (The full version costs $249, a very useful program). This displays and converts a wide range of 3D file types. I loaded a 3.6 mb Rhino mesh, converted it to 3ds format and attempted to open it in AS. The program stopped responding and I eventually had to kill it. I tried it with a smaller (0.5 mb) file, originally made in Truespace.
This time the 3ds file imported, but it had come apart. There was no way I could easily manoeuvre the parts back into their original positions and sizes. I tried a third time, again with a different model (0.75 mb). Another failure, with parts seriously displaced. Just to prove that it was not DE, I loaded the converted 3ds files back into Rhino without any problems. I also tried some of the supplied sample files. Some of these are very low resolution, you wouldn't want to use them professionally (and how many times are you likely to need to animate a crude bomb or pistol with this program?). The spacesuit file looked nice, until I tried to scale it so I could see it better. Another crash. Anark should spend some time on improving their 3D Max file import routines, they don't work reliably.
JScript
A lot of the power in AS comes from the ability to attach behaviours to objects. Think of it as a user-friendly front end for JScript. I started to attach behaviours to one of the supplied objects....and it crashed.
I don't recall version 1.0 crashing at all, but 1.5 seems to die with alarming regularity. Do something wrong, like accidentally drop a behaviour onto a layer instead of an object and it falls over. It did show a Debug window at one point, but when I tried to move the behaviour to the place where I wanted it, it crashed. If you know what you want, you can get AS to do some very impressive things.
Unfortunately, animated effects are hard to show on a web review, and AS does not export animated .gifs (it won't import .gifs either). The manual includes a scripting reference and the program includes The Assistant. This gives a brief description of each Behaviour and includes a demonstration where appropriate. It allows you to see what the different Behaviours do. It's a good feature.
JScript is open ended, that means that you are not limited to the Behaviours that AS provides. If you want a special quality, you can write it yourself. You don't have to know JScript to use AS, but you will be able to get more from it if you how to write and compile behaviours within the program.
Conclusions
It was nice to see how AS has developed. I started the review full of enthusiasm, as it has benefited from improvements that have made the program easier to use and above all, fun. You just want to show someone what it can do. JScript allows some impressive effects and the animation controls are easy to use. The hard copy of the tutorials and user guide are excellent additions to the overall package. However, the limited 3D import options and the problems with crashes soon wore down my initial enthusiasm. After it fell down dead for the fifth time trying to import 3ds files, I concluded that the import function desperately needs some more work AS has only has one 3D file import function and it does not work well. Please, somebody, fix it! If you use AS's output on a web page, few will ever appreciate the trouble you have taken. It's best used on an intranet or running from a CD or hard drive. It is important to realise that AS is a specialised piece of software. It is no good to you on its own. You will need to have a 3D program (perhaps 3DS Max, although that already has sophisticated animation abilities. It might be better to find a cheaper 3D program and buy DE to convert the files.) and something to create video and sound files. If you already have these, AS can impress. Its other great limitation is that it is a Windows-only program. Our friends with Macs and Linux might be in the minority on-line, but does that mean that you don't want to reach them?
So, it's an enjoyable, easy to use program with good manuals, capable of making impressive animations out of whatever media you already have, but it's let down by poor 3ds file import and a tendency to crash.
Feature Summary
2D and 3D Compositing Environment
2D and 3D Elements: seamless blending of all scene elements
Blend Modes: includes multiple options such as screen, multiply, etc.
WYSIWYG Editing: real-time editing, real-time previewing of content
Drag and Drop Any Scene Elements: includes 3D, 2D, Video and Sound
Unlimited Number of 2D and 3D Layers: easily compose complex layouts
3D
Real-time 3D Engine: hardware accelerated rendering
Multiple Cameras: each layer has its own camera
Advanced Materials: includes opacity and reflection maps
Dynamic Lights: point, spot and directional options
Video Mapping on 3D or 2D Objects: use video as material and attach to any object
Animation
Familiar Interface: timeline-based UI for true motion graphics animation
Keyframe-based Animation System: insert keyframes manually or automatically as changes are made
Tweenable Properties for any Object or Layer: Position, Rotation, Scale, Pivot, Opacity, Color, etc.
Master Keyframes: Rapidly manipulate multiple properties at once
Continuous Timeline: Enables superior synchronization compared to frame-based systems
Workflow
Storage Palette: easily access and manage favorite or frequently used assets
Drag and Drop from Storage Palette: directly move objects and behaviors onto timeline
Assistant Palette: intuitive and quickstart learning materials built into the application
Multiple Undo/Redo: quickly move back through your development process
Universal Inspector Palette: context-sensitive control of properties for large numbers of objects
Library Palette: easy management of project resources
Objects Grouping: Arrange complex scenes by grouping related objects
Links to Source Files: changes to assets are propagated throughout the presentation using the refresh button
Lock Timeline Items: lock in elements to ensure no accidental changes are made
Interactivity
Drag-and-Drop Behaviors: extensive library of pre-scripted behaviors
JavaScript Scripting Language: Customize existing behaviors or write your own
Adjust Behavior Properties with Standard Sliders and Combo Boxes: no need to script
Built-in Script Editor: easy customization of scripts
AS still comes in the attractive translucent box, there's still nothing much on the outside except the name of the product. Inside there is a CD and two manuals. One of my original criticisms was the lack of a beginner's guide. They have certainly been busy. The 165 page "Learning Anark Studio" guide is well written and really adds ease of use to the product. I particularly liked things like "Publish your presentation to a CD-ROM" on how to make an autorunning CD work. There are other tips to increase the "wow" factor. For example, they show you how to make vivid backgrounds in lesson 4. Again, anything that helps newcomers to easily create stunning effects encourages people to go further with the program. The User Manual has been revised too. The books have colour card covers and plenty of black and white illustrations. Both books are well laid out. The User Manual is also available as the Help files. I thought this was a nice touch. You can work through the tutorials either on screen (in colour) or with the book in your hand. You get the best of both worlds. I still have a problem with AS's licence conditions. It says that the software contacts Anark's servers and will inform you when updates are ready. I don't approve of software that phones home, no matter how good the intention behind it is but at least they are decent enough to tell you about it.
Open the program and you are given an uncluttered view of your work area at the top with the various tools arranged around it. (I dragged and dropped the supplied Anark logo in to avoid having a large black space in the screenshot). The timeline is across the bottom. Here you can animate objects and lights. If you are already familiar with Flash and animation timelines, you will be able to use AS with little training. AS even has most of the same hotkeys as Flash. Remember that the essential difference is that AS manipulates files created in other programs, it is not for creating new content. It is great if you already have materials (sound, video and objects) that you want to reuse. If you have never used anything like this before, spend a morning working through the well-written tutorials. Each covers a different aspect of AS. Once you get started and start learning what it can do, you'll forget dinner. Want to make an animated background? Put a little fog in, animate the lights, make objects rotate behind the foreground? It's very easy! AS uses layers in the timeline. A layer can be locked so there's no chance of messing it up later. If you want to see how it looks, you can run it within AS by clicking the Play button or preview it (F12) in Internet Explorer.
I don't recall version 1.0 crashing at all, but 1.5 seems to die with alarming regularity. Do something wrong, like accidentally drop a behaviour onto a layer instead of an object and it falls over. It did show a Debug window at one point, but when I tried to move the behaviour to the place where I wanted it, it crashed. If you know what you want, you can get AS to do some very impressive things.
Unfortunately, animated effects are hard to show on a web review, and AS does not export animated .gifs (it won't import .gifs either). The manual includes a scripting reference and the program includes The Assistant. This gives a brief description of each Behaviour and includes a demonstration where appropriate. It allows you to see what the different Behaviours do. It's a good feature.
JScript is open ended, that means that you are not limited to the Behaviours that AS provides. If you want a special quality, you can write it yourself. You don't have to know JScript to use AS, but you will be able to get more from it if you how to write and compile behaviours within the program.
