Adobe Animate CC 2015.2

Animate-2015.2

Following Animate’s rebirth just a few months ago, Adobe’s latest update is actually attempting to include animators and artists, which a huge welcome change! The two biggest additions are allowing a layer to be transparent! I know that’s SO 1995 but at least they’re finally listening! Also a new inclusion is the Frame Picker which mimics Lipper and Keyframe Caddy but is now included in the Application itself. The one thing I’m hoping for in the next version is to have the Frame Picker set a keyframe when you select a drawing form it’s display. Also there is the new-ish Pattern Brushes, which is very similar to Illustrator’s brushes and while I personally have not found much use for them, they ARE an artists addition and you might find a need for them. Actually I take it back, I made wallpaper on a background once using them.

 

Frame Picker

(graphic symbol thumbnails)

Visually preview and choose the first frame for a graphic symbol. In previous releases, you could not preview the frames without getting within the symbol. This feature enhances the user experience for animation workflows such as Lip Sync.

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Layer Transparency

You can now skip manual workarounds and sketch on top of other layers right inside Animate. To set the visibility of the layer to transparent, Shift+Click on the eye column in the timeline.

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Pattern Brushes

Paint a vector pattern along the path or stretch to its entire length. You can use the integrated global library within Animate to use Art and Pattern brushes. In addition to the default brush presets, you can import new Pattern Brushes to your Animate document using the CC Libraries. See them in action here.

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Hasbro Acquires Boulder Media Animation Studio

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Hasbro Acquires Boulder Media Animation Studio

Hasbro Expands TV and Feature Film Capabilities with Purchase of Irish Animation Studio

PAWTUCKET, R.I. — Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) today announced that it has acquired Boulder Media, a multi-award winning Irish animation company based in Dublin. Boulder has produced a variety of award-winning series for Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Disney and BBC. As a wholly-owned subsidiary, Boulder will continue to produce animated series on behalf of third-party clients, in addition to producing animation projects for Hasbro’s best-known brands. Terms of the transaction, which closed on July 13, 2016, were not disclosed.

“At Hasbro, we’re building our brands through storytelling, and today, we’re telling richer stories across more platforms than ever before,” said Brian Goldner, Hasbro’s Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We are also reinventing traditional modalities of animation production, both creatively and financially. With Boulder, we will deliver the highest quality animation that will engage our audiences with deep storytelling and great characters in a very cost-efficient manner.”

Founded in 2000 by Robert Cullen, Boulder is one of the fastest growing animation studios in Ireland with approximately 150 full-time employees. Boulder will retain its brand and report into Stephen Davis who leads Hasbro’s entertainment and consumer products licensing division. In February 2016, Hasbro was ranked No. 3 on Fast Company’s list of Most Innovative Companies in Hollywood.

“As one of the largest independent studios producing animation in Hollywood, the time is right for Hasbro to acquire its own animation studio, allowing us to expand our animation and storytelling capabilities even further,” said Stephen Davis, Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer, Hasbro. “In Boulder, we have found one of the most progressive, innovative and creative teams in the business. We are thrilled to partner with Rob Cullen, Pete Lewis, Jenni MacNeaney and the entire Boulder team as we significantly enhance the execution of our story-led Brand Blueprint strategy.”

“Boulder and Hasbro have ambitious plans for growth, and working together, we will substantially expand our team and our business,” said Robert Cullen, Creative Director, Boulder. “We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to bring to life the Hasbro stories and characters that mean so much to our team, and join a company that’s emerging as an entertainment powerhouse.”

About Hasbro

Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS) is a global company committed to Creating the World’s Best Play Experiences by leveraging its beloved brands, including LITTLEST PET SHOP, MAGIC: THE GATHERING, MONOPOLY, MY LITTLE PONY, NERF, PLAY-DOH and TRANSFORMERS, and premier partner brands. From toys and games, television programming, motion pictures, digital gaming and consumer product licensing, Hasbro fulfills the fundamental need for play and connection with children and families around the world. The Company’s Hasbro Studios and its film label, Allspark Pictures, create entertainment brand-driven storytelling across mediums, including television, film, digital and more. Through the company’s commitment to corporate social responsibility, including philanthropy, Hasbro is helping to build a safe and sustainable world and to positively impact the lives of millions of children and families. Learn more at www.hasbro.com, and follow us on Twitter (@Hasbro & @HasbroNews) and Instagram (@Hasbro).

About Hasbro Studios and Allspark Pictures

Hasbro Studios is responsible for entertainment, brand-driven storytelling for Hasbro across television, commercial productions and short-form content. It develops, produces and distributes content based on Hasbro’s world class brands, including TRANSFORMERS, MY LITTLE PONY, and LITTLEST PET SHOP. Many of its series air on Discovery Family Channel and on networks and digital platforms in more than 190 territories globally. Since its formation in 2009, the studio has received ten Daytime Emmy wins.

On the film side through its film label Allspark Pictures, the Company has developed and produced a number of features based on Hasbro’s brands. Films in development or planned for release include OUIJA 2 (Universal), MY LITTLE PONY: THE MOVIE (Lionsgate), MAGIC: THE GATHERING (21st Century Fox), PLAY-DOH (21st Century Fox), TRANSFORMERS 5, 6 and 7 (Paramount) and the Cinematic Universe (Paramount) which includes GI JOE, MICRONAUTS, M.A.S.K, ROM and VISIONARIES.

About Boulder Media

Boulder Media is a multi-award winning Irish animation company based in Dublin. One of Ireland’s largest animation studios, it has produced many great shows for Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, BBC and Disney, including Wander Over Yonder for Disney, and Go Jetters and Danger Mouse for BBC. Learn more atwww.bouldermedia.tv/.

© 2016 Hasbro, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Save 40% on the Adobe Creative Cloud until June 3rd

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Seeing as how Adobe dominates the animation industry, and you can no longer purchase Adobe software outright, I figure this might be of use to some of you out there. Right now until June 3rd you can get 40% off a subscription to the Adobe Cloud. Click here for more info.

You’re welcome! 😉

Adobe Animate 2015 Manage Extensions Utility

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Adobe Animate brings new features but some challenges when installing extensions. The old way of adding features was to use the Adobe Extensions Manager and install extensions that way, but with Adobe Creative Cloud they’ve done away with that and the Extensions Manager no longer exists. This creates a bit of a problem for classic Flash users because the new Adobe Store unfortunately does not have all the useful tools Flash developers have created over the years and so when you find an great extension you’re unable to install it unless you find it in the Adobe Add Ons store. Well, the developers at Adobe that work on Animate have your back in the form of a stand alone application to allow you install those older extensions. Enter the Manage Extensions Utility which allows you to manually install extensions not in the Add On Store. Simply double click the program, navigate to the Install An Extension button, find the extension you wish to install and double click it. The program will install the extension. You can also set it to install a whole folder full of extensions at one time. Easy Peasy!

 

Boltron Ultimate – The Infinite Army (Part 2 of 4)

Episode 2 of Spindo’s Boltron Ultimate created and animated by Chris Burns and Bob Fox is up and I really love the character designs on this as well as the stylized animation. We posted the first episode of Boltron Ultimate a few weeks ago if you’d like to catch up on the story and did a mini interview about the process with Chris and Bob as well. I have to say, watching these always makes me feel super nostalgic so it just might be time to get out my old Sonic the Hedgehog games! I think they need to make this an actual game! Incidentally,we interviewed Chris last July.