Search
Forum Home | Login
gevansmd
gevansmd
Join Date 12/2008
+50

Deskscape help creating dreams

September 24, 2011 6:49:55 PM from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

I used Gimp to animate the water portion of a wallpaper image but now I don't know how to paste the animated gif back onto the wallpaper to create a video.  If I paste it within Gimp the full image is not animated, as if it only pasted a single frame.  Besides Gimp I have PSE 9 (which unfortunately "accidentally" removed support for animated gifs, Move Edit Pro 15, Windows Movie Make, and Live Movie Maker.  Anyone know how to merge the two images into a single multi-frame animation?

Locked Post
Search this post
Advanced Search
Subscription Options
Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
gevansmd
DaveRI
Join Date 09/2003
+484
Reply #1 September 24, 2011 7:26:18 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

From here:

https://forums.wincustomize.com/366621

"You can use .jpg, or .png files for static images, and animations need to be in the .nwa format.  NWA files are compressed animation files often used in WindowBlinds animations.  There is also a stand-alone NWA encoder in which you can create .nwa files."

If you have SkinStudio, start it up and from the top menu "Tools" / "Build NWA file for animation".  Don't know how it might handle gifs, pngs need to be vertical strips.  Also don't know about the stand-alone NWA encoder he's referring to.  I haven't played with it a lot.

Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
gevansmd
gevansmd
Join Date 12/2008
+50
Reply #2 September 24, 2011 8:16:19 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

I will try that, thanks!

Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
gevansmd
gevansmd
Join Date 12/2008
+50
Reply #3 September 25, 2011 12:19:31 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

I am stuck.  I don't have any program that will convert my animated gif to a png.  Gimp won't do it.  One program I tried ran all night and simply created individual png files for each frame.  I tried loading the gif into SkinStudio's nwa creator and it appears to load but when I test the animation it shows nothing in the preview.  By the way, the standalone nwa creator is in the DeskScapes3 folder.

 

Edit:  I had assumed the standalone nwa creator was simply the program run by the Tools menu in SkinStudio, but it is not.  The standalone version will work with the multiple individual png files.  I just created a nwa file with it but when I loaded it into the SkinStudio nwa creator for a preview, all the frames were black.  

Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
gevansmd
DaveRI
Join Date 09/2003
+484
Reply #4 September 25, 2011 1:56:05 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

If you just try to build the nwa with say just 3 of your png images, does it work?  I'm wonder how many frames you're trying to make and if it's too many, though I don't know if there's a limit.  I've only done a couple, and they've been in a single png file stacked about 30 high.  If you've got hundreds of frames it might just be choking.

Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
gevansmd
RedneckDude
Join Date 04/2009
+2225
Reply #5 September 25, 2011 2:13:00 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

You guys talking about DeskScapes?  

Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
gevansmd
DaveRI
Join Date 09/2003
+484
Reply #6 September 25, 2011 2:45:16 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

I hope so, at least that's what I'm babbling about Can you get him going in the right direction?

Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
gevansmd
BigDogBigFeet
Join Date 12/2005
+492
Reply #7 September 25, 2011 3:01:35 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

Quoting gevansmd,
reply 3
I am stuck. I don't have any program that will convert my animated gif to a png. Gimp won't do it. One program I tried ran all night and simply created individual png files for each frame. I tried loading the gif into SkinStudio's nwa creator and it appears to load but when I test the animation it shows nothing in the preview. By the way, the standalone nwa creator is in the DeskScapes3 folder.

 

paint.Net.  Open the gif file then do a save as to convert to png.

 

Here is the link to download it if you dont have it already.  Paint.NET

Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
gevansmd
CarGuy1
Join Date 03/2007
+548
Reply #8 September 25, 2011 4:17:15 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

Here's a thread to get you started... just about everything you need to know to create Dreams.

"How to create Dreams"

Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
gevansmd
CarGuy1
Join Date 03/2007
+548
Reply #9 September 25, 2011 4:23:51 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

nwa...

Unless you plan on going hybrid, nwa is not the way to go.

That being said, if you need a nwa builder for a hybrid creation, use the one in the Deskscapes program directory.

I'm a little busy today but if you need help, PM me and I'll try to help you tomorrow.

Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
gevansmd
DaveRI
Join Date 09/2003
+484
Reply #10 September 25, 2011 4:57:28 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

This is where we started, which got me thinking Hybrid:

I used Gimp to animate the water portion of a wallpaper image but now I don't know how to paste the animated gif back onto the wallpaper to create a video.

Maybe there's a more direct way to do that in some other program instead of combining them in Deskscapes?  - That's really what he was going for and I just went to Hybrid.

Thanks guys.

Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
gevansmd
gevansmd
Join Date 12/2008
+50
Reply #11 September 25, 2011 6:11:15 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

Yes, Deskscapes, I conjoined Dreamscene and Deskscapes lol.

 

Hybrid dreams allow you to add an animated image to a still image which is what I'm trying to do. Gimp always animates the entire image,  even if you have selected a portion so I had to first copy the water into a separate image before animating it.  Now I've got 240 frames (10 seconds) of moving water I want to paste back over the still image.

 

I'll try paint.net to reconvert the gif to a png.  Thanks everybody!

Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
gevansmd
gevansmd
Join Date 12/2008
+50
Reply #12 September 25, 2011 6:32:16 PM
from WinCustomize ForumsWinCustomize Forums

Paint.net only saved the first frame of the gif when creating the png.  Back to beating my head against the wall.

@DaveRI, very strange.  If I choose fewer frames it appears to load and convert them but as I choose more frames the animation it creates uses fewer and fewer lines of resolution for the animation.  240 frames is really not that many at 25 fps.  Even at loading 24 frames the result is unacceptable as it is about 80% smaller than the original png images.

 

 

Reason for Karma (Optional)
Successfully updated karma reason!
View all recent posts
Mark all posts as read Delete cookies created by the forum Return to Top
Stardock Forums v        Server Load Time:   Page Render Time:
Facebook Twitter YouTube Google+