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Probably the biggest bonus of Anark Studio is the fact that you can directly import .3ds models into the program without first having to save in some proprietary format that converts your data into flash ready files. In the 1.0 release, the only item that is imported is the mesh itself, without any material/surface settings or deformers/bones. Hopefully in the next release options allowing the attachment of surfaces and interactive bones will be included. This would be a huge bonus as it would allow viewers to pose/animate characters or other items in flash space for some interesting fun.
While Anark Studio 1.0 doesn’t allow importation of surfaces now, the material editor is mature enough to allow the user to create some nice textures (and animate them too). If you are familiar with surface settings in other 3D programs, you should have no trouble picking up the materials editor in this application. [an error occurred while processing this directive]
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| The Materials panel, gives the user freedom to create a variety of textures across the imported 3D object. |
One drawback to Anark Studio is currently it only allows import of 3ds max model data. While other programs, like NewTek’s LightWave 3D, can export in the 3ds format, I was not able to open any files created and saved in LW3D. Anark Studio does come with a demo copy of 3D Exploration from Right Hemisphere. With this program you can view all of the models on your computer and save them into other formats. After using this application, I was able to import my 3D elements into Anark Studio. I’m not sure why it did not work saving directly from LightWave, but having 3D Exploration in your arsenal of applications, seems to be a must have when using Anark Studio.
Unlike other interactive authoring programs, which try to simulate 3D in a two dimensional space, Anark Studio authoring is a 3D environment complete with camera and light sources, both of which can be animated and controlled. This is excellent for getting true depth and the feeling that you are watching a 3D presentation.
What I also like about Anark Studio is the elements used in building these interfaces can be created in your favorite 2D or 3D applications. What’s more you can create a huge library of ready to use items to add into future projects.
Anark Studio doesn’t just allow the importation of 2D and 3D elements created in programs like 3ds max and Adobe Photoshop; it also allows the user to import audio and video files to include in the media presentation. This is really fantastic as a user could create an interactive gallery of all the media clips on their site. As the visitor navigates through the interface, she can see the moving clips and decide which ones she wants to click on and view.
If you are creating interaction in your interface, you’ll need to add those elements in as well. I am not a code person, and anytime I see that half the manual deals with scripting languages, I begin to worry that the program is going to have a steep learning curve that I will not be able to fully learn. The scripting language and examples in the manual deal mainly with creating behaviors and actions for your Anark Media Presentation. For those of you who are like me, Anark Studio comes with a large library of prebuilt behaviors and actions that allow the user to develop great interactive elements by dragging and dropping the behavior onto the layer in the timeline. A huge timesaver for the beginner, and the library is large enough that you have plenty of pre-built actions and animations to satisfy you until you have the time to learn the scripting yourself.
To be honest, I’m not a huge fan of flash intros, or .swf interfaces on websites. For DVD and CD-ROM creation, they are excellent. After working with Anark Studio 1.0 for a couple of weeks, I have changed my mind. This really is a powerful and useful program for interactive design. While it does have some drawbacks due to being a brand new program, the benefits far outweigh the negatives and I would have to give Anark Studio 4 out of 5 stars. There is a free trial available on the Anark site, I would encourage you to try this program out.
Anark Studio 1.0 is available now at www.anark.com for $995 US. A special introductory offer is currently in effect for owners of Macromedia Director, Macromedia Flash, Adobe Livemotion, Adobe After Effects, or 3D Studio Max. The promotional price is $399 US. A trial version is also available from the site.
Stephen Schleicher is the producer for www.digitalanimators.com and www.digitalwebcast.com. When not working deep in the labs of the DMN Central Division testing the latest and greatest software/hardware products he can be found at the local university teaching a few courses on video and web production. He can be reached at stephens@digitalmedianet.com
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