Conference hydra::amiga_v1

	I would also be interested in comments how the products work
	on a plain A2000 (no 020,030 or even 040 but 3.5Mb memory and
	a 40 MB harddisk).

	Maybe my next upgrade is an AdSpeed accelerator. (The other 
	accelerators are so d*n expensive (at least over here in Austria).

	cheers, Helmut

The Art Department is a tool for importing graphics from other sources into
IFF format. If you're going to be doing that much, it's a good thing to buy.
If you're going to be regularly converting from some 24-bit deep format
to a displayble IFF image, it's a nice tool for twiddling the conversions
interactively.

The pro version lets you save imagery to things other than 24-bit formats,
including various 24 bit frame buffers. It also includes an ARexx interface,
which makes it possible to run a Rexx script to read in a sequential set of
images, put them in a frame buffer, then trigger a single-frame-recording
device. If you're going to be exporting graphics to other media (including
print and other machines), this is the package to buy.

Minor hint: ADPro comes with a slew of loaders & savers; TAD only has a
few loaders (it doesn't have savers). If you think you're going to need
more than a couple of extra loaders, check the total pricing. It might
be cheaper to buy ADPro after all. Don't forget the value of the ARexx
port (which means you can do "mass conversions").

Oh yeah - you might want to consider buying more memory. TAD/ADPro design is
speed-driven. The image size is limited by how large a contiguous chunk
of RAM AD can get.

If you've got access to an Ultrix machine, there are PD tools that will do
some of the things AD doesd; just not interactively, and not as flexibly.
But they don't care how much memory is on your Amiga.

	<mike

    
    
    	I have the complete animation:xxx series. The rotoscope package
    allows you to touch-up each frame of a anim file. The paint program
    is not as powerfull as Dpaint but it works well for simple touch-up.
    
    	The multiplane package allows you to overlay a anim over a still
    or another anim. The result is another anim. You can also fade in and
    out the overlay. The package works well and has many other features.
    
    	The animation apprentice package is a good 3d-animation package.
    It does not raytrace. The objects are built out of 3-d pixels and
    supports surface colors ( you paint the parts ).
    
    	All these programs like 2-2.5 MB of memory to use all the features.
    They are quick and run well on a standard ( 68000 ) AMIGA.
    
    	I have been using animation:journeyman . This is the next
    generation past animation:apprentice . It support raytrace and
    24 bit output. The objects are made of 3D curve patches. This
    makes it simple to create smooth complex objects. It also supports
    surface maps ( color ), texture maps ( bumps ), and transparent
    maps ( cookie cutters ). The package reqires a 68020/68030/68040
    and floating point processor. It also likes about 3-4 MB of memory.
    
    	I also have sculpt-4D, turbo Silver, and had 3D-professional.
    I like animation:journeyman the best.
    
    		Steve Peters
    

    In regards to graphics I currently own DpaintIII,Digipaint III, 
    Art Department Pro, Elan Performer, The Animation studio, Pixel 3D, 
    Turbo Silver SV, Digimate, Digiview Gold,PixMate,and just recieved the 
    Director version 2.
    	That said let me expand. I haven't used the Animation Studio since
    I purchased it, and Pixmate since I've had the Art Department. I
    haven't used Digiview since I got the JX100,and scanlab100. I use Elan 
    Performer onec in awhile,and will update too the Pro version. I
    like Turbo silver but can't use it as much as  like because of the long
    rendering times on a 68000 system. Digipaint sees use once in awhile
    when I have a ham pic to cleanup, but not much beyound that. I hope to
    use it and DigiMate to generate some animations in the near future.
    	The bulk of my work is done in DpaintIII using Hres 16 color
    screens. I find that this format is the most compatable with my
    Character generation software(Broadcast Titler, Pro video post), and
    works nicely for other video work. I don't own a package that I am 
    sorry I bought, but of all the Graphics products I own I consider 
    The Art Department Professional to be the most valuable. It allows me
    access to pictures from many platforms,(I purchased the optional
    loaders)and of course excells in the task of image processing. I wanted
    the Pro version because I had the need to go to,and from Gif,and PCX
    pics from my Decstation.
    	The Director Version 2 looks very promising. It gives you complete
    control over the playing of Animations,and Smus files. I found the
    Director difficult to use but the upgrade is a vast improvement. I
    don't believe their is another presentation package that can Compare to
    the director in the field of Animation control. Of coures I have never
    seen any of the Animation series from Hash. 
    	If you add The art Department,and DpaintIII to your current
    software you will have a good base for Graphics,and animation. I think
    you will find out quickly that Ham has it's problems when you start to
    produce animations.
    								Bill
    PS. Macro Paint looks like it will be a great package,but I think you
    will need a product like DCTV to use it fully.