The Wonder Pets!: Save The Animals
A overview of a wonderful software programs meant for animating images
They say a picture is worth a thousand words but just imagine how that number would rise if that picture could talk. By that I do not mean capturing a real person talking on video but rather an inanimate object, image, cartoon or an avatar created for a website. Offering to provide the tools for creating this type of functionality is CrazyTalk 6 from Reallusion. For those not familiar with Reallusion, this is a company, with headquarters in Silicon Valley, concentrating on the development of leading-edge software designed to provide 3D cinematic tools for the Windows platform.
Two versions of CrazyTalk 6 are available. These are the Standard and Professional products. As you might suppose the Professional version has additional features aimed more at the serious user of the product. This review is based on the entry level Standard title.
Reviews : Graphic software
My first attempts at installing CrazyTalk 6 proved to be less than successful as the software failed to progress passed the Welcome screen. Re-inserting the CD into the optical drive solved the problem and the installation proceeded smoothly once the 26-character serial number had been authenticated on-line. Starting the program is not the quickest tasks but you are not kept waiting too long. However you will be asked to create a member account. The basic version of this account is free and requires you to provide an email address and password. Until an account is created you will be reminded to carry this task whenever you run this software.
CrazyTalk 6 operates on a project basis. Each project will contain settings and related files for models and scripts. A model can be one of the supplied examples, which have been classified as Animal, Anime, Cartoon, Drawing and Human, or one that you have created yourself. When opting for the latter you can use your own image or a picture of a family member, friend, colleague or even a pet. There is even an option to grab an image using a webcam but whenever I tried this feature CrazyTalk 6 refused to co-operate and stopped working. Fortunately no such problem occurred when importing an already existing image.
Before you can actually use one of your own pictures you will need to apply face fitting settings. This involves the positioning of four key points indicating the eyes and mouth. The software provides tools to crop an image, adjust colours and select from various face orientation models. A range of settings are available for adjusting the eyes, mouth and model motion. The latter option includes a specific mood setting such as sad, angry or friendly and user-designated head motion strength. You can also adjust a basic or detailed facial outline that is generated by the software.
Having set up your model, and this version of CrazyTalk allows you to use up to four models in a scene, you then need to consider adding a script. As with any good script, you can combine various elements. Based on a timeline concept, you can introduce a pre-recording message; record a live message or opt to have typed text converted into speech. You can add an appropriate expression to be displayed by the model for various sections of the dialogue. Several examples are provided and these can be interspersed into your own dialogue. A second audio track can be used to add accompanying background music or sound effects.
When saving your work, CrazyTalk 6 gives you a choice of options. You can select the type of destination from media, flash, HTMK or YouTube. Appropriate settings, including resolution and background colour, are under the control of the user.
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Wonder Pets – Save the Wonder Pets $4.37 Save the Wonder Pets! will be the first full length Wonder Pets DVD! (The Wonder Pets will also be included on the March Nick Jr. Favorites 5 release.) The DVD features a double length episode and there will be 3 additional episodes (6 mini episodes) on the DVD.System Requirements:Runtime: 98 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: CHILDREN/FAMILY Rating: NR UPC: 097368516441 Manufacturer No… |
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Wonder Pets!: Save the Nursery Rhyme $3.85 The Wonder Pets must help the Young Cow jump over the moon and save Itsy Bitsy Spider from being washed away in these episodes. Bonuses: music video, sneak peek…. |
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Save the Black Kitten/Yak, Pig, Dancing Bear $1.99 … |
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Save the Beetles!/3 Wonder Pets and a Baby! $1.99 … |
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Vtech – V-Motion: Wonder Pets $9.44 What’s going to work? Teamwork! Ready, set, grab your motion-sensor V.Smile Motion controller to team up with Linny the Guinea Pig, Ming-Ming Duckling, and Turtle Tuck for the latest Wonder Pets adventure, Save the Animals. In Learning Adventure mode, you’ll navigate three learning adventures. Only by working together will you be able to save a baby crane, a baby Triceratops and a baby unicorn. Th… |
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The Wonder Pets!: Save the Animals $15.20 Team up with the popular classroom pets Linny the Guinea Pig, Ming-Ming Duckling and Turtle Tuck : Help a Bengal Tiger, Panda Bear and Chimpanzee in need : With the DS stylus and microphone, you tap, drag, blow, speak and circle your way through activities like pulling a thorn from the tiger’s paw, building a ladder to rescue a baby panda and towing the chimpanzee’s space capsule to safety… |
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The Book of General Ignorance $4.27 Camels store water in their humps and Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, right? Wrong and wrong, according to the authors of The Book of General Ignorance, a witty and humorous tome that gives common misconceptions, misunderstandings and flawed facts the heave-ho. The Book of General Ignorance will activate the memory centers of your brain as you try to recall the information you learne… |
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