1. Animation Programs
Alice

2. Overview 2-step process for creating animations Step 1: Design
Step 2: Implementation

3. Step 1: Design Decide on the problem to be solved Design a solution
Often the problem to be solved is given to you by your instructor, team leader, etc.
Other times, you get to make it up!
We will practice both
Design a solution
We will use a storyboard design

4. An example problem (scenario)
The scenario is:
Several snow-people are outdoors, on a snow-covered landscape. A snowman is trying to meet a snowwoman who is talking with a group of her friends (other snowwomen.) He says “Ahem" and blinks his eyes, trying to get her attention.
The problem is:
How can we create this animation?

5. Designing a solution
First decide on the objects that will be in the scene.
Then, create a storyboard.
A "storyboard" is a representation of what actions are going to take place in the animation
A storyboard can take two forms
sketches
textual "to do" lists

6. Sketch
Objects: A snowman and a snowwoman (and possibly other snowpeople)
Opening Scene: a snowy scene
A quick sketch:

7. A Storyboard Initial scene
Snowman tries to catch snowwoman’s attention
Snowwoman looks around

8. Storyboard in Text Form
Animation Artists (for example, at Disney or Pixar Studios) sketch their storyboards
You might not have such expertise, so here is a textual form that can be used:
This is like a "to-do" list.
Snowman turns to face snowwoman.
Snowman “makes eyes” and calls out to snowwoman.
Snowwoman turns around.

9. Step 2: Implementation Implementing an animation requires
Setting Up the Initial Scene in Alice
Writing the Program (Script)

10. Create Initial Scene

11. Techniques and Tools Mouse is used to Camera Navigation is used to
set up the initial scene
approximately position objects in the scene
Camera Navigation is used to
set the camera point of view
Drop-down menu methods are used to
resize objects
more precisely position objects in the scene
Scene Editor's Layout Manager is used to
obtain specific alignments
position one object relative to another object

12. Writing A Program "Writing" a program (script)
a list of instructions to have the objects perform certain actions in the animation

13. Writing the Program Our storyboard (to-do list) is:
The idea now is to translate the design steps to program instructions.
Snowman turns to face snowwoman.
Snowman “makes eyes” and calls out to snowwoman.
Snowwoman turns around.

14. Translating the Design
Some steps in the storyboard can be written as a single instruction
The snowman turns to face the snowwoman
Other steps are composite actions that require more than one instruction
The snowman tries to catch the snowwoman’s attention is two actions
Snowman says “ahem”
Snowman raises and lowers his eyes

15. Actions Sequential Simultaneous Some actions occur one after the other
first step (snowman turns to face snowwoman)
second step (snowman tries to get snowwoman’s attention)
Simultaneous
Other actions occur at the same time
Snowman says "Ahem" and while simultaneously blinking his eyes

16. Action Blocks in Alice Sequential Action Block
Simultaneous Action Block

17. Write the Animation Program
Will develop in class.

18. Coding the first 2 steps Things to note:
Nesting of DoTogether and DoInOrder blocks
Arguments for the move instruction
direction
distance

19. Testing
An important step in creating a program is to run it – to be sure it does what you expect it to do.
We recommend that you use an incremental development process:
write a few lines of code and then run it
write a few more lines and run it
write a few more lines and run it…
This process allows you to find any problems and fix them as you go along.

20. Comments
While Alice instructions are easy to understand, it is often desirable to be able to explain (in English) what is going on in a program
We use comments to explain to the human reader what a particular section of code does

23. Assignment Read Chapter 2 sections 1 and 2 Read Tips & Techniques 2
Scenarios and Storyboards
A First Program
Read Tips & Techniques 2
Orientation and Movement Instructions

24. Lab 2
Exercises from 2-1 and 2-2