From: James_Hastings-Trew@telepro.UUCP (James Hastings-Trew)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.graphics
Subject: Re: Trying to find the perfect morpher
Distribution: world
Date: 19 Nov 92 23:32:46 CST
Organization: TelePro Technologies

Ben Scott, this is not meant to be a rebuttal or an argumentative message.
I just want to share my experience with you and provide an alternative
point of view.

In a message dated Thu 19 Nov 92  6:40, Bscott@nyx.cs.du.edu (ben Scott)
wrote:

 BS> I do not expect a file called "addendum" to contain the only mention
 BS> of
 BS> probably half the major features in a software package.  I have this
 BS> funny
 BS> idea that it should be possible to at least find the word "morphing"
 BS> somewhere in the manual of a software package that advertises
 BS> morphing.

Ben, if you had been "in" on Imagemaster from the beginning, as many HAM-E
customers have been, you would be aware of the evolutionary nature of this
product. With new features going in every few weeks, Black Belt Systems
would have quickly gone broke printing new manuals (I know, I work for a
printer!) each time a feature was added. The Morphing tools in particular
have been a moving target ever since that facility was first added to the
software. Now that that particular feature has matured and the changes are
more in the realm of refinements rather than revolutions, a manual can be,
and is being printed. From the point of view of a (very happy) user of
Imagemaster, the morphing tools (and other new features of the software)
have been growing at a pace that made them easy to learn and master, and
upgrades have always managed to keep pace with my appetite for new toys.

However, I can appreciate the point of view of a person who has not grown
up with the software as I have. You are jumping in at this point, and
everything is there now, and no proper documentation for it. Trust me.
Spend some time with the software and you will get great results, very
easily from it. The fact of the matter is, someone could SHOW you
everything you need to know about the morphing tool in ten minutes and you
would remember it all because it is really easy to learn and use. Perhaps
Black Belt should consider a training video to go along with the product?
It is often easier to show somebody something than to tell them about it.

 BS> have one, easy to use)   I gave up on Imagemaster at around 5:PM on
 BS> Sunday,
 BS> dove into Morph+, was setting up what turned out to be a morph with
 BS> over 200
 BS> control points before 7:30, and started the render at around 10:30. 

There are a couple of points here I would like to comment on. First, what
was it specifically about Imagemaster that made you abandon it for Morph+?
Was it some feature you were looking for and could not find, or was it some
concept that was not adequately explained? Second, is it possible that the
experience with Imagemaster helped you understand the concepts in Morph+
more easily? Is is possible that had you not given up and switched to the
other product that you would have completed your project in an equivalent
amount of time?

 BS> file) and the bugs present in my admittedly outdated version, I was
 BS> spending
 BS> too much time with it.  

Well, outdated as far as Imagemaster is concerned can be a matter of days!
:) You do owe it to yourself to look at the latest version of the software.
It is very nice to work with.

 BS> anywhere).  Also, I  had a lot of trouble keeping the (non-morphing)
 BS> background stable while the foreground faces were warped - even
 BS> placing
 BS> dozens of non-moving points around the background, and outlining the
 BS> faces
 BS> with them as well, I'd still get distortion even inches away.  (it

Most good morphs are done by stripping away the background altogether, and
then recompositing the morphed figures back onto a single background. No
morpher on the planet is going to leave the background undistorted while
pushing and pulling the foreground around. You should blank out the
background on your images prior to morphing (Imagemaster is great for
this). Morph+ allows you to define a background shape that will act as an
automated travelling matt - it is up to you to recomposite the background
back in later.

 BS> programs that would allow you to draw a freehand SOLID line
 BS> separating the
 BS> morphing area from a background, and assuring (better, at least) the
 BS> confinement of the warping effect? 

In the latest version of Imagemaster you can define edges - lines between
morphing points that define and delimit the morphing effect.

In closing I would also like to point out an aspect of Imagemaster that may
be of importance to you. They do listen to customer comments and
suggestions. They are very responsive to customer input, and a suggestion
from you about a feature of the software may very well show up in the next
version of the software. You have to be careful of reviewing Imagemaster
because it is a moving target -- it is always changing in as a result to
Black Belt's commitment to customer satisfaction. You owe it to yourself to
remain current with the software, because you will not get the maximum
benefit from it if you do not.

----

Disclaimer (for Perry K, who prefers people to announce their
affiliations): 
I have no affilation with Black Belt Systems. That is I have nothing to
gain by advocating their products. I also have no direct experience with
Morph+, so you can take what I say about ASDG's product as possibly
incorrect.

----

-- Via DLG Pro v0.992

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Telepro!james_hastings-trew@access.usask.ca
"[Democratic philosphy consists of] the idea of running your paycheck
through the salad shooter and dumping the shreds on the compost heap of
good intentions." -P.J. O'Rourke in Bill Clinton, The Rolling Stone
Interview
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Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.graphics,comp.sys.amiga.applications