PD Howler is a cost-effective, fast-digital-painting 3D and animation program created by artist Dan Ritchie, now available in the DAZ 3D store. There's also a free trial version of PDHowler from the Best3D website.

In this tutorial, you’ll learn a whole series of high-value tips on ANIMATION from Philip Staiger, co-creator of PD Howler.

PD Howler 2020 includes a number of tools to work with animated content, such as image sequences, or video clips, by applying filters across them for post-work.

It also can help with creating traditional frame-by-frame animations, compositing work, motion estimated interpolation, image stabilizing and lots more.

See the power of PD Howler animation in the below example:

PD Howler includes GPU-accelerated 3D landscape generation tools, rendering with path tracing, video-on-video painting, motion tracking, image stabilization, rotoscoping, artist guides, photo editing, realistic media painting with dry out, translucency and pigment lifting, tools for post-work and special effects filters, time stretching with motion estimated interpolation, particle brushes, foliage brushes, bristle brushes, particle brushes, user-defined custom animated brushes, video brushes, an exposure sheet for lip-synched cartooning, animated frame painting, loopable and seamless video creation tools, lens flares and many more amazing tools and gadgets!

What you'll need to follow along with this Tutorial

• PD Howler - buy in the DAZ store or download a free trial from the Best3D website.

Tutorial Content

The Basics: how you should store it

• Storing an image
• Storing an animation
• Using a stored animation as an animated swap image, animated selection, animbrush

Frame by Frame Editing

• Trim some frames at the ends
• Selecting and working with blocks
• Make it bounce – ping pong!

Hand-drawn Animation

• Bouncing ball
• The onion skins (light table)

Transitions with Motion Estimation

• Create an animated cloudy background from two images
• Make an animation loopable
• Make it seamless

Animated Filters

• Timeline Editor with keyframes
• A look at Filters > Animated
• Tunnel
• Starry skies
• Neutrons
• Stabilizer / motion tracking

Diving in

• PuppyRay rendering – short landscape fly-over or panoramic sweep
• Load a subset from an AVI
• Crop to selection + resample to even dimensions
• Motion Prediction Module: make it last longer / run slower

The Frame Painter – Telling a long story with just a few images

• Multi-frame scanning
• Frame painting

It’s all in the (anim)brush

• Brush keyframer
• Astronaut drifting through space

Other topics (if time permits)

• Advanced Curve tool – Rotoscoping
• Compositions with Green/Blue screen

About Philip Staiger

Philip Staiger is the founder/owner of TheBest3D.com, and authorized reseller and partner/co-developer of Project Dogwaffle, including PD Artist, PD Particles and the top-of-the-line, PD Howler. He also likes to use and promote other 2D and 3D art creation tools. Long ago he was an Amapi Evangelist at Eovia, where he also became fond of Carrara.

Phil has partnered with Dan Ritchie on many aspects of developing, promoting and marketing Project Dogwaffle. He has worked for 35 years in the 3D industry, with graphics hardware (Megatek, Digital), and software (TGS, Eovia) for 3D modeling and animation. Phil also has several years of experience in the security software (ESET) and machine translation software industry (SYSTRAN). He holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from Swiss Federal Polytechnic Institute (EPFL) Switzerland, has programming and scripting experience, is fluent in several languages, but also has an insatiable admiration for the arts and the tools to create and communicate.

Phil loves to explore imaginary landscapes and foreign worlds through rendering and animation with PD Howler. He also enjoys playing Canasta while listening to music by Alan Walker, or a good game of Halo or Life is Strange. It’s a trip!