Using the Style Palette

The Style palette, shown in Figure 15.1, provides a group of settings that define the look, color, and style of an object’s fill or stroke.

The Style palette is opened and docked by default when you start Anime Studio, but you can close it by selecting it from the Window menu to make it a floating palette and then clicking the X icon in its upper-right corner. If you accidentally close the Style palette, you can reopen it using the Window, Style menu command (Ctrl/Cmd+]). You can also reposition the Style palette when it is floating by dragging its title bar. To re-dock the floating style palette, just select the Window, Style menu again.

Only the simplest settings are visible by default, but you can expand the Style palette by clicking the Advanced checkbox at the bottom of the palette. This makes all the style settings available, as shown in Figure 15.2.

Naming a Shape

When a shape is selected using the Shape Select tool, its fill color or stroke is displayed in the working area as a checkered pattern. Another change is that the Name field in the Style palette becomes enabled. When enabled, you can give the selected shape a name by typing it into the Name field in the Style palette.

All named shapes appear in the Shapes drop-down list at the top of the Style palette. Selecting a named shape from this list recalls all the settings for this shape, including its fill and stroke color, and automatically selects the shape. It also displays the word “Shape” above the Name field. This is to indicate that any changes to the Style palette are automatically applied to the named shape.

Auto-Naming a Shape

The Preferences dialog box, which is opened using the Edit, Preferences menu command, includes an option to Auto-Name Bones and Shapes. If this option is enabled, then each new shape that is created is automatically given a sequential number as its name, which is automatically added to the Shapes drop-down list.

Auto-Naming works for new shapes created with the Create Shape tool (U), as well as for shapes and stroked curves created when the Auto-Fill or Auto-Stroke options for the Freehand tool are enabled.

Turning Off Fill and Stroke

When a shape is filled, it automatically gets the color that is shown in the Fill color swatch if the Fill option is enabled. If this option is disabled, the shape won’t have a fill, it will only have a stroke. You can also turn off a shape’s stroke by disabling the Stroke option in the Style palette.

To turn off the fills and strokes in a project, follow these steps:

1.	Open the Glass of juice.anme file from the Chapter 15 folder on the CD. This file has three glasses of juice. Each glass has four fills.
2.	Choose the Select Shape tool (Q) and click the lowest fill for the middle glass; then disable the Fill option in the Style palette. This disables the fill and leaves only the stroke. Repeat this step for the other three fills in the middle glass. Note Only one shape can be selected at a time with the Select Shape tool (Q).
3.	With the Select Shape tool (Q) still selected, click the lowest fill in the right glass and disable the Stroke option. This disables the stroke for the fill. Continue to remove all the strokes for the right glass. Figure 15.3 shows the results. Figure 15.3. Objects with disabled fills and strokes. [View full size image]

Defining a Style

In addition to naming shapes, you can also create and define styles that can be applied to multiple shapes. To create a new style, select the New option from the Styles drop-down list. This adds the label Style 1 to the Name field; you can change this name if you want. The name then appears at the bottom of the Styles dropdown list. The text Style is also listed above the Name field to show that any changes to the Style palette will affect the named style.

The Styles drop-down list also includes a command to delete the current style and an option to Delete Unused, which deletes any listed style that isn’t currently being used in the project.

Once a custom style is defined, you can apply it to a selected shape using the Style 1 drop-down list, located in the Style palette.

Applying Multiple Styles

As you create styles, you’ll use some styles for strokes and others just for fills. Using the Style 1 and Style 2 drop-down lists, located under the Stroke settings, you can apply up to two styles to a single shape. The available styles listed in the dropdown list are any styles defined in the Styles button at the top of the Style palette.

To apply the same styles to multiple shapes, follow these steps:

1.	Open the Forest.anme file from the Chapter 15 folder on the CD. This file includes the forest background file.
2.	Click the Styles button in the Style palette and select the New option. Name the new style tree. Set the Fill color to a light green and the stroke color to black with a Line Width of 1.
3.	Click the Styles button again and create a new style named mountain. Change the Fill color to blue and the stroke color to black with a Line Width value of 1.
4.	Select the Select Shape tool (Q) and click the foreground tree; then select the tree style from the Style 1 drop-down list. Select the Trees layer and repeat this step for the available trees on that layer. All the trees should now be a dark green color.
5.	Select the Mountains layer and click the mountain objects with the Select Shape tool (Q); then select the mountain style in the top Style 1 drop-down list. The mountains will now all be blue.
6.	Select the tree style from the Styles list at the top of the Style palette. Change the fill color from light green to dark green. Notice how all the trees with that style applied are automatically changed to the new fill color, as shown in Figure 15.4. Figure 15.4. Forest scene with applied styles. [View full size image]

Overriding a Style

When a defined style is selected in the Style 1 or Style 2 list, the fill color, line color, and Line Width values are retrieved from the applied style, but if you click the checkbox to the left of the fill color, line color, or Line Width swatches and values, the specified setting will override the current style setting.

To override an existing style, follow these steps:

1.	Open the Sun.anme file from the Chapter 15 folder on the CD. This file includes a simple sun object with an orange center and a yellow outer ring.
2.	Click the Styles button in the Style palette and select the New option. Name the new style sun. Set the Fill color to a bright yellow and the stroke color to black with a Line Width of 1.
3.	Select the Select Shape tool (Q) and click the sun’s center; then select the sun style from the first Applied Style drop-down list. Then select the sun’s outer ring and apply the sun style again. The entire sun is now yellow with a black stroke.
4.	Select the sun’s center again and enable the Fill Color checkbox to the right of the orange color. The center of the sun is now orange, but the stroke is still taken from the sun style.
5.	Select the sun’s outer ring and disable the Stroke option. This removes the outer border on the sun’s ring.
6.	Select the File, Project Settings command to open the Project Settings dialog box; then set the Background Color to light blue and render the project. The results are shown in Figure 15.5. Figure 15.5. Sun object with overridden styles. [View full size image]

Copying and Pasting Styles

If you have a specific style that you want to apply to another shape, simply select the style that you want to copy and click the Copy button in the Style palette. Then select the shape or stroke of the object that you want to receive the copied style and press the Paste button. This copies the style to the new selection. The Copy and Paste buttons are located under the Style 1 and Style 2 lists in the Style palette.

Whenever a style is applied to a shape, it is typically applied using the Applied Styles drop-down list. This applied style overrides the current style settings. If you want to apply the style at the base level instead of as an applied style, you can use the Copy and Paste buttons to transfer the style. However, if you copy and paste a style, the new style is independent of the original style and will not be updated if the original style is changed.

Defining the Default Style

When Anime Studio is first opened, the settings in the Style palette are set to define the default fill and stroke colors. You can see this when you look at the text just under the Shapes and Styles button. It reads Defaults (for new shapes). These settings are used for all new shapes that have the Auto-Fill or Auto-Stroke options enabled.

The factory defaults include a white fill and a black stroke with a Line Width of 1, but you can change the default settings in the Style palette, and the new settings will be used on all new shapes that are created. Once the default style is changed, it remains when you open a new project, but if you restart the application, then the original black-and-white style returns.

Whenever a shape is selected with the Select Shape tool (Q), you can recall the default style by clicking the Reset button in the Style palette. This automatically applies the default fill and stroke.