Changing Project Settings
Each project file has configuration settings that you can change to customize the project. These settings are located in the Project Settings dialog box, shown in Figure 3.16, which is opened using the File, Project Settings (Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+P) menu command. Several of the settings, including Frame Rate and Depth of Field, will be covered in later chapters.
If you click the Save As Defaults button, the current settings are retained for all future projects. If you have a specific size of project that you work with, then setting that size and saving it as a default will make that size appear automatically when new projects are created. The factory defaults can be restored at any time using the Restore Defaults button.
Changing Output Dimensions
The Project Settings dialog box includes Width and Height settings that control the size of the blue visible region in the working area. This area also defines the size of the final output. The Presets drop-down list includes options for setting the output dimensions to NTSC D1, NTSC D1 Widescreen, PAL D1/DV, PAL D1/DV Widescreen, HDV/HDTV 720p, HDV 1080p, HDTV 1080p, VGA, Web, Web Widescreen, YouTube, and YouTube HD.
Note
The NTSC aspect ratio of 720 by 534 is common in the U.S. and the PAL standard of 768 by 576 is common in Europe. The Web standard is 320 by 240, while the VGA and YouTube standards are 640 by 480.
New Feature
Several resolution presets, including YouTube, are new to Anime Studio 6.
Be aware that Anime Studio is built to animate objects and is not intended to create output for printing. That is why you won’t find a Dots-Per-Inch (dpi) setting. Anime Studio can only output images at the standard 72 dpi. However, if you want to create an image that will be printed at 300 dpi, you simply need to increase the image resolution to compensate for the higher dpi setting. You can then use an image editing package like Photoshop to convert the Anime Studio image to the correct size with the correct dpi.
Note
Anime Studio Debut has a maximum resolution setting of 788 by 768 pixels. Anime Studio Pro has a maximum resolution of 9000 by 9000.
Changing Background Color
If you click the Background Color swatch in the Project Settings dialog box, a Color Picker dialog box appears in which you can select a new color for the project background. However, don’t expect this background color to appear within the main window. The background color is only displayed when you render the project with the File, Preview command (Ctrl/Cmd+R). You can change the interface background color using the Preferences dialog box, which is covered next. Figure 3.17 shows the default character rendered with a bright blue background.
