Need Advice

[Grunt]

Hi all,

I need some advice on what to buy. I am making a multimedia DVD and I already have a bunch of geometrical diagrams, some of them superimposed on a photograph of a painting. I want to make it appear as though some of the lines (some of them circles) are being drawn, real time, by an invisible hand so to speak. The general idea is make the geometry more engaging for the viewer.

My question is; which Xara (or other) program/programs will I need to accomplish this and how steep is the learning curve. Would I be better off paying a pro up to £600 a day, which I certainly can't afford, to do it for me?

I'd appreciate any feedback.

Thanks
Art.

[Soquili]

Hello Art,

Welcome to Talkgraphics.

Xara Xtreme (the currently available version of their Vector Graphics program) can do what you want. It has a very intuitive interface so the learning curve isn't steep.

You could create individual images to import into your video program, or create an animated gif. From the animated gif working file you can export the individual frames to png format with transparency.

May I ask why you chose to post in the 3D forum instead of the Xara forum? Just curious.

[Grunt]

Thanks Bill. The reason I chose this forum was it was the first one I found.

[Soquili]

Art, you are welcome.

I should also mention that there are 10 years of free tutorials created by Gary Priester for Xara at http://www.xaraxone.com along with Guest tutorials created by some of the forum members and distinquished artist that use Xara.

[Grunt]

Thanks again Bill... I have a feeling I'm going to need as much help as I can get. At the moment I'm working my way through the Xara demo video help files. I created all the original graphic images (140+ of them) with an inexpensive photo editing program, but it doesn't have an animation facility.

Anyway, by the time I get through with the Xara video stuff and the stuff you suggested, I should manage what I want to do.

Art.