Skip to main content

How to Import Vector Images (SVG/WMF to SWF) into Reallusion's Cartoon Animator without Adobe Flash

How to Import Vector Images into Reallusion's Cartoon Animator without Adobe Flash Video Tutorial.

Reallusion's Cartoon Animator 4 used to support vector images in a big way back when it was launched as CrazyTalk Animator 2. So much so that they built into the application a Render Styles system that made it simple to recolor vector images if you took the extra few steps to create vector color groupings for your G2 vector characters and props.

Unfortunately G2 Vector characters proved to be too difficult for the average user to make, and it also required access to Adobe Flash (now Animate CC) for which many users weren't willing to invest in a subscription. Things haven't been helped by Flash being phased out as a web standard format in December 2020 either.

While CrazyTalk Animator 3, and now Cartoon Animator 4, have surged ahead focusing more on high resolution bitmaps to create quality characters and props, the Render Styles system and support for vector images still remains. Except the only vector file supported is Adobe's SWF format.

Reallusion's Ignores Requests for SVG Support?

While I've been asking Reallusion to add support for the more universal vector SVG format (that pretty much every vector illustration app supports) for years, it doesn't seem like they're planning to add this any time soon. It's a shame because the Render Styles system is really great (and you can actually make G3 characters from vector images if you're willing to import sprites manually, one at a time, in the character composer).

As a result I've spent the last couple of weeks scouring the internet for a file converter that can convert an SVG file to an SWF file. As it turns out there are a few apps that claim to do this but their SWF output isn't compatible with CA4 - often creating an image that appears invisible when imported.

Finding That One App That Can Convert to SWF

Fortunately I found one fairly old app, that is now freeware, that can convert from WMF (Windows standard vector file format) to SWF like a charm (if you can get it working - more on that in a moment). While it's not SVG, most vector drawing apps (including the free app I use, Inkscape) can export illustrations as WMF files since it's a standard Windows format that has been around for years.

The application is called Kvec by KK Software. As mentioned it's freeware. The Windows version has both a graphical user interface (GUI) and a command line version. All other versions for Mac and Linux are command line only. I would highly recommend using the GUI Windows version, if you can get it running - even through an emulator on a Mac or Linux - as it is the simplest option for ease of use, and you'll be able to experiment with other things Kvec can do (like trace bitmaps and export them as vector images).

Not All Plain Sailing

The Windows GUI version worked brilliantly on my laptop however, when I came to install it on my desktop PC, while it installed fine, it would not open any images. Instead I'd get an exception error. At first I thought it might be because I don't have Adobe Flash installed on my desktop - my laptop has an old version of Flash installed to run some Flash based software I have. So I decided to try the command line version. This worked perfectly on my desktop PC... so I guess it's not the lack of Flash?

Using the command line version is not difficult, but it does require a bit more setup, and is not as elegant as just opening a file you want to convert, converting it, and then saving it out.

Video Tutorial: How to Import Vector Images and Add Render Styles

Anyhow to cut a long story short. Below I've created a free video tutorial that shows you how to save vector images from Inkscape as WMF files, convert them to SWF with Kvec using both the Windows GUI and Command line versions of the app. Then I show just how easy it is to make your vector images compatible with Cartoon Animator's Render Styles system - you're welcome!

The tutorial is also available from my Art Time Gumroad Store as a paid download in which you get the video below and all the image files I used in the tutorial, including my finished Render Style prop. I've also included all versions of Kvec for your convenience (also just in case the Kvec website disappears as it looks very unsupported due to it being an old app). You're not paying for Kvec. Download it free from their website if you'd prefer, and if don't want my image files and video.

I really love Cartoon Animator's Render Style system. Particularly how it makes recoloring vector props so much easier when you want to mix and match props from different scenes. In Cartoon Animator if you see a prop or character with 'RS' in the top corner of its icon in the Content Manager that stands for 'Render Style' compatible.

Imagine being able to create day and night versions of the same scene without having to export everything to Photoshop. Also imagine having perfectly sharp props that don't pixelate no matter how far you zoom in on them for a close up.

Learn Inkscape and Start Making Vector Images for Cartoon Animator

If you're new to vector drawing, or want to get started, I reviewed two excellent beginner courses on how to use Inkscape to create Cartoon Backgrounds and Characters here, no drawing skills required. I actually used these courses to learn Inkscape's vector drawing basics myself.

Popular posts from this blog

Can You Learn Reallusion's Cartoon Animator 5 for Free Using Their 137 Official YouTube Video Tutorials Sorted Into a Logical Learning Order?

Or you could just buy The Lazy Animator Beginner's Guide to Cartoon Animator . While Reallusion's Cartoon Animator is one of the easiest 2D animation studios to get up and running with quickly, learning it from all of the official, free, video tutorials can be more overwhelming than helpful. With more than 137 videos totaling more than 28 and a half hours of tutorials, spread across three generations of the software (Cartoon Animator 3 through 5) it's hard to know if what you're learning is a current or legacy feature that you either need to know or can be skipped. Many of the official tutorials only teach specific features of the software and don't relate at all to previous or later tutorials. As a result there are many features either not mentioned or are hard to find. To make your learning easier, on this page, I've collected together all of the essential, official, free video tutorials and sorted them into a learning order that makes sense. Simply start at

TimeBolt: Fast Video Editing for Anyone Creating Online Courses, Podcasts, or Vlogs.

I resisted making tutorial videos for a long time because I don't like editing. Specifically I don't like editing me teaching as I step students through a process during a screen record. I have a tendency to insert long pauses not just in the middle of sentences but between multiple words in the middle of sentences as my pace matches what I'm doing onscreen. This makes for very long and very slow paced video tutorials. To counteract this I have to edit out all the pauses. This can take hours, or even days on particularly long tutorials. For example, when I created my main course, The Lazy Animator Beginner's Guide to Cartoon Animator , I literally injured the thumb on my right hand, operating my mouse, as I spent weeks taking out all my pauses (seriously, I had to wear a thumb brace for a few weeks to fix the pain). Recently I came across TimeBolt , a very affordable, fast editing application with the featured purpose of removing all the pauses from your video (and even

Make Disney/Pixar Style Characters with Reallusion's Character Creator and Toon Figure Bases

The Extraordinary Tourist Classic Coat outfit created using Reallusion's Toon Designer for CC3. I've talked before how I've wanted to get into 3D Disney/Pixar style character animation since I first saw the animated cutscenes for the very first Tomb Raider game back in 1996. It's why I initially bought Reallusion's iClone 3D studio app as soon as I could afford a computer that would run it. But then Reallusion released their 3D Character Creator (CC) for iClone and I wanted to create my characters with that (and I did try with Bat Storm ). But the focus of CC was realism, even with ToKoMotion's stylised body morphs . Now with Reallusion's Cartoon Designer bundle for CC3 which features two packs, Toon Figures , and Toon Hair , designing Disney/Pixar style 3D characters just got a whole lot quicker. The two packs are the bare essentials for creating Toon style characters. Five body morphs (2 male, 2 female, and one adolescent body morph that w

Review: Headshot Plugin for Reallusion's Character Creator 3

Headshot for CC3. Quite possibly the best 3D Avatar I've made of myself in any 3D application. Creating a realistic 3D human avatar is a whole lot easier with Reallusion's new Headshot Plugin for Character Creator 3. The plugin is an AI powered extension that can generate 3D digital humans from one photo. Which sounds like an amazing proposition but, in practice, if you're trying to achieve a specific likeness to an actual person, Headshot will give you an excellent base to work from. Headshot has two modes, Auto and Pro. Auto Mode Auto is well worth a try if you have an ideal photo of a front facing person that is properly lit and posed to Headshot's optimum requirements. It's also the only mode that will take a crack at generating a hair model. I grabbed an image of Harrison Ford, dragged it into Headshot without changing any of the default settings (other than specifying 'male' and selecting an 'old male' setting) and this is what I

AE Juice - Animation Presets, Motion Graphics, Templates, Transitions for After Effects, Premiere Pro, and Other Video Applications

Level up you video edits and animations with AE Juice's motion graphics and templates. Some days you just don't have the time to create flashy motion graphics for your latest video or animation. For some of us it's more a question of our own artistic abilities being a little less than the awesome we'd like them to be. Whatever reason a resource like AE Juice's animation presets, motion graphics, templates, and transitions packs for After Effects , Premiere Pro , and other video applications can really make your work stand out very quickly. AE Juice gives you access to an instant library of free, premade content elements and sound effects, which you can add to with additional purchases of various themed packs from their store. There are three ways to manage their content, all of which can be used in commercial projects . The AE Juice Standalone Package Manager makes it easy to browse previews of all your pack contents and to download and find just the elements yo

KIT Scenarist - Free, Open Source, Screenwriting Software that Helps Research Your Ideas Too

KIT Scenarist Script Writing Software's Mascot, Alexander Cat. While you can write a script in any word processing app, if you're writing stories (screenplays) that feature characters and dialogue, a dedicated script writing app can save a lot of time formatting, letting you focus more on the actual story. Script writing apps are also very useful if you plan to send your screenplays out to production companies, or if you're collaborating with actors and other production people, who are used to scripts being in a particular standard format.  [Note: In case you're wondering there are reasons scripts follow a standard format and are always written in Courier (typewriter) font, including but not limited to; being easy to read by actors, plenty of space for notes, and the general rule that one page of a script (in this format) equals approximately one minute of screen time.] KIT Scenarist , in my opinion, is one of the best script writing apps out there for ease of use, simp

Voice All Your Own Animated Characters with Voice Changer

Voice Changer by AVSoft is real time voice manipulation software that can be used for a wide range of purposes including (according to their website); Voice-over and voice dubbing for audio/video clips, presentations, narrations, voice messages, voice mails, E-greeting cards, broadcasting, etc.; mimic the voice of any person, create animal sounds, change/replace/remove voices in songs, videos,etc. I bought it for the specific purpose of changing my own voice, to extend my vocal range, for voicing characters in my own animations. I was fortunate enough to get this software at a significant discount that made it difficult to refuse, given that I'd never tried it, or even heard of it before. I'm not sure if I would have bought it at the full price given that much of what it can do (for my needs) can also be done with the freeware audio program, Audacity . AV Voice Changer Interface. Voice Changer is relatively easy to install and set up. Once installed simply