Animate Keeps Crashing and Corrupting Project Files. HELP?

[davisra1138]

I am working on producing an animation for my job. For some reason, my Adobe Animate project files keep getting corrupted, and when I try to open up my animation again, a whole bunch of layers on the stage will shrink and disappear when I did NOT program them to behave that way. All the keyframes I have so far are for position only and not size. 

Is this happening to anyone else? I have had to do this one animation several times over because the files keep corrupting. Note: I have all the layers for the "puppet" on the stage set to graphic and not movie clip.

[davisra1138]

Here is a link to the project file:

https://www.mediafire.com/file/u7waees4z2cxukl/Avatar_L%2526C_1.fla/file

[_keyframer]

Hmmmm I just noticed you are using Layer Parenting - I suspect some of your layers are parented to an object that's being scaled down. Still investigating.

[_keyframer]

Yup, I removed the parent from the hat layer and it stopped scaling. You need to make sure the parent layer isn't be scaled because that is causing all other child layers to scale with it. Not a bug.

[davisra1138]

Would you be so kind as to tell me how I can find that setting?

[davisra1138]

Was it just the hat scaling down for you? On my end, a whole bunch of layers were scaling when I didn't program those layers to do that. 

[_keyframer]

[_keyframer]

It was several layers that scaled down and only because they are parented to something that is being scaled. I mention the Motion Tween vs Classic tween because you should know when using Motion Tweens, you can't control any nested animations on a frame basis. Whatever looping option is applied will be span-based. Graphic symbols will however, allow you to create keyframes and control what nested frames are visible without being span-based.

[davisra1138]

See, what I am confused about is you say those layers are parented to something being scaled. I did not program those layers to do that. Is there a way to turn that off? I do not know how to do that. 

[_keyframer]

Yeah it's a very confusing file for me also - especially the setup. You have imported bitmaps that are much larger than they need to be - not to say that is the cause of your issue, but it makes things very clumsy in terms of optimization. I went in and Trace Bitmapped some of the images since the art is flat color anyway....stay tuned as I work thru this file throughout the day. It could be a bug with Layer Parenting and the only way to truly test it is to rebuild it.

[_keyframer]

This may just be the most bizarre and unexpected thing I've seen in my 20+ years of using Flash/Animate! Your hat layer has no tween yet it slowly scales down to 0! What on Earth! I did notice these are imported bitmaps but that shouldn't matter. Give me some time today to solve this. I noticed also you are using Motion Tweens. I HIGHLY recommend Classic tweens for character animation. Stay tuned!

[davisra1138]

Hey,

Every other animation I have done with this character I have used motion tweens and I have never encountered problems like this before. I wonder what's going on now....?

[_keyframer]

It may be because the most recent update includes Layer Parenting features such as support for scaling with child layers.

[_keyframer]

I'll assume that Animate isn't actually crashing though correct? I've had your file open for a while with no issues.

[davisra1138]

It crashes whenever I try the right click+ clear all keyframes option

[_keyframer]

Oooh I won't try that then (until I save and close other open documents. Good to know. I suspect it's a bitmap issue. Since your character is flat colors mostly, I would convert bitmaps to vectors (Trace Bitmap) or better yet, just redraw them using Animate's vector tools.

[davisra1138]

Yeah the program will crash, and after I open it up again, that's when all those parented layers start acting all whonky. 

[davisra1138]

Each of these layers are all imported over from Photoshop. If I wanted to convert these layers, will that have to be done in Photoshop?

[_keyframer]

I was able to remove Motion Tween spans, Clear Frames, Remove Layer Parenting without crashing. I'm also going through and converting your imported bitmaps to vector. The imported bitmaps are very messy. Here's just one hand that has some weird alpha regions. Ultimately you want each bitmap to have a bounding box close/tight around the artwork to avoid unnecessary bloated file sizes and overlapping alpha regions. It's just a better and cleaner way to work. As vectors, this issue is eliminated completely...

[davisra1138]

Another main concern I have: is there a way to salvage this project without having to do all the mouth animations over again? I have the mouth visemes programmed to match the audio dialogue, and I do NOT want to have to do them over again. I've had to do that 3-4 times now because of these issues. 

Also, I do not know how to convert bitmaps to vectors in Animate. Sorry bout that... I have not been using animate for very long, but I found a workflow that works and only with this new project have I been experiencing these problems. 

[davisra1138]

Edit: Okay nvm I figured out how to do the trace bitmap thing.  Would it be easier for Animate to handle if all of the layers were converted to vector?

[_keyframer]

It would be easier for you if everything were vectors because if and when you need say another hand, or arm or any asset, you could easily draw them inside of Animate as opposed to switching back to P'shop or whatever. Vectors are scaleable also.

[_keyframer]

Take a look at my version of your file....
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1f6u9jHjzwVC3fWpgtkRItO_4hQSEMOaU/view?usp=sharing

I selected each bitmap and then went to Modify > Birmap > Trace Bitmap to convert them to vector.
When ytou refer to things you "prgrammed" in your file, I looked for ActionScript but found none. You are running commands such as lip syncing which isn't exactly programming. Regardless, take a look at my file where I removed all Motion Tweens, all Layer Parenting and then took all of your head layers and nested them into a "Head_Rig". I then went in and ran the auto lip-sync command again which is very easy to redo. Inside if this Head_Rig symbol is where you should do all facial expression animations. This way, you go back out to main timeline and rotate the head as you wish without making a layered mess while dealing with every single head layer and mouth phenoms/keyframes.
Also, I re-animated some arm movements using Classic tweens because you have way more options for custom easing with Classic tweens and you can control nested frames (such as your hands) - Motio Tweens are span based and limit your control on a frame basis.

[davisra1138]

You are a life saver, thank you!  This is a completely different setup from the way I had it. I'll have to kind of learn the ropes over again, but it'll be worth it. 

So I shouldn't have any more issues with Animate if I keep my setups nice and neat like this with vector images instead of bitmaps?

[_keyframer · Accepted solution]

You're welcome. It's not so different a setup. The biggest change is nesting all of your head assets into a single symbol. This way you can simply concentrate on your head animations inside of this symbol (lip syncing, blinks, eye movements, etc.) and then on parent timeline, rotate the head using keyframes, tweens and easing. 
As bitmaps, totally valid workflow, but just make sure you export each layer so they are cropped tight to the artwork. Bitmaps are best when you are creating an art look involving textures that vectors are not able to do. But since you're creating assets that are flat simple shapes - then vectors will prove easier long term and scaleable. So yeah, vectors win in your case.
Just let me know if you get stuck again. I promise the way I set up your file will increase your productivity in the long run. I even take it a step further and nest the entire character in a Graphic symbol, then inside that have all body parts and then the head which has its assets nested another level down. But as I set it up for you will def help you.