Field Artist Help
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If you are new to Field Artist, click "Start Here" below to get started.
Start Here
Concepts
Screen Panels
Dialogs
Toolbar Buttons
Menus
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>> Field Artist Help
Start Here
This section is to get you familiar with the basic concepts of forms, cast and animation in Field Artist. Once you understand how this part works, the rest should be pretty easy. Just click on the links below and do each task in order, and you will know how to produce pictures, forms, and animation.
Start Here -- Draw A Form
Start Here - Add Cast To A Form
Start Here - Transition A Form
Start Here - Finish The Transition
Start Here - Create A Pivot Transition
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>> Field Artist Help >> Start Here
Start Here -- Draw A Form
The largest panel in the middle of your screen is the main field view. When you begin Field Artist for the first time, it opens a demo show. Every other time you start Field Artist, it opens the same show that you had open when you were last using it. If you choose New from the File menu, it displays an empty field. The status panel near the bottom tells you that you are on step 0 ( the first step in your show ).
The row of iconic buttons near the top is the toolbar. It allows you to choose the tools you need to do most things in Field Artist. The buttons are grouped together by function.
If you hover over the buttons with the mouse, each one shows a short text window that tells you what it is used for. This also works for most other controls in Field Artist.
Find the toolbar button that looks like a line segment with two handles on the ends. This is the line tool.
To draw your line, just click and drag anywhere in the football field. Click and hold with the left button, drag the mouse to where you want the line to end, and release. Now you have a line.
To select your line, choose the forms selection tool from the toolbar. It's the one that looks like an arrow.
Now click anywhere on the line. You will see it in a different color. If you click on the open area, you will deselect the line and it goes back to its normal color.
Notice that the handles on the end of the line only appear when it is selected. Those are for resizing the line using your mouse.
Click on the Start Here link near the top of this topic, to go back to the Start Here section. Or click here to go to the next step.
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>> Field Artist Help >> Start Here
Start Here - Add Cast To A Form
To add cast members to the form you drew, right click on the line. You can right click anywhere along its length, as long as it is not on a handle. You can see the color of the form change when your mouse is positioned so as to be touching it - this behavior is called rollover - this helps you know where to right click.
When you right click, you see a popup menu with choices that only apply to forms. Choose "Add Cast" from the menu.
The dialog that appears has a number of cast members filled in, based on the length of the form you drew and the default spacing. You can change the number if you want. Then press the OK button to add your cast members.
Click here to go to the next step.
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>> Field Artist Help >> Start Here
Start Here - Transition A Form
Right click on the form you just added cast members to and choose "Transition" from the popup menu.
There are different transition modes you can choose. The default mode is Float. Just leave it as the default for now.
You will see the default number of steps for the transition is set to 32. Just leave it as 32 for now.
Press the OK button to complete the maneuver. You will notice that some things have changed. In the timeline panel at the bottom, there are some vertical marks that indicate 32 steps. The status panel has changed to show step 32, which is where you are now.
Instead of having one form in your show, you now have two forms, one on step 0 and one on step 32. If you move the new form, you can see some dashed lines that indicate the paths your cast members will follow for this transition. If you do not see the dashed lines, you can turn on paths from the View Options Menu Choice
Choose the link at the top to return to the Start Here section and do the next step. Or click here to go to the next step.
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>> Field Artist Help >> Start Here
Start Here - Finish The Transition
The transition chooses a default location for your new form, but you can move it to where you need it to go.
To move your form, click and drag it with the mouse, to any location on the field.
As you move the form, you will see that the paths get updated to show where the cast members will travel.
If you move the form too far from where the previous form was, the paths turn a different color to indicate that you have exceeded the maximum step.
Once you have the form where you want it, hit the rewind button on the toolbar to return to step 0. Then hit the Play button to show the animation from step 0 to step 32. The animation will stop when it gets to the end.
Use the mouse to drag back and forth in the timeline at the bottom. You can see how, using the timeline at the bottom, you can review the motion you have created.
Go to the File Menu and choose Save As, to save your new show.
Click here to go to the next step.
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>> Field Artist Help >> Start Here
Start Here - Create A Pivot Transition
Make sure you go to the end of your new show, at the end of the last picture you created. Do this by clicking on the final picture in the history panels at the top.
Choose the rotate tool from the toolbar by pressing the Rotate Forms Toolbar Button.
Choose a form to rotate. If the form is not already selected, click anywhere along its length to select it.
You should see a circle within a circle somewhere at or near the form. This is the rotation point.
Right click on the form and choose the popup menu command that says "Center Rotation Point"
The rotation point should now be at the center.
Notice that when you roll over either the rotation point or the form outline with your mouse pointer, both the outline and the rotation point turn a different color.
Plan a pivot transition that will keep your form on the field. You are going to rotate the form about the pivot point you define by moving the rotation point. Drag the rotation point to any spot you want to pivot about. Plan to pivot the formation either clock wise or counter-clockwise.
Now right click on the form and choose Transition from the popup menu. Choose the radio button for Pivot and fill in the number of degrees you want to rotate. If you want to go clockwise, then check the box for clockwise. Otherwise leave it unchecked.
Enter a number of steps you want this transition to take. Notice that when you enter the number of steps in the dialog, the ending step automatically changes.
Now press ok. You will have a pivot manuever.
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>> Field Artist Help
Concepts
This is an overview of some of the concepts you need to know to get around Field Artist.
Mouse
Forms
Cast
Pictures
Transitions
Paths
Animation
Drawing
Uniforms
Songs
Sections
Step Instructions
Printing
Comments
Field
Performance And Speed
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts
Mouse
In Field Artist, almost all of your drawing and editing is done with the mouse. So this section will review basic mouse techniques.
There are several different tools you can use to perform different tasks. The mouse pointer will change shape to help let you know what tool you have chosen.
Click
Double Click
Dragging
Right Click
Rollover
Hover
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Mouse
Click
To click on an object ( a form or a cast member ) is to position the mouse pointer over that object and click once ( press and release ) with the left mouse button.
You can select forms in Field Artist by clicking on them. If you hold down the Shift key or the Ctrl key, it will not deselect forms that are already selected. This allows you to select more than one form by using the Shift or Ctrl key when you click on them. The same thing works for cast members.
When clicking on forms, you have to click on the OUTLINE of the form, not the area in its middle. When you click on a cast member, you can click anywhere on the cast member shape.
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Mouse
Double Click
To double click is to click twice in rapid succesion with the left mouse button.
You can double click on a point handle of a curve or polygon to delete the point.
You can double click on a segment of a curve or polygon to add a point.
You always double click to end when you are drawing a polygon or curve.
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Mouse
Dragging
Dragging objects is a way to move forms around the screen or change their shape. It is also a way to move cast members to different forms.
To drag an object, position it over the form or cast member and press and hold down with the left mouse button, then move the object to where you want it to go and release the mouse button.
Moving Forms
Assigning Cast To Forms
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Mouse
Right Click
If you right click on a form or a cast member, you get a popup menu of option that allow you to change its properties or perform other actions.
To right click on an object ( a form or a cast member ) is to position the mouse pointer over that object and click once ( press and release ) with the right mouse button.
When clicking on forms, you have to click on the OUTLINE of the form, not the area in its middle. When you click on a cast member, you can click anywhere on the cast member shape.
Cast Popup Menu
Forms Popup Menu
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Mouse
Rollover
Field artist has rollover colors to let you know when your mouse pointer is over a cast member or form.
When your mouse is positioned over the form outline, the form handles, or the cast members, they turn a different color. This makes it easier to see where to position your mouse pointer when you want to select and move forms or cast members, or to drag and drop cast members.
Select Forms Toolbar Button
Select Cast Toolbar Button
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Mouse
Hover
To Hover is to position the mouse over an area and leave it in one place. Many of the buttons, fields and panels in Field Artist will display information about what they are used for, if you hover over them with the mouse.
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts
Forms
Forms are the shapes on the field that make up pictures. A picture is made up of one or more forms. Cast members are assigned to forms and maintain equal spacing along the length of the form. You can select cast members to drag and drop them between other cast members to change their order on the form. You can also drop cast members from one form to a different form.
If you right click on a form, you can change its properties.
You can select one or more forms with cast members and use the Transition command to create transitions.
Closed And Open Shapes
Form Shapes
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Forms
Closed And Open Shapes
Closed shapes are shapes that have an enclosed area, such as a rectangle, ellipse, or a triangle or other closed polygon.
Open shapes do not enclose an area. Lines, curves, and open polygons are open shapes.
In follow transitions, the leader and trailer must be cast members on either end of the open shape.
You can choose a fill color for forms which are open shapes. This might be useful if you want a form to portray a prop in you show such as a large flag or banner.
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Forms
Form Shapes
This section reviews the different form shapes that are available and how they are edited with the mouse.
Line
Rectangle
Ellipse
Arc
Arc 2
Polygon
Closed Polygon
Curve
Blocks
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Forms >> Form Shapes
Line
This form shape has two size handles, one at either end. You can drag either handle to change the shape, length, or orientation of the line. To move the entire line, you can drag it with the mouse. To move the line, you have to touch it anywhere along its length, but not on a handle.
Click the Draw Line Toolbar Button to draw lines.
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Forms >> Form Shapes
Rectangle
When selected, this shape has 6 square size handles. The corner handles change the horizontal size and vertical size simultaneously. The 2 side handles change only the horizontal size. The top and bottom handles change only the vertical size.
Click the Draw Rectangle Menu Choice to draw this shape.
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Forms >> Form Shapes
Ellipse
When selected, this shape has 6 square size handles. The corner handles change the horizontal size and vertical size simultaneously. The 2 side handles change only the horizontal size. The top and bottom handles change only the vertical size.
Click the Draw Ellipse Toolbar Button to draw this shape.
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Forms >> Form Shapes
Arc
This Arc shape is good for making arcs which are segments of an ellipse or a circle. The Arc 2 shape is good for making shallow arcs, but cannot make arcs which are part of an ellipse.
When selected, this shape has 6 square size handles and two endpoint handles. The corner handles change the horizontal size and vertical size simultaneously. The 2 side handles change only the horizontal size of the ellipse. The top and bottom handles change only the vertical size of the ellipse.
The other 2 handles are on the endpoints of the arc, and they change the sweep of the arc but do not affect the size of the ellipse. They affect what part of the ellipse the arc is tracing.
Click the Draw Arc Toolbar Button to draw this shape.
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Forms >> Form Shapes
Arc 2
The Arc 2 is a second kind of arc shape that is more suitable for making arcs that are segments of a round circle ( not elliptical ). This second type of arc has fewer handles and is more suitable for making shallow arcs.
This shape has 3 handles. Two of the handles are endpoints. The third endpoint determines the depth of the arc.
Click the Draw Arc 2 Toolbar Button to draw this shape.
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Forms >> Form Shapes
Polygon
To make this shape, select the polygon tool and click once for each point you want to add. For the last point, double click to end the polygon.
You can also make a polygon by dragging the mouse over the field.
You can combine the two techniques above when making your polygon.
When selected, polygons have a round point handle for every point on the polygon. If you double click on a round point handle, it deletes the point. If you double click on a segment, it adds a point to that segment.
You can drag the round point handles to change the shape of the polygon.
When selected, this shape has 6 square size handles on the sides and corners. You can scale the polygon size using the corner and side handles. The corner handles change the horizontal size and vertical size simultaneously. The 2 side handles change only the horizontal size. The top and bottom handles change only the vertical size.
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Forms >> Form Shapes
Closed Polygon
The closed polygon shape works just like the open polygon, except that when you double click to finish, it automatically adds a segment from the last point to the first point.
To make this shape, select the closed polygon tool and click once for each point you want to add. For the last point, double click to end the polygon.
You can also make a polygon by dragging the mouse over the field.
You can combine the two techniques above when making your polygon.
When selected, polygons have a round point handle for every point on the polygon. If you double click on a round point handle, it deletes the point. If you double click on a segment, it adds a point to that segment.
You can drag the round point handles to change the shape of the polygon.
When selected, this shape has 6 square size handles on the sides and corners. You can scale the polygon size using the corner and side handles. The corner handles change the horizontal size and vertical size simultaneously. The 2 side handles change only the horizontal size. The top and bottom handles change only the vertical size.
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Forms >> Form Shapes
Curve
To draw curves, you select the curve tool from the Toolbar.
Curves are smooth lines that are defined by control points. It is easier to handle your curves if you have fewer control points. The control points are only visible when the curve is selected. Each control point is a point handle that you can drag to move or double click to delete.
The curve line doesnt touch the control points except on the ends, but it is attracted by them and curves toward them. You can define the shape of the curve by adding, deleting, or moving control points.
Curves are best drawn by clicking once for each control point you want. You can move the control points by dragging them with the mouse when the curve is selected. Always double click to finish drawing the curve.
You can also draw a curve by dragging the mouse across the field. This method produces more points. You can combine the two methods, dragging and clicking, to produce a curve. But curves are really easier to work with when they have fewer control points, and the single click method is better.
If you want to delete a control point, you can double click on it. If you want to add a new control point, you can double click on a part of the curve line to add a point there.
The curve has 6 square sizing handles that appear when it is selected. These show the entire boundary of the curve and can be used to scale its size larger or smaller.
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Forms >> Form Shapes
Blocks
You can make a block from any closed shape.
To make a shape into a block, right click on the form to see the properties dialog. Check the box for Block and enter the desired horizontal spacing and vertical spacing.
The cast members that are assigned to that form will fill up the shape in rows and columns according to the spacing you provide.
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts
Cast
Your cast is the personnel who will perform your show. In Field Artist, the cast members are represented by square symbols. You can change the size and colors of the symbols, or you can allow the cast to be represented by letter symbols instead of squares.
Cast members are usually on a form. When you move a form, the cast members automatically stick to their correct places on the form.
You can select cast members and change their properties using the Properties command on the Cast menu.
Use the Cast Select tool to select cast members.
Adding Cast
Adding Cast To Forms
Selecting Cast Members
Assigning Cast To Forms
Changing Cast Order On Forms
Defining Cast Names
Letter Symbols
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Cast
Adding Cast
You can add cast to the show using the Add / View Cast Dialog which is available from the Add / View Cast Menu Choice.
Unassigned cast members appear at the top of the field. You can assign cast members to a form by selecting them with the cast selection tool and dragging them onto that form.
Select Cast Toolbar Button
Assigning Cast To Forms
Lasso Toolbar Button
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Cast
Adding Cast To Forms
To add new cast members to a form, first select one form on your picture.
Then choose the Forms Add Cast Menu Choice from the Forms menu at the top.
The Add Cast Members Dialog will appear. It defaults to the number of people for that form's length at normal spacing, but you can change the number of people you want to add.
This is a way to create and add NEW cast members to a form.
To assign existing cast members to a form, see Assigning Cast To Forms
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Cast
Selecting Cast Members
You have to use the Cast Selection tool or the Lasso tool to select cast. You can't select them with the same tool you use to select forms.
The cast selection tool is the toolbar button that looks like a face. To select cast members with this tool, you can click on the cast member you want to select. Hold the shift key down to select multiple cast members. You can also drag a box with the Cast tool to enclose cast members you want to select.
You can also use the Lasso tool to select cast members. You choose the Lasso from the toolbar. ( If you hover your mouse over the toolbar buttons, they will display messages to tell you what they are ).
To use the Lasso, draw a path with the lasso tool which encloses the people you want to select. This is useful for selecting odd groups of people that do not fit well within a box. To draw a shape with the lasso tool, either drag the mouse or make a series of single clicks. You can combine drags and single clicks. Always use double click to finish.
To deselect all cast members, just single click on an open area with the Cast tool.
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Cast
Assigning Cast To Forms
To assign cast to a form, first select the Cast tool.
Then select the cast members you want to assign and drag them to the form.
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Cast
Changing Cast Order On Forms
Often you need to change the order of cast members on forms.
There are several ways to do this.
You can use the Forms Reverse Cast Menu Choice to reverse the order of cast members on a selected form.
You can select several cast members and use the Reverse Selected Cast Menu Choice to reverse the order of only those cast members you selected.
You can select a form and use the Forms Sort Cast Menu Choice to invoke the Sort Cast On Form Dialog. The dialog has several choices of different ways you can sort the cast members on the form.
You can use the Shift Cast Toolbar Button to shift the cast on the form.
Finally, you can select cast members and use the mouse to drag and drop them between other cast members. You do this by positioning the mouse between the two cast members you cant to drop them between. When you have the mouse positioned between two cast members, those two cast members will change colors and a color rectangle will be drawn which encloses the two cast members and tells you this is the place to drop the cast members you are moving. Sometimes the rectangle will be large - this can happen when the cast members are, for example, on opposite ends of a form - the cast members you drop will end up on the end of the form.
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Cast
Defining Cast Names
You can define an individual first and last name for every cast member.
If you want to define names for all your cast members, the easiest way is to use the Define Cast Menu Choice
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Cast
Letter Symbols
Cast members can have letter symbols.
Instead of displaying as a shape, cast members can display as letter symbols if you want. Choose this option from the View Options dialog.
If a cast member has no letter symbol defined, they use the letter symbol for their Section.
Use the Cast Properties dialog, the Add/View Cast dialog, or the Define Cast dialog to change letter symbols for cast members.
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts
Pictures
Your show consists of a number of pictures which appear one after another.
Every picture can have one or more forms in it. A picture consists of a number of forms at all appear on the same step of your show.
The Next Picture and Previous picture toolbar buttons allow you to travel to the Next and Previous pictures.
The history panels ( small field views ) at the top show every picture in your show. If you use the arrow buttons to the right and left of the history panels, you can scroll back and forth to see earlier or later pictures. If you click on a history panel, it takes you to that step.
If you want to make a picture occur on an earlier or later step of the show, use the Insert / Delete Steps Dialog
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts
Transitions
A transition is what happens when cast members move from one picture to another picture.
A transition occurs between two pictures separated by one or more steps.
When you use the Transition Dialog to create a transition, you can select a transition mode on the dialog.
After a transition is created, you can change the transition mode by selecting the cast members on the ENDING formation, and using the Transition Mode dialog.
When you choose a transition, the paths for your cast members to follow are automatically generated and shown on the screen. As you move your forms around, the paths will automatically update and if they are too long ( exceed the maximum step ), they will be shown in a different color.
If you want to alter the paths your cast members take, you can choose the Custom Path transition mode. This allows you to completely specify the paths your cast members follow for a transition, using the Custom Path Toolbar Button
Transition Modes
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Transitions
Transition Modes
The transition mode choices are explained below.
Float
Follow
Pivot
Custom
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Transitions >> Transition Modes
Float
Float mode means for each cast member to follow a straight line from his position on the previous form to his position on the next form.
If you choose the "Flex" check box for float, it means the cast members will try to maintain a minimum spacing from one another through the entire transition.
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Transitions >> Transition Modes
Follow
For a follow transition, all the cast members on the starting form and the ending form have to be part of the follow transition, and all cast members must start on the same form, and they all must end on the same form.
You can choose follow transition from the Transition dialog, or, if you select cast members on the ending form, you can change their transition mode using the Transition Mode form.
If you change cast members on a form to the Follow transition mode, you have to change all cast members on that form to follow mode.
Follow Leader
Follow Trailer
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Transitions >> Transition Modes >> Follow
Follow Leader
The leader in the follow transition is the one in the front of the line who everyone else follows.
When you specify a follow transition, you can fill in the ID numbers of the cast members you want to be leader and trailer.
You can also right click on a cast member with the mouse and use the popup menu to make it a leader or trailer.
If the follow transition is beginning or ending on an open form, the leader and trailer must be the cast members at either end of the form.
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Transitions >> Transition Modes >> Follow
Follow Trailer
The trailer in the follow transition is the one in the rear of the line.
When you specify a follow transition, you can fill in the ID numbers of the cast members you want to be leader and trailer.
You can also right click on a cast member with the mouse and use the popup menu to make it a leader or trailer.
If the follow transition is beginning or ending on an open form, the leader and trailer must be the cast members at either end of the form.
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Transitions >> Transition Modes
Pivot
The pivot transition means that a form will be rotated through some number of degrees either clockwise or counter-clockwise.
For a pivot transition, you have to fill in a number of degrees between 1 and 360. It doesn't matter if you don't know the exact number of degrees -- you can adjust it by rotating the second form of your transition. You do have to check the box for clockwise or leave it unchecked for counter-clockwise pivots.
There are check boxes for "Use 1st" and "Use 2nd" beside the Pivot radio button. If you are pivoting a form without moving it across the field at the same time, you should choose "Use 1st". That way, the position of the rotation point of the form you are coming FROM, determines the pivot point. The rotation point of the second form doesn't matter.
If you want to do a complex pivot transition where you move a shape down the field as you are rotating it, then you can check both boxes to use the rotation points of both the source and target forms.
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Transitions >> Transition Modes
Custom
Custom transition lets you draw an exact path from one form to the next.
To make a custom transition, choose the Custom radio button on the Transition Dialog. If you check the Curve check box, the custom paths will be curves. Otherwise they will be polygons.
The transition will make paths which move straight to the ending form.
Using the Custom Path Toolbar Button, you can edit the paths by moving, deleting, or adding points to them. The cast members will follow the paths you create.
To use the Custom Path Toolbar Button, you must be on the ending picture of a transition that uses custom paths.
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts
Paths
Field Artist shows you the paths your cast members will travel from one picture to the next.
It shows both the past paths ( from the previous form ) and the future paths ( to the next form ).
If a path is too long and exceeds the maximum defined step size, it will show in red.
Path drawing may be slow on pivot transitions when you have a large number of people and/or a large number of steps. If the paths are drawing too slow, or you just don't want to see paths, you can turn them off using the View Options command or the Paths commands on the View Menu.
You can also define custom paths for your cast members to travel. This is done by choosing Custom as your transition mode in the Transition Dialog or the Transition Mode Dialog. You can edit custom paths using the Custom Path Toolbar Button
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts
Animation
You can animate your show using the animation buttons on the tool bar.
If you add music files to your show, the animation will synchronize to the music.
If you don't want to synch to music files, the show animation speed is determined by an internal timer. You can change the speed of the internal timer on the Animation Options dialog.
Animation Toolbar Buttons
Music Dialog
Midi Device Dialog
Animated View Changes
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Animation
Animated View Changes
View changes allow you to add automatic camera motions ( panning, zooming, and rotation effects ) to your show. The effects only happen during animation of the show to an internal timer or a music file ( in other words when you hit the play button ). You can turn playback of view changes on or off using the Play View Changes Menu Item.
For more information on how to record animated view changes for your show, see the Record View Changes Menu Item
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts
Drawing
You create a picture in Field Artist by drawing one or more shapes in the main field view. These shapes are your formations ( Forms ) that can have cast members assigned to them.
You can use the drawing tools ( accessible from the toolbar ) to draw different shaped forms, and then add cast to the forms.
You can also use the Cast tool to select cast members and drag them to different forms or different spots on the same form.
Drawing Shapes Toolbar Buttons
Selection And Editing Toolbar Buttons
Selecting Forms
Selecting Cast Members
Selecting Forms
Moving Forms
Rotating Forms
Zoom
Panning
The Grid
Measuring
Drawing Form Shapes
Handles
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Drawing
Selecting Forms
To select a form, your current tool needs to be the Form Selection tool. You can choose it by using the Form Selection toolbar button. Its the first button on the left.
All the toolbar buttons will display a message telling what they are for, if you hover over them with the mouse.
To select a form, click on it with the mouse. You have to click on the outline of the form, not in its middle.
When you select a form by clicking on it, all the other forms become unselected. If you hold down the shift key however, the other forms don't become unselected. So to select multiple forms, hold down the shift key when you click.
Another way to select multiple forms is to drag a box which encloses those forms. You can drag a box on the field using the Forms Selection tool. Any forms which are completely within the box will be selected.
If you right click on a form, it becomes the only form selected. You will see a popup menu then. The commands on the popup menu only apply to the one form you right clicked on.
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Drawing
Moving Forms
You move a form by clicking and dragging on its outline.
You cannot move a form unless it is first selected.
You can select more than one form and move them all as a group by dragging on the outline of any one of the selected forms.
Forms can only be moved using the forms selection tool chosen by clicking the Select Forms Toolbar Button
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Drawing
Rotating Forms
You can rotate your forms using the rotation.tool.
Choose the rotation tool using the Rotate Forms Toolbar Button
When a form is selected and the rotation tool is the current tool, you will see a rotation point for the form, which looks like a circle within a circle. If you are not sure where the rotation point is for a form, you can bring it home to its form by using the Forms Center Rotation Point Menu Choice
You rotate a form by clicking and dragging on the outline of the form using the rotation tool. The form always rotates around the rotation point. If you want to move the rotation point, you can also drag the rotation point with the rotation tool.
When you do a pivot transition, it pivots around the rotation point for the forms.
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Drawing
Zoom
You can zoom in to see your drawing in a larger size, or zoom out to see more of your drawing.
To zoom in or out, use these toolbar buttons:
Zoom In
Zoom Out
Zoom Normal
Zoom Select
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Drawing
Panning
Panning means moving your picture around so that you can bring different parts of it into view when you are zoomed in.
To pan to different parts of the picture, use the scroll bars on the side and bottom of the field view panel.
Or, use the Slide View Toolbar Button to slide the view around.
If you click the Zoom Normal Toolbar Button, it returns the drawing to its normal position.
View Toolbar Buttons
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Drawing
The Grid
You can turn on the grid by using the View Options menu command.
Just check the box for Grid and enter the size you want.
When the grid is in use, all your forms stick to the nearest grid point when you move them. Its a way to help you line things up evenly.
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Drawing
Measuring
You can use the tape measure tool on the toolbar to measure the distance of any path you trace on the field.
The path can be a straight line, a ploygon, or any shape you want to trace.
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Drawing
Drawing Form Shapes
You can draw form shapes which can hold cast members.
The shapes are chosen by using the shape toolbar buttons at the top.
All the shape toolbar buttons look like the shapes they represent.
Click here for a list of the shape toolbar buttons: Drawing Shapes Toolbar Buttons
Click here for a list of form shapes and how to edit them: Form Shapes
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Drawing
Handles
Handles are small squares or circles on a form that you can drag in order to change its shape.
Handles change color when you roll over them with the mouse pointer, which helps you see where to click and drag them.
There are two types of handles used in this program:
Size Handles
Point Handles
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Drawing >> Handles
Size Handles
Size handles are the small squares that appear on the selected forms on your drawing. You can drag the handles around with the mouse to change the size, shape, and location of your forms.
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts >> Drawing >> Handles
Point Handles
Curves and Polygons have round Point Handles which you can drag with your mouse in order to change the shape of the curve or polygon.
Handles turn a different color when you roll over them with your mouse. This helps you to click and drag them.
If you double click on a point handle, it deletes it.
If you want to add a new point handle, double click on a segment of the curve or polygon.
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>> Field Artist Help >> Concepts
Uniforms
You can add a more realistic appearance to your cast using uniforms.
The uniforms only appear in 3-D mode and only if you have checked the option to draw uniforms on the View Options dialog.
You can use the default uniforms that are built into the program, or draw your own.
Displaying uniforms makes the program run a little slower in 3-D mode, especially if you have a large cast. So if you need more speed, you can turn off uniforms using the View Options dialog.
Each section can have a uniform. Each cast member can also have a uniform.
If you are showing uniforms and there is no uniform defined for a cast member, then he shows as the uniform for his section. If there is no uniform defined for the section either, then the cast member shows as the first uniform in the list by default.
You can also define uniform changes for cast members to simulate flags up or down, horn flashes, etc.
The program comes with a built-in set of uniforms. You can use the default set, or you can draw your own uniforms. To draw your own, use the Draw Uniforms Menu Choice to take you into uniform drawing mode. You can alter, add, or delete uniforms using the buttons on the Draw Uniforms Dialog