BirdBath

Myna - Quick effects

2011-12-13T09:55:00.000-08:00

Tired of rummaging through menus to add effects to your Myna tracks? It can be a real hassle if you use a bunch of them in your songs. Well there is a quicker way to open the effects by simply double clicking on the track. What a time saver.

Record custom sounds for Roc beats

2010-11-04T21:42:00.000-07:00

Aviary's online music creator Roc has a large library of sounds to create with. However you can also record and create with your own custom sounds. Create Beat box sounds, record alternate instruments, or just experiment with different sounds. To record a sound in Roc, open the option menu by clicking the gear button at the left corner of the track. Navigate to Sounds > Replace sounds, which will let you open the sound recorder. After authorizing the application to use your mic you can record sounds for your beats.

Deleting text

2010-10-28T20:18:00.000-07:00

Editing text in our online vector editor Raven is an easy task once you know this little trick. The Backspace button does not work to delete letters in text fields. You will have to use the Delete key, no problem on Windows. However, Mac users will find that their Delete button does not work, since its normal behavior is act like the Backspace key. To remove letters in a text field you must use the Shift + Delete to get it to work properly on a Mac.

2010-10-21T20:43:00.000-07:00

There is a ingenious little shortcut that can speed up your file creation in our online effects editor. You can add a Splitter hub onto any connection line from the right click context menu. Mouse over a connector and right click on it when its highlighted to bring up the context menu. From there you will fine the option to insert a splitter hub at the spot clicked. This can save you a few seconds by not having to open the hub sidebar and find the splitter hub.

Select and Trim Audio Clips

2010-09-07T09:15:00.000-07:00

The selection tool in our online audio editor Myna is very handy when you wan to edit a clip precisely. Start by choosing the select tool in the upper right area of the application. Then draw directly on the clip to make a selection. Finally choose the function you want to perform from the edit menu. Trim to selection which will remove the area outside the selection, Split at Selection which will divide the clip at the ends of the selections, and Delete which will remove the selection.

Improved Coons Patch

2010-08-13T08:32:00.000-07:00

This is a new feature that was quietly added into Peacock, Aviary's effects editor. You can set the Coons Patch hub via on-screen controls! No more fiddling with the anchor and tangent sliders. To start using these controls set the hub's dimensions to 100% by right clicking on it to bring up the context menu and select Resize to 100%. You should now see the control handles that will allow you to manipulate the Coons Patch mesh.

Tip - Mute notes

2010-06-25T08:50:00.000-07:00

Some of the notes in our online music creator can have quite a bit of sustain to them, especially some of the more melodic instruments like the Wood Flute or Jazz Guitar. There is an easy way to mute notes so they stop ringing out. To do this place a second note (event) on the same track where you want the original one to be muted. Then switch to Velocity mode and reduce the second notes volume to 0. Now the original note will be muted when it hits the second one.

Tip - Set tempo and Snap for easy editing

2010-06-18T09:09:00.000-07:00

From Mizagorn
When you are working with QuantumTracks clips in our online audio editor, life is easier when you set the "canvas" tempo to match the tempo of those clips and then set "Snap to Grid" on.

You can find the tempo of the QuantumTracks CD you are working with by looking at the far right "bpm" (beats per minute) column. First, click on the musical note button in the scale area where you see the display to set your scale to "tempo" instead of "time". Next, set your canvas tempo by selecting View > Change Tempo from the menu bar above the canvas. Then enable snap to grid by clicking the "Snap To Grid" radio button at the upper left of the canvas it will have a check mark when it is "on". This makes it super easy to line up clips on tracks, and helps a lot when you scoot clips around.

An added bonus is when you right-click within a track segment to paste a clip, the jog slider (the vertical bar that shows where you are in the mix) will jump immediately to the beginning of that segment, so you don't have to bump your new clip around!

Tip - Create a double stroked shapes

2010-06-11T08:53:00.000-07:00

It is easy to create a double stroked shape with Aviary's online vector editor. Create the shape that you want a double stroke on. Then give this shape a wide stroke with the color of your outer stroke. Next copy the shape and paste it, You can use the keyboard shortcuts of ctrl+c & ctrl+v. The pasted shape will be created in the same place on top of the original. Reduce the width and change the color of the stroke on pasted shape, to achieve the double stroke effect. If the shapes get offset you can always quickly align them with the build in Align and Distribute commands under the object menu.

Add Generated Textures

2010-05-28T08:16:00.000-07:00

It is easy to add any of the generated textures from Aviary's online effects editor to your creation in the image editor. Start by clicking on the Options > New peacock layer at the bottom of the layers panel, which will add a effects editor smart layer. Double clicking on this layer will open a separate window where the effects editor will be loaded. Any generators and effects that you add in this new window will be added to your original creation. Of instance, add a noise generator to add film grain, or use a plaid generator to get a fabric texture into your original image.When you are done setting up your generated effects click the Close and preserve changes at the top to send it back to your original creation.

Phoenix - Layer Filter Vignette

2010-05-21T08:31:00.000-07:00

You can create an adjustable vignette effect using Aviary's image editor's layer filters. Start by creating a new layer and fill it with a solid color using the Paintbucket tool. The color of the fill does not matter since it won'be visible in the end product. Next add a Glow effect from the layer filters panel. Enable both the Inner and Knockout parameters, set the blur x and blur y somewhere around 20, and set the color to black. This will create a nice shading around the edges of your image, and at anytime you can adjust any of the parameters to change the effect.

Tip - Quick Access to Tempo

2010-05-07T08:24:00.000-07:00

You can quickly change the tempo in Aviary's online audio editor Myna by double clicking on the tempo display. This will save you time from having to dig into the View menu.

Tip - Smudge tool cloning by Yotambonehbait

2010-04-30T08:08:00.001-07:00

From Yotam "At first sight it [the smudge tool] seems to be one of the most disappointing tool in the program, compared to Photoshop's smudge tool. But I've discovered that if you know how to use it, it can be a very powerful cloning tool.

First rule: Don't drag the brush on the image, but instead draw quick, light strokes, Starting at the texture you're sampling, and ending at the place you want the texture to be.

Second rule: keep the brush set to a low hardness (opacity). the smoother you want your texture to come out, the lower your the hardness needed.

Third rule: the lower the hardness, the more strokes and quicker movements you need"

Video of this in action.

Tip - Setting Connector Pins in Aviary's effects editor

2010-04-23T08:35:00.000-07:00

Organize the connector lines with in Aviary's effects editor by setting pins. In complicated files you may have several connector lines close to or even crossing over each other. You can move them out of the way by setting connector pins. A connector pin is an anchor point that the connector line will lock to. To set a pin, hover over a connector line, then click on it when it is highlighted, which will add a pin. Now you can drag that pin and the connector line out of your way. To delete a pin select it and press the delete button.

Tip - Close Paths in Raven

2010-04-09T08:30:00.000-07:00

In the last update of Aviary's online vector editor, Raven, the close path feature was added. Now when you have an open path (has a break) selected, choosing the Freehand or Bezier tool will highlight the end vertices. This allows any new path draw between these two vertices to close the path (make it continuous). Make sure the vertex is highlighted in red when starting and finishing you connecting path or it won't close.

Closing an open path with online vector editor Raven.

Tip - Simplified color sampling in Aviary's swatch editor

2010-04-02T08:18:00.000-07:00

Aviary's swatch editor gives you the tools to ample colors directly from an imported image. However it can get difficult to sample individual colors let alone knowing with to pick. Simplify the colors in the image by using the Pixel Width parameter to average colors and make them easy to sample.

Tip - Use Blackboxes inside Aviary's image editor

2010-03-25T14:51:00.000-07:00

Blackboxes are self-contained filters made in Aviary's effects editor, Peacock. You may or may not know that you can use these Blackbox file directly inside Phoenix. Use the Filter > Import Custom Filters to open the Blackbox browser where you can chose from the ever growing list of filters. Once a Blackbox filter is loaded into Phoenix it will open a dialog where you can change parameters of the filter if applicable. You can access any imported filters with the Filters > Custom Filters option.

Tip - Trim Unused Pixels in Phoenix

2010-03-18T22:37:00.000-07:00

You can quickly trim away unused pixels in Phoenix. Start by using the Layer > Selection from Layer function on the largest layer. This will select all the pixels in that layer, excluding all unused or empty ones. Then use the Image > Crop to Selection to trim away the empty pixels.

Tip - Break and Split Path in Raven

2010-03-12T09:11:00.000-08:00

There is a difference between the Break Path and the Split path in Raven. Break Path divides the selected vertex in two. This splits a closed path making an open path, and can only be used on closed paths. While Split Path divides the selected vertex in two. This splits the path into two different objects, and only can be performed on open paths.

Tip - Annotate your Peacock files

2010-03-04T08:51:00.000-08:00

Use the Note hub to easily add notes and comments to your Peacock compositions. Place the hub in the file near the area that you want to draw emphasis to, comment on , or just explain, . The Note hub is a great tool for making in file tutorials.

(A good way to find files with notes is to search for the tag "annotated" and if you make a file with notes in it add the tag "annotated" so other may find it.)

Tip - Pin your colors in Raven

2010-02-26T08:28:00.000-08:00

Save a color swatch when you want to use the same color throughout your Raven creations. With the color you want to add as a swatch or saved color sample selected click the blue add button to add it as a swatch. Once you save the color as a swatch you will be able to click on it to set that color.

Tip - Peacock Duplicate Hubs

2010-02-18T18:00:00.000-08:00

Don't forget you can now copy multiple hubs along with their connections. This is a great time saving feature. Select the hubs and connections you want to copy then right click on the selection and choose Duplicate Hub in the Menu. The selection will be duplicated and remain selected for easy placement.

Tip - Text workaround in Phoenix

2010-02-11T18:17:00.000-08:00

When using text in Phoenix you may encounter some unwanted clipping at the end or bottom. A quick fix for this clipping to to either add a space at the end of the word or add an empty line under the the text. This extra space will let the full text show in your image.

Raven -- Select all the objects in a layer

2010-01-29T08:42:00.001-08:00

You can quickly organize and select several objects at once in Raven. Move all the objects you would like to be grouped together into a layer. Then to select them all slick on the square icon for the Layer and all objects in that layer will be selected as well. You can also lock a layer to keep from accidentally selecting objects in that layer.

Raven - Close an open path with Add Segment

2010-01-22T08:15:00.001-08:00

Have you ever wanted a close to a path that you left open in Raven, it is easy with the Add Segment command. With the Edit Paths by Node tool select the two ending vertices. Then from the Path menu select the Add Segment command. Raven will add a straight segment between the two vertices closing the path.