Metaphorical | Craft and Code at Metaphorical.net

Layer Compose

2009-07-09 00:26:38

This Adobe Illustrator script automatically merge content and template layers to generate compositions. Oh joy!

Template layers: these are the fixed elements. For example, in a webpage layout, the header and footer may stay constant.

Content layers: these are the dynamic elements. For example, they may show design options of a webpage layout.

First, change all template layers' names. They should start with an underscore ( _xyz ).

Then simply run the script (File > Scripts > Other Scripts... or use shortcut key Ctrl-F12).

The zip file includes a test file (test.pdf) for you to try out. The script is only briefly tested in Illustrator CS3 (in Win XP). Let me know if you encounter any bugs.

Want to export each layer as an image or pdf then? Try this script.

Layer Export

2009-07-08 00:22:37

A little Adobe Illustrator script to ease those repetitive strain sufferings...

This script automatically exports each layer in an Illustrator file as a separate PNG or PDF, in 3 easy steps:

Layer names will become the file names. Rename if needed.
Run the script (File > Scripts > Other Scripts... or use shortcut key Ctrl-F12).
Find the exported files in the same folder as your original Illustrator file.

A test Illustrator file (test.pdf) is included in the zip. Give it a try!

Only briefly tested in Illustrator CS3 (in Win XP). Let me know if you encounter any bugs.

Tween Sprite

2009-06-11 00:09:45

Tweening, a.k.a. Linear Interpolation, a.k.a. Lerp, creates animation by moving a value between start and end.

Tweening is quite easy, but managing all the "tweens" in a scene is often a humdrum task.

TweenSprite is a simple tweening class for Actionscript 3. It allows you to animate multiple properties of a sprite, and choreograph the movements by changing time steps and loops.

Some pseudo-code to help you get started:

Create a new TweenSprite:

var sp = new TweenSprite()

Add some content or draw some graphics into it:

sp.graphics.drawRect(...)

Get a tween setting object:

var setting:Object = TweenSprite.setting( start_value, end_value, steps, easing-constant, loops );

Add as many tweens as you like:

sp.addProp( setting, PROP-ROTATION); sp.addProp( setting, PROP-ETC );

Start the animation:

sp.start();

That's it! Download the file for the source code and example.

You can also find additional information on tweening and easing functions online. Robert Penner has a great tutorial on this topic.

Curly Frame

2009-04-14 00:32:23

Found another piece of forgotten code inside a dusty folder. Let's clean it up.

It displays a distorted frame that interacts with cursor position. It signifies the abstract emotional state of a drunken mermaid in love... Just kidding.

Originally created for a Hong Kong TV production company, in time immemorial.

Bezier Path

2009-04-11 09:08:46

Just updated a piece of old code into Actionscript 3 / Flex.

This is a simple forward-differencing algorithm that animates a point moving along a bezier curve.

Drag any of the control point or end points to modify the bezier curve.

Metaphorical.net V4

2009-04-05 15:53:24

Now I can check off one of my New Year's resolutions. A refresh of metaphorical.net has been completed.

Metaphorical v1 (2002) was basically an experiment in Flash; v2 (2004) was a rebellion against usability. v3 (2006) was a blog-like site based on WordPress, which didn't work for me.

The new version has the format of a notebook, and I think this structure would well fit my wandering mind. Since WordPress didn't work for me, I also created a custom editor using Codeigniter (a PHP framework) and Flex. Fun!

The new design is glossless, clutterless, indeed boring — which is, at present, my cup of tea. Show one thing at a time, preferably without visual effects, without scrolling.

Above all, this new site is an attempt to revive a sense of self within myself. I have been quite lost in the jungles of coporate America.

Shall begin by cleaning up the old acts -- old projects, old writings, old code -- archiving and sharing them.

About Metaphorical.net

2009-04-01 00:28:26

Oh, the moments of inspiration and beauty! Strange visions and thoughts float above my head like soap bubbles. They lift up my spirit, startle my mind, then they pop.

Indeed, modern life is full of steely obligations -- meeting, cleaning, cooking, flossing -- from which I cannot turn away. The moments of inspiration, interposed between the muddles of life, are too soon extinguished and forgotten.

Gradually, I shape my sense of self to the shape of bell curve, align my tongue to the bullet-point poetry of business, and optimize my heart rate to the pace of treadmill. Life is once again reduced to rushed meals, bad coffee, bullshits to-and-fro, and a sore spine.

To let a day go by without intellectual excitement, without a passionate attitude for art and beauty, without an eager appreciation of lovely useless little things around us… is to surrender myself, alas, to the "zombification" of the heart.

Metaphorical.net is a notebook that collects and extends strange thoughts and passions.

I learn best through experiments and sketches. I create, refine, discard, sift, undo and redo. I seek to impart lightness and intelligence to a multiplicity of things and ideas.

So I must echo Montaigne, who said of his assays:

I myself am the subject of my book: it is not reasonable that you should employ your leisure on a topic so frivolous and so vain.

Related notes on:

RSS Feeds

2009-03-26 15:46:43

Metaphorical.net has new RSS feeds! RSS feeds let you subscribe to content updates. Learn more about RSS here.

Simple

Add any of these urls to your RSS readers.

Advance

But wait, there is more...

If you are interested only in specific themes, subscribe to them using this url format:

http://metaphorical.net/feed/theme/{name}

For example:

feed/theme/code

feed/theme/idea

If you are interested only in specific tags, subscribe to them using this url format:

http://metaphorical.net/feed/tag/{name}

For example:

feed/tag/processing

feed/tag/william

See the list of tags used in metaphorical.net here.

If you prefer minimalism, add /simple to receive only titles and short excerpts.

For example:

feed/all/simple

feed/theme/muse/simple

feed/tag/flash/simple

Specify!

2009-02-11 20:10:51

Blueprints and visual specifications, how tedious, how tiresome! Countless days wasted drawing those stoic lines and numbers!

So I wrote a quick illustrator script that semi-automate the process. This is a proof-of-concept, not a complete solution, but I hope you’ll still find it useful.

Usage 1:

Select one object and run the script (File > Scripts > Other Scripts… or use shortcut key Ctrl-F12). Confirm the orientation of the measurement. This will specify the width or height of the object.

Usage 2:

Select two objects and run the script. This will specify the horizontal or vertical gap between the two objects.

There are a lot of limitations, and a few potentials --

Only tested on Adobe CS3. Hope CS4 will work. Not sure about earlier versions.
Currently measurements are rounded to integer. If you need decimal points, edit the script and change the line
var decimals = 0;
For example, to add 2 decimals:
var decimals = 2;
Font and line style cannot be customized yet.
UI is ugly. I would like to have a modaless dialog box, but encountered some weird bugs. Once Adobe has a more stable version of PatchPanel, I should further develop the UI.
Fixed. Based on the ruler unit setting, it will now measure objects in inch, cm, mm, pixel, point, or pica accordingly. You may want to add decimal points if you are measuring in inch or cm (see 2nd bullet above).
Anything else? Write a comment.