Page 3 of 3
Couple of "gotchas;" no real showstopper
OK, this little ol' lovefest is about to have a few drops of cold water thrown on it. While it's true that Combustion is perfectly happy reading and using PSD files natively, there are a few things that you may be used to from After Effects that aren't present in Combustion. As far as I'm concerned, what problems exist aren't a real hindrance to moving over to Combustion, but as usual, your mileage may vary. So in the interest of full disclosure, here's the list of "gotchas" I found:[an error occurred while processing this directive]1) No drag and drop. This is an issue that's not relegated only to Photoshop files, but certainly worth a mention. Combustion doesn't support dragging files from the Windows Explorer or the Mac OS Finder into the Combustion Workspace. This doesn't affect me too much, as I preferred the more precise controls the Import dialog offered in After Effects, but sometimes drag and drop comes in very handy, so it is definitely missed in Combustion.
2) Make sure compatibility mode is on. If you're working in Photoshop 7, be warned that Combustion doesn't support everything a PS7 file may have in it (more on that next). Fortunately, Adobe built a compatibility mode into Photoshop 7, which you can activate through the Photoshop File Handling Preferences dialog box (fig. 12). Checking "Always Maximize Compatibility for Photoshop (PSD) Files" will ensure that you won't run across too many hassles.
 |
| Figure 12 |
3) Newer transfer modes don't always work. This is related to the last point, in that it affects Photoshop 7 users. PS7 introduces a slew of new transfer modes, which aren't supported in Combustion. So if you're planning on using these newer modes, you will have compositing problems if you import such files into Combustion using the Grouped or Nested options, as there is no equivalent transfer mode in Combustion. However, if compatibility mode is on in Photoshop, these images will import correctly using the Merged Image option.
The last word
Some may poke holes in the arguments I've made here, but I found Combustion's PSD handling options are close enough to those of After Effects as to not to cause significant workflow hassle if you're considering the switch. Next time we'll be translating the Combustion interface to make a little more sense to After Effects users, so stay tuned!
When not fleeing the paparazzi or spending his vast fortune associated with the fame and notoriety of being a DMN contributor, Kevin Schmitt can be found with his eyeballs glued to his computer screen, attempting to use some of the hardware and software he rants so incoherently about. An award-winning animator, artist and multimedia producer, he is currently a freelance designer located in the enormously bustling megalopolis of Charlottesville, VA. Whether you're looking to "give him the business" of either the figurative or literal type, feel free to drop him a line. He's ready to believe you!
Prev 1 2 3
