Pivot Stickfigure Animator
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| Developer(s) | Peter Bone |
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| Stable release | 3.1 Beta / June 13, 2005 |
| Written in | Delphi |
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows |
| Size | 817 KB |
| Type | Graphics software, Design tools |
| License | Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 |
Pivot Stickfigure Animator (usually shortened to Pivot) is a Windows freeware application that allows users to create stick-figure animations, and save them in the animated GIF (Graphics Interchangeable Format) format used on web pages and, which can also be converted into videos using other software, such as Windows Movie Maker.
Pivot provides a simple, easy to use interface with a few features. It uses fixed length 'sticks' to ensure size consistency during animation, something which is not as simple to recreate in professional animation software such as Blender or Adobe Flash.
Animations created within Pivot are uploaded frequently to the well known video forum, YouTube. There are also websites that allow the sharing of Pivot Project Files (.piv) or Stick Figure Files (.stk) created with Pivot.[1][2]
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[edit] Releases
- Pivot 1.0
First Pivot release. This version of Pivot Animator had several software bugs, as with most first-generation programs. Stick figures were limited to one type of stick figure, the default stickman. Animations could be saved in the .PIV (Pivot Project File) or exported as Animated .GIFs (Graphics Interchangeable Format) format. Users were given few options of image optimization, compression or resizing when saving their animation.
- Pivot 2.2
Second major release of the Pivot Stickfigure Animator. This version implemented the 'Stick Figure Builder', which allowed users to create their own stick figure designs saved in the STK format. This allowed a much wider scope of animation choice for Pivot users. It also fixed a few minor bugs, added the "back" and "front" buttons to the main interface to bring a stick figure in front or behind other figures, and could automatically check to make sure the user does not lose unsaved projects.
- Pivot 2.2.4
In this version, Pivot was introduced as a MSI Installer Package, ensuring that the program would be installed properly. This made the use of Registry Keys(.reg) easier to install, and that the appropriate file associations for animation and stick figure files would be set. Other additions include unique icons for .PIV and .STK files, the ability to load JPEG backgrounds, and further warnings when a user tried to overwrite an existing file, to make sure that the animation that they were working on were not lost.
- Pivot 2.2.5
A few more minor bugs were fixed in this release, and the installer was now downloaded as an Executable .EXE file instead of the Windows Installer '.msi. This version was considered the last "official" release of Pivot. This is one of the most commonly used versions of Pivot.
- Pivot 3.1 Beta
This release was sent intentionally to the (now defunct) MSN groups for testing, but when Peter Bone, the developer, announced he would no longer continue to develop Pivot, the Beta was leaked from various unofficial sources like the DarkDemon forums to the general public. Several features had been vastly improved and several new features had been added. There was an improved interface, with new icons, a better default stickman with bolder arms and legs and a reorganization of the features. New features included the ability to import any .GIF or .BMP image as a sprite to be moved around in the animation like a stick figure. Another added feature was the ability to have multiple backgrounds in an animation. When a user saved a .piv file, the frame rate was saved with it. Because the developer, Peter Bone, stopped work on the project before releasing a Final version of the 3.1 Beta, there never was a Pivot 3.1 Final Release.
[edit] Running Pivot on Linux and Mac
Although Pivot was compiled only for the Windows environment, many have found success running Pivot in Linux and Mac using WINE. Because Pivot doesn't utilise many other DLLs or other external libraries, many have found it fairly easy to run Pivot in very stripped down or older Windows environments (such as Windows 95). Stykz is an application available on Mac,PC and soon Linux and it is virtually identical to pivot.The same methods of creation are used and users can even import Pivot files into the application.
Several Pivot communities and forums have been created for experienced users.
[edit] Modifications
- Dark-Demon Mod
Also known as the DD mod, this modification from a forum named Darkdemon and it is based on Pivot 3.1 Beta. However this modification gets rid of a "Read-Me file not found" error pop-up in the Pivot 3.1 beta, if the Readme.txt file isn't found on the desktop. Other DD mods include a Pivot Hotkeys mod, and a 3D mod. The hot keysmod is based on the popular 2.2.5 release and adds hotkeys to the program.[3]
After many requests for a .piv and .stk file uploading site, DarkDemon (also known as DD) forum owner, Adam Davis, made PivotUp, which allows users to upload their .stk, .piv, .stykz, .styk, .fla, and .gif files.
