Have you ever been looking for a specific content item for an animation project, but you just can’t find it? The right character or background, or maybe a unique prop? And you’ve spent hours scouring the 2D Marketplace but you just can’t find what you’re looking for.
With the new Keyword Search and Deep Search tools, you can now find the right item for your project instantly right here in Cartoon Animator. And who knows, maybe you’ll even be inspired by a few items you didn’t even think of!
Let’s go to the AI SMART Search page to learn more about these two amazing tools.
Difference between Deep Search and Smart Search
The new KEYWORD SEARCH tools allow you to simply type in a product name, keywords, descriptions, authors, or search through related items of what you’re looking for.
The new DEEP SEARCH tools bring intuitive search functions with category-based filtering. You can type using natural description in any language and even drag in thumbnail images for visual recognition to get matching results straight away, without ever having to leave Cartoon Animator.
Making a project using AI Smart Search
The best way to demonstrate how practical and how much fun the new AI SMART SEARCH tools are, is to create an actual scene, and see how it can help us find all the elements we want to use. Lets say I want to set up a scene of a backyard barbecue, complete with background, actors, props and some animated effects. Lets see how we can use any of the SMART SEARCH tools to find everything we need.
Set up a scene
The first thing we’re going to need is the actual background scene of a backyard, where we can host our barbecue. Starting with DEEP SEARCH we can type in the word Backyard and see what results that gives us.
This search will give results of all different backyards created by a variety of developers. One thing to take into consideration is that you will get much better results if you use natural language prompts and include more descriptive adjectives to specify the content you are looking for. For example: instead of just typing Backyard, use more descriptive language like “ Summer House Backyard” or “Fenced Area backyard”.
The DEEP SEARCH has bought up a selection of Packs related to backyards. Under the Pack tab there are many different results for backyards, meaning you don’t have to dig through hundreds of different unrelated packs to find what you need for your project.
DEEP SEARCH provides only the results that are relevant to your search, saving you valuable time. You also have the option to search by Item, which will bring up individual items for your search. The great thing here is that you are going to get results from all the Cartoon Animator developers, meaning you might stumble across a hidden gem or two.
In the Item Search window, you can see the backyard scene which is available in the Marketplace. To take a closer look you can toggle your view to be Extra Large Thumbnails. Right-click the thumbnail and select View Product Page to be taken to the Marketplace page where you can purchase the pack. You can also filter where you get my content from, including the Content Store, Marketplace and ActorCore.
The product page provides all relevant information about this pack, the price and who the developer is so you can follow their work. Once the pack is purchased, it will install automatically to your Content Manager, ready to use.
This DEEP SEARCH has suggested some other packs as well, created by multiple content developers, which may give inspiration and suggest other items which can be used.
Since this scene is going to be a backyard barbecue, we will need a barbecue. Under the Search Item tab, you could just type in a keyword BBQ for a selection of content items based on that text prompt.
However, should you require a specific style of barbecue, a quick Google search returns a variety of options, and for this example we will choose the red kettle barbecue.
Simply drag and drop a photo directly from your browser and then DEEP SEARCH will track down content that best matches the image. If searching items in the Marketplace or Content Store, you can drag an drop images directly into the Smart Search UI. You can also exclude image searches you don’t need. Now that we have the barbecue, double-click the thumbnail to view the product page.
As well as being able to search by keywords and images, If you particularly like an author, you now can start to try KEYWORD SEARCH to search by Author. So if you have a favourite content developer you follow, you can type in their name and find their content fast.
The backyard scene and barbecue used in this example were created by the developer Garry Pye, and if we want the look of the rest of our scene elements to match, we can include his name into the search to find other content packs and items created by the same developer and give our scene a consistent look.
Sometimes you can successfully mix and match content from different developers, to keep the same style and look consistent, it can be beneficial to stick to one developer.
But for this example, let’s first look for some content created by other developers. A search for the developer Parramon brings up a variety of content, including a tree that we want to add to our scene. By double clicking on the item it will automatically download to your Content Manager. Some content will offer a trial version, so you can test it out in your project by just dragging it into your project. Use of trial content will result in a watermark being overlaid on your project until you either purchase the content or remove the trial content.
Using the DEEP SEARCH tool we now have our backyard scene set up. And SMART SEARCH makes it so easy to find everything we need to build great projects. For now, let’s remove the trial content in order to retain a consistent look in our art style.
Add a character
It’s time to add a character to our scene. Using the name of the developer in the search field so we keep a consistent look, we can type in ‘Cartoon Man’. In the left hand column you can select the actor tab to only get search results of actors. Should the character be from a particular series you remember, you can type that series name in, to focus your search further.
Once you settle on the right character for your scene, double-click him to be taken to the page in the Marketplace or Content Store to make a purchase and download him to Cartoon Animator. But now he’s going to need something to cook on that barbecue. A search for food packs will provide results and you can use Deep Search Similar to find other related items to fit the scene.
A new Prop Search for ‘BBQ Food Meals’ and see what that gives us. Again, being a little more descriptive with the text never hurts!
As the steak cooks on the barbecue, you’ll want to add some animated smoke drifting up from the hotplate. Use KEYWORD SEARCH and the keywords smoke and backyard and you’ll find many different developers packs suggested.
Once you find the right prop, double-click the pack to go to the Marketplace page to see the contents of this pack. You may find a Youtube video to click on and see the animated props in action. Purchase the pack and download it to your Content Manager. Now simply drag and drop the animated smoke prop into Stage Mode and to get your steak cooking away nicely.
There’s one more thing AI SMART SEARCH can help with for this example project. We need to get this guy cooking! And the fastest way to do that is by using a pre-made cooking motion. Don’t forget, if you want to search motions, they are only supported in KEYWORD SEARCH for now. In the KEYWORD SEARCH menu, select the Animation tab and search for ‘Cooking.’ Instantly we get all the results of premade motions for cooking and right there at the start is the perfect animation we can apply to our barbecue chef to finish our animation.
Now you know how to use KEYWORD SEARCH and DEEP SEARCH to find everything you need for your next project. With this new feature, you are going to be able to build any scene you can imagine!
Tips for content developers
If you are a content developer for Cartoon Animator, the new SMART SEARCH function right here in Cartoon Animator offers a great opportunity for users to find your creations. DEEP SEARCH relies on visual recognition, so your thumbnail design is crucial. KEYWORD SEARCH is the only way to find motions, or search by author, and it finds your assets based on names, descriptions and tags, making it essential to have a good product name with clear descriptions containing keywords. Now, potential customers don’t need to know who you are to discover your content! They can text or image search for specific characters, scenes, or props directly in Cartoon Animator, and your content will appear.
To let your assets be easily searched for by SMART SEARCH, please go to the Developer Center, scroll down and check the Smart Search Guidelines for more details on how to optimize their assets for maximum exposure.
Keyword Search and Deep Search are just two great new tools that are going to speed up your productivity and make your animation experience more fun than ever before.
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