Scott Ash

I’ve had some time to work a little more on Motionize and an update to fix some bugs is almost ready. Before it’s released this website will be going through a bit of a revamp. Stay tuned!

Also, all of those who have purchased Motionize in the past will have access to the update for free. You will be notified when it’s ready.

Thanks again for all of your support!

It has come to my attention that Motionize is an interesting and useful script to the larger global community for which I am extremely grateful and honored. I have also been informed that some users have encountered problems with the script. Most often this seems to be due to the lack of layers being named in Illustrator, something Motionize assumes to be a common workflow for animators.

That being said, I am more than happy to modify the software. However, I am among the least social media oriented people on this planet and rely on old fashioned email as a means of communication. Due to the sophistication of hack attempts I only respond to emails anymore and not to the overwhelming amount of spam comments this site receives.

If you have an issue or suggestion for Motionize or Vekpo please do contact me. I cannot guarantee a speedy software update or that your suggestion will ever come to fruition but it is extremely rare that I fail to reply to email. If you have purchased my software you know my email address and I’m more than happy to listen to complaints and suggestions.

Please help me make this software better by describing how it fails or could better suit your needs.

Thanks and digital hugs to all who support Motionize.

– Scott

Reader Matt Hirsch posted a response showing this workaround presented by Iain Anderson  at macProVideo to get Motionize and Vekpo objects into your Motion projects under Motion 5.3. It is a great workaround until Apple puts .molo and .motn file support into their new Import feature.

In short, placing shape files (.motn or .molo) in Motion’s Favorites directory allows them to be used in Motion 5.3. Where is this directory? It’s at:

/Users/[your username]/Library/Application Support/Motion/Library/Favorites

To get there:

1. Go to the Finder
2. Press Command-N to open a new window
3. Press Command-Shift-G to specify a directory
4. Enter “~/Library/Application Support/Motion/Library/Favorites”

Make an alias of the Favorites folder (Command-Option while dragging) on your Desktop for easy access from Illustrator or Vekpo. Thanks to Matt Hirsch and Iain Anderson!

Apple recently released version 5.3 of Motion which has changed how files are imported. The previous media browser has been replaced with an “Import” feature which does not support Motion’s own .molo (Motion Object) file format. I’ve submitted a bug report with Apple but it might help if you do to!

Motion contains its own shapes object library within the application structure. Navigating to this  library reveals files in .molo format. Unfortunately, dragging these files onto the desktop and attempting to open or import them from Motion also fails. Attempts to put custom .molo or renamed .molo files back into the application structure also fails as a list is maintained by Motion which restricts available shapes to those included with the application.

I am working on a way around this issue but am obviously hoping Apple’s exclusion of their own .molo file support within the new “Import” feature was an oversight which they will soon fix.

The file structure has not changed, the bug is simply a matter of Motion no longer recognizing its own object file format. Help me let them know!

Motionize development has taken a different path and this development version has adopted a different name: Vekpo. The ultimate delivery and interface method is still in testing but a preliminary offering is available on the Motionize Development page. It currently only works with iDraw/Graphic files.

Vekpo will rejoin Motionize on its official release but until then please feel free to offer suggestions and submit issues via email. Thanks for your patience!

The future of Motionize is to support a limited filetype input set including: iDraw/Graphic, SVG and PDF. Along with this native support (currently only iDraw/Graphic) will be an API for support of other formats.

iDraw has become Graphic^[1]. While ownership has changed and iDraw has gone from v2.5 to Graphic v3.0 the underlying technology appears to have remain unchanged (this is a good thing). File format remains the same and therefor Motionize development for iDraw/Graphic continues!

There have been some setbacks! However, to quote Janet Fitch:

“The phoenix must burn to emerge.”
― Janet Fitch, White Oleander

I prefer this image to that of decomposition. Motionize is still in the works and is very exciting for me to write. I do realize significant patience is required on your part. Cradled in my enthusiasm it is enjoys as much attention as can be afforded. It will be reborn!