What it does
Imagine combining the features of an interactive authoring program, a 3D animation package, and a motion graphics application into a single piece of software. Which means that for me, Anark Studio is the fusion of Flash, LightWave and After Effects into a pretty unique animation and authoring tool that can output very high quality 3D content for CD ROM, video, and the Web (and is rendered in real time, I might add). But what's the point of telling you about what Anark Studio can do when I can show you? Get your folks to sign (or go ahead and forge) these here permission slips, because we're going on a field trip to check out some Anark Media.

First, you'll need to download and install the Anark Player, which is just a browser plugin. Once you've got that, head on over to the Anark gallery and take a look at some of the fantastic demo stuff they've got there. As usual, I'm a patient man and will wait, so take your time and get a good look. But if you'd rather get down to business and skip the field trip, take a gander at figure 1 for a few choice shots from the Anark gallery.
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Fig. 01: Cool stuff lifted from the Anark gallery.

OK — are we all on the same page now? There certainly can't be much question about Anark Studio's potential as an interactive animation tool. In fact, seeing what Anark Studio could do took me back several years to when I first saw Flash in action. Anark Studio shares some of the same hallmarks that made Flash such a unique tool back in those days — real-time rendering, content that's highly Web-optimized (if you design it to be, of course), and limitless potential for compelling content. The big difference is that Anark Studio throws true 3D into the mix, and I can't help but wonder if it could eventually be a "missing link" for those that might be unsatisfied with Flash's animation capabilities. Of course, Anark Studio doesn't actually produce Flash-compatible content, so if you're going to jump in, you have to jump in with both feet.

Interface
Since I've described Anark Studio as a program that blends together various other types of programs, the big mystery becomes just which type will it resemble most? Technically, the answer is (B): a motion graphics application, though you'll see bits and pieces of the other two come into play in Anark Studio's interface (fig. 2). Let's take a quick trip around the horn to see what's available to you here.


Fig. 02: The main Anark Studio interface.

Anark's interface is divided into five areas:

• The Project window, which serves your main viewer and playback area.
• The Library, where your project assets are stored and where you can create new assets.
• The Inspector, a context-sensitive panel where you adjust object properties.
• The timeline, a combination scene manager/sequencer where you build your project.
• The Storage panel, which is a user-configurable area where you can stash frequently used assets for quick access on either a project or system-wide basis.