I ask someone up top in the Articulate chain and I haven't received a straight answer yet. But for those of you who are concerned about any EULA violations, I do have another solution that would work for you. I had planned to also sell .PNG files of the different expressions and poses (for those with other software). The expressions and poses would be in separate files so that you can combine them and mix them as you please.
I would love to do this all day long. I love to draw and wanted to be a comic book artist when I was young (although 33 isn't that old). I do have plans to make some children characters in a very fun and energetic style. So keep your eyes out for them.
@ Bob
Are you asking if was able to get png files to load like the photographic characters in Storyline? No not yet. I imagine the database format is a bit different and I just found out (maybe) that they are actually 3 different pieces (head, torso, full body). I have plans to add photographs of people, but it won't be anytime soon.
I did speak to an individual very high up the food chain in the company. There was no official answer. He didn't want to say that yes it does violate the EULA and he didn't say no it doesn't. Maybe they are waiting to see what kind of interests develops around this.
That all it basically is. just change the files from .acp to .zip and then you can open them. All the artwork files are .wmf files and can be opened with inkscape or illustrator. Just take care of changing the artwork. Before you manipulate any of it, just make a copy of the original file and give it a different name. If you mess around with the file names or the .csv file in there you can cause some errors in storyline. Nothing serious, just delete the file, restart storyline, and try again. I'll be putting up a screenr of what I figured out so far about the "database" (.csv file) and how to create custom characters.
This doesn't work for the photographs though. You can still peek inside the file if you change it to .zip, but you can't extract the images since it is password protected.
Hey Jerson - You said you were able to change .apc to .zip and extract character files? can you give me some more info. When I try that, I get an error "Central Directory Not Found" - any ideas?
Great work Jerson! I know several people are looking for characters for construction, medical, and customer service or call center, however, I believe there is a HUGE gap for casual characters between the ages of 18-25 years old. I work at an all things teen company and it is and has been a daunting task finding characters that fit our core demographics as well as them looking up-to-date and modern. The storyline younger characters still look much older and out-dated to use for any of our content. Maybe there is a market here for you. I know I would certainly purchase a bundle of youthful, casual dressed, modern look and feel, humor expressions and that would appeal to our young and hip learners.
I'm gradually adding more characters. Right now I work on them on my spare time between contracts. I do have a set of young teen characters that I will working on, but it will be a while before they are ready.
Figuring out the format for the apc/acp files would be interesting, because they we could allow users to upload them to our dialogue builder. However, it seems that the photographic file is password-protected to force only the intended (inside-Storyline) use. I guess Storyline decyphers the package on import. I'm sure it all comes down to licencing issues.
I've seen the photographs on another company's website, but I haven't seen the illustrated characters anywhere else. Mind if I ask, what is a dialogue builder?
I know it's been asked multiple times in the thread, but are there any updates on that tutorial or word from Articulate as to whether this sort of thing violates their EULA?
My organization is very interested in this sort of thing so that we could brand our training with in-uniform characters.
If it turns out to be a violation of the EULA I sure hope that someone on the Articulate Community team has noticed the interest in this thread and that it could be worked into a future software update!
I'm actually really swamped right now, but a tutorial is planned down the line.
I've actually communicated with some individuals at Articulate and the official remark is basically "no comment". But they are very excited on the interest. As long as you don't slap a logo on one of their characters and try to resell it ( I create mine from my own template).
I do have a couple of ideas for better character customization for future updates. This should really make it a lot more flexible than it currently is.
If anyone from Articulate has any updates about the EULA agreement, please chime in.
123 Replies
@ Arthur, Sara, and other EULA concernees
I ask someone up top in the Articulate chain and I haven't received a straight answer yet. But for those of you who are concerned about any EULA violations, I do have another solution that would work for you. I had planned to also sell .PNG files of the different expressions and poses (for those with other software). The expressions and poses would be in separate files so that you can combine them and mix them as you please.
For those of you who have been following this thread, I posted a new thread with an update on the character I created.
Have you tried working with png's? I have existing assets, but converting them to wmf or emf is painful...
I have worked with pngs, but a majority of the time I convert my eps files to png. I don't think it can go the other way around.
So you have been able to get Storyline to load the png's?
I'm pretty wide open - but something like what I have attached here:
Jerson, IMO - Articulate should just hire/contract you to do this for them all day long!
@ Eric
I would love to do this all day long. I love to draw and wanted to be a comic book artist when I was young (although 33 isn't that old). I do have plans to make some children characters in a very fun and energetic style. So keep your eyes out for them.
@ Bob
Are you asking if was able to get png files to load like the photographic characters in Storyline? No not yet. I imagine the database format is a bit different and I just found out (maybe) that they are actually 3 different pieces (head, torso, full body). I have plans to add photographs of people, but it won't be anytime soon.
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! Great job Jerson, thank you SO much for sharing... keep 'em coming!
@Jennifer
Thanks, I plan on it.
Was there ever info back from Articulate on whether this is okay with the EULA?
This is so cool!
@Kate
I did speak to an individual very high up the food chain in the company. There was no official answer. He didn't want to say that yes it does violate the EULA and he didn't say no it doesn't. Maybe they are waiting to see what kind of interests develops around this.
sigh... :(
I really hope all of this works out in the best way for you!
Hey Jerson - You said you were able to change .apc to .zip and extract character files? can you give me some more info. When I try that, I get an error "Central Directory Not Found" - any ideas?
Colleen
Hey Colleen,
Sorry, I never got an error. I just changed the file type to .zip and was able to open it up with Winzip.
Great work Jerson! I know several people are looking for characters for construction, medical, and customer service or call center, however, I believe there is a HUGE gap for casual characters between the ages of 18-25 years old. I work at an all things teen company and it is and has been a daunting task finding characters that fit our core demographics as well as them looking up-to-date and modern. The storyline younger characters still look much older and out-dated to use for any of our content. Maybe there is a market here for you. I know I would certainly purchase a bundle of youthful, casual dressed, modern look and feel, humor expressions and that would appeal to our young and hip learners.
Thanks Stephanie,
I'm gradually adding more characters. Right now I work on them on my spare time between contracts. I do have a set of young teen characters that I will working on, but it will be a while before they are ready.
Figuring out the format for the apc/acp files would be interesting, because they we could allow users to upload them to our dialogue builder. However, it seems that the photographic file is password-protected to force only the intended (inside-Storyline) use. I guess Storyline decyphers the package on import. I'm sure it all comes down to licencing issues.
I've seen the photographs on another company's website, but I haven't seen the illustrated characters anywhere else. Mind if I ask, what is a dialogue builder?
Great work Jerson, since this post is from almost a year back I wondered if there is an update of your characters.
Keep up the good work!
Thanks
Hey Paul,
You can visit my website to see more characters.
Not sure if this has been asked previously Jenson, but which programs are you using to design your custom characters?
I use Illustrator. I tried inkscape but it had problems exporting to .emf and .wmf format.
Hi Jerson,
I know it's been asked multiple times in the thread, but are there any updates on that tutorial or word from Articulate as to whether this sort of thing violates their EULA?
My organization is very interested in this sort of thing so that we could brand our training with in-uniform characters.
If it turns out to be a violation of the EULA I sure hope that someone on the Articulate Community team has noticed the interest in this thread and that it could be worked into a future software update!
Thanks,
Mike
Hey Michael,
I'm actually really swamped right now, but a tutorial is planned down the line.
I've actually communicated with some individuals at Articulate and the official remark is basically "no comment". But they are very excited on the interest. As long as you don't slap a logo on one of their characters and try to resell it ( I create mine from my own template).
I do have a couple of ideas for better character customization for future updates. This should really make it a lot more flexible than it currently is.
If anyone from Articulate has any updates about the EULA agreement, please chime in.
Jerson
This discussion is closed. You can start a new discussion or contact Articulate Support.