[TUTORIAL] Bootanimation creation & tools!

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Skullmonkey

Senior Member
Jul 31, 2010
877
299
DISCLAIMER:
I am not responsible if you break your phone. You should always do a nandroid backup befor flashing any files. Remember to wipe your dalvik before making a nandroid to save a lot of time and space ;)


Intro
So. Boot animations. Hard to make? At first yes. But I will explain in great detail each step in making a boot animation.

Requirements
-A photo Editing program (GIMP and Photoshop are the best.)
-A text editor besides notepad or wordpad. (Notepad++)
-An archive manager (7-Zip or WinRAR)

My setup:
Photoshop CS5
WinRAR
Notpad++

The Tutorial

Step 1: Folders
So in this step, we need to make folders. The number of folders depends on what type of animation you want. You can name the folders anything you want as long as they are reflected in your desc.txt (we will get more into that later).

If you have a video that you want to repeat, you will need only 1 folder. (Name it anything you want)

If you want an intro (only shown once) and then a repeated set, You will need 2 folders. Most common names: (part0, part1) (intro, repeat)

If you have more then 2 sections of images, then I have no clue what you are doing but good for you for being awesome!

Step 2: Images
So this section will be a generilization of the images. I say this because every video is going to be different.

Each image in the video is called a frame. They usually vary slightly from image to image which sped through makes the illusion of a video.

-Each frame must be 480*800 px (thats 480 pixels wide by 800 pixels tall).
-Each frame must be saved in a .png format. (If you are using Photoshop, File > Save for Web & Devices to reduce the file size drastically.)
-Each frame needs to have some numarical value.
+Recommended would be something like frame0001.png, frame0002.png, frame0003.png, etc.
+Try to keep it under 300 images total

After all of the images are created, we now need to place them in folders.

Step 3: Placing images in folders
This step will vary from user to user. based on what type of animation you are making.

Intro to loop (2 folders):
With this one, you are going to place all of the images that is to be the intro to folder 1.
All looping images will go into folder 2.

Looping video:
All images will go into a single folder.

Step 4: desc.txt
This is the 'script' that tells android what to do.

Open up your text editing program. You have to use something other then notepad/wordpad included with Windows. They add some funky stuff for every new line you make which will ultimately break the script. It is best to use Notepad++.

This is an example of a desc.txt that has 2 folders in it:
480 800 20
p 1 0 intro
p 0 0 repeat

Here is what it is telling android to do line by line:
480 800 20 <-- Width of the animation in pixels. This will stay 480 for Evo users Height of the animation. Keep this 800 for Evo Users Frames per second. This is basically your 'speed' of the animation. This will stay in between 10-30 (10 being slower, longer, and choppy; 30 being fast, short, and smooth.)

p 1 0 intro <-- p is telling it to play this folder. It will always be there. Folder is to be played 1 time before moving on to the next folder. Pause the movie for 0 frames after the animation is completed before moving on to the next folder. (This will normally stay 0). Name of the folder to be played. In this case, the folder named "intro" gets played once and then it moves on to the next line.

p 0 0 repeat <-- Play the animation... Folder is to be indefinately played. The 0 is telling it to play this folderover and over. Just keep it 0. Folder "repeat" gets played


And now for an example of a single folder (same thing looping over and over):
480 800 20
p 0 0 part0

So same as before... 480px wide by 800px tall at 20 FPS
Play the folder "part0" an indefinate amount with no pause in between.


Why not go funky!:
480 800 20
p 1 0 intro
p 5 0 cookies
p 2 0 cake
p 0 0 mynion
Same... 480px wide by 800px tall at 20 FPS
Play "intro" 1 time with no pause
Play "cookies" 5 times with no pause
Play "cake" 2 times with no pause
Play "mynion" indefinately


Ok. So now we save this file with the file name "desc.txt". It must be named that. Case sensitive.

Get it? Good. Let's move on.

Step 5: Packaging
Now we are going to package this sweetness of a custom boot animation!

(this is assuming you are using Windows with WinRAR. Steps may vary from OS and program)
1. Highlight all of your folders and desc.txt and right click > "Add to archive..."
2. On the left side, change the radio buttons from rar to zip
3. Change compression method to "store"
4. Name the file. For now, you can name it anything. Eventually, it will need to be named "bootanimation.zip"

And we are done! Now we just need to set it up on your phone!
Here are 2 methods of doing this:
Root Explorer method:
1. Rename your boot animation to bootanimation
2. Put it on your SD card
3. Open Root Explorer and copy bootanimation.zip to /system/customize/resource. The destination folder may vary from ROM to ROM. I am using Synergy.
4. Reboot your phone

ADB method:
1. Make sure you have downloaded android sdk
2. Put android sdk in C:\
3. Set the directory of command prompt to C:\android-sdk-windows\platform-tools. Click here for a video tutorial.
4. Rename your boot animation to bootanimation and put it in C:\android-sdk-windows\platform-tools
5. Open cmd
6. Type in order:
-adb remount
-adb push bootanimation.zip /system/customize/resource/bootanimation.zip The destination folder may vary from ROM to ROM. I am using Synergy.
-adb reboot
 

Skullmonkey

Senior Member
Jul 31, 2010
877
299
This post will be updated with various tools and programs which will aid your awesomeness.

Image Editors
GIMP - Free
Photoshop - $700. Students and teachers can get up to 80% off.

Batch Image Editors
FotoSizer - Free - Batch resize, file name mask, convert image format.

Other Image Tools
GIF Frame Extractor - Free - Extracts frames from an animated GIF and save them as PNG

Video Downloader and Converters
Video to JPG Comverter - Free
 
Last edited:

Skullmonkey

Senior Member
Jul 31, 2010
877
299
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thegregbradley

Senior Member
Aug 20, 2010
444
57
Yes this info can be found everywhere on XDA... much like most info on XDA, buried in page 2452 of a 5000 page thread about cyanogenmod that everyone insists you read every page of because they have no lives and they read the entire thread.

Nice to see a well organized and consolidated thread, and this info should apply to most Android boot animations on most devices (save for the screen resolutions). Thanks, OP!
 

Skullmonkey

Senior Member
Jul 31, 2010
877
299
Android guy peeing on apple:
bootanimation-android_peeing.gif


Download:
http://sm.jcink.com/phone/BAs/bootanimation-android_peeing.zip
img.php
 

Tekn010933

Senior Member
Love a Post" has a little humor in it, helps me...wake up! :) Just couple questions if I may,

Step 1. Video to repeat? One folder, would this include sound?

I'm making a video which would be in .wmv ext but would like to hear sound as well in the start-up.

Step 2. Images, said "File > Save for Web & Devices to reduce the file size drastically" and every video is different. Understood the 400x800tall would be the size on the screen, but the pixel's?

Can this be more or higher to give it a clean crystal clear look on start-up screen? what "save" should be best to keep and not loose any clarity on the Origin Image(s)?

Step 4 takes me back to 1 "reflected in your desc.txt"
I am renaming it right, as I save it?

Getting funky and so for, I am going to wait til I get there, and thank you for the knowledge...
 

civicboy1791

Senior Member
Jun 17, 2011
108
9
Houston
is there a way to test the animation before flashing to phone?

EDIT: i have an audio folder and a bootanimation.zip under /system/media and a single bootanimation file under /system/bin. is either of these correct?
 
Last edited:

eraste

Senior Member
Aug 5, 2011
1,046
556
Griffin, Ga
www.emblwpdesign.com
I did all but when I boot phone I get the splash screen and then black screen, no animation... But it boots up.

I saved the desc.txt using notepad++ this is what my desc.txt looks like

480 800 20
P 0 0 funny

When i save it I saved it as "all text files" cause it was not specified in op. Should I have saved it as a script of some kind?


Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App
 

DNarsingh

Senior Member
Jul 5, 2010
796
409
31
Philadelphia
I did all but when I boot phone I get the splash screen and then black screen, no animation... But it boots up.

I saved the desc.txt using notepad++ this is what my desc.txt looks like

480 800 20
P 0 0 funny

When i save it I saved it as "all text files" cause it was not specified in op. Should I have saved it as a script of some kind?


Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App

When using Notepad++, you have to go "Edit", "EOL Conversion", and then make sure "UNIX Format" is selected. You must also make sure that under "Encoding", "Encode in ANSI" is also selected. Then just save it as a normal txt file.
 
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  • 33
    DISCLAIMER:
    I am not responsible if you break your phone. You should always do a nandroid backup befor flashing any files. Remember to wipe your dalvik before making a nandroid to save a lot of time and space ;)


    Intro
    So. Boot animations. Hard to make? At first yes. But I will explain in great detail each step in making a boot animation.

    Requirements
    -A photo Editing program (GIMP and Photoshop are the best.)
    -A text editor besides notepad or wordpad. (Notepad++)
    -An archive manager (7-Zip or WinRAR)

    My setup:
    Photoshop CS5
    WinRAR
    Notpad++

    The Tutorial

    Step 1: Folders
    So in this step, we need to make folders. The number of folders depends on what type of animation you want. You can name the folders anything you want as long as they are reflected in your desc.txt (we will get more into that later).

    If you have a video that you want to repeat, you will need only 1 folder. (Name it anything you want)

    If you want an intro (only shown once) and then a repeated set, You will need 2 folders. Most common names: (part0, part1) (intro, repeat)

    If you have more then 2 sections of images, then I have no clue what you are doing but good for you for being awesome!

    Step 2: Images
    So this section will be a generilization of the images. I say this because every video is going to be different.

    Each image in the video is called a frame. They usually vary slightly from image to image which sped through makes the illusion of a video.

    -Each frame must be 480*800 px (thats 480 pixels wide by 800 pixels tall).
    -Each frame must be saved in a .png format. (If you are using Photoshop, File > Save for Web & Devices to reduce the file size drastically.)
    -Each frame needs to have some numarical value.
    +Recommended would be something like frame0001.png, frame0002.png, frame0003.png, etc.
    +Try to keep it under 300 images total

    After all of the images are created, we now need to place them in folders.

    Step 3: Placing images in folders
    This step will vary from user to user. based on what type of animation you are making.

    Intro to loop (2 folders):
    With this one, you are going to place all of the images that is to be the intro to folder 1.
    All looping images will go into folder 2.

    Looping video:
    All images will go into a single folder.

    Step 4: desc.txt
    This is the 'script' that tells android what to do.

    Open up your text editing program. You have to use something other then notepad/wordpad included with Windows. They add some funky stuff for every new line you make which will ultimately break the script. It is best to use Notepad++.

    This is an example of a desc.txt that has 2 folders in it:
    480 800 20
    p 1 0 intro
    p 0 0 repeat

    Here is what it is telling android to do line by line:
    480 800 20 <-- Width of the animation in pixels. This will stay 480 for Evo users Height of the animation. Keep this 800 for Evo Users Frames per second. This is basically your 'speed' of the animation. This will stay in between 10-30 (10 being slower, longer, and choppy; 30 being fast, short, and smooth.)

    p 1 0 intro <-- p is telling it to play this folder. It will always be there. Folder is to be played 1 time before moving on to the next folder. Pause the movie for 0 frames after the animation is completed before moving on to the next folder. (This will normally stay 0). Name of the folder to be played. In this case, the folder named "intro" gets played once and then it moves on to the next line.

    p 0 0 repeat <-- Play the animation... Folder is to be indefinately played. The 0 is telling it to play this folderover and over. Just keep it 0. Folder "repeat" gets played


    And now for an example of a single folder (same thing looping over and over):
    480 800 20
    p 0 0 part0

    So same as before... 480px wide by 800px tall at 20 FPS
    Play the folder "part0" an indefinate amount with no pause in between.


    Why not go funky!:
    480 800 20
    p 1 0 intro
    p 5 0 cookies
    p 2 0 cake
    p 0 0 mynion
    Same... 480px wide by 800px tall at 20 FPS
    Play "intro" 1 time with no pause
    Play "cookies" 5 times with no pause
    Play "cake" 2 times with no pause
    Play "mynion" indefinately


    Ok. So now we save this file with the file name "desc.txt". It must be named that. Case sensitive.

    Get it? Good. Let's move on.

    Step 5: Packaging
    Now we are going to package this sweetness of a custom boot animation!

    (this is assuming you are using Windows with WinRAR. Steps may vary from OS and program)
    1. Highlight all of your folders and desc.txt and right click > "Add to archive..."
    2. On the left side, change the radio buttons from rar to zip
    3. Change compression method to "store"
    4. Name the file. For now, you can name it anything. Eventually, it will need to be named "bootanimation.zip"

    And we are done! Now we just need to set it up on your phone!
    Here are 2 methods of doing this:
    Root Explorer method:
    1. Rename your boot animation to bootanimation
    2. Put it on your SD card
    3. Open Root Explorer and copy bootanimation.zip to /system/customize/resource. The destination folder may vary from ROM to ROM. I am using Synergy.
    4. Reboot your phone

    ADB method:
    1. Make sure you have downloaded android sdk
    2. Put android sdk in C:\
    3. Set the directory of command prompt to C:\android-sdk-windows\platform-tools. Click here for a video tutorial.
    4. Rename your boot animation to bootanimation and put it in C:\android-sdk-windows\platform-tools
    5. Open cmd
    6. Type in order:
    -adb remount
    -adb push bootanimation.zip /system/customize/resource/bootanimation.zip The destination folder may vary from ROM to ROM. I am using Synergy.
    -adb reboot
    2
    This post will be updated with various tools and programs which will aid your awesomeness.

    Image Editors
    GIMP - Free
    Photoshop - $700. Students and teachers can get up to 80% off.

    Batch Image Editors
    FotoSizer - Free - Batch resize, file name mask, convert image format.

    Other Image Tools
    GIF Frame Extractor - Free - Extracts frames from an animated GIF and save them as PNG

    Video Downloader and Converters
    Video to JPG Comverter - Free
    1
    Hmm, I seem to have wandered into the Themes & Apps forum.
    I consider this in development because there is a little coding involved. It's not like its my collection of bootanimations in which case I would put in themes and apps.
    Could you use a hex editor??

    Sent from my EVO: xda premium

    You don't need a hex editor...
    1
    I did all but when I boot phone I get the splash screen and then black screen, no animation... But it boots up.

    I saved the desc.txt using notepad++ this is what my desc.txt looks like

    480 800 20
    P 0 0 funny

    When i save it I saved it as "all text files" cause it was not specified in op. Should I have saved it as a script of some kind?


    Sent from my ADR6300 using XDA App

    When using Notepad++, you have to go "Edit", "EOL Conversion", and then make sure "UNIX Format" is selected. You must also make sure that under "Encoding", "Encode in ANSI" is also selected. Then just save it as a normal txt file.
    1
    Use notepad++
    http://notepad-plus-plus.org/

    audio=" /system/customize/resource/android_audio.mp3" />
    That's the line you need to have you can copy paste
    from my iced out O.G EVO

    Dased in the house!:) just the man to ask.. good to see you Sir.

    Sent from my PC36100 using xda premium