References

[1] Kurlander, D., Skelly, T., Salesin, D.
Comic Chat
In Proceedings of the SIGGRAPH , 1996
Section 1 - Introduction, Page 1

[2] Kurlander, D., Skelly, T., Salesin, D.
Comic Chat
In Proceedings of the SIGGRAPH , 1996
Section 4.1 - Characters / Gestures and Expressions, Page 3

[3] Kurlander, D., Skelly, T., Salesin, D.
Comic Chat
In Proceedings of the SIGGRAPH , 1996
Figure 1, Section 4.1 - Characters / Gestures and Expressions, Page 3

[4] Phoenix On-Line - Character Editor Frequently Asked Questions
Emotions & Poses
http://www.phoenix-online.org/helpsite/editor.htm#Multiple%20neutral%20emotions

[5] 10 Big Myths about copyright explained
Brad Templeton
In Summary
http://www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html

[6] The New Hacker's Dictionary
http://www.drbbs.com/jsw/jargon/jargon_toc.html



Computer Programs

  Microsoft Comic Chat
The Comics-based Visual IRC Client

  Microsoft Comic Chat Character Editor
The Graphical Editor That Compiles Microsoft Comic Chat Avatars

  Microsoft Application Compatibility Tool
The emulator necessary to install (and run the first time) the Charactor Editor on Windows2000 and WindowsXP systems.

  Paint Shop Pro
A graphical editor program

  Screen Ruler Junior
A computer screen measurement tool

  Freeware Hex Editor XVI32
A Hex Editor used for fixing dead avatar download URLs



Related Avatar Links

  Mermaid Liz's directory of Comic Chat Character Download Sites

  Phoenix-Online Foundation tutorial on How to create your own Comic Chat Character

  Nostrodomos's tutorial on Hexing a Dead AVB to Fix Its Downloadable URL

Known Issues with the Microsoft Chat Character Editor (from the README.TXT file)

KNOWN ISSUES
------------
Characters created with this version will not be compatible (useable) with versions of MS
Chat older than 2.5.

Circle drawing tool draws from the center instead of the corner.

Selecting Preview Character does not default to the proper emotion on the emotion wheel.

When the avatar editor is minimized and you right click on the editor from the taskbar,
the move option is enabled. This is a problem with Visual Basic and not with the editor.

Your avatar will not "dance" unless more than one neutral character intensity is created
for your avatar.

When importing a supported image file using *.* filter, you get the error message "Invalid
or unrecognizable picture format." If you have a supported image type, use the appropriate
filter in the drop down box to import the image.

The option to save in JPG format will not appear in the dialog box as a save function
unless you set your color depth to greater than 256 colors.

Some machines may experience problems refreshing the screen in NT using 256 colors.

When opening multiple copies of the editor, you may lose system resources. Symptoms
include loss of buttons or slow performance. May receive the following error "Error
loading from file." when trying to open too many instances of the editor. Close other
copies of the program to free up resources.

You can only assign up to 6 hotkeys for color selection.

In two-color mode, it is recommended not to select black or white for the transparent
color background. To change the transparent background, select file, properties, and
color.

If you are reducing the color palette in file properties color and you want to put
the color back to it's original color depth, immediately click Edit - Undo.

On some NT machines it may be difficult to select the resize box.

You can import V-Chat characters into the editor.

Using avatar characters created with long file names in versions 1.0 and 2.0 of MS
Chat will cause a general protection fault. Either upgrade to MS Chat 2.1 or use 8
characters (8.3 format) for the filename of the avatar file.

Balloon placement may appear differently on MS Chat versions 1.0 and 2.0. Upgrade
to MS Chat version 2.1 to view the character properly.

If you use "Always on Top" in the zoom window, you must click on the title bar of
the zoom window to bring the Character Editor back to the foreground.

The installation directory dialog box during setup does not support extended
characters.

Capitalized High Ansi Characters are not converted to lower case when saving an
AVS file.

When importing a V-Chat PNG file, the picture poses that you are currently
editing may be lost and the not all the poses from the PNG file will be imported.
To sucessfully import a PNG file, create a new character first and then import the
PNG file.
					

Table of Contents Avatar Concepts Ripping the Avatar Poses Creating the Character