Originally posted on 25 October 2022. Scroll down for news of the Cavalry 1.5 update.
Scene Group has updated Cavalry, its next-gen motion design software.
Key changes in Cavalry 1.4 include the option to extrude 2D shapes to create the illusion of 3D depth, plus new text controls, image filters and a range of new animation features.
A next-gen 2D motion graphics tool inspired by 3D software
Originally released in 2020, Cavalry is a procedural animation app “combining the power and flexibility of 3D with the ease of use of 2D”.
Although currently a pure 2D animation tool, it supports workflows that will be familiar to 3D animators, including keyframing, curve editing, deformation, rigging, scattering and instancing.
Scene Group’s background is also in 3D motion graphics: the firm is a spin-off from Mainframe North, which developed MASH, Maya’s motion graphics toolset.
Once created, images may be exported from Cavalry in a range of file formats, including as JPEG, PNG or SVG sequences, as animated PNGs, as WEBM or QuickTime movies, or in Lottie format.
New in Cavalry 1.4: extrude 2D shapes to create 3D depth
Cavalry 1.4 makes it possible to create images with at least the illusion of 3D depth, thanks to the option to add 2D extrusions to shapes, as shown in the image at the top of this story.
New animation features include Scheduling Groups, for controlling the timing of layers procedurally, and Time Markers. for bookmarking key parts of an animation, or triggering animation events.
Other key changes include new options to scale text automatically to fit a text box, and to animate it along a path without deforming the individual characters.
There are also 10 new filters, ranging from utilities like HSV Adjustment and Sharpen to tools for creating more stylised effects, including filters mimicking the look of slit scan footage or CRT monitors.
Updated 17 January 2022: Scene Group has released Cavalry 1.5.
Changes include a new Layouts system, which makes it possible to build responsive graphics, in which the positions of shapes change by ‘butting up’ against one another.
The update also introduces a new gamma correction filter.
Not all of the new features are available in the free version of the software: you can find out which are exclusive to the Pro edition in the online release notes.
Availability and system requirements
Cavalry 1.5 is available for Windows 10+ and macOS 10.14+. The full software is available rental-only, with subscriptions costing £192/year (around $222/year).
The free edition caps renders at full HD resolution, and lacks the advanced features listed in this table.
Read a full list of new features in Cavalry in the online release notes
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