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Task Guide: Producing a Folktale Lantern-Procession Animatic

These guides describe the documented upstream workflow. XiArt integration and installers are still in development; Alpha is free. Availability in a XiKey release has not yet been verified.

Scenario Overview

In this guide, you will produce a 30-second storyboard animatic for an illustrated folktale about a Mountain Village Autumn Lantern Procession. You will pose an articulated 3D character rig across three camera setups in 3D Scene, animate keyframed camera moves, generate atmospheric motion clips, and assemble the final timed reel with voiceover and music in the Video Editor.

Step 1: Pose the Character Rig with Forward Kinematics (K)

  1. Open 3D Scene and press B to load the articulated storyteller mannequin rig and paper-lantern prop onto the stepped stone bridge set.
  2. Select the character rig and press K to activate Pose Mode (Forward Kinematics).
  3. Select the right shoulder, elbow, and wrist joints in sequence and rotate them so the character holds the lantern pole aloft above the bridge parapet, then rotate the head and spine joints toward the valley path.
  4. Press Ctrl+D to duplicate lantern-bearer props along the background bridge steps, adjusting each figure's silhouette so the composition reads clearly in wide and medium shots.

Step 2: Keyframe a Camera Crane Move in the 3D Timeline

  1. Press Shift+T to expand the Scene Timeline panel at the bottom of 3D Scene.
  2. Move the playhead to 00:00.00, position the scene camera at a low angle beside the bridge balustrade (W/A/S/D + Q/E), and press I (Add Keyframe) to lock the starting camera transform.
  3. Advance the playhead to 00:04.00, elevate the camera (E) while pitching slightly downward (ArrowDown) to reveal the winding lantern procession across the gorge, and press I to insert the ending keyframe.
  4. Press Space to preview the interpolated camera crane movement in real time.
  5. Press Tab to enter Record Mode, capture keyframe still frames (C) for storyboard paint-overs, or press R (Record Video) to capture the 4-second 3D camera blocking pass.

Step 3: Paint Keyframes and Generate Atmospheric Motion

  1. Open the captured wide-shot keyframe in 2D Canvas, press 2 (Shape) and 3 (Brush) to paint warm paper-lantern glow halos and autumn mist layers over the 3D staging pass.
  2. Send the painted keyframe to the Image-to-Video pipeline to animate subtle wind ripple in the lanterns and drifting valley mist. A compatible service is required; check its cost and availability before submitting.

Step 4: Cut and Export the Animatic in the Video Editor

  1. Switch to the Video Editor from the left Sidebar (Ctrl+B).
  2. Drag your three 3D blocking clips and generated lantern motion shots onto Video Track 1 in story order.
  3. Drag the narrator voiceover stem (lantern-folktale-vo.wav) onto Audio Track 1 and the bamboo-flute score onto Audio Track 2.
  4. Trim the clips to the narrator’s phrasing. Use the export options actually available in the upstream Video Editor, or finish in a tested video editor. MP4 export from XiArt has not been verified.

Sources

Upstream version checked on 2026-10-14.