[UBUNTU] How to make "bootanimation.zip" "Futurama" Bender bootanimation.zip

May 2, 2011

So, I was at a loose end this evening, and decided to learn the syntax for creating my own custom bootanimation.zip for Android:

Props to "LuN3yDaV3" @ http://www.droidforums.net/forum/droid-hac...-explained.html for this tutorial:

In 2.0, the android boot animation has been changed to enable easy replacement or customization.

There is a file called bootanimation.zip stored in /system/media/ in the root file system (or /data/local). This file contains two things:

1) A description file (desc.txt) that outlines how the animation progresses, what images to use, image size etc.
2) Folder(s) that contain the images for the animation.

The basic structure of the bootanimation.zip file is as follows:

bootanimation.zip
|-- desc.txt
|-- part0
`-- part1

part0 and part1 are directories that contain a series of images for example, in part 0 there is:

part0
|-- boot_00001.png
|-- boot_00002.png
|-- boot_00003.png
|-- boot_00004.png
|-- boot_00005.png
|-- boot_00006.png
|-- boot_00007.png
|-- boot_00008.png
|-- boot_00009.png
`-- boot_00010.png

And in part 1 there are:

part1
|-- boot_00011.png
|-- boot_00012.png
|-- boot_00013.png
|-- boot_00014.png
|-- boot_00015.png
|-- boot_00016.png
|-- boot_00017.png
|-- boot_00018.png
|-- boot_00019.png
`-- boot_00020.png

These images form the 'part0' and 'part1' animations that are combined as outlined in the 'desc.txt' file to form the overall startup animation. The images are ordered by number and run in sequence.
The 'desc.txt' file outlines how the animation progresses and a sample is as follows:

512 256 30
p 1 0 part0
p 0 0 part1

'512' is the width of the animation
'256' is the height of the animation
'30' is the desired fps of the animation
'p' defines a animation part
'1' how many times this animation part loops
'0' defines a pause (max 10)
'part0' is the folder name where the animation images are
'p' defines another animation part
'0' defines that it loops forever (until android starts)
'0' defines a pause
'part1' is the folder for the second animation part.

Hope this helps those looking to create their own boot animations.

# IMPORTANT #

When creating the ZIP file from:

desc.txt

part0 (folder)

part1 (folder) [OPTIONAL]

You MUST NOT use any compression. In Ubuntu/other Linux, this is achieved as follows:

[uPDATE] - I've now attached a script (zipped - extract and place in /home/<yourName>) "anim_builder.sh" which you simply place in your "~/" home folder, making sure "desc.txt" and the folder "part0" and (optionally) the folder "part1" are in there.

Once you've edited your "desc.txt" to set duration, dimensions and framerate etc, and dropped all the sequential PNG format frames into "part0" and (optionally) "part1", just run the script to build your "bootanimation.zip" (be careful - this will OVERWRITE any other "bootanimation.zip" file residing in the home dir!) by doing this in a terminal window:

 sh anim_builder.sh

Assuming you are in the /home/<username> dir, and the "desc.txt" and the "part0" and (optionally) "part1" folders are in here, you do this, if you wish to carry it out manually: For animations ONLY using part0 folder:

zip -0 bootanimation.zip desc.txt part0/*

For animations using part0 AND part1 folders:

zip -0 bootanimation.zip desc.txt part0/* part1/*

You will then have the resulting "bootanimation.zip" in your home "~/" directory, ready to upload to your handset.

The "-0" (numeral zero, NOT letter O!) tells the software not to compress the archive, and to simply create a ZIP store - VITAL.

And attached is the original GIF and bootanimation.zip (480x800 for the blade etc) I created from this:

[uPDATE]

I've made a new, sillier bootanimation.zip with Trolololololol man dancing... it's hosted on hotfile & fileserve, and called "bootanimation_trolol.zip" - simply rename to "bootanimation.zip" and copy over as usual:

Edited May 2, 2011 by glossywhite