cut-out animation workflow

Cut-out Animation Workflow Guide

Legal Notices

Published by Toon Boom Animation Inc.Corporate Headquarters7 Laurier Avenue EastMontreal, QuebecCanada H2T 1E4Tel: (514) 278-8666Fax: (514) 278-2666

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DisclaimerThe content of this manual is covered by a specific limited warranty and exclusions and limit of liability under the applicable License Agreement as supplemented by the special terms and conditions for Adobe® Flash™ File Format (SWF). Please refer to the License Agreement and to those special terms and conditions for details.

The content of this manual is the property of Toon Boom Animation Inc. and is copyrighted. Any reproduction in whole or in part is strictly prohibited. For additional copies of this manual, please contact Toon Boom Animation Inc. at the Corporate Headquarters address.

Copyright © 2007 by Toon Boom Animation Inc. All rights reserved.

TrademarksToon Boom Digital Pro is a trademark owned by Toon Boom Animation Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

CreditsDocumentation Development: Peter Cawthorne

Content Development: Marie-Eve Chartrand

Publication DateAugust 2007

Contents

Chapter 1: Cut-Out Tasks ................................................................................9Information Icons .............................................................................................................10Cut-out Animation Workflow ..........................................................................................11

Chapter 2: Production Structure and Organization ...............13Naming Conventions .......................................................................................................14Production Scene Structure .............................................................................................14

Root Directories and Their Structure ........................................................................15Libraries ...........................................................................................................................20Palettes ............................................................................................................................21

Palette Storage .........................................................................................................22Palette Backup ..........................................................................................................23

Task Summary ..................................................................................................................24

Chapter 3: Character, Prop and Location Design....................25Preparation ......................................................................................................................26

Getting the References .............................................................................................26Creating and Opening the Scene .............................................................................26Using the Workspace ................................................................................................27

Sketching the Model .......................................................................................................28Tools ..........................................................................................................................29Size Relation ..............................................................................................................34Adding Drawing Elements ........................................................................................36Palettes and Colours .................................................................................................37Sketching ...................................................................................................................41

Cleaning and Inking the Model .......................................................................................44Tracing Directly Over Your Sketch ............................................................................45Tracing in a New Layer ..............................................................................................48

Task Summary ..................................................................................................................50

Chapter 4: Background Layout .................................................................51Preparation ......................................................................................................................52

Creating the Scene ...................................................................................................52Using the Workspace ................................................................................................53Setting the Resolution and Frame Rate ....................................................................54Importing the References .........................................................................................55Importing the Location Designs ................................................................................56

Sketching the Background ..............................................................................................58Tools ..........................................................................................................................58

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Toon Boom Digital Pro User Guide - Cut-out Animation Workflow

Brush and Pencil ....................................................................................................... 59Field Chart ................................................................................................................ 61Palettes and Colours ................................................................................................ 62Adding Drawing Elements ....................................................................................... 63Sketching .................................................................................................................. 64

Cleaning and Inking the Background ............................................................................. 67Outputting a Layout to a Bitmap format ........................................................................ 70

Render Network ....................................................................................................... 70Utransform ................................................................................................................ 71

Task Summary ................................................................................................................. 90

Chapter 5: Colour Styling and Colour Model ............................. 91Preparation ..................................................................................................................... 92

Colour Model Storage .............................................................................................. 92Scene Creation ......................................................................................................... 94Setting up the Workspace ........................................................................................ 96Importing Models ..................................................................................................... 97Naming ................................................................................................................... 101

Creating and Loading a Palette .................................................................................... 104Creating a New Palette .......................................................................................... 105Colour Types & Properties ..................................................................................... 108Palette Types & Styles ............................................................................................ 115

Painting the Model ....................................................................................................... 120Line Art and Colour Art .......................................................................................... 120Creating Strokes ..................................................................................................... 123

Painting ......................................................................................................................... 126Painting the Model ................................................................................................. 126Balancing the Colours ............................................................................................ 128

Sharing the Colour Model ............................................................................................ 129Templates ............................................................................................................... 129Line-Up Template ................................................................................................... 132

Task Summary ............................................................................................................... 133

Chapter 6: Painting the Background................................................. 135Preparation ................................................................................................................... 137

Setting the Scene ................................................................................................... 137Using the Workspace ............................................................................................. 139

Importing the Background Layout ................................................................................ 140Importing Palettes and Models .................................................................................... 142

Importing a Colour Model Template ..................................................................... 143Loading Palettes and Models ................................................................................. 145

Painting the Background .............................................................................................. 147Line Art and Colour Art .......................................................................................... 148

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Contents

Creating Strokes .....................................................................................................149Painting ...................................................................................................................151

Task Summary ................................................................................................................157

Chapter 7: Character and Prop Breakdown................................159Breakdown and Rigging Tips ........................................................................................160

Sample Templates ...................................................................................................160Rigging Template ....................................................................................................164Renaming a Series of Modules ...............................................................................165

Breakdown Preparation .................................................................................................166Creating the Scene .................................................................................................166Using the Workspace ..............................................................................................167Size Relation ............................................................................................................167Importing the Model ...............................................................................................174Studying the Colour Model ....................................................................................178Creating the Drawing Elements ..............................................................................183Naming the Drawings .............................................................................................189

Parts Breakdown ............................................................................................................192Breaking Down ........................................................................................................192Completing the Other Angles ................................................................................201Adding Extra Pieces ................................................................................................201

Working with Joints .......................................................................................................203Classical Joint ..........................................................................................................204Joint Patch Techniques ...........................................................................................208Glue .........................................................................................................................214

Pivots .............................................................................................................................218Drawing Pivot ..........................................................................................................219Peg Pivot .................................................................................................................225

Rigging ..........................................................................................................................226Element Ordering ...................................................................................................228Enabling the Drawing Pivots ...................................................................................230Adding the Pegs .....................................................................................................233Choosing the Rigging Technique ...........................................................................238Setting the Peg Pivots .............................................................................................257Rigging Joint Patches and Glue Joints ...................................................................260Creating the Peg Functions ....................................................................................272Reordering Views ....................................................................................................274Display Ordering Factors ........................................................................................278Setting the Composite Types .................................................................................279Grouping .................................................................................................................283Adding a Display Module .......................................................................................285

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Advantages and Disadvantages ................................................................................... 287Task Summary ............................................................................................................... 289

Chapter 8: Library Management ........................................................... 291Structuring the Library .................................................................................................. 294

Default Libraries ..................................................................................................... 295Creating Libraries ................................................................................................... 295Locking and Unlocking Libraries ............................................................................ 297Creating Subfolders ............................................................................................... 297Structure Tips ......................................................................................................... 299Personal Libraries ................................................................................................... 300

Template Types ............................................................................................................ 301Cut-Out Character and Prop Template .................................................................. 303Master and Animation Templates .......................................................................... 307Network Effects ...................................................................................................... 311Drawing Animation ................................................................................................. 312Audio ...................................................................................................................... 313

Creating Templates ...................................................................................................... 314Importing Templates .................................................................................................... 318

Opening Templates as Folders .............................................................................. 319Importing the Different Template Types ............................................................... 322

Editing Templates ......................................................................................................... 325Creating a New Template ...................................................................................... 325Editing Templates .................................................................................................. 325

Task Summary ............................................................................................................... 327

Chapter 9: Scene Setup ................................................................................ 329Preparation ................................................................................................................... 330

References .............................................................................................................. 330Creating the Scene ................................................................................................. 331Using the Workspace ............................................................................................. 331Setting the Resolution and Frame Rate ................................................................. 332Setting the Scene Length ....................................................................................... 333

Importing Elements ...................................................................................................... 334Importing Animatics and Sounds ........................................................................... 334Importing Templates .............................................................................................. 340Importing from External Sources ........................................................................... 345

Setting the Scene .......................................................................................................... 348Adding a Camera ................................................................................................... 348Adding Peg Elements ............................................................................................. 349Setting the Scene Composition ............................................................................. 352Setting the Final Details ......................................................................................... 363

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Contents

Task Summary ................................................................................................................364

Chapter 10: Cut-out Animation ..............................................................365Understanding Cut-out Animation ................................................................................366

Drawing Elements ...................................................................................................366Peg Elements ..........................................................................................................367Keyframes ................................................................................................................367Drawings and Keyframes ........................................................................................369Cut-out Puppets ......................................................................................................371

Preparation ....................................................................................................................372Scene Setup ............................................................................................................372Using the Workspace ..............................................................................................373Establishing the Rigging Technique .......................................................................374Setting the Preferences ..........................................................................................377Finding modules in the Network and Timeline Views ............................................384

Animating ......................................................................................................................386Starting the Animation ............................................................................................387The Cut-out Animation Tools ..................................................................................392Sound and Lip Syncing ............................................................................................410Basic Animation .......................................................................................................423Advanced Animation ...............................................................................................428Changing the Layer Ordering .................................................................................438Importing Templates ...............................................................................................440

Extra Animation Information .........................................................................................442Task Summary ................................................................................................................443

Chapter 11: Compositing.............................................................................445Preparation ....................................................................................................................447

Opening the Scene .................................................................................................447Using the Workspace ..............................................................................................448Importing References ..............................................................................................461Importing Background Elements ............................................................................465Setting the Resolution and Frame Rate ..................................................................466

Elements Setup ..............................................................................................................467Animation Tools ......................................................................................................467Scene Components .................................................................................................476Selecting Elements Using the Element, Keyframes, and All Keyframes Modes .....480Multiplane Environment ..........................................................................................482Display Order ..........................................................................................................482Element Positioning ................................................................................................488

Trajectories and Motions ...............................................................................................493Adding Pegs ............................................................................................................493Pegs’ Parameters ....................................................................................................495

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Creating a Function Curve ..................................................................................... 503Parenting ................................................................................................................ 510Keyframes ............................................................................................................... 512Interpolation ........................................................................................................... 518Displaying and Modifying Trajectories ................................................................... 521Animating Elements ............................................................................................... 527

Camera Moves .............................................................................................................. 535Network Navigation and Organization ......................................................................... 542

Network Navigation and Rules ............................................................................... 542Basic Rules .............................................................................................................. 543Network Organization ............................................................................................ 548

Sound ............................................................................................................................ 560Importing Sound ..................................................................................................... 560Editing Sound ......................................................................................................... 563

Effects ........................................................................................................................... 564Effects and Modules Available ............................................................................... 568Functionality ........................................................................................................... 594 Effect Suggestions ................................................................................................. 598Verifying Effects and Final Images ......................................................................... 608

Task Summary ............................................................................................................... 610

Chapter 12: Export - Render .................................................................... 611Preparation ................................................................................................................... 612

Opening the Scene ................................................................................................. 612Using the Workspace ............................................................................................. 613Movie or Image Sequence? .................................................................................... 613Single Render ......................................................................................................... 614Multiple Render ...................................................................................................... 622

Rendering ...................................................................................................................... 633Rendering from a Display Module ......................................................................... 633Rendering from the Write Module ......................................................................... 636

Verifying the Render ..................................................................................................... 638QuickTime Movie ................................................................................................... 638Flash Movie ............................................................................................................. 638Image Sequence ..................................................................................................... 638

Task Summary ............................................................................................................... 645

Chapter 13: Integrating Toon Boom into a Cut-out Work-flow................................................................................................................................... 647

Integration for an Individual User ................................................................................. 648Workflow Suggestion ............................................................................................. 649Project Requirements ............................................................................................. 654

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Contents

Integration for a Small or Medium Studio .....................................................................655Workflow Suggestion ..............................................................................................656Project Requirements ..............................................................................................665

Integration for a Big Studio ...........................................................................................667Workflow Suggestion ..............................................................................................668Project Requirements ..............................................................................................678

Mixing Other Animation Techniques ............................................................................680Mixing in Paperless Animation ................................................................................680Mixing in Traditional Animation ..............................................................................682

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Chapter 1Cut-Out Tasks

Toon Boom Digital Pro is a high-performance animation software which not only offers a wide range of features, but also handles more than one animation type and workflow. You will learn how to perform tasks related to the Cut-out workflow from start to finish using Toon Boom Digital Pro. We also demonstrate how you can integrate Toon Boom Digital Pro to your Cut-out workflow.

The topics covered in this book are:

• Production and Structure Organization• Character, Prop and Location Design

• Background Layout

• Colour Styling and Colour Model• Painting the Background

• Character and Prop Break-Down

• Library Management• Scene Setup

• Cut-out Animation

• Compositing• Export - Render

• Integrate Toon Boom to Your Cut-out Workflow

You do not need to read the whole book before using the software. Each chapter is self-contained so you can concentrate solely on the chapter concerning the task you want to do. We recommend that you read the whole chapter before starting your work.

Note:

Before reading this book, you should first review the information contained in the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics User Guide.

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Information Icons These icons provide you with useful information to help improve your work skills:

Icon Tells you about

Tips and tricks

Work smarter

Read this

Use this default workspace

Tools for a specific task

Traditional animation only

Paperless animation only

Cut-out animation only

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Chapter 1: Cut-Out Tasks

Cut-out Animation Workflow

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Chapter 2Production Structure

and Organization

Before starting a production in Toon Boom Digital Pro, you should organize your work and establish your structure. This chapter will introduce the methods used to structure production scenes and their components in Toon Boom Digital Pro.

The topics covered in this chapter are:

• Naming Conventions on page 14• Production Scene Structure on page 14

• Libraries on page 20

• Palettes on page 21

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Naming ConventionsFor improved consistency and ease, incorporate naming conventions for your scenes and other project elements.

We recommend that you name your scene using alphanumeric characters: a to z, 0 to 9 and underscore ( _ ). Avoid capital letters or spaces in the file names. Try to provide the maximum amount of information for future identification, which helps ensure that you do not mix up elements and lose information.

For example, you could name a scene adventure_sc001, adventure_scene_01, adventure_character_models or adventure_seq01_sc002.

When you create your scene, you must save it somewhere. Browse to a subdirectory, such as Animation_scenes, Designs, and save it directly there.

Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn how to create a new scene.

Production Scene StructureToon Boom Digital Pro is a stand-alone software. Since it is not part of a network, all of the scenes and their data are created and saved on a local hard drive. Although there are many ways to organize your production, the structure shown here is probably the most common.

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Chapter 2: Production Structure and Organization

By using this as a base, you will be able to create your own setup to structure and organize the files in your production.

Root Directories and Their StructureBefore you save any elements in your production, you should decide on a project name, which should reflect the content or title. Use the name to create a main or root directory on your local hard drive, where you will save all of your production elements.

For example, the main directory could be called adventure_project.

Refer to the Operating System Reference Guide to learn how to create and name a directory.

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Subdirectory StructureThe root directory contains subdirectories which hold such elements as animatics, backgrounds and animation scenes. You will need to create these subdirectories and name them accordingly. For example, store the backgrounds used in your production in a subdirectory called backgrounds or adventure_backgrounds.

Having more organized work results in greater control and ease. You can improve organization by grouping similar elements into categories.

A typical list of subdirectories would be:

• Animatic on page 17

• Animation Scenes on page 17

• Backgrounds on page 17• Designs on page 17

• Final Editing on page 17

• Library on page 18• Models on page 18

• References on page 18

• Render on page 19• Storyboard on page 19

• Textures on page 19

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AnimaticAnimatic project and movie files can be stored and organized in this folder.

Animation ScenesAnimation scenes should be stored in the following way:

For feature-length films

You may find it useful to create a subdirectory called Sequence to store your scenes in. Next, group your scenes in categories according to which sequence they are used in. This offers greater control than placing them all in one subdirectory. For instance, you could group all of the scenes used in the first sequence into a subdirectory named seq001 and then place all of the scenes used in the next sequence into a subdirectory named seq002, and so on.

For television production series

You may find it useful to create a subdirectory called Episode to store your scenes in. Next, group your scenes in categories according to which episode they are used in. This offers greater control than placing them all in one subdirectory. For instance, you could group all of the scenes used in the first episode into a sub directory named episode001 and then place all of the scenes used in the next episode into a subdirectory named episode002, and so on.

BackgroundsBackgrounds can be stored by sequences or episodes in the same way that animation scenes are. Create a subdirectory named Background and then place a sequence or episode subdirectory inside of it. Categorize each background by episode or sequence.

DesignsCreate a Design subdirectory and divide the designs into three categories:

• Characters

• Props

• Effects

You may also need to add categories for Location and Background, especially if you are creating the designs using Toon Boom Digital Pro.

Final EditingFinal editing projects and renders can be stored and organized in this folder.

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LibraryA library’s many items can be difficult to navigate. The more structured the library, the faster you will be able to retrieve the items. Categorize the elements using subdirectories, which can be further sub-divided. Categories could include:

• Characters • Props

• Effects

• Audio • Models

ModelsCreate a Models subdirectory and a Colour Models subdirectory and divide each into three categories:

• Characters

• Props • Effects

You may also need to add categories for Location and Model Pack.

ReferencesCreate a References subdirectory and then categorize according to type:

• ImagesThese may be any subject from which you can gain ideas and inspiration to help develop your project, For example, if you are producing an 18th-century adventure series, you may have images of period costumes, buildings, and sailing ships.

• PicturesYou can also use photographs of items which may help you produce an accurate account of the time period in which your production is set.

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RenderCreate a Render subdirectory and categorize the image sequences by scene. For example, you would have a subdirectory named Render and categories named Scene_001, Scene_002 and so on.

It is also possible to do the following:

• Create a subdirectory called Render and store your scenes’ render in a subdirectory named sequence.

• Create a subdirectory called Render and store your scenes’ render in a subdirectory named episode.

StoryboardToon Boom Storyboard Pro projects or storyboard scans can be stored and organized in this folder.

TexturesYou can create a bitmap texture bank for pen styles and colour palettes and store all of the files in this folder.

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Libraries

Toon Boom Digital Pro allows you to use a library to store and reuse elements such as animation cycles, network effects and filters, trajectories, cut-out puppets, etc. We call these elements assets or templates. These libraries can be placed and used on different levels.

Toon Boom Digital Pro provides some library folders, to which you can add your own libraries. A library is external to Toon Boom Digital Pro. It is a simple management system stored in a place that can be managed inside or outside Toon Boom Digital Pro.

Toon Boom Digital Pro has a default library created in the user documents called Toon Boom Digital Library that can be accessed from any scene opened on the local machine. Each scene has its own Local library accessible only by that scene. Finally, there is a sample library that contains samples of cut-out characters, rigging networks, and so on. This is the Templates library, accessible from any scene.

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To store your assets somewhere other than the default location, you can create your own folder in your Root folder or anywhere else on your machine. If you are connected to a network, you can create a folder on your computer to be shared with other network users or place a library folder directly on the server.

We recommend that you name your library with a relevant project name, such as adventure_library.

The library folders and their templates are completely external to Toon Boom Digital Pro and can be archived and moved independently from the production. They can also be sent to other Toon Boom users.

Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn about creating and opening libraries.

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Palettes

Toon Boom Digital Pro incorporates palettes which hold all of the colours needed to paint elements, a concept that brings complete control and consistency to the painting process. A palette is created by assigning a set of colours to each character, prop or effect. The colour artist will create a new palette and add a new colour, called a colour pot, for each zone of the character, such as the skin, hair, tongue, shirt, pants and so on.

When a zone on a character is painted with the colour contained in a colour pot, a link is automatically created between that colour pot and the zone. This means that if the tint of the colour in the colour pot is modified, any zone that is linked to it will automatically update to the new tint. This can save time and money spent on your production. Another advantage of this system is that you can also create complete palettes for different lighting situations. For instance, in addition to the regular palette for a character, you can have one for that character in the rain, using colours that are duller and less vibrant than the dry daytime colours, or another for use in a night scene. Using palettes linked to your character in this way allows you to instantly change colouring to suit the mood and atmosphere of the scene without tediously repainting each element.

Palette StorageIn Toon Boom Digital Pro, palettes are individual *.plt files that can be copied, transferred and stored.

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When a palette is created from Toon Boom Digital Pro, it needs to be stored somewhere. By default, Toon Boom Digital Pro is set to Basic Palette Lists mode so that you do not have to do the palette storage manually. It will be simply saved at the Scene level.

The palette file is always saved in the scene directory and stored in a Palette Library folder. There are four locations where you can find Palette Library folders:

• Element The Palette Library folder is stored directly in the Drawing Element folder.

• SceneThe Palette Library folder is stored directly in the Scene folder.

• JobThe Palette Library folder is stored in a Job folder contained in the Scene folder.

• EnvironmentThe Palette Library folder is stored in an Environment folder contained in the Scene folder.

That structure exists to be compatible with Toon Boom Harmony and Toon Boom Opus, both of which have a structure starting at the Environment level and descending to the Element level. They have a client-server configuration that allows sharing of all the data, such as palettes and scenes between a series of client machines.

Since each Toon Boom Digital Pro scene is local, the palette storage level is not critical, but we recommend that you store them at the Scene level.

Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn how to create, load and store palettes.

Palette BackupWhen sharing palettes between scenes, some users may modify the colours by accident. That is why it is a good idea to copy and backup your palette libraries and master palette directories.

When a palette file is copied, it automatically becomes a clone palette, so there will not be any trouble replacing an altered file. Toon Boom Digital Pro automatically updates all of the files and drawings linked to it.

23


Task Summary1. Create the project root folder

2. Create subfolders in the root folder

3. Store the project components in the appropriate folders

4. Create a library

5. Create and link palettes

Next Task: Character, Prop and Location Design

24

Chapter 3Character, Prop and

Location Design

Previous Task: Production Structure and Organization

Another important aspect of a project workflow is the character, prop and location design. This determines the style and the model to follow for the whole project.

The design can be created on paper and scanned in or it can be created digitally. Some users will draw and even create the colours entirely on paper, while others will design on paper and scan the drawings to create the colour model in a software program. This last method is currently very popular.

To save paper and time and avoid having to recreate colour palettes, Toon Boom Digital Pro gives you the ability to design all elements directly in the application. This keeps all your work within the same software, avoids using a lot of paper and losing time scanning in elements and importing them.

The design process is divided into three steps:

• Preparation on page 26

• Sketching the Model on page 28• Cleaning and Inking the Model on page 44

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PreparationTo prepare for the design, you will need to go through a few steps:

• Getting the References on page 26

• Creating and Opening the Scene on page 26

• Using the Workspace on page 27

Getting the References

To create your models, you will need references, such as the script, to learn about the look of the characters, their personalities, the props, the ambiances and so on. Your main reference will be the script so it is very important to read it carefully.

The design artist will refer to the script and sometimes the storyboard. The storyboard is not always completed or even started at this step. These two steps are often done concurrently.

The storyboard will also be quite useful. Although it will not yet be the final version of the storyboard, it will help you to know what the character will be doing, what props need to be designed, etc.

Creating and Opening the SceneTo start your designs, you will need to create a scene to store your work.

It is a good idea to organize and structure your work from the start to maintain control over your project and to avoid losing files. We recommend that you create a scene for each type of design; for example, one scene for the characters, another for the props, etc.

26

Chapter 3: Character, Prop and Location Design

Once your scene is created, you can open it and set your workspace.

Refer to the Production Structure and Organization chapter to learn how to structure your scenes and your project.

Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn more about creating and opening a scene.

Using the Workspace

Toon Boom Digital Pro provides you with a default workspace to design your characters and props. Set your Workspace drop-down menu to Drawing and Design.

To sketch the characters, props or locations directly in Toon Boom Digital Pro, you will mostly use the Camera or the Drawing View.

27


Sketching the Model

Now that you have your references set and your scene created, you can start designing. The principle is the same as for the Paperless animation. You will need to create your drawing elements, use an outline colour to draw, and use the same drawing tools and techniques.

To design your characters, props and key locations, you will need to learn the following:

• Tools on page 29• Size Relation on page 34

• Palettes and Colours on page 37

• Adding Drawing Elements on page 36• Sketching on page 41

28


ToolsTo design directly in Toon Boom Digital Pro, the artist will mainly have to know about drawing and the drawing tools. A designer does not need to learn the whole application, but can instead focus on the section and set of tools.

Before starting your sketches, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with these topics:

• Brush and Pencil on page 29

• Onion Skin and Light Table on page 31• Tips and Tricks on page 31

Brush and PencilThe brush and pencil tools are used to draw and sketch.

The Brush tool accounts for pressure sensitivity, allowing you to create lines with variable thicknesses. The Pencil, Ellipse, Rectangle, Line and Polyline tools produce a uniform thickness as they use a central vector. You can always draw with a pencil tool and then convert it to a brush to modify its thickness with the option Pencil Lines to Brush. To adjust thew thickness, use the Contour Editor. You can also convert a brush zone into a pencil line with the Brushes to Pencil Line option. The brush line will lose its thick and thin characteristics as it passes from a contour vector to a central vector type.

The texture pen can only be used with the Brush tool because it is a mixture of vector containers and bitmap filling. Create any bitmap texture you want in external software. Using the Pen View, you can load and adjust different textures.

29


To add a Texture Pen:

1. In the Pen View, click on the Menu button and select New Texture Pen or click

on the New Texture Pen Icon.

The Load Texture File window opens.

2. Browse to a Tga or Psd file to load as a texture.

3. Click on the Open button.

4. Set your brush size in the Pen tab.

In the Camera and Drawing View, the default keyboard shortcut for the maximum size is [O] and for the minimum size is [Shift]+[O].

5. In the Texture tab, set your texture parameters. The slider for the pen size has a range of 1-100; any value over 100 can be typed in.

The Pen window allows the modification of the pen parameters as the thickness and smoothness and allows you to save the pen list.

30


Onion Skin and Light TableThe Onion Skin and Light Table are used to preview the previous and subsequent drawings, cels, elements and frames. When designing or animating, it is useful to be able to see your previous drawings. Just as if you were building a cut-out puppet, you will want to see the other drawing elements to know where to draw your new piece.

Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn how to activate the onion skin.

Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn how to activate the light table.

Tips and Tricks

Here are some tips and tricks to help you feel more comfortable while drawing:

• Rotary Table on page 32• Texture Pen and Transparent Pen on page 33

• Pen Tablet on page 33

31


Rotary TableUse the rotary table (animation disk) to rotate your workspace while you draw.

To use the rotary table:

1. To enable the Rotary Table:In the Camera or Drawing View, hold down the default keyboard shortcut [Ctrl]+[Alt] (Windows) or [ ]+[Alt] (Mac OS X)In the Drawing Tools toolbar, select the Rotate tool.

2. Rotate the working space to the desired angle and let go of the keyboard shortcut or switch drawing tool.

To reset the Camera or Drawing View position, use the default keyboard shortcut [Shift]+[X].

32


Texture Pen and Transparent PenUse the texture pen or a transparent colour to get a paper sketch feeling.To create a transparent colour, simply modify the alpha of the colour pot in the Colour View.

Refer to the section on Brush and Pencil on page 29 to learn how to add a texture pen.

Refer to the section on Palettes and Colours on page 37 to learn how to create a colour.

Pen TabletUse a pen tablet to draw with a pen instead of the mouse. This increases the dexterity and the speed considerably. It also accounts for pressure sensitivity.

33


Size RelationThe size relation is an important concept while designing the final black and white model. It is crucial to create a height and width relation between the characters and props to maintain consistency throughout the whole project.

A production contains many characters and props. They will often be created and animated by many different people, some will draw big images while others will draw very small ones. When the characters are put together in a scene, some will be too tall or too small, or the character’s size may vary from one scene to the next. The animator or scene setup person will have to scale or draw them to the correct size.

When a character or a prop is scaled down, its outline will get thinner. By the time that it reaches the proper size, the outline may be so thin that the difference between this character’s outline and the outline of the character beside it will be quite noticeable and will not look very good.

The size relation can be done using these two main techniques:

• Line Up on page 34

• Field Chart on page 35

Line Up

A line up consists of copying and pasting all of your character designs in the same drawing and scaling them to the right size in proportion to the other ones. This line up is very important and should be given to any animator, layout and posing artist and scene set up person working on the project.

For the prop design, it is recommended that you paste one of the main character’s hands or the full body beside the prop so that the animator knows what size to draw or set it.

In your character design scene, it is a good idea to create a column for the character line up.

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Field ChartToon Boom Digital Pro also has a field chart in its Camera and Drawing Views. It is a very useful tool to set the height of characters and props.

To display the field chart:

1. To display the Field chart/grid

In the Drawing and Camera View, click on the Menu button and select

View > Grid > Show Grid. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[‘] (Windows) or [ ]+[‘] (Mac OS X).

It is recommended to keep the character design and break down inside the 12 field size so that it fits the default camera size and the template thumbnails.

Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn more about the field chart.

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Adding Drawing ElementsTo draw something in your Camera or Drawing View, you need to add a drawing element to your Xsheet or Timeline View if you do not already have one. You will also need to select a cell in your drawing element. This is similar to putting a pile of paper on your desk and choosing which paper you will draw on.

To add a drawing element from top menu:

1. In the top menu, select Scene > Add > Drawing.

The new drawing element appears in the Timeline, Xsheet and Network View.

2. In the Xsheet View, double-click on the drawing element column’s header.

The Column Editor dialog box open.

3. In the Name field, name your element according to what you are doing.

4. Click on the OK button.

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5. To rename the drawing element:In the Timeline View, double-click on the drawing element module and type the new name in the Name field.In the Xsheet View, double-click on the drawing element column’s header and type the new name in the Name field.

Make sure that your display toolbar is set to “Display All” in order to see modules and elements that are not connected to a composite module in the Network View.

Palettes and Colours

Toon Boom Digital Pro has an integrated palette system. Each character, prop or background can have its own set of colours and each colour in the palette can be associated to colour fill zones on a drawing. The user can create as many palettes and colours as desired.

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Default PaletteEach scene created in Toon Boom Digital Pro includes a default colour palette. This default palette contains a group of colours that can be used to sketch and paint.

You can sketch and design using the default palette provided by Toon Boom Digital Pro and the default colours without any problem. However, it is not recommended that you use the default palette for the Colour Models. A different colour palette should be created for each colour model.

To sketch and design with a different colour pot or create a palette for each character, prop or key location, you will need to learn how to manage the Toon Boom Digital Pro Palettes.

To modify colours RGBA, you will also need to learn about the Toon Boom Digital Pro colour management.

Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn more about colours and palettes.

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Creating a Basic PaletteThere are two palette list modes: Advanced and Basic. By default, Toon Boom Digital Pro is set to Basic Palette Lists mode. You can change to Advanced mode in Preferences.

To create a new palette (Basic Mode):

1. In the Timeline or Xsheet View, select the element’s drawing that requires the palette. Other drawings will be able to use this same palette later.

2. In the Colour View, click on the Menu button and select Palette > New or click

on the New Palette button.

The Palette Browser: Create Palette window opens.

3. Name the palette according to the model. There is no need to add the word “palette” at the end as it is always recognized as a palette file.


The palette appears in the drawing element’s palette list.

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Adding Colour PotsTo add a colour pot to a palette:

1. In the Colour View, click on the Menu button and select Colour > New. You

can also use the New Colour button.

2. To modify the colour, click on the Menu button and select Colour > Edit. You can also double-click on the colour pot.

The Colour Picker window opens.

3. Select your colour.

4. You can rename the colour pot in the Colour Picker window or directly in the colour list by double-clicking on its name.

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Sketching

Now that you have added your drawing elements, you are ready to sketch your models.

To sketch a model:

1. In the Timeline or Xsheet View, select the cell where you want to draw.

2. In the Drawing Tools toolbar or the top Drawing menu, select the drawing tools of your choice.

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3. In the Drawing or Camera View, enable the Grid (Field Chart). The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[‘] (Windows) or [ ]+[‘] (Mac OS X).

Make sure that the Drawing or Camera View is the active view while using the keyboard shortcut.

4. In the Colour View, select the desired colour.

5. In the Pen View, select the pen of your choice and adjust its parameters.

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6. In the Camera or Drawing View, start sketching your drawing.

7. In the Camera or Drawing View, use the Rotary Table to rotate your workspace.The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[Alt] (Windows) or [ ]+[Alt] (Mac OS X).

The default keyboard shortcut to reset the workspace rotation is [Shift]+[X].

8. If you decide to draw in the next cell and need to see your previous drawing, enable the Onion Skin. The default keyboard shortcut is [Alt]+[O].

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Cleaning and Inking the Model

When your rough models are ready, it is time to clean and ink them. You can still use the default palette and colours to do so, especially if you are not the one doing the colour styling. If you already created a palette for your model, you can add new colours for tracing.


There are two main techniques used to trace a model:

• Tracing Directly Over Your Sketch on page 45

• Tracing in a New Layer on page 48

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Tracing Directly Over Your Sketch

To clean directly over means to clean your drawing in the same cell. This technique is the equivalent of sketching on paper with the blue animator pencil and inking directly on it in black. There is an option in Toon Boom Digital Pro called Select Strokes with Current Colour that allows you to select all of the zones using a certain colour from your palette. This feature gives you the possibility to trace over your sketch with a different colour and, once done, to select all of the zones painted with the sketch colour and delete them to keep only the clean drawing.

To trace directly over your sketch:

1. In the Timeline or Xsheet View, select the rough model cell.

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2. In the Colour View:Create a new colour in your palette and select it. It is recommended that you name it Clean or Trace.

If you previously made a palette for this character, select its outline colour.

3. In the Drawing Tools toolbar or the top Drawing menu, select the drawing tool of your choice.

4. In the Camera or Drawing View, trace over your rough model.

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5. Once the drawing is completed, go to your colour palette and select the Sketch colour.

6. To select the zones painted with the Sketch colour:

In the Camera or Drawing View, click on the Menu button and select Edit > Select Strokes With Current Colour. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[Shift]+[A] (Windows) or [ ]+[Shift]+[A] (Mac OS X).

7. Delete the selected zone using the [Delete] key on your keyboard.

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This method avoids adding too many elements in your scene or asking for too much power from a low performance graphic card with the Light Table or Onion Skin. Although, the rough animation has to be removed.

Tracing in a New Layer

Recommended method!

If you want to keep your roughs and sketches, you can always add a new drawing element and trace in it using the Light Table. This is the equivalent of adding a sheet of paper and tracing over the rough using the animation disk light table.

To trace your character in a new layer:

1. In the Timeline View, Xsheet View or top Scene menu, add a new drawing element and name it appropriately.

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2. If you work in the Drawing View, enable the Light Table.The default keyboard shortcut is [Shift]+[L].

If some other columns are in the way, you can hide them from the Xsheet View (if

you work in the Drawing View) by using the Column List panel and disabling the undesired columns.

If you work in the Camera View, you can hide them by disabling the drawing element modules in the Timeline View.

3. In the Drawing Tools toolbar or the top Drawing menu, select the drawing tool of your choice.

4. In the Timeline or Xsheet View, select the cell in which you want to draw.

5. Trace your model.

This method allows you to keep the roughs and the cleans intact. You only need to disable the rough layer to prevent it from appearing in the scene.

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Task Summary1. Getting the references

2. Creating the scene

3. Adding the drawing elements

4. Sketching the model

5. Cleaning and inking the model

Next Task: Background Layout

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Chapter 4Background Layout

Previous Task: Character, Prop and Location Design

Once your designs and models are completed, you are ready to move on to the background layout.

The background layout is different from the location design. The background artist will refer to the storyboard and the location design to draw the appropriate background for the scene. The background, also known as the key background, is a section from the location. The artist will sketch and then trace or clean up the background for the scene.

Toon Boom Digital Pro allows the possibility to digitally create your background layout. You no longer need to use paper or scan elements in. Instead, you can simply open the Drawing or Camera View and draw your background, referring to the location designs and storyboard.

The background layout process is divided into four steps:


• Sketching the Background on page 58

• Cleaning and Inking the Background on page 67• Outputting a Layout to a Bitmap format on page 70

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PreparationIn order to create your background layout, you first need to prepare your scene and references. To do this, you will have to go through the following steps:

• Creating the Scene on page 52

• Using the Workspace on page 53• Setting the Resolution and Frame Rate on page 54

• Importing the References on page 55

Creating the SceneGenerally, the scenes are created at the beginning of the project by the Technical Director or the person in charge of the project. However, they may also be created during the layout step.

The backgrounds can be drawn directly into the production scenes. You can also draw them in one scene and later import them into the production scene.

Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn how to create a scene.

Refer to the chapter on Production Structure and Organization on page 13 to learn how to structure and organize the scenes.

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Chapter 4: Background Layout

Using the Workspace

Toon Boom Digital Pro provides you with a default workspace to draw your backgrounds. Set your Workspace drop-down menu to Drawing and Design.

To draw your background layout directly in Toon Boom Digital Pro, it is recommended that you draw directly in your Camera View. This allows you to see your camera frame and the scene composition.

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Setting the Resolution and Frame RateOnce the scene is ready, you must set the scene resolution (HDTV, NTSC, PAL, etc.) and frame rate (24, 25, 30, etc.), if they were not set previously by a Toon Boom Storyboard import or during the scene creation.

If you are drawing all of the backgrounds in the same central scene, it is not necessary to set a frame rate.

To set the Resolution and Frame Rate:

1. In the top menu, select Scene > Resolution/Frame Rate.

The Resolution and Frame Rate dialog box opens.

2. Choose a Resolution from the list or type a new one.

3. Set your Frame Rate.


It is important to set the resolution before starting the positioning and the camera moves, as it may affect the ratio and the composition.

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Importing the ReferencesThe first step in drawing the background is to import your references. They can be from digital or paper format.

The main reference for the layout are the storyboard and location designs. You can also import an animatic if you have one available.

Importing the references is done in two steps:

• • Importing the Storyboard• • Importing the Location Designs

Importing the Storyboard

The background process is mainly based on the storyboard. In order to start your layout, you will need to import your storyboard into your scene. The storyboard can be a digital or paper format.

The digital storyboard can be created with Toon Boom Storyboard and imported to Toon Boom Digital Pro. The paper storyboard can be scanned in and imported to Toon Boom Digital Pro as bitmap images.

Importing from Toon Boom StoryboardIf the storyboard was created in Toon Boom Storyboard, you can proceed by selecting Export to Toon Boom from the Storyboard File menu. This will import your layout to your scene and allow you to use it as your background reference. This step is done prior to any other, as Export to Toon Boom creates the scene, the layout, the resolution and the scene length for Toon Boom Digital Pro.

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Importing From Paper FormatIf your storyboard is done on paper, you can scan your frames in Toon Boom Digital Pro from a Twain device. Alternatively, you can scan them as bitmap images using external software and then use the Import Drawings option to import them to Toon Boom Digital Pro.

Refer to the Importing Images section of the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn how to import from paper format.

Importing the Location Designs

The location design can be done on paper and scanned in, or designed directly in Toon Boom Digital Pro.

There are three ways to import your location designs:

• Importing From Paper Format on page 56

• Importing From Toon Boom Digital Pro on page 57

• Importing Through the Template Library

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Importing From Paper FormatIf your location designs were done on paper, you can import them using the Import Drawings command.

Refer to the Importing section of the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn more about how to import location designs from paper format.

Importing From Toon Boom Digital ProIf the location design was done using Toon Boom Digital Pro, you now have two possibilities:

• Opening a second Toon Boom Digital Pro Interface on page 57• Importing a Vector Drawing on page 57

Opening a second Toon Boom Digital Pro InterfaceIf your location design was done in a Toon Boom Digital Pro scene, you need to open a second Toon Boom Digital Pro application. This enables you to open your location model scene and refer to it visually as if it were on paper. You can use this technique if you do not want to add extra data to your present scene.

Importing a Vector DrawingYou can also import the Toon Boom Digital Pro location design in your actual scene using the Import Drawings command.

Refer to the Importing section of the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn more about how to import your vector drawings.

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Sketching the Background

Now that your references have been imported, you can start drawing your background layout. The principle is the same as with Paperless animation or character and prop design. You will still need to create your drawing elements, use an outline colour to draw, and use the same drawing tools and the same techniques.

To draw your backgrounds, you will need to learn about the following:

• Tools on page 58• Field Chart on page 61

• Palettes and Colours on page 62

• Adding Drawing Elements on page 63• Sketching on page 64

ToolsTo draw directly in Toon Boom Digital Pro, the layout artist will mainly have to know about drawing and the drawing tools. Before starting your sketches we recommend that you familiarize yourself with these topics:

• Brush and Pencil on page 59• Onion Skin on page 59

• Tips and Tricks on page 60

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Brush and PencilThe Brush and Pencil tools are used to draw and sketch.

Using the Brush tool, pressure sensitivity can be used to create lines with variable thicknesses. The Pencil, Ellipse, Rectangle, Line and Polyline tools each have a uniform thickness as they use a central vector.

The texture pen will work only with the Brush tool, as it uses a combination of vector and bitmap images. The texture pen is a mix of vector container and bitmap filling. You can create any bitmap texture you want using third party software. Using the Pen View, you can load and adjust different textures.

Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn more about texture pen.

Onion Skin

The Onion Skin is used to display previous and subsequent drawings and frames. You can use the Onion Skin in the Drawing and Camera View for Traditional, Paperless or Cut-out animation.

By default, the previous drawing/frame will appear in washed out reds, while the following drawing/frame will appear in washed out greens. These colours can be changed in your Preferences. Alternatively, you can enable shading and instead have the real drawing colours washed out.

Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn more about the onion skin.

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Tips and Tricks

Here are some tips and tricks to make you feel more comfortable while drawing:

• Rotary Table on page 60

• Pen Tablet on page 61

Rotary TableUse the rotary table (animation disk) to rotate your workspace while you draw for increased flexibility.

To use the rotary table:

1. To enable the Rotary Table:In the Camera or Drawing View, hold down the default keyboard shortcut [Ctrl]+[Alt].In the Drawing Tools toolbar, select the Rotate tool.

2. Rotate the working space to the desired angle and release the keyboard shortcut or switch to the Drawing Tool.

To reset the Drawing View position, use the default keyboard shortcut [Shift]+[X].

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Pen TabletUse a pen tablet to draw with a pen instead of the mouse. This allows for increased dexterity and speed, and accounts for pressure sensitivity.

Field Chart

Toon Boom Digital Pro includes a field chart in its Camera and Drawing View. This tool is a very useful for drawing the backgrounds in the correct field.


1. To display the field chart/grid In the top menu, select View > Drawing > Grid > Show Grid. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[‘] (Windows) or [ ]+[‘] (Mac OS X)

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It is recommended that you keep the character design and breakdown inside of the 12 field grid so that it fits the default camera size and the template thumbnails.

Palettes and ColoursToon Boom Digital Pro incorporates a colour palette system. Each character, prop or background can have its own set of colours and each colour in the palette can be associated to colour fill zones on a drawing. Create as many palettes and colours as you want.

Default PaletteEach scene created in Toon Boom Digital Pro has a default colour palette. This default palette contains a variety of colours that can be used to sketch and paint.

You can sketch and design using the default palette and colours provided by Toon Boom Digital Pro. However, it is not recommended that you use the default palette for the colour models. Instead, a different colour palette should be created for each colour model.

If you want to sketch and design with a different colour pot or create a palette for each character, prop or key location, you will need to learn how to manage the Toon Boom Digital Pro palettes.

If you want to modify colours RGBA, you will also need to learn about Toon Boom Digital Pro colour management.

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Adding Drawing ElementsTo be able to draw something in your Camera or Drawing View, you need to add a drawing element in your Xsheet or your Timeline View. If you do not add one, you will not be able to start drawing. You will also need to select a cell in your drawing element.

To add a drawing element from top Scene menu:

1. In the top menu, select Scene > Add > Drawing.

The new drawing element appears in the Timeline, Xsheet and Network View.

2. In the Xsheet View, double-click on the drawing element column’s header.

The Column Editor dialog box open.

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3. To rename the drawing element:In the Timeline View, double-click on the drawing element module and type the new name in the Name field.In the Xsheet View, double-click on the drawing element column’s header and type the new name in the Name field.Click on the OK button.

Sketching

Now that you have added your drawing elements, you are ready to sketch your backgrounds.

To sketch:


2. In the Drawing Tools toolbar or the top Drawing menu, select the drawing tools of your choice.

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3. In the Camera or Drawing View, enable the Grid (Field Chart). The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[‘] (Windows) or [ ]+[‘] (Mac OS X)

4. In the Colour View, select the desired colour.

5. In the Pen View, select the pen of your choice and adjust its parameters.

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6. In the Camera or Drawing View, begin to sketch your drawing.

7. In the Camera or Drawing View, use the Rotary Table to rotate your workspace.The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[Alt] (Windows) or [ ]+[Alt] (Mac OS X).

The default keyboard shortcut to reset the workspace rotation is [Shift]+[X].

8. If you decide to draw in the next cell and wish to see your previous drawing, enable the Onion Skin. The default keyboard shortcut is [Shift]+[O].

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Cleaning and Inking the Background

When your background sketches are ready, it is time to clean them up them. You can still use the default palette and colours to do so; this is especially useful if another person is doing the colour styling. If you have previously created a palette for your sketches you can now add new colours for the tracing.


To trace your background in a new layer:

1. In the Timeline View, Xsheet View or top Scene menu, add a new drawing element and name it appropriately.

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2. Enable the Light Table. The default keyboard shortcut is [Shift]+[L].If you are working in the Drawing View and other columns are in the way, they

can be hidden from the Xsheet View by using the Column List panel and disabling the undesired columns.

If you are working in the Camera View and other columns are in the way, they can be hidden by disabling the drawing element modules in the Timeline View.

3. In the Drawing Tools toolbar or the Top Menu Drawing, select the drawing tool of your choice.


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5. Trace your sketch.

This methods allows you to keep the roughs and the cleans intact. Simply disable the rough layer to prevent it from appearing in the scene.

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Outputting a Layout to a Bitmap format

Once your backgrounds are done in Toon Boom Digital Pro, you are ready paint them. You have the option to paint your backgrounds with Toon Boom Digital Pro or to export them to a third-party bitmap software to paint them.

There are two techniques available to export your vector black and white backgrounds:

• Render Network

• Utransform

Render NetworkTo export your background image, you can add a Write Module to your network and use the Render Network option to export the frame where your background is. The background image will be exported and cropped to the scene resolution. If you have a panoramic background, you will have to use the Utransform utility to export your image.

Refer to the chapter on Export - Render on page 611 to learn how to render your background from your network.

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UtransformToon Boom Digital Pro includes a number of command line utilities that you can use to convert image formats, bitmap or vector, into other image formats.

These command line utilities are found in the Toon Boom Digital Pro application folder.

• using Windows, these utilities are located in: Toon Boom Animation\Toon Boom Digital Pro\nt\bin

• using Mac OS X, these utilities are located in: Toon Boom Animation/Toon Boom Digital Pro/macosx/bin

Utransform is one of these utilities. This utility program is able to do some format conversions and limited image processing.

To run these utilities you must use a Command Prompt (Windows) or a Terminal Window (Mac OS X). All of these utilities work on input files that are processed using options you specify to produce on output.

To run a command line utility:

1. Open a Command Prompt (Windows) or Terminal (Mac OS X) window. Using Windows, click on the Start menu and select Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt.

Using Mac OS X, open a Finder window and select Applications > Utilities > Terminal.

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2. In the Command Prompt (Windows) or Terminal (Mac OS X) window, switch to the directory that contains the image files that you want to process.

3. Type the name of the utility that you want to launch, the options and the name of the file you want to process. The options must be preceded by a dash (-).

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Here is an example of how to launch Utransform using Windows: utransform -outformat TGA bg-1.tvg

Here is an example of how to launch Utransform using Mac OS X. When using Mac OS X you must type a period and a slash before the command name:

./utransform -outformat TGA bg-1.tvg

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4. For help with the options and syntax of the utilities, open the Help. To do this, type -help after the name of the utility on the command line.

For Windows, type: utransform -help

For Mac OS X, type: ./utransform -help

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Exporting a Panoramic BackgroundBy default, the Utransform utility will convert the strokes and colour zones that are within the 12 field chart. If you have extra artwork outside of the 12 field, you will have to scale down your drawing using the Utransform in order to fit it in the 12 field zone and enlarge the bitmap export resolution.

The panoramic background export will work with the alignment rule of your background drawing in Toon Boom Digital Pro.

There are several alignment rules to consider:

• Centre Top and Bottom on page 75

• Centre Left and Right on page 75

• Centre First Page Horizontal on page 76• Centre First Page Vertical on page 76

• Left on page 76

• Right on page 77• Top on page 77

• Bottom on page 78

• As Is on page 78

Centre Top and Bottom

The Centre Top and Bottom rule is used for vertical pan background where the default scene’s 12 field is placed at the centre of the drawing.

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Centre Left and Right

The Centre Left and Right rule is used for horizontal pan background where the default scene’s 12 field is placed at the centre of the drawing.

Centre First Page Horizontal

The Centre First Page Horizontal rule is used for horizontal pan background where the default scene’s 12 field is placed at the far left of the drawing.

Centre First Page Vertical

The Centre First Page Vertical rule is used for vertical pan background where the default scene’s 12 field is placed at the very bottom of the drawing.

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Left

The Left rule is the default alignment for drawings. It aligns the drawings on the left side of the scene’s alignment rectangle. Toon Boom Digital Pro scales the drawings to match their heights to the alignment rectangle of the scene.

Right

The Right rule aligns the drawings with the right side of the alignment rectangle. ToonToon Boom Digital Pro scales the drawings to match their heights to the height of the alignment rectangle of the scene.

Top

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The Top rule aligns the drawings on the top of the alignment rectangle. Toon Boom Digital Pro scales the drawings to match their widths to the width of the alignment rectangle of the scene.

Bottom

The Bottom rule aligns the drawings with the bottom of the alignment rectangle. Toon Boom Digital Pro scales the drawings to match their widths to the width of the alignment rectangle of the scene.

As IsThe As Is alignment rule is used when you have artwork outside of every edge of the 12 field size, such as a Safety Paint edge.

To properly export your background and reimport it so that it fits precisely in your scene, you will have to perform a mathematical calculation. You have to provide Utransform with the exact resolution that you want for the file since you are passing from a vector based image to a bitmap image.

There are a few rules that will help you understand the calculation:

• A 12 field chart has a twelve inch width.

• One field width equals one inch.

• If you scale your drawing down to fit in the 12 field, you will have to enlarge the output resolution so that the final image has the same size as the original drawing (this is not problematic since the source is vector based).

• When you reimport your painted background, the bitmap file will be fitted in the 12 field size. You will have to increase the field size so that it fits the original image size.

To find the scale and the DPI (Dots Per Inch) that you will need to use to export your image, you will need the following information:

• The field size of your drawing.

• The scene resolution.

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This process works with a 12x12 scene alignment.

To export a tvg file to bitmap using the As Is alignment:

1. In the Timeline or Xsheet View, select the cell that has the drawing that you want to export.

2. In the Drawing Tools toolbar, choose the Select tool. The default keyboard shortcut is [Alt]+[S].

3. In the Drawing View, select all of your drawing strokes. In the Drawing View, click on

the Menu button and select Edit > Select All. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[A] (Windows) or [ ]+[A] (Mac OS X).

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4. In the Drawing View, place your mouse cursor over the top right corner.

5. From the Drawing View’s bottom toolbar, note the X and Y field chart information.

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6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for the bottom left corner.

7. Once you have all of your field information, select the greatest X and the greatest Y value. This will give you the total field size of your drawing. It also tells you the width of your drawing in inches (1 field width equals one inch).

8. Divide the X and Y field values by 12 to know how much you need to scale your image to fit it in your 12 field.

X / 12 = How much bigger your drawing is than the 12 field

Y / 12 = How much bigger your drawing is than the 12 field

9. Once you have both scaling values, you can calculate your official scaling value by dividing 1 by the greater value. This will give you the official scaling value to enter into your Utransform command line.

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1 / (X/12) or (Y/12) = Scaling Value

10. To enlarge your output resolution, you will have to enter the precise amount of DPI. In this case, you have to divide your scene resolution width (Rx) by 12 to know how many pixels per inch you have.

Rx/12 = Pixels per inch.

11. Once you have your scene’s DPI you need to resize the scale to the original setting since we scaled down the drawing strokes. To do so, multiply the scene’s DPI by how much larger the drawing is than the 12 field (X/12) or (Y/12).

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(Rx/12) x (X/12) or (Y/12) = Amount of DPI needed for the drawing output

12. Once you have your values calculated, open the command prompt to launch Utransform.

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13. In the Command Prompt, go to the scene’s element directory that contains the *.tvg drawing that you want to convert.

Use the cd .. command to go back up one directory.Use the cd \directory name command to enter a new directory.Use the dir command to see the directories available.

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14. Once in your scene’s element directory, type: Using Windows: utransform -outformat file_format_you_need -scale scale_value -dpi dpi_value -bgalpha 0 file_name.tvg

Using Mac OS X: ./utransform -outformat file_format_you_need -scale scale_value -dpi dpi_value -bgalpha 0 file_name.tvg

Here is an example of what your command line should look like:For Windows: utransform -outformat PNG4 -scale 0.75 -dpi 227.55 -bgalpha 0 bg-1.tvg

For Mac OS X: ./utransform -outformat PNG4 -scale 0.75 -dpi 227.55 -bgalpha 0 bg-1.tvg

15. In your operating system, browse to your scene’s element folder and open your new bitmap file to paint in third-party software.

To import a Utransform bitmap background back in Toon Boom Digital Pro:

1. Open the Toon Boom Digital Pro scene where the background needs to be imported.

2. To import a bitmap:In the top menu, select File > Import > Drawings.

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The Import Drawings dialog box opens.

3. Click on the Folder button to browse and select your bitmap background file.


5. You can import the image into an existing element or create a new element.To import the image into an existing element, select Add to Existing Element and select the appropriate element from the list.

To import the image into a new element, select Create Element(s) > Create Single Element Named and type the name for the element in the Name field.

6. Do NOT enable the vectorize option.


8. Open the background element editor:In the Timeline View, double-click on the background’s module.

In the Network View, click on the background module’s yellow square.

The Editor opens.

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9. In the Advanced tab, set the alignment rule to As Is.


11. Open the column editor:In the Timeline, select the background’s module, right-click and select Column Editor.

12. Take your previous (X / 12) or (Y / 12) and multiply it by the scene’s field to find the right field size and type it in the Field Chart field.

(X/12) or (Y/12) x Scene’s field

Here is an example of what it could look like: 1.5 x 12 = 18


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Utransform OptionsHere are the Utransform options available:

Command Action

Options:

-outformat <format> (TGA, TGA1, TGA3, TGA4, SGI, SGI1, SGI3, SGI4, SGIDP3, SGIDP4, OMFJPEG, OPT, OPT1, OPT3, OPT4, PNG, PNG4, PSD, PSD1, PSD3, PSD4, PSDDP3, PSDDP4, YUV, PAL, SCAN, TVG, PDF

-outfile <name> (Makes sense only for a single input file)

-debug

-?|-h|-help|--help

-v|-version|--version

Image Options:

-resolution <w> <h> Will use the provided width and height

-resolution scan Will use scan info to determine resolution

-scale <s> Horizontal and vertical scaling factor

-xscale <s> Horizontal scaling factor

-yscale <s> Vertical scaling factor

-turn <degrees>

-ps <in> <out> Input and output pixel shapes for formats other than YUV and PAL; possible values are: square, NTSC and PAL

-bgcolor <r> <g> <b> Background colour for TVG and PNT (range is 0-1 (float); or 0-255 (byte) default is white)

-bgalpha <a> Background alpha value (range is 0-1 or 0-255; default is opaque(255))

Vector Options:

-antialiasing <quality><exponent>

Quality = low, medium-low, medium or high Exponent = between 0-3

-nolinetexture Disable line texturing

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-nolineart Will not render line art

-nocolorart Will not render colour art

-move <x> <y> Output pixels or world units for tvg output

Note: Useful values for TVG output might be: 714.285000 in X or 535.713750 in Y

-flatten Flatten the drawing and merge textures

-bboxtvgincrease (Default 5%)

-normalize Normalize the TVG (implies outformat = TVG)

If the TVG has a different scaling than 1, it will scale the coordinates and set the scaling to 1.0

-setfieldsize <f> Set the internal scaling to 12.0/f

Vector to vector Options:

-centerline Extract the centreline of the line art

-closegap Close gap

-gaplength Close gap length (default 10)

-hairpasses (Default 2)

-hairlength (Default 20)

-keepcolorart Keep existing colour art and extract the centreline over it

-showstrokes Show the contour of Line Art and centrelines in special colours.

-thickness Thickness in pixels of the strokes to show

-fieldsize <fs> (Default 12) (Set the output page size for PDF output)

-lineartstrokescolor <r> <g> <b> <a>

-colorartstrokescolor <r> <g> <b> <a>

-nofitcolorart Do not generate Beziers for colour art

Command Action

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-tvgversion <version> Convert to older/supported vector format product version: v720, v710, v702, v700 or internal version: 1003, 1004, 1005

(v720 = 1005)

(v710 = 1005)

(v702 = 1004) (early version of 7.0.2; we’re using 1003)

(v700 = 1003)

Alignment Options

-align <RULE> RULE can be one of: AS_IS, CENTER_TB, CENTER_LR, CENTER_FIRST_PAGE_HORIZONTAL, CENTER_FIRST_PAGE_VERTICAL, TOP, BOTTOM, LEFT, RIGHT.

Utransform will generate a bitmap that will fit inside Toon Boom Digital Pro with a read module aligned with this rule.

-dpi <dpi> Output dot per inch default is 75

-sar <scene_aspect_ratio> Scene aspect ratio default is 1.33333. Use 1.7777777 for 16/9 scenes. The scene aspect ratio can be read from the scene alignment dialog. This is not the ratio of the scene resolution.

Command Action

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Task Summary1. Create the scene

2. Set the resolution and frame rate

3. Set the scene length

4. Import the references

5. Sketch the background

6. Clean and ink the background

7. Outputting a layout to a bitmap format

Next Task: Colour Styling and Colour Model

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Chapter 5Colour Styling and

Colour Model

Previous Task: Background Layout

Once the characters, props and locations are designed, it is time for the colour styling and colour models creation. This is the moment where the colours and ambiances are determined. The black and white models created during the design step are painted and organized as colour models for the colourists (Traditional and Paperless) and the character builders (Cut-out).

Toon Boom Digital Pro has a great concept of colour palettes. Each character can have its own set of colours that will follow him or her through the whole project, called the Master palette. If the master is modified, the program will update the colours in the entire project at once.

Doing the colour styling in Toon Boom Digital Pro, your master palettes will be created at the same time so you will not have use third party software and you will not have to recreate the colour palette again in Toon Boom Digital Pro. It is possible to create this step in an external software, but it is a great time saver to do it directly in Toon Boom Digital Pro.

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To create your colour style and colour models, follow these steps:

• Preparation on page 92• Creating and Loading a Palette on page 104

• Painting the Model on page 120

• Sharing the Colour Model on page 129

PreparationBefore painting, you need to know how you will organize your colour model scenes and bring in your references.

The colour styling preparation is done in five steps:

• Colour Model Storage on page 92

• Colour Model Scene Structure on page 95• Setting up the Workspace on page 96

• Importing Models on page 97

• Naming on page 101

Colour Model StorageYou first need to create a storage location for all your models and palettes. The best way to do this is to create a colour model scene. There are different possibilities available to structure your designs and colour model scenes. We strongly recommend that you put all of your colour models in the same scenes. It is important to maintain a structure for your models so that they do not end up scattered throughout the project.

There are four main model categories:

• Characters

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Chapter 5: Colour Styling and Colour Model

• Props

• Effects

• Locations

If you have a small project, such as a short or an advertising contract, you could always place all your characters, props, effects and locations into the same scene. For large projects such as feature-length productions or series, it is recommended that you create four separate model scenes following these categories.

Refer to the chapter on Production Structure and Organization on page 13 to learn how to create a scene structure and storage directories.

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Scene CreationIn order to create colour models, you need to create your scenes.

When working on a Paperless or Cut-out animation project, if you have designed your characters, props, effects and locations directly in Toon Boom Digital Pro, you can paint your models directly in your design scene. You can also create a new colour model scene and import your Toon Boom Digital Pro designs in that one.

Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn more about creating a scene.

In the Production Structure and Organization chapter, we showed you how to create a Project root directory. We recommend that you store your Toon Boom Digital Pro colour model scenes in the root directory or in a colour models subdirectory for even better organization.

A useful way to name your colour model scene is to include the project name, then the colour model type such as characters, props, effects or locations, and finally add colour model. For example, a character colour model scene for the Adventure project would be

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named adventure_characters_colourmodel. This ensures that you always know what scene corresponds to what.

Colour Model Scene StructureTo store your colour models in a scene, we recommend that you create one drawing element (layer) for each character, prop, effect or location. You should name these according to the model.

You can also load other colour references in the scene to balance your overall colours. For example, if you work in a character colour model scene, it is a good idea to import some of the key locations to compare and adjust the colours so that they match well.

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Setting up the WorkspaceNow that your scenes are created and structured, you can open the corresponding colour model scene.

Toon Boom Digital Pro provides you with a default workspace to create your colour models. Set your Workspace drop-down menu to Ink and Paint.

Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn about customizing the workspace.

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Importing Models

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You are now ready to import the designs and models into your colour model scene. You will have to use different techniques depending on the design source:

• Models Designed in Toon Boom Digital Pro on page 98

• Paper Models on page 99

• Models Created Outside of Toon Boom Digital Pro on page 99

Models Designed in Toon Boom Digital ProIf your models were designed directly in Toon Boom Digital Pro, you can either paint them directly in the same scene or create a new scene for the colours only and import the black and white models.

Importing and Painting in a New SceneIf you plan to paint your models in a new scene, you must create your new colour model scene and then import your vector design in it.

You can import your design into a Toon Boom Digital Pro scene using the following:

• Import Drawings command

• Template Library

Refer to the Importing Images section of the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn how to import your models.

Painting in the Same SceneIf you want to paint your models in the same scene, it is recommended that you duplicate your clean model element and rename it as Colour Model.

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To duplicate a drawing element:

1. In the Xsheet or the Timeline View, select the drawing element to be duplicated.

2. To duplicate your drawing element:In the top menu, select Edit > Duplicate Selected Elements.

Paper ModelsIf your models were drawn on paper, you can scan them in via the TWAIN device or through a third party software and import them later.

Refer to the Importing Importing section of the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn how to import your models from paper format.

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Models Created Outside of Toon Boom Digital ProIf your models were created in a third party software, you can import them via the Import Drawings option or the Template Library. You can import bitmap and vector-based drawings.

Refer to the Importing Images section of the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn how to import your bitmap images.

If you have PDF, SWF or AI formats, you can use the template library method.

Refer to the Importing Images section of the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn how to import your external vector based images.

NamingNow that your models are imported, you can rename them appropriately.

It is recommended that you rename your elements (layers) and drawings corresponding to the model. This will help keep the work organized and make it easy for others to follow.

For example, if you have a black and white character model called Erik in one drawing element and its colour models in another one, you could rename your elements to include the character’s name. For example, the colour model for Erik’s armor could be named: erik_armor_colour.

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To rename a drawing element:

1. To rename a drawing element:In the Xsheet View, double-click on the drawing element column’s header.

In the Timeline View, double-click on the drawing element’s module.

The Editor opens.

2. In the Name field, type the new drawing element’s name.


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To rename a drawing:

1. In the Xsheet View, select the drawing to be renamed.

2. Click on the Menu button and select Drawings > Rename Drawing or right-click on the selected drawing and select Drawings > Rename Drawing. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[D].

The Rename Drawing window opens.

3. Rename the drawing appropriately.


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Creating and Loading a PaletteOnce your model is imported in the correct drawing element and the correct scene, you are ready to create a Master palette. A Master palette is the main palette that will be used throughout the project to ensure that the character or prop is always the same colour.

Toon Boom Digital Pro incorporates palettes which hold all of the colours needed to paint elements, a concept that brings complete control and consistency to the painting process. A palette is created by assigning a set of colours to each character, prop or effect. The colour artist will create a new palette and add a new colour, called a colour pot, for each zone of the character, such as the skin, hair, tongue, shirt, pants and so on.

When a zone on a character is painted with the colour contained in a colour pot, a link is automatically created between that colour pot and the zone. This means that if the tint of the colour in the colour pot is modified, any zone that is linked to it will automatically update to the new tint. This can save time and money spent on your production. Another advantage of this system is that you can also create complete palettes for different lighting situations. For instance, in addition to the regular palette for a character, you can have one for that character in the rain using colours that are duller and less vibrant than the dry daytime colours, or another for use in a night scene. Using palettes linked to your character this way allows you to instantly change its colouring to suit the mood and atmosphere of the scene without tediously repainting each element.

In Toon Boom Digital Pro, palettes are individual files that can be copied, transferred and stored. We recognize them as *.plt files. When a palette is created in Toon Boom Digital Pro, it needs to be stored somewhere.

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Creating a New PaletteThere are two palette list modes:

• BasicThis is Toon Boom Digital Pro’s default setting.

• AdvancedYou can switch to this mode in Preferences.

Refer to the Toon Boom Basic Concepts chapters in the Introduction and Basics book to learn more about palettes.

To create a new palette in Basic Mode:


2. In the Colour View, click on the Menu button and select Palette > New or click


The Palette Browser: Create Palette window opens.

3. Name the palette according to the model. There is no need to add the word “palette” to the end as it is always recognized as a palette file.

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To create a new palette in Advanced Mode:


2. In the Colour View, click on the Menu button and select Palette> New or click


3. The Palette Browser: Create Palette window opens.

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4. Select the level where you want to store the palette file. See Palette File and Palette Storage.

5. Select Scene or Element palette list. See Scene Palette List and Element Palette List.

6. Name the palette according to the model. There is no need to add the word “palette” at the end as it is always recognized as a palette file.



Note

The palette is not stored in the palette list. The palette list is a link to the different palettes used in the actual drawing element.

A default palette is automatically created for the scene in order to be able to draw or display drawings. Once you have developed your master palettes, we recommended that the default palette is removed from the palette list. Do this using the Remove Palette option in the palette menu. The palette is not deleted; the link between the original palette file and the drawing element is just removed.

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Colour Types & PropertiesIn a palette, each colour is called a colour pot. Each colour pot has its own name, RGBA value and its own identification number (ID). When a colour is used to paint a zone in a drawing, a link is created between the pot and the zone. If the RGBA value is later modified, each associated colour zone will update at the same time, this means through the whole scene and through the whole duration.

A unique colour ID means that two colours can have the same exact RGBA value and be associated to two different colour zones in a same drawing. If one of the two colours is changed, the other one will stay intact.

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To add a colour pot to a palette:

1. In the Colour View, click on the Menu button and select Colour > New. You

can also use the New Colour button.

2. Select your colour.

3. To modify the colour, click on the Menu button and select Colour > Edit. Alternatively, double-click on the colour pot.


Use the Colour Picker to choose any colour on your screen. It can be a colour from the Toon Boom Digital Pro interface, your operation system or any other

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visible application. Simply click on the Colour Picker button and click anywhere in your screen.

4. You can rename the colour pot in the Colour Picker window or directly in the colour list by double-clicking on its name.

There are different types of colour.

• Solid colour Regular colour pot, no variation in the colour.

• Gradient colour Multiple colours in the same colour pot, creating a radial or linear gradient effect.

• Texture colour Imports a bitmap file (PSD & TGA) into the palette and transforms it into a colour pot. Allows you to paint a zone using a picture or a texture.

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To create a gradient colour:

1. In the Colour View, select the colour to be modified.

2. Click on the Menu button and select Colour > Edit Colour. Alternatively, double-click on the colour pot.


3. Enable the Gradient option.

4. Select Linear or Radial option

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5. Select the Gradient arrows to modify the colours.

Click between the arrows to add extra colours.

Pull down the arrows to remove them.

Move the arrows left and right to modify the gradient distance.

To create a texture colour:

1. In the Colour View, click on the Menu button and select

Colours > New Texture or click on the New Texture button.

The Browser window opens.

2. Browse for a PSD or TGA bitmap file created in a third party software.


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Edit Gradient/TextureIf you paint a zone with a gradient or texture colour you can use the Edit Gradient/Texture tool to modify its position in the zone. You can move, scale, rotate and skew. If you have to match the colour to the animation, you can set the first texture position and copy the Edit Gradient/Texture position. When moving to the next drawing, you can select the next texture and paste the previous position to continue the modifications.

To use Edit Gradient/Texture tool:

1. In the Camera/Drawing View, click on the Menu button and select Drawing Tools > Edit Gradient/Texture. The default keyboard shortcut is [Shift]+[F3].

2. Click on the Gradient or Texture colour to be modified.

The Edit Gradient/Texture selection frame appears.

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3. Move the edit texture’s parameters to the desired result.If the same modification needs to be applied to another gradient or texture zone, you can select the modified zone and select Edit > Copy. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[C] (Windows) or [ ]+[C] (Mac OS X).Select the zone to be modified and select Edit > Paste. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[V] (Windows).

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Palette Types & StylesYou can create an exact copy of a palette or make a duplicate palette with a new ID.

Clone PaletteA clone is an exact copy of the palette.

A character usually has only one master palette. Sometimes, you may need to have more than one. This normally happens when the lighting conditions change dramatically and you need to use different shading. For example, if you place a character into a night scene, create a specific night palette for the character. If the whole sequence was painted with daylight colours and needs to be switched to a night palette, it can be very time-consuming to repaint everything. Creating two independent palettes can be very complex, so Toon Boom Digital Pro provides the clone palette styles.

The clone palette is a copy of the master palette. The colours have the same properties and the same identification numbers pointing to the same colour zones, but different names and RGBA values. Depending on the activated palette (night or day), the painted drawing will update. There is no need to repaint the animation; simply load the clone palette (palette style).

To clone a palette:

1. In the drawing element’s palette list, select the palette to be cloned.

2. In the Colour View, click on the Menu button and select Palettes > Clone.

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The Palette Browser: Clone Palette window opens.

3. Select the palette storage level if you are in the Advanced Palette List Mode.

4. Name the palette. It is recommended that you keep the “-clone” in the name.


The clone palette appears in the palette list.

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6. In the Palette List, select the clone palette to offset or blend colours in your new clone palette.

7. In the Colour View, click on the Menu button and select Palettes > Tint Panel.

The Blend/Offset Tint panel opens.

8. Select one or more colours to be modified in the colour list. You can select all your colours with [Ctrl]+[A] (Windows) or [ ]+[A] (Mac OS X).

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9. Blend or offset the colours using the cursors and increasing the Amount value.

You can also modify the colours individually with the Colour Picker window.

10. Click on the Apply button.

If there is more than one clone palette loaded, the system will use the one that is highest in the Palette List.

To reorder palettes in the palette list:


Palettes > Move Up or Move Down. You can also use the Up and Down buttons.

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Duplicate PaletteYou can also duplicate a palette to create a new, independent one with the same colour pot names and colour values, but a different ID than the original palette This means that the two palettes are completely independent from one another.

Use this option when there are similar models and you want to avoid recreating and naming all of the colours. You can change the values and the names afterwards. You can also keep some RGBA values, such as the eyes, teeth, tongue, interior mouth, etc.

To duplicate a palette:

1. In the Palette List, select the palette to be duplicated.

2. In the Colour View, click on the Menu button and select Palettes > Duplicate.The Palette Browser: Duplicate Palette window opens.

3. Select the palette storage level if you are in the Advanced Palette List Mode.

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4. Name the palette appropriately.


6. The palette appears in the palette list.

Painting the ModelNow that you have created the colours and the palette, you are ready to paint your model.

Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn about the painting tools.

Line Art and Colour Art

A drawing is composed of two layers, a line layer and a colour layer. The colour layer is always placed under the line layer. These layers are accessible in the Drawing or Camera

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View by using the drawing tools. When you look at your final drawing you will see the final composition of the lines and colours, not the two layers. Toon Boom Digital Pro has the option to paint the lines and the colour fills separately.

The layers are called:

• Line Art• Colour Art

You can draw and paint in both layers. However, if you prefer to work in only one layer, you can do everything in the Line Art layer.

Using the Line Art and Colour Art option allows you to repaint the lines easily. If your colour fills are separated from the lines, it allows you to use the Repaint tool and paint the lines without interfering with the colour zones. It also allows you to paint tones and highlights in Line Art and add some transparency so you can see the Colour Art through it. Finally, you can create some effects on the line at the compositing level, such as adjusting the line thickness in proportion with a camera move. Many other options are possible.

To toggle between Line Art and Colour Art and enable the Preview mode:

1. To toggle between Line Art and Colour Art:

In the Drawing or Camera View, click on the Menu button and select View > Switch to Colour Art/Switch to Line Art. The default keyboard shortcut is [L].

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In the Drawing or Camera bottom toolbar, click on the Colour Art button.

In the Drawing or Camera bottom toolbar, click on the Line Art button.

2. To preview Line Art and Colour Art at the same time:Click on the Menu button and select View > Preview Line and Colour Art. While using the preview mode, you still edit one mode at the time. The default keyboard shortcut is [P].In the Drawing or Camera View’s bottom toolbar, click on the Preview Line and

Colour Art button.

If you plan to paint your drawings in Colour Art, you will need to create colour filling zones in the Colour Art from the line drawing in Line Art.

Refer to the section on Creating Strokes on page 123 to learn how to create filling zones.

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Creating Strokes A Toon Boom Digital Pro drawing is composed of Line and Colour filling layers. Lines and colours can be separated or kept together, depending on which animation process you use.

The following diagram presents Line Art and Colour Art recommendations based on the selected animation workflow.

When a Traditional drawing is scanned in, strokes are automatically created in the Colour Art from the Line Art.

This shows the Line Art and Colour Art options for each animation workflow.

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When working with Cut-out animation, we recommend that you do all of the work in the Line Art.

Once the drawing sequence is completed for Paperless drawings, you can proceed with creating Colour Art strokes if you plan to paint the animation in the Colour Art. Use the Create Colour Art from Line Art option to create strokes from your lines.

You can create strokes in the Colour Art during the following stages:

• After the full drawing is completed in Line Art• While drawing in the Line Art

Creating strokes after the drawing is completedSome users prefer to create their strokes once the drawing is cleaned up.They will select the full drawing and create the strokes in Colour Art.

To create strokes using the Create Colour Art from Line Art option:

1. In the Drawing or Camera View, click on the Menu button and select Drawing > Permanent Selection. You do not need to use the Permanent Selection option to create strokes for a single drawing.

2. In the Drawing Tools toolbar, select the Select tool. The default keyboard shortcut is [Alt]+[A].

3. Create a selection around the whole animation sequence.

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4. To use the Create Colour Art from Line Art optionIn the Drawing or Camera View, click on the Menu button and select Drawing > Convert > Create Colour Art from Line Art.In the top menu, select Drawing > Convert > Create Colour Art from Line Art.

5. Repeat these steps for each drawing in the animation sequence.

Creating strokes while drawing in Line ArtYou may have some traditional drawings that need to be fixed; for example, needing extra lines to patch gaps. Use the Auto-Create Colour Art from Brush option to create the strokes at the same time as the lines are drawn. This option creates strokes from the lines and brush strokes created in the Line Art while you draw and is useful for fixing drawings. However, if you are drawing a new sketch, it is better to create the strokes afterwards using the Create Colour Art from Line Art option.

To create strokes with the Auto-Create Colour Art From Brush:

1. In the Drawing or Camera View, click on the Menu button and select Drawing > Auto-Create Colour Art from Brush. The default keyboard shortcut is [Shift]+[F2].

2. Draw the required lines.Once you are done, disable the Auto-Create Colour Art from Brush option.

You are now ready to paint your model.

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PaintingThe colour model painting process is divided into two steps:

• Painting the Model on page 126

• Balancing the Colours on page 128

Painting the ModelThe colour model needs to be painted in order to adjust the colours with the other elements in the production. You can paint your model regardless of the colour RGBA and adjust them later when all of the elements are together.

To paint your colour model:

1. In the Drawing or Camera View, choose and go to the Line Art or the Colour Art to paint your model.

2. Create your master colour palette.

3. Add and name colour pots to the palette.

4. Select your Paint Bucket tool. We recommend the Paint Unpainted

tool.

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5. Paint the model by selecting colour pots in the palette and clicking on your drawing.

6. Adjust the colours.

Refer to the Ink and Paint chapter in the Paperless Animation Workflow Guide to learn more about inking and painting drawings.

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Balancing the Colours

Once your palette is created and your model is painted, you can import a key background and other characters using the Import Drawings option or the Template Library to compare and adjust the palettes.

Refer to the section on Importing Models on page 97 to learn how to import your background file.

Look at your elements in the Camera View and adjust the colours using the Tint Panel or the Colour Picker.

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Sharing the Colour ModelWhen your colour models are prepared and have been stored and organized in a colour model scene, it is time to share them. However, since the Toon Boom Digital Pro scenes are local, the palettes cannot be shared with other scenes. To fix this, you need to prepare templates from the models and store them in the Template Library.

The Template Library is a central repository for all data which will be reused throughout the production. It can be accessed from any Toon Boom Digital Pro scene; if multiple users are connected to the same network, all machines can access a central library. These models can be shared among all the users to ensure that everybody has the same set of colours and references.

TemplatesA template is a set of elements created from a Toon Boom Digital Pro scene that can be imported in other scenes. It can contain drawings, palettes and any other elements available in Toon Boom Digital Pro.

A colour model template is very simple to make. When a drawing is stored in the Template Library, the corresponding palette is attached to it. This means that whenever the colour model is imported from the Template Library into the scene, the palette is also imported.

Creating the TemplateTo store your colour model in the Template Library, you will have to create a template.

We recommend that you add a colour model subfolder to your library.

Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn more about creating libraries and templates.

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You can create a template using:

• the Network View• the Timeline View

Creating a Template from the Network ViewA template created from the Network View contains all of the drawings from the element, the palettes and the drawing exposures.

To create a template from the Network View:

1. In the Template Library, select the library directory where the template will be stored, right-click and select Right to Modify.

2. Select the drawings, pegs, effects, groups and composites modules from the Network View and copy and paste them to the Template Library’s folder. (Anything available in the Network View can be stored as a template.)

The Rename window opens.

3. Rename your template and click on the OK button.

Creating a Template from the Timeline ViewIn the Timeline View, a template is created by selecting the drawing element’s module that contains all drawings from the drawing element, palettes and exposure. A template that has been created by selecting the drawings’ exposure contains the selected drawings, their exposures and the palettes.

To create a template from the Timeline View:


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2. Select the drawings, pegs, effects, keyframes, sounds, exposures, modules from the Timeline View and drag them to the Template Library’s folder. Anything that is available in the Timeline View can be stored as a template.



There is no need to save the library. Everything is automatically stored and saved as soon as it is pasted in the library.

Verifying the TemplateOnce your template is stored in the Template Library, you can verify it by displaying the Thumbnails or the Preview.

To verify the template:

1. In the Template Library, select the template to verify, right-click on it and select View > Thumbnails.

2. Double-click on the template to see the preview.

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3. Playback the template in the Preview window. If no drawings are included in the template, the Preview will be empty.

Line-Up Template

For Paperless and Cut-out animation, it is a good idea to provide a Line-up Template with the colour model. This will show the scale ratio between the characters, props and backgrounds.

Once your colour model is completed, paste one of the production’s main characters, or even just a hand, beside it to show the relative size. This allows the animator, layout artist or scene setup artist, to retain the correct scaling throughout the entire project when setting the elements in the scene. Create a Scale or Ratio template and store it in the Template Library.

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Task Summary1. Structuring the colour model scene

2. Importing the black and white model

3. Naming the elements and drawings

4. Creating the Master palette

5. Adding the colours

6. Naming the colours

7. Painting the model

8. Creating model templates

Next Task: Painting the Background

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Chapter 6Painting the Background

Previous Task: Colour Styling and Colour Model

Not only does Toon Boom Digital Pro give you the ability to animate and composite, you can also paint your backgrounds in the program. You can use solid, gradient or textured colours to create vector-based colouration.

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If you create multiplane moves, a vector background will generally be lighter and will allow extreme truck-ins.

The background painting process consists of painting the black and white production backgrounds, also known as background layouts.

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Chapter 6: Painting the Background

For Traditional animation, the background layouts are usually drawn on paper and then scanned in.

For Paperless and Cut-out animation, the background layouts can either be drawn on paper or designed directly in Toon Boom Digital Pro.

Painting a background with Toon Boom Digital Pro follows the same process as inking and painting. Read the Ink and Paint chapter for more information.

The background painting task is divided as follows:


• Importing the Background Layout on page 140• Painting the Background on page 147

PreparationBefore starting painting, you need to know how you will organize your work and bring in your references.

The background painting preparation is done in two steps:

• Setting the Scene on page 137


Setting the SceneTo start painting, choose which scene you will work in. You have the choice of:

• Working Directly in the Production Scenes on page 138

• Working in a Special Background Scene on page 138

Once you chose your technique, it is time to open or create your scene and get ready to import your background layouts.

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Working Directly in the Production ScenesYou can decide to import the background layout directly in the corresponding production scene and paint it there.

This way, the background exists only in the production scene and not in a central storage scene, saving space on the hard disc drive and avoiding duplicating files.

Working in a Special Background SceneYou can decide to create a brand new scene, import all your background layouts and paint them in that scene. This scene will become the colour background storage scene.

It is useful to keep all the backgrounds in the same scene to compare the style and colours, use the same Master palette and keeping track of the work and all existing backgrounds.

We recommend that you store this scene in the project root folder.

Refer to the chapter on Production Structure and Organization on page 13 to learn more about scene organization and root folders.

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Using the Workspace

Toon Boom Digital Pro provides you with a default workspace to paint your backgrounds. Set your workspace drop-down menu to Ink and Paint.

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Importing the Background Layout

When the background painting or production scene is ready, the first thing to do is to import your background layout in it. Designing your backgrounds and locations directly in Toon Boom Digital Pro can be a great time saver and allows you to keep all of your project materials in the same software.

There are three ways to import your background layouts in your scene:

• Importing a Bitmap Layout on page 141• Scanning the Layout from a TWAIN Device on page 141

• Importing a Toon Boom Digital Pro Vector-Based Layout on page 141

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Importing a Bitmap LayoutIf your background layout was drawn on paper and scanned in a third-party software or simply drawn in a bitmap third-party software, you can import them using the Import Drawings command.

Refer to the Import section in the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter of the Introduction and Basics book to learn how to import bitmap images.

Scanning the Layout from a TWAIN DeviceIf your models were drawn on paper, you can also scan them and import them using the TWAIN Device.

Refer to the Import section of the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter of the Introduction and Basics book to learn how to import bitmap images.

Importing a Toon Boom Digital Pro Vector-Based LayoutIf the background layout was designed in Toon Boom Digital Pro, it can be imported into the scene through the Template Library. To do so, you need to create a template out of the main background layout and then import it in the scene.

Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn more about creating libraries and templates.

Importing the Template in the Background Painting SceneOnce the template is created, you are ready to import it into your background painting scene. The template import is done simply by dragging.

There is no need to obtain the right to modify the library to import a template.

Refer to the Import section of the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter of the Introduction and Basics book to learn more about importing templates.

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Refer to the chapter on Library Management on page 291 to learn more about importing templates using the Paste Special command.

Importing Palettes and Models

In order to paint your background, you have to load the location colour model and its corresponding palettes. Prior to the painting process, the colour stylist creates the palettes and models and stores them in colour model templates and colour model scenes.

Refer to the chapter on Colour Styling and Colour Model on page 91 to learn about creating colour models.

Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn about creating templates.

Once your background layout is imported, you can start painting it. If you already created the Location Colour Model in Toon Boom Digital Pro, you can load the required palette. If not, refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts book to learn how to create a colour palette.

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Importing a Colour Model Template

A good method of importing a palette is to import a template from the Template Library that contains the location colour model and master palette. This template should be created at the step of Colour Styling and Colour Model. If you did not create any colour models, you can create your colour palette directly in the scene.

Once the templates are created, you are ready to import them in your scene. The template import is quite simple. You import them from the Template Library to get the models and their palettes available in your scene. From there, you will be able to load the palettes in the corresponding drawing element and the colour models to the Model View.

There is no need to obtain the right to modify the library to import a template.

To import a template:

1. Open the ink and paint scene.

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2. In the Template Library, browse for the appropriate colour model storage folder.

3. Select the corresponding colour model template.

4. Drag the selection to the Network or Timeline View. If you drop the selection in the Timeline’s left side, new elements and modules will be created.If you drop the selection in the Timeline’s right side, the information will be inserted into already-existing elements. In order for the template to combine with existing elements, the structure needs to be consistent. If it is not possible

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to merge the elements together, move on to the Timeline’s left side and create new elements.

When you import a template in a scene, there is no link between the Library and the scene. Instead, this creates a copy of all drawings, effects, trajectories, etc. This means that you are free to modify anything copied in your scene without affecting the original.

Loading Palettes and ModelsBy importing the colour model template in your scene, you created a new drawing element. This also saved the master palettes in your scene. These palettes are now local to the scene.

If you are painting a drawing sequence, it is useful to refer to the visual model to know where the colours go, especially if there are many colour pots in the palette. You can load the colour model in the Model View to be able to see it at the same time as you paint.

To load your current drawing in the Model View:

1. In your Timeline or Xsheet View, select the desired colour model drawing.

2. In the Model View, click on the Menu button and select Model > Load Current Drawing As Model to load your colour model in the Model View.

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The colour model appears in the Model View.

Once your model is loaded, you can import palettes in your drawing element.

To add a palette to your element:

1. In the Xsheet or Timeline View, select the drawing element in which you want to load the palette.


Palette > Load Palette. You can also click on the Load Palette button.

The Palette Browser window opens.

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3. Select the level where the palette file is stored, generally Scene or Element.

4. Select Scene or Element palette list. See the Scene Palette List and Element Palette List sections in the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter.



Painting the Background

Now that your background layout, master palette and location colour model are imported in your scene, you are ready to paint your background.

To paint your background, you need to know about a few things:

• Line Art and Colour Art on page 148

• Creating Strokes on page 149• Painting on page 151

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Line Art and Colour ArtA drawing is composed of a line layer and a colour layer. The colour layer is always placed under the line layer. These layers are accessible in the Drawing or Camera View, using drawing tools.

Toon Boom Digital Pro allows you to paint the lines and the colour fills separately.

When you look at your final drawing, you will see the final composition of the lines and colours instead of two individual layers.

These two layers are:

• Line Art

• Colour Art

You can draw and paint in both. If you prefer to work in a single layer, you can do everything in the Line Art.

The main advantage of using the Line Art and Colour Art option is the ease with which you can repaint the lines. If your colour fills are separated from the lines, use the repaint tool to paint the lines without affecting the colour zones. This also allows you to paint tones and highlights in Line Art and add some transparency to show the Colour Art through it. Finally, you can create some effects on the line at the compositing level, such as having the thickness adjust in proportion with a camera move. Many other options are possible.

Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn how to switch between the different Line Art and Colour Art modes.

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Creating StrokesA Toon Boom Digital Pro drawing is composed of a Line and Colour filling layers. Lines and colours can be separated or joined, depending on the animation process.

When a Traditional drawing is scanned in, strokes are automatically created in the Colour Art from the Line Art.

Once the drawing sequence is completed for Paperless drawings, create your Colour Art strokes if you plan to paint your animation in the Colour Art. Use the Create Colour Art from Line Art option to create strokes from your lines.

These are the Line Art and Colour Art recommendations for a selected animation workflow.

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This can be done in two ways:

• Creating Strokes Once the Drawing is Completed on page 150• Creating Strokes While Drawing in Line Art on page 150

Creating Strokes Once the Drawing is CompletedSome users prefer to create strokes once the drawing is cleaned up. In this case, they will select the full drawing and create the strokes in Colour Art.

To create strokes using the Create Colour Art from Line Art option:

1. In the Drawing and Camera View, click on the Menu button and select Drawing > Permanent Selection. (You do not need to use the Permanent Selection option to create strokes for a single drawing.)

2. In the Drawing Tools toolbar, select the Select tool. The default keyboard shortcut is [Alt]+[A].

3. Create a selection around the whole animation sequence.

4. To use the Create Colour Art from Line Art optionIn the Drawing and Camera View, click on the Menu button and selectDrawing > Convert > Create Colour Art from Line Art.

5. Repeat steps 1 to 4 for each drawing in the animation sequence.

Creating Strokes While Drawing in Line ArtIf you have some traditional drawings that need to be fixed, for example, need extra lines to patch gaps, the strokes can be created in the Colour Art at the same time as the lines are drawn using the Auto-Create Colour Art from Brush option. This feature creates strokes from the lines and brush strokes created in the Line Art as you draw.

This is useful to fix drawings, but if you draw a sketch from scratch it is better to create the strokes afterward using the Create Colour Art from Line Art option.

To create strokes with the Auto-Create Colour Art From Brush:

1. In the Camera/Drawing View, click on the Menu button and selectDrawing > Auto-Create Colour Art from Brush. The default keyboard shortcut is [Shift]+[F2].

2. Draw the extra lines required.Once you are done, disable the Auto-Create Colour Art from Brush option.

You are now ready to paint your background.

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Painting

Painting your background1. In the Camera or Drawing View, switch to the Line Art or Colour Art to paint your

model. The default keyboard shortcut is [L].

2. Select your Paint Bucket tool. We recommend the Paint Unpainted

tool.

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3. Paint the background by selecting the colours from the colour model or the palette and clicking on the different drawing zones.

Refer to the Ink and Paint chapter in the Paperless Animation Workflow Guide to learn about inking and painting drawings.

Tips and Tricks

Here are some tips to help you paint your background:

Using the Stroke Tool to Create Tone and Highlight Zones

Use the Stroke tool to draw invisible vector strokes and separate some of the drawing sections to create tone and highlight zones.

To use the stroke tool:

1. In the Camera/Drawing View, click on the Menu button and select Drawing Tools > Stroke. The default keyboard shortcut is [Alt]+[V]

2. In the Camera/Drawing View, click on the Menu button and select View > Show Strokes. The default keyboard shortcut is [K].

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The Strokes appear.

3. Draw the stroke on the background drawing.

4. In your colour palette, select the colour needed to paint the new zone.

5. In the Camera/Drawing View, click on the Menu button and selectDrawing Tools > Repaint. The default keyboard shortcut is [Alt]+[Y].

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6. Paint the new zone.

7. In the Drawing or Camera View, click on the Menu button and selectView > Show Strokes to hide the strokes. The default keyboard shortcut is [K].

Using the Gradient ColourUse the Gradient Colour to add more depth and variation to your drawings.

To create a gradient colour:

1. In the Colour View, select the colour to be modified.

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2. Click on the Menu button and select Colour > Edit Colour. Alternatively, double-click on the colour pot.


3. Enable the Gradient option.

4. Select Linear or Radial option.

5. Select the Gradient arrows to modify the colours.

Click between the arrows to add extra colours.

Pull down the arrows to remove them.

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Move the arrows left and right to modify the gradient distance.

Use the Edit Gradient/Texture tool to set your gradient’s position.

To use Edit Gradient/Texture tool:

1. In the Camera or Drawing View, click on the Menu button and selectDrawing Tools > Edit Gradient/Texture. The default keyboard shortcut is [Shift]+[F3].

2. Click on the Gradient or Texture colour to be modified.

The Edit Gradient/Texture selection frame appears.

3. Move the edit texture’s parameters to the desired result.If the same modification needs to be applied to another gradient or texture zone, you can select the modified zone and select Edit > Copy. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[C] (Windows) or [ ]+[C] (Mac OS X).Select the zone to be modified and select Edit > Paste. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[V] (Windows) or [ ]+[V] (Mac OS X).

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Task Summary1. Importing the background layout

2. Loading or creating the background palette

3. Loading the palettes and models

4. Painting the background

Next Task: Character and Prop Breakdown

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Chapter 7Character and Prop

Breakdown

Previous Task: Painting the Background

The character and prop breakdown is a crucial part of the Cut-out process. The breakdown is also referred to as character or prop building.

It is during the character and prop breakdown that the character designs are broken down into pieces and attached together to be animated. The act of attaching the separate parts is called rigging.

The breakdown and rigging will determine many important aspects of your animation, such as the animation type, the kind of templates used, the quality level, etc.

There are different types and levels of breakdowns and different ways to rig. You will always find the same steps, but how they are done can vary greatly from one person to another. Everybody develops their own techniques and preferences.

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The breakdown chapter is divided into six topics:

• Breakdown and Rigging Tips on page 160• Breakdown Preparation on page 166

• Parts Breakdown on page 192

• Working with Joints on page 203• Pivots on page 218

• Rigging on page 226

Breakdown and Rigging TipsBoth the breakdown and rigging are processes that need to be learned and practiced. Toon Boom Digital Pro provides some tips and tricks to help you start:

• Sample Templates on page 160

• Rigging Template on page 164• Renaming a Series of Modules on page 165

Sample Templates

Toon Boom Digital Pro provides a Templates sample library. This library includes the sample rigging templates that are available when you are creating characters.

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Chapter 7: Character and Prop Breakdown

The Templates folder contains eight templates:

• Advanced Open Rigging• Advanced Open Rigging with Tips

• Hierarchy Rigging

• Hierarchy Rigging with Tips• Mix Rigging

• Mix Rigging with Tips

• Open Rigging• Open Rigging with Tips

These eight templates correspond to the rigging techniques covered in this chapter.

There are four rigging technique templates:

• Advanced Open Rig

• Hierarchy

• Mix• Open Rig

You will also find these rigging technique templates with accompanying notes and tips to instruct you and help you to understand the rigging:

• Advanced Open Rigging with Tips• Hierarchy Rigging with Tips

• Mix Rigging with Tips

• Open Rigging with Tips

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In order to use these templates, simply select the one that you need and drag it to your Network View.

To use the sample template:

1. In the Template Library’s left window, select Templates > Blank Rigging Templates.

2. In the Template Library’s right window, select the desired sample template.

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3. Drag the selected template to the Network View.

The Palettes dialog box opens.

4. Click on the Copy button to copy the palette file in the current scene.

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5. If you chose a template with tips, click on the Note module’s yellow square while in the Network View to read the tips for that rigging.

6. Follow the breakdown process to draw your parts.

Rigging Template

We recommend that you create a blank template that you can reuse in your projects. This will enable a faster build-up and make it easier to create characters and props. Store this template in your Template Library to reuse it in your breakdown scene.

Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn how to create templates.

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Renaming a Series of ModulesWhen you use a blank rigging template, all of the modules’ names are generic. You will need to add naming information such as the character’s name and the angle.

Toon Boom Digital Pro provides a script called Add Prefix or Suffix that allows you to add a prefix or a suffix to a series of selected modules at the same time.

To add a prefix to a series of modules:

1. In the Network or Timeline View, select all of the modules. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[A] (Windows) or [(Command Symbol]+[A] (Mac OS X).

2. In the Scripting toolbar, click on the Add Prefix or Suffix script button.

The Add Prefix or Suffix dialog box opens.

3. Enable the Prefix or Suffix option, depending on what you want to add to the element’s name.

4. Type the prefix or suffix information to be added to the module name.

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Breakdown PreparationThe breakdown preparation is very important. There are many pieces and models to handle, so a viable structure needs to be implemented.

You will have to go through several steps to prepare for your breakdown:

• Creating the Scene on page 166• Using the Workspace on page 167

• Size Relation on page 167

• Importing the Model on page 174

• Studying the Colour Model on page 178• Creating the Drawing Elements on page 183

• Naming the Drawings on page 189

Creating the SceneThe first thing to do in any breakdown situation is to create a scene in Toon Boom Digital Pro. This is the character/prop-building scene, which can be thought of as a workspace to build puppets.

It is useful to identify these scenes as “charactername_building”.

Later on, it is in these building scenes that you will add more artwork, such as extra hands, mouths, and eyes. As production continues, more features will be added to the characters and props.

A breakdown scene usually contains many elements. To maintain a sound structure and avoid overloading your scene, it is best to create one scene per character or prop. This

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ensures that it will always be easy to find an element and to keep all of a character’s assets together.

Using the Workspace

Toon Boom Digital Pro provides you with a default workspace to breakdown your characters and props. Set your workspace drop-down menu to Breakdown .

Size RelationThe size relation between the props, characters and backgrounds is very important in maintaining consistency and structure throughout the project.

A production can contain many characters and props. It is not unusual for these to have been created by different people. If there is no size control implemented, the characters and elements created by different artists can vary greatly in size. When this occurs, the characters that are put together in a scene will be out of proportion. The animator or person doing the scene setup will then have to scale them to the correct size.

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When a character or a prop is scaled down, the outline will get increasingly thinner. By the time that the element is scaled to its proper size, the outline may be so thin that a difference between one character’s outline and the one beside it will not look very good.

Here are three tips that can be used to create a suitable size relation:

• Line Up on page 168• Field Chart on page 169

• Brush Size on page 172

Line Up

A line up consists of copying and pasting all of your character designs into the same drawing and then scaling them to correct proportion of the others. This line up is very important and should be handed to any animator, layout and posing artist, or scene set up person working on the project.

For the prop design, it is recommended that you paste one of the main character’s hands or even the full body beside the prop. This enables the animator to know what size to draw or set the prop.

In your character design scene, it is a good idea to create a column for the character line up.The line up is usually done during the Character Design step. When the character builder imports the model to the breakdown scene, the size relation should be correct.

Refer to the Character, Prop and Location Design chapter for more information about line ups and models.

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Field Chart

Toon Boom Digital Pro has a field chart included in its Camera and Drawing View. This tool is very useful in setting the characters’ and props’ heights. You can display the field chart using the Show Grid option.


In the top menu, select View > Drawing > Grid > Show Grid. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[‘] (Windows) or [ ]+[‘] (Mac OS X).

It is recommended that you keep the character design and breakdown inside of the 12 field size. This ensures that it fits the default camera size and the template thumbnails.

If some parts were drawn too big or too far apart, you can use the Send to Drawing/Camera View option and reposition, scale or rotate many drawings from different layers all at once using the Reposition All Drawings drawing tool.

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To use the Reposition All Drawings:

1. In the Xsheet View, select several drawings from different columns using the [Ctrl] or [ ] key and the mouse click.

2. Once the selection is completed, in the Xsheet View, right-click and select Send to Drawing/Camera View.

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A Side Panel appears in the Camera or Drawing View. If the Side Panel does not appear, click on the arrow buttons that appear on the Camera or Drawing View’s right side.

3. In the Drawing Tools toolbar, select the Reposition All Drawings tool.

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4. In the Camera or Drawing View, modify the drawings.

5. In the Side Panel, right-click and select Remove All Drawings.

Brush SizeToon Boom Digital Pro provides a variety of pens and brushes and also allows you to create and save your own.

It is a good idea to create and save pens with precise sizes and parameters to trace and design your models and breakdowns.

To add and save a pen:

1. In the Pen View, click on the Menu button and select New Pen or click on the

New Pen Icon.

You can also add a texture brush. In the Pen View, click on the Menu button and

select New Texture Pen or click on the New Texture Pen Icon.

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The Browse window opens.Browse a Tga or Psd format file to load as a texture.

Click on the Open button.

The new pen appears.

2. Set your brush size in the Pen tab.

In the Drawing View, the default keyboard shortcut for the maximum size is [O] and for the minimum size is [Shift]+[O].

3. In the Texture tab, set your texture parameters.

4. In the Pen View, click on the Menu button and select Save Pen Styles.

The Pen window allows for the modification of pen parameters such as the thickness and smoothness, and also allows you to save the pen list.

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Importing the ModelOnce the building scene is created, it is time to import the character/prop colour model into the scene. This model can be a rough sketch or a complete colour model.

There are four main ways to bring the model to the character building scene:

• Importing Colour Models Created in Toon Boom Digital Pro on page 174

• Importing External Vector-based Models on page 175

• Designing Directly in the Breakdown Scene on page 177

Importing Colour Models Created in Toon Boom Digital ProColour models are usually created prior to the breakdown. The colour stylist prepares the colour models in a Toon Boom Digital Pro scene and then stores the models as templates in the Template Library. This allows users to easily import them into their scene.

Refer to the Colour Styling and Colour Model chapter to learn more about colour models and templates.

To import templates:

1. Open the Template Library and browse to the appropriate library folder.

2. In the right-hand window, select one or more templates.

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3. Drag the selection to the Network or Timeline View.

If you drop the selection in the Timeline’s left side, new elements and modules will be created.

If you drop the selection in the Timeline’s right side, the information will be inserted into existing elements. In order for the template to combine with existing elements, the structure needs to be the consistent. If you cannot to merge the elements together, move on to the Timeline’s left side and create new elements.

When you import a template into a scene, there is no link between the Library and the scene. It creates a copy of all drawings, effects, trajectories, etc. This means that you are free to modify anything copied into your scene.

Importing External Vector-based ModelsIf your colour models were created as PDF, SWF or AI files, you can import them via the Template Library. The vector format will be converted to TVG (Toon Boom Vector Graphic) and a palette file will be created.

To import external vector drawing:

1. Open the Template Library.

2. Select the library folder where the image will be imported, right-click and select Right to Modify.

3. Click on the Menu button and select Edit > Import Files.

The Import Files browser opens.

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4. Browse for the design file (.Swf,.Ai,.Pdf).

5. Click on the Open button to import the file.


6. Rename the Template appropriately.


8. Drag the template from the Template Library to the Network View or Timeline View’s left side.

The Palette Recovery dialog box opens.

9. Click on the Yes button to have Toon Boom Digital Pro create a palette file for your element.

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Designing Directly in the Breakdown SceneThe user also has the option to create colour models and designs directly in the breakdown scene. This is a common method for individual users.

To learn how to design a character model directly in Toon Boom Digital Pro, refer to the Character, Prop and Location Design chapter.

It is recommended that you give the model layer a clear and specific name, such as “charactername_model”.

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Studying the Colour Model Now that you have imported or designed your colour model, the next step is to observe the model. This is done to determine what parts will be broken apart and how they will be divided. Will the hair be separated into one, two or three sections? Will the hand be separated from the sleeve? To determine what is best for your character, observe the model in the Camera or Drawing View.

Tips and Tricks

Here are some tips and tricks to improve the quality of your breakdown:

• Eyelids and pupils on page 179• Mouth shapes directly on the head on page 180

• Keeping the fingers with the hand on page 180

• Mixing Paperless animation on page 180• Flipping logos on page 182

• Complete and overlapping pieces on page 183

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Eyelids and pupilsFor increased flexibility with the animation of the eyes, you can split the eyes into three layers: the eyeball, the pupil and the eyelid. The eyelid layer is used for the blink and to cut the pupil when it gets too close to the side of the eyeball. For a more advanced breakdown, the two eyes are separated on their own individual three-layer sets.

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Mouth shapes directly on the headTo animate more realistic lip syncing and facial expressions, you can create the mouth shapes on the head layer. Simply deform the jaw to match the mouth opening.

Keeping the fingers with the handTo avoid needlessly complicating the breakdown, the fingers are not usually separated from the hand. The full hand is a single layer with a bank of different hands stored inside. This technique is easy to work with and produces a less mechanical effect.

Mixing Paperless animationFor more advanced Cut-out animation and a more Traditional animation look, some users will keep full arms and full legs. This means that only hands and feet are separated from

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the limbs. The animator will create extra drawing shapes and substitute them during the animation. This technique is a combination of Cut-out and Paperless animation.

It is also possible that the animator will want to temporarily combine some parts to facilitate the work and produce a higher quality animation. For example, both legs and hips can be combined into a single drawing to create poses that would be difficult using Cut-out pieces. In this example, the two full legs could be drawn on the hip level and legs and feet exposure would be removed. At this point, the technique is a mix of Cut-out and Paperless animation.

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Refer to the Paperless Animation chapter in the Paperless Animation Tasks book to learn about Paperless animation.

Flipping logosYou can separate logos and letters that appear on a character or a prop. This allows you to flip and reuse a character’s puppet if desired.

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Complete and overlapping piecesFor a better result with animated parts, it is important to understand that they have to be properly overlapping and complete. A common mistake is to trace the part just as it appears on the model. See the example below.

Creating the Drawing ElementsWhile looking at the model, you can start adding all of the layers (drawing elements) necessary to the character/prop breakdown. These columns can be added from the Timeline or the Xsheet View. If you are working with Cut-out animation, we recommend that you use the Timeline View, as each part needs its own layer.

There are few things to know about drawing elements:

• Naming convention on page 183• Combining or separating the angles on page 184

• Combining or separating the angles on page 184

Naming convention

It is highly recommended that you incorporate a naming convention for the layers. This will be very convenient in later steps.

We suggest that you add one or two letters for the character/prop name before the part name and a “R” or a “L” for right and left to identify the corresponding character/prop:

Character Abby’s right arm = ab_r_arm.

If you plan to work with different angles for your characters (front, side, three-quarter, back), you can add one or two letters to identify the angle:

Character Abby’s right arm, front view = ab_r_arm_f.

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Combining or separating the anglesThere are two possible ways to split the different views and angles of a puppet:

• Combining the angles on page 184

• Separating the angles on page 185

Combining the anglesTo combine the angles means that the front, side, three-quarter and back views are inserted into the same layers. Every hand drawing, regardless of the angle, will be inserted into the hand layer; the same is true for the head or any other part.

When you import your character or prop into your scene, all of the drawings created for this puppet will be available for use. This method is allows access to all of the data and allows you to change the angle for certain parts.

You do not have to worry about the parts being displayed out of order if you have decided to insert them all into the same drawing elements. There are features that allow you to organize the order; this will be covered in the rigging section.

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Separating the anglesSeparating the angles means that you are creating a different puppet for each angle. The front, side, three-quarter and back angles will each have their own separate set of layers. The layer will contain only the drawing of that specific angle.

This technique is useful if you do not intend to later combine your actions and animations. Combining actions means that you are inserting an animation template into already existing layers in the Timeline View.

This technique also allows for smaller template files to be imported into the scenes. The rigging ordering is a slightly easier to handle and animate than a full angle breakdown. However, when you animate a character that is turning, you will have to incorporate a second angle template. The scene will end up with more parts and elements from the same character. This means more modules and layers to manage in the Network and Timeline Views.

There are two ways to create separate angles:

• Separate Scenes on page 186

• Separate Layers in the Same Scene on page 187

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Separate Scenes

To avoid having too many layers in a scene, you can create an independent scene for each angle. Each breakdown scene will contain only the angle layers; each layer will contain only the drawing from that angle.

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Separate Layers in the Same Scene

Another way to avoid having too many scenes is to create the different layers in the same scene. This would mean that you have five head layers in a scene, each one containing the drawing for a different angle.

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Adding Drawing ElementsIt is important to follow an established naming convention in order to maintain structure throughout the project. Add a drawing element for each individual part, such as the arm, forearm, hand, mouth, pupil, hip, torso, etc.

To add a drawing element from the Timeline View:

1. To add an element from the Timeline View, click on the Add Elements button.

The Add Elements window opens.

2. Select Drawing type.

3. In the Name field, name the element according to the part’s name.

4. Click on the Apply button to move on to the next element.

5. Click on the OK button once the task is completed.

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Naming the DrawingsWe recommend that you use a naming convention for your drawings. If you combine all of the angles of a character in the same breakdown scene, it is a good idea to identify each angle used.

Before drawing the parts in the drawing elements (layers), we recommend that you create a drawing name that represents the angle used. For example, use “f” for front, “s” for side, “q” for three-quarter so that the drawing name looks like: f1, f2, f3, s1, s2, etc. This will be quite useful during animation and drawing substitution.

Typing a Drawing NameBefore starting your drawing, you should first name it.To enter a drawing name in a column’s cell, simply double-click it and type the name.

Note:

You can only use alphanumeric values. (0-9, a-z, underscore (_) and dash (-)).

• press [Return] to have the cursor move to the next cell.

• press [ESC] to quit the typing mode.

To type values in the Xsheet View:

1. In an Xsheet column, double-click a cell.

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2. Type a value or drawing name in the cell.Press [Return] to move to the next cell.Press [ESC] to quit the typing mode.

An entire frame row can be pre-named by selecting a whole row and using the Fill Selection option.

To use Fill Selection:

1. In the Xsheet or Timeline View, select a cell range by clicking on the row unit number.

2. In the Xsheet View, click on the Menu button and selectExposure > Fill Selection. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[T].

The Fill dialog box opens.

3. Type a value in the dialog box.


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Renaming a Drawing

To rename a drawing, select the drawing and use the Rename Drawing option. Do not double-click on the frame and write a new name, as this will create a new drawing and hide your actual one. Note that the hidden drawing has not been deleted and is still located within the element folder. Simply retype the name and it will reappear.

To rename a drawing:

1. In the Xsheet View, select the drawing to be renamed.

2. In the Xsheet View, click on the Menu button and select Drawings > Rename Drawing. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[D] (Windows) or [ ]+[D] (Mac OS X).


3. Rename the drawing appropriately.


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Parts BreakdownNow that your scene, drawing elements and drawings are ready, you can start the breakdown and begin drawing your parts. The breakdown can be done in more than one way, depending on the user’s preferences. The breakdown is done using the Drawing or Camera, the Xsheet and the Timeline View.

There are three steps in the breakdown process:

• Breaking Down on page 192

• Completing the Other Angles on page 201

• Adding Extra Pieces on page 201

Breaking DownWe can identify three principle ways of doing the breakdown:

• Cut and Complete on page 193

• Tracing on page 197• Pre-broken model on page 199

We highly recommend that you paint all of the parts in the drawing’s Line Art layer. The Colour Art layer should be used mainly for Traditional and Paperless ink and paint, and for advanced rigging purposes.

Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts to learn about Colour Art, Line Art, palettes and scene palette lists.

If you plan to use a master palette linked through out your whole project or a principle clone palette to replace the palettes, refer to the Production Structure and Organization chapter.

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Cut and Complete

The cut and complete technique is a very popular way of breaking down a character/prop. This process consists of selecting a part from the colour model and pasting it into the proper layer. You will then use a drawing tool to complete the missing lines and fix the holes.

Although this can be a time saver, it often becomes more time consuming because you have to fix holes, complete lines, flatten elements, etc.

Cutting and Completing the PartsTo cut and complete your parts:

1. In the Xsheet or Timeline View, select the colour model’s cell.

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2. In the Drawing Tools toolbar, select the Cutter tool. The default keyboard shortcut is [Alt]+[T].

3. In the Drawing or Camera View, select the part that you want to copy.Press the [Alt] key to get the rectangle cutter tool.

4. In the top menu, select Edit > Copy. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[C] (Windows) or [ ]+[C] (Mac OS X). You can also right-click (Windows) or [Ctrl]+click (Mac OS X) on the view and select Copy.

5. If you are working in the Xsheet View, click on the Show Thumbnails button to display your thumbnails.

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6. In the Xsheet or Timeline View, select the column’s cell in which you want to paste the part. If the drawing is not already named, double-click on the cell and name it.

7. If the character’s master palette is a “Scene Palette List” type, the proper palette will already be in place. If the palette is an “Element Palette List” type, go to the Colour View and load the master palette in the layer’s palette list using the Load Palette

button. (Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter for more information about scene and element palette list.)

8. In the top menu, select Edit > Paste. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[V] (Windows) or [ ]+[V] (Mac OS X). You can also right-click (Windows) or [Ctrl]+click (Mac OS X) on the view and select Paste.

Verify that you are using the Drawing or Camera View before pasting your selection, otherwise you will not be able to paste.

9. In the Drawing Tools toolbar, select the Eraser or Select tool. The default keyboard shortcuts are [Alt]+[E] and [Alt]+[S] (Windows) or [Ctrl]+[E] and [Alt]+[S] (Mac OS X).

10. In the Drawing or Camera View, cut and erase the extra lines and pieces.

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11. In the Drawing Tools toolbar, select the Paint or Brush tool. The default keyboard shortcuts are [Alt]+[I] and [Alt]+[B] (Windows) or [Ctrl]+[I] and [Alt]+[B] (Mac OS X).

12. In the Drawing or Camera View, draw the missing lines and paint the holes.

13. In the Drawing or Camera View, click on the Menu button and select Edit > Select All. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[A] (Windows) or [ ]+[A] (Mac OS X).

14. In the Drawing or Camera View, click on the Menu button and select Drawings > Flatten.The default keyboard shortcut is [Alt]+[Shift]+[F].

15. Repeat steps 1 to 13 until the breakdown is complete.

Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn more about painting, creating and adding palettes.

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Tracing

Recommended Method!

The tracing technique may seem to be a long process, but it is one of the best methods. It creates solid and clean drawings and often ends up being faster than the “cut and complete” technique.

The tracing breakdown involves using the light table to see the other drawing elements (layers) in washed out colours and tracing and painting the desired parts in the appropriate cells and drawing elements.

If your original model is a rough sketch, this is the technique to use.

Tracing the PartsTo trace your parts:

1. In the Xsheet or Timeline View, select the column’s cell in which you want to draw the part. If the drawing is not already named, double-click on the cell and name it.

2. If the character’s master palette is a Scene Palette List type, the proper palette will already be in place. If the palette is an Element Palette List type, go to the Colour View and load the master palette in the layer’s palette list using the Load Palette

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button. (Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter for more information about scene and element palette lists.)

3. In the Drawing or Camera View, click on the Menu button and select View > Light Table. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[‘] (Windows) or [ ]+[‘] (Mac OS X).

4. In the Drawing Tools toolbar, select a drawing tool such as the Brush or the Polyline.

5. In the Colour View, select the necessary colour from the master palette.

6. In the Drawing or Camera View, draw the part.


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9. Repeat steps 1 to 8 until the breakdown is complete.

Pre-broken model

The pre-broken model technique is usable only when the colour model is already drawn in complete parts into the colour model layer. The character designer prepares the final model in different completed parts and places them all inside the same drawing. This is not a matter of different Timeline layers (drawing elements), but rather drawing objects that are not flattened within a single drawing. This way, the character builder simply has to select the necessary part and paste it in the right drawing element (layer).

Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn more about drawing tools.

Copying and Pasting the PartsTo copy and paste your parts:

1. In the Xsheet or Timeline View, select the colour model’s cell.

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Click on the [Alt] key for the rectangle select tool.Click on the [Shift] key to add or remove brush strokes to your selection.

3. In the Drawing or Camera View, select the part that you want to copy.

4. In the top menu, select Edit > Copy. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[C] (Windows) or [ ]+[C] (Mac OS X). You can also right-click (Windows) or [Ctrl]+click (Mac OS X) the view and select Copy.

5. In the Xsheet or Timeline View, select the column’s cell in which you want to paste the part. If the drawing name is not already created, double-click on the cell and name it.

6. If the character’s master palette is a Scene Palette List type, the proper palette will already be in place. If the palette is an Element Palette List type, go to the Colour View and load the master palette in the layer’s palette list using the Load Palette

button. (Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter for more information about scene and element palette lists.)

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7. In the top menu, select Edit > Paste. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[V] (Windows) or [ ]+[V] (Mac OS X). You can also right-click (Windows) or [Ctrl]+click (Mac OS X) the view and select Paste.

8. In the Drawing or Camera View, click on the Menu button and select Drawings > Flatten. The default keyboard shortcut is [Alt]+[Shift]+[F].

9. Repeat steps 1 to 8 until the breakdown in completed.

Completing the Other AnglesOnce the first angle breakdown in done (front, three-quarter or side), move on to the others. As previously explained, you can choose to insert your other angles’ drawings in the same drawing elements. This allows you to have all of your parts from all the angles contained within the same layer, or you can decide to create a completely new scene or set of layers for another view.

Adding Extra PiecesHere you also include extra hands, mouths, and eyes to your breakdown. These must be inserted into the same drawing elements. All of your left hands must be in the same layer in order to be able to swap them later on. Do not put them in different layers!

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Naming Extra DrawingsWhen you add extra drawings to your breakdown, it is recommended that you follow the drawing name convention.

If you are using letters to identify the angle, such as f1, q1, s1, continue using this method. The next front view drawings will be called f2, f3, f4 and so on.

You can add extra naming information for the mouths, such as sad (s), happy (h), or angry (a) to indicate the mouth emotion and to make it easier to find later on.

Onion SkinWhen you add extra parts, you will need to see the previous drawings in order to keep the new pieces on model and at the proper size and location. To see your previous and next drawings, use the Onion Skin feature.

To activate the Onion Skin:

In the top menu, select View > Onion Skin > Show Onion Skin. The default keyboard shortcut is [Alt]+[O].

Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn more about the onion skin.

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Working with JointsThe joints are an important aspect of any Cut-out breakdown. Without joints, a puppet cannot move properly and will not look good. Toon Boom Digital Pro offers clever ways to create these joints.

There are three principle ways of creating joints with Toon Boom Digital Pro:

• Classical Joint on page 204

• Joint Patch Techniques on page 208• Glue on page 214

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Classical Joint

The classical joint is the most popular technique. It is quite simple and produces excellent results, but it is not the most efficient method. In many instances, it cause struggles, limitations and extra drawing corrections. For example, there may be a gap in the joint if the part is bent too far. Joint design is usually designed as a circle; part overlapping cannot be reversed.

The classical joint is done by erasing a part of the line from the overlay layer, leaving the colour overlapping the bottom one.

The classical joint generally works well for a design without outlines, but is not as good when outlines are used.

Before selecting this technique, review the Joint Patch option below.

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Creating the JointTo create a classical joint:

1. In the Xsheet or Timeline View, select the cell containing the first part to modify, such as the arm.

2. In the Drawing Tools toolbar, select the Polyline, Brush, Pencil, Ellipse, or Contour Editor tool.

3. In the Drawing or Camera View, click on the Menu button and select View > Light Table. The default keyboard shortcut is [Shift]+[L].

4. In the Colour View, select the outline colour.

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5. In the Drawing or Camera View, use your drawing tool to make sure that the joint is overlapping the other part in a perfect half-circle.

6. Repeat steps 1 to 5 for the other part of the joint.

7. In the Timeline or Xsheet View, select the cell of the part that will be on top of the joint.

8. In the Drawing Tools toolbar, choose the Select, Cutter or Eraser tool.

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9. In the Drawing or Camera View, remove a part of the overlapping outline in order to have only the filling colour overlapping the joint.

10. Repeat step 1 to 9 until all of the joints on the puppet are completed.

Later, when placing rotation pivots, make sure they are placed at the very centre of the articulation.

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Joint Patch Techniques

Toon Boom Digital Pro’s networking and advanced rigging possibilities allow another joint technique, called the joint patch. The joint patch is a colour fill patch that is drawn onto a third layer and is used to cover the joint lines. It is a simple and powerful technique that can be applied on a simple or advanced level.

With this technique, you avoid having to create a correction layer at the end of the animation to fill the gaps in the joints. You do not need to worry about a joint at all. Once a patch is set, the joint is fixed for the entire animation length.

There are two joint patch techniques:

• Basic Joint Patch on page 209• Advanced Joint Patch on page 211

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Basic Joint PatchTo create a basic joint patch:

1. In the Timeline View, add a new drawing element and name it according to the naming convention. For example: ab_elbow_r or ab_arm_r_patch.


3. In the Timeline or Xsheet View, select either of the cells containing a part that will be included in the joint.

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4. In the Drawing or Camera View, select the colour fill area that overlaps the joint. Do not select the outline.


6. In the Xsheet or Timeline View, select the patch cell.


8. In the Drawing or Camera View, click on the Menu button and select View > Light Table. The default keyboard shortcut is [Shift]+[L].

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9. In the Drawing Tools toolbar, select the Cutter or Eraser tool. The default keyboard shortcuts are [Alt]+[T] and [Alt]+[E] (Windows) or [Alt]+[T] and [Ctrl]+[E] (Mac OS X).

10. In the Drawing or Camera View, delete the extra colour fill zone, keeping only a small part to cover the joint, such as the elbow, the knee or the shoulder.

11. Repeat steps 1 to 10 until all of the joints are created.

Advanced Joint PatchThe advanced joint patch is not very different from the basic technique. The advantage of this method is that when the animator substitutes a drawing for another one during the animation process, the corresponding patch changes at the same time.

Instead of using a third drawing element for the joint, the joint is pasted in the drawing’s Colour Art layer. Note that your character must be painted in Line Art to use this technique.

Later, during the rigging step, you will learn how to extract the patch from the Colour Art.

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To create an advanced joint patch:


2. In the Timeline or Xsheet View, select the cell containing the part that will be on top of the joint. (For example: Upper arm)

3. In the Drawing or Camera View, select the colour fill area that overlaps the joint. Do not select the outline.


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5. In the Drawing or Camera View’s bottom toolbar, click on the Colour Art and

Preview Line and Colour Art button.



8. In the Drawing Tools toolbar, select the Cutter or Eraser tool. The default keyboard shortcuts are [Alt]+[T] and [Alt]+[E] (Windows) or [Alt]+[T] and [Ctrl]+[E] (Mac OS X).

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9. In the Drawing or Camera View, delete the extra colour fill zone. Keep a small part covering the joint, such as the elbow, the knee or the shoulder.

10. Repeat step 1 to 9 until all of the joints are created.

Glue

Toon Boom Digital Pro uses a glue effect to fill in the missing artwork in a joint between two vector drawings. The glue joint is done in two steps. The first is to prepare the artwork and the second is done during the rigging. For now, we will focus on the artwork preparation.

The glue effect is really useful to avoid losing time creating perfect joints or extra patches, but this can produce a large file during the animation process. Since it is an effect, the system needs to continually preform calculations. Also, since it produces computer generated artwork, the user has less control over the final result.

Later, during the rigging step, you will learn how to connect the Glue module effect.

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This example illustrates the most popular glue technique. For further information about glue, refer to the Reference Guide.

For some designs, the pencil line gives a better result for glue joints, but generally the brush lines and colour fills done in Line Art mode work very well.

Before starting your glue joint, we recommend that you put all of the part’s artwork in the same drawing. In other words, the upper arm and the forearm should be in the same drawing and flattened. It is very important to have a perfect straight cut between the two parts of the joint.

Creating the Glue JointTo create a glue joint

1. If your two parts are not in the same drawing, go to the Drawing Tools toolbar and choose the Select tool. The default keyboard shortcut is [Alt]+[S]. If your parts are in the same drawing, move on to step 9.

2. In the Timeline or Xsheet View, select the cell that contains the part that you want to cut and paste into the other part drawing. (For example: Upper arm)


4. In the top menu, select Edit > Cut. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[X] (Windows) or [ ]+[X] (Mac OS X). You can also right-click (Windows) or [Ctrl]+click (Mac OS X) the view and select Cut.

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5. In the Timeline or Xsheet View, select the cell in which you want to paste your selection.(For example: Forearm)




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9. In the Drawing Tools toolbar, select the Cutter tool. The default keyboard shortcut is [Alt]+[T].

10. In the Drawing or Camera View, cut the part in two pieces at the joint height.

Using the Cutter tool, select the piece to cut (the one that was previously copied and pasted in the drawing) click on one side of the joint and drag the tool across the area that you want to select. This will create a straight cut.

11. In the top menu, select Edit > Cut. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[X] (Windows) or [ ]+[X] (Mac OS X). You can also right-click (Windows) or [Ctrl]+click (Mac OS X) the view and select Cut.

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12. In the Timeline or Xsheet View, select the cell in which you want to paste your selection.(For example: Upper arm)


14. Repeat steps 1 to 13 until all of the joints are created.

Pivots

Now that most of the drawing work is done, you are ready to set pivot points. A pivot point is used to set the rotation centre of every part of the puppet. This allows the puppet to be properly animated.

By default, all pivots are set at the centre of the 12 field grid (centre of the default camera position).

The pivot points also allow you the possibility to test joints that you previously created to ensure that they were done correctly.

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In Toon Boom Digital Pro, there are two levels of pivot points for Cut-out puppets:

• Drawing Pivot on page 219• Peg Pivot on page 225

Drawing Pivot

Recommended Method!

The drawing pivot is a notable concept offered by Toon Boom Digital Pro. Each drawing has its own independent pivot. If a drawing element (layer) contains more than one drawing or has drawings from different angles, each can have its own centre of rotation.

For example, an arm layer can contain an arm from the front angle, two arms from the side angle and one arm from the back angle. These drawings will not all rotate from the same centre, so the drawing pivot is useful.

Pegs, the motion elements used to animate the drawings, also have their own pivot points. When the drawing pivot option is enabled, it forces this motion or trajectory element to adapt to each drawing’s rotation centre. This option facilitates Cut-out animation.

The drawing elements (drawing containers, layers) also have their own pivot points. This is a static and permanent pivot that is used to scale, rotate and offset the element’s position. With Cut-out puppets, these pivots are not usually used.

The drawing pivot option turns off the element pivot. This is done to simplify the pivot situation: instead of having three pivot levels (drawing, element, peg), you only have one.

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Once the drawing pivot is enabled, the element pivot is turned off and the peg pivot emulates the drawing pivot.

If you are using joint patches, you do not need to assign a pivot to your patch drawings. They will use their parent part’s pivot. You will assign drawing pivots to all of your drawings but the patches.

Even if you do not set a drawing pivot to a new location, every drawing has one assigned. This default pivot point is situated in the centre of the drawing, at the (0,0) position. In Toon Boom Digital Pro, “the drawing” refers to the whole 12 field guide, the whole paper sheet and not just the area where there is artwork. This concept is quite useful for the Traditional animation workflow and drawing registration.

The drawing pivots are assigned in the Drawing or Camera View, directly on the artwork.

You will learn how to enable the Drawing Pivot option during the Rigging process.

To set a drawing pivot:


2. In the Timeline or Xsheet View, select the drawing in which you want to adjust the drawing pivot.

3. In the Drawing or Camera View, hold the [Ctrl] key down.

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The Drawing Pivot appears at the 12 field’s centre.

Hold down the [Ctrl] key and click where you want to set the new drawing pivot’s location.

4. Repeat steps 1 to 3 for every drawing in the breakdown except for the patches. It is important to set drawing pivots for the mouth, eyebrows, eyes, pupils, etc.

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Copying and Pasting Drawing PivotsIf some elements need the exact same drawing pivot, for example all of the three-quarter hands, you can copy and paste a drawing pivot on a multiple selection in the Timeline or Xsheet View.

It is important to have the same drawing pivots on the extra parts from the same angle. This way, if you substitute a drawing while the part is rotating, the animation will not be affected by an uneven pivot.

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To copy and paste drawing pivots:

1. In the Drawing or Camera View, set the first drawing pivot of the series. For example, set it on head-f1.

2. In the Xsheet or Timeline View, select the drawing that contains the correct drawing pivot.

3. Right-click (Windows) or [Ctrl]+[C] (Mac OS X) the selected cell and select Copy. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[C] (Windows) or [ ]+[C] (Mac OS X).

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4. In the Timeline or Xsheet View, select the cell range that requires the same drawing pivot.

5. Right-click (Windows) or [Ctrl]+[C] (Mac OS X) the selected cell and select Paste Special. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[B] (Windows) or [ ]+[B] (Mac OS X).

The Paste Special dialog box opens.

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6. In the Paste Special dialog box, enable the Update Drawing Pivot option.


8. In the Drawing or Camera View, use the Select tool and the [Ctrl] key to verify that all of the pivots were assigned correctly.

Peg PivotThe peg pivot is the rotation centre from the motion or trajectory element used to animate the puppet’s drawings. This is done during the rigging stage.

The peg pivot is a single rotation point that has been assigned to a whole drawing element (layer, drawing container).

The value for the peg pivot remains the same throughout the whole scene. It cannot be keyframed or changed for individual drawings. Keep in mind that using the Rotation or Scale tool (Animation Tools) to move the pivot point will offset the peg’s pivot position for the whole scene, not only the current frame.

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If you are drawing all of your angles in the same columns, your peg pivots may not follow your animation properly while using the auto-in-betweening feature. In this case, it is better to separate your angles in different columns or scenes.

We recommend that you use the drawing pivots instead of the peg pivots as the pivot will automatically adapt itself to the current drawing. This way, the user avoids having to reposition the pivot before animating if it is not it in the correct location.

Even if you assign a permanent pivot to a drawing element, Toon Boom Digital Pro provides tools during the animation process that allow you to modify the pivots temporarily.

Rigging

Now that all of your drawings are completed and named and your drawing pivots are set, you are ready for the rigging step.

A rig refers to the way that the puppet parts are attached to one another. The rigging is the step where the motion elements (pegs) are attached to the drawings. This allows them to move and to be parented to other pegs, creating a hierarchy between the parts. This process is sometimes referred to as building the skeleton.

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There are different rig possibilities for different production and animation styles. This section will outline the main ones; you will then be able to choose which method to use to rig your prop or character.

The rigging is done in twelve steps:

• Element Ordering on page 228

• Enabling the Drawing Pivots on page 230• Adding the Pegs on page 233

• Choosing the Rigging Technique on page 238

• Setting the Peg Pivots on page 257• Rigging Joint Patches and Glue Joints on page 260

• Creating the Peg Functions on page 272

• Reordering Views on page 274• Display Ordering Factors on page 278

• Setting the Composite Types on page 279

• Grouping on page 283

• Adding a Display Module on page 285

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Element Ordering

The first step to start your rig is to order your puppet properly. The drawing is completed and it is time to attach all of the pieces together. You are always able to go back to your drawings to add or modify any artwork.

You will now order your drawing elements (layers) in the Timeline. The Exposure Sheet’s ordering does not matter anymore; it is only useful for the drawing creation. Once you start working with the Timeline, its order overrides the one in the Xsheet. This is done because the Timeline is more powerful and accurate in displaying parenting, keyframes and all the necessary information in a simplified way.

In the Timeline, you can check the results in your Camera View and start reordering your layers as needed.

In the Timeline, the bottom elements will be displayed as the ones farthest behind and the top elements will be displayed as the closest ones.

You have to do this exercise for every angle that was separated into different scenes or layer sets. If you added all of your angles to the same layers, you only need to do this step for one of them. You should usually select the most used angle, such as the front three-quarter view. Do not worry about ordering the other angles; if the parts are not in the right order, it is not a problem. You will learn how to order them in the Reordering Views topic below.

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To order drawing elements in the Timeline:

1. In the Timeline View’s left window, select one or more drawing elements to move.

2. Drag the selection up or down depending on whether you want it to be displayed in front or behind.

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3. Drop the selection between, above or below the other existing modules. Do not drop the selection on the modules. This will create a hierarchy and cause that module to become a parent to the section.

4. Repeat steps 1 to 3 until all of the layers are properly ordered.

Enabling the Drawing PivotsNow that all of your pivots are set, you can enable the Use Drawing Pivot option. This forces the first peg connected to the drawing element to emulate the drawing’s pivots.

Toon Boom Digital Pro provides a script to enable this option on all of the modules simultaneously.

As mentioned in the Drawing Pivot topic, the joint patches share the same pivots as their parent. If you accidentally set a drawing pivot different than the default (0,0) position, you will have to manually disable the Use Drawing Pivot option.

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To manually enable or disable the drawing pivot:

1. To open the drawing element editor:In the Timeline View, double-click on the drawing element module.In the Network View, click on the drawing element module’s yellow square.

The Editor opens.

2. In the Transformation tab, enable or disable the Use Drawing Pivot option.


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To enable drawing pivots with the Enable Drawing Pivot script:

1. In the Scripting toolbar, make sure that the Enable Drawing Pivot script is available.

2. In the Network View, select all modules. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[A] (Windows) or [ ]+[A] (Mac OS X).

3. In the Scripting toolbar, click on the Enable Drawing Pivot script icon.

All of the drawing pivots in the drawing elements are enabled.

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Adding the Pegs

Now that your puppet layers are in the correct order, it is time to add motion elements to your drawing layers. The motion elements are called Pegs in Toon Boom Digital Pro. They allow a drawing element to move along a trajectory over time. This trajectory can be modified visually by typing values or by editing Bezier/ease curves.

Adding pegs involves three steps:

• Setting the preferences on page 233

• Ordering the network on page 235

• Adding the Parent Pegs on page 236

Setting the preferences

Before adding any pegs to your scene, verify that your Preferences are properly set for Cut-out animation. Your General options need to be set to Default Separate Scale (enable squash, stretch and skew) and Default Separate Position (separate your X, Y and Z positions).

To set your preferences:

1. In the top menu, select Edit > Preferences.

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The Preference Panel opens

2. Go to the General tab.

3. In the Settings section, enable Default Separate Scale and Default Separate Position.


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Ordering the networkToon Boom Digital Pro provides a script to organize and spread your network’s module in a more convenient setup.

To use the Order Network script to organize your network:

1. In the Network View, select some or all of your modules.

2. In the Scripting toolbar, click on the Order Network Up or Order Network

Down button.

3. The Order Network dialog box opens.

4. Set an X Overlapping value or use the default value.

5. Set a Layer Spacing value or use the default value.

6. Set a Vertical Spacing value or use the default value.


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Adding the Parent Pegs

The easiest way to add pegs to your puppet is with the Timeline and the Add Parent Peg option. This will hook the drawing element directly to a peg and rename to correspond. If you select all of your drawing elements at once in the Timeline View and select the Add Parent Peg option, all of your pegs will be added, parented and renamed at the same time. This is a great time saver.

There is no difference between a peg and a parent peg. The parent peg is simply a peg that is hooked to the selected elements and renamed immediately. If you add a non-parent peg, you are adding a peg to your Timeline, but it will not be hooked to any element.

To add parent pegs:

1. In the Timeline’s left window, select all of your drawing elements.

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2. In the Timeline modules toolbar, click on the Add Parent Pegs button.

The Pegs appear in the Timeline and Network Views.

To learn more about the pegs’ origin, refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts and the Seven Animation Concepts chapters in the Introduction and Basics book.

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Choosing the Rigging Technique

Now it is time for the actual rigging. You can rig your character/prop from your Timeline View, but Toon Boom Digital Pro’s Network View is very useful and much more powerful for this task, offering more options. The Network View offers a visual representation of the whole rig, making it much easier to follow the connections. Each drawing, peg or effect element is shown as a module.

It was mentioned previously that there are different rig possibilities offered by Toon Boom Digital Pro. The more that you explore the different techniques available, the more you will discover what you like and be able to adapt it to your own preferences. At some point, you will have developed your own personal rigging technique.

There are three main rigging styles:

• Open Rig on page 239

• Hierarchy on page 250

• Mix on page 256

At this point, you do not need to be concerned with the patches or the other angles’ ordering. Leave these aside until a further step.

To learn more about the Network View, Stop-Motion and Motion keyframes before starting the rigging, read the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book.

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Open Rig

The open rig is the easiest way to build the puppet. Using this method, there is no parenting between elements (an “element” is a drawing module plus a peg module). Each part of the puppet is independent. The parts are simply hooked to one Master Peg, used to control the whole character.

Review the following before choosing this technique and rigging your puppet in open rig:

• Advantages on page 240

• Open Rig Summary on page 241


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AdvantagesWhen working with an Open Rig, there are no restrictions on selecting and moving or scaling parts at any moment. The rigging allows the animator the most freedom.

Although the initial impression may lead you to believe that the open rig takes more time and is more complex to animate, it is quite easy to use and to handle. All of the pieces are independent and can be moved freely without affecting the other ones. This rig is the easiest to use when creating key poses.

You can almost avoid using the Timeline View during an Open Rig animation process. The Timeline View usage can be reduced to a minimum as you can also decide to play with all of its parameters.

A Traditional animator can essentially use all established animation principles. The animator can animate straight ahead, pose to pose, do a breakdown, deform, skew and swap any drawing. This does not require advanced digital knowledge or experience.

The auto in-between (Motion) should be used sparingly and in small increments. The animator has to do more keyframes and breakdown in the animation when working with auto in-between. If you prefer to have the computer control a part of the work, select another technique, such as the Mix Rigging.

Although automatic interpolation (using the Motion keyframes to create your in-between) may seem to be a faster and better method, it is not the best choice to mix with an open

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rigging. Since all of the parts are independent, the rotations are not followed between the individual parts. They will go straight from point A to point B.

Open Rig SummaryThe open rig works well with Stop-Motion keyframe and allows substantial control over the animation with a minimal level of experience. The Motion keyframe is usually used in small increments.

RiggingThe open rig can be divided into two categories:

• The Basic Open Rig on page 241

• The Advanced Open Rig on page 247

The Basic Open Rig

The basic open rig fits the above description fairly well. All of the elements are independent of each other and spread all over the Network View, linked to a master peg. This master peg controls the whole puppet in order to move it from place to place within the Camera View.

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To create a basic open rig:

1. In the Timeline View, click on the Add Peg button. You can also use the keyboard shortcut [Ctrl]+[P] (Windows) or [ ]+[P] (Mac OS X). in the Network View.

2. To name the Master Peg:In the Timeline View, double-click on the peg module and type the new name in the name field.In the Network View, click on the Peg’s yellow square and type the name in the field name.

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3. In the Timeline View’s left window, select all of the drawing elements and their corresponding pegs except for the Master Peg. Drag the selection onto the master peg to parent them.

Connections between the pegs and the master pegs appear in the Network View.

In the Timeline View, the parented elements are placed under the master peg and shifted to the right.

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4. If you do not already have a composite module in your Network View, use one of the following two techniques:

In the Module Library, select a Composite module and drag it to the Network View. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[H]. If you are using this technique, continue on to step 5.

ORIn the Timeline View, select all of your elements, right-click and select Group Selection. There is no need to do steps 5 to 10.

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The Preferences panel opens.

6. In the Advanced tab, enable the Advanced Display option.


A Composite drop-down menu appears in the Timeline View.

8. In the Timeline View, select the new composite module from the Composite drop-down menu.

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9. In the Timeline View’s left window, select all of your modules and drag them on the Composite drop-down menu.

All of the drawing modules are connected to the composite module.

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10. If you have a Write module in your network, select it and delete it.

The Advanced Open Rig

The advanced open rig is not very different from the basic. The first steps are the same because you have to create a basic open rig before working with an advanced one. Once you have added the Composite, you are ready to add the extra components. The freedom to move everything around and to be able to select any part may be appreciated, but it can be time consuming and frustrating to have to select all of the facial features or the whole upper body, for example. Since the puppet is not always positioned for a quick selection, you can add extra pegs to help with this situation.

If you are drawing all of your angles in the same columns, the peg pivots may not follow your animation properly while using the auto-in-betweening feature. In this case, it is better to separate your angles in different columns or scenes.

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To create an advanced open rigging:

1. First, create a basic open rig as explained above.

2. If you created a group in your basic open rig process, click on the group’s right arrow to enter the group.

3. In the Module Library, select a peg module and drag it to your Network View. You can also use the [Ctrl]+[P] (Windows) or [ ]+[P] (Mac OS X) keyboard shortcut to add pegs directly into your Network View.

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4. In the Network View, click on the new peg’s yellow square to open the editor.

The editor opens.

5. In the name field, type the new peg name according to your naming convention. For example: Ab_fullarm_r.

6. In the Network View, connect the new peg to the peg elements that you want it to control. For example, connect the Ab_fullarm_r peg to Ab_arm_r, Ab_forearm_r and Ab_hand_r.

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7. In the Network View, connect the master peg to the new peg.

8. Repeat steps 1 to 7 for each peg you want to add.

Hierarchy

Hierarchy is another available rigging technique, initiated the same way as a basic open rig. The hierarchy structured network connecting all of the elements. Each piece is connected to another, for example a character’s hand is linked to the forearm and the forearm is linked to the upper arm, all the way up to the master peg. The hierarchy rig resembles a real puppet, as all of the pieces are dependant on each other. This technique is useful if you are new to animation, or if you want to create quick and basic animation.

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Review the following before choosing this technique and rigging your puppet in hierarchy:

• Advantages on page 251• Hierarchy Summary on page 254


AdvantagesThe main advantage of the hierarchy rig is that you can select an element such as the shoulder, and the whole arm will automatically be selected with it. All of the pieces influence the others, so you can use the Motion keyframe (Auto-Inbetween) fully. The rotation from the parents will influence the children and so the rotation arc will be respected. This means that your animation will not break; you can set quick poses and the system will do the in-between for you.

If you prefer to use a Stop-Motion keyframe and work pose-to-pose or with straight-ahead animation, this also possible. This works quite well on this type of rig.

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Toon Boom Digital Pro provides two animation tools that can be used effectively on a hierarchy puppet: Inverse Kinematics (IK) and Transform Tool (Forward Kinematics).

When using inverse kinematics, you can pull on the extremities to move the central parts. For example, you can lock the character’s foot to the ground and pull on the hand, causing the whole character’s body to follow like a real puppet.

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When using forward kinematics (Transform Tool), move a central part to have the extremities follow. For example, you can move the character’s shoulder and the arm and hand will follow.

The main constraint in working with a full hierarchy is that you cannot select a central part without also selecting its children. This means that if you want to move, scale, skew, rotate, or otherwise change this part, all of the children will receive and follow the modification, reducing that amount of control that you have over the animation.

If you use Motion keyframes and want to modify some single ease or keyframe information, you need a better knowledge of the Timeline View and ease curve editing.

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Hierarchy SummaryThe full hierarchy works well with Stop-Motion or Motion keyframes. However, it provides limited control over the animation and the selection. It can provide quick and easy animation, but requires greater experience in order to modify and control the animation.

RiggingTo create a hierarchy rigging:

1. First, create a basic open rig. See the Basic Open Rig topic above.

2. In the Network View, attach the peg’s output port (torso or pelvis) to its children pegs’ input ports.

For example, attach the torso’s peg to neck’s peg; attach the torso’s peg to left arm’s peg; and attach the torso’s peg to right arm’s peg

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3. In the Network View, attach the next parent element’s peg to its children’s pegs.

4. Repeat step 3 until parented hierarchies have been created for all of the elements in the rigging. Always start with the central parts and finish with the extremities such as the hand and the feet.

Make sure that your head’s peg is not connected in the neck’s peg, but the reverse: the neck’s peg is controlling the head’s peg.

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Mix

Now that you have reviewed open and hierarchy rigging techniques, you can select and combine points from both processes. This brings us to mix rigging, the final method. This process consists of leaving some parts as an open rig and creating hierarchies for others.

AdvantagesA popular example of a mixed rig is to create a hierarchy, attaching all of the facial features to the head, and to leave the rest of the body as an open rig.

Another advantage is to have the whole upper body as an open rig and to create a hierarchy for the lower body. This is useful in creating a walk cycle, or when using inverse kinematics to bend a character’s knees, perhaps to make him sit. By creating hierarchies for the arms and legs without connecting them to the body or hips, the limbs can be moved independently.

This kind of rigging requires more experience and experimentation with tools. The animator needs to use the Timeline more often than for an open rig animation. The mixed rig works well with Stop-Motion keyframes. Motion keyframe will also work, but will require some corrections and extra poses since there are still open rig connections.

Mix SummaryThe mixed rig works well with Stop-Motion keyframes. In a mixed rig, motion keyframes can be used in larger increments than in an open one, but still require extra poses and corrections. The user needs experience to control the animation and can experiment with the Timeline View.

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RiggingTo rig your elements using a mixed technique, review the basic open rig, advanced open rig and the hierarchy techniques detailed above and combine your favourite features.

Setting the Peg Pivots

The next step in the rigging process is to set the peg pivots.

Set the peg pivots only if you are not using the drawing pivots. If you chose the advanced open rig technique, you will have to set the peg pivots only for the extra pegs.

To permanently move a peg pivot, you will use the Rotation or Scale tool. While animating, the animator will easily be able to temporarily move this pivot to another location with the Transform tool.

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The Transform tool is designed to move the pivot temporarily during the animation process. It also permits you to select multiple pegs and apply a common temporary pivot.

To set the peg pivot:

1. In the Animation Tools toolbar, select the Rotation or Scale tool. The default keyboard shortcuts are [Alt]+[4] and [Alt]+[5].

2. In the Animation Tools toolbar, enable the Keyframe Mode.

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3. In the Camera View, hold down the [Ctrl] key and click on the part to set the peg pivot. For the extra pegs added in Advanced Open Rig, select the peg element in the Timeline or Network View.

4. In the Camera View, click on the peg pivot and move it to its new location.

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for each pivot to be set.

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Rigging Joint Patches and Glue JointsYou are now ready to rig your patches and add your glue modules to fix your joints.These two types of joints are treated differently.

Refer to the Working with Joints topic to learn how to build a joint patch and a glue joint.

Rigging Joint Patches

You can move on to the joint patches rigging. Once the puppet’s main parts are rigged and properly ordered, you can start linking each patch to its parent. There are two ways to do this:

• Basic Joint Patches Rigging: Method 1 on page 261

• Basic Joint Patches Rigging: Method 2 on page 263

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Basic Joint Patches Rigging: Method 1The basic patches are easy to set.

To rig the basic joint patches, method 1:

1. In the Network View, select the patch’s peg that has already been automatically added. The pegs are the green modules.

2. Right-click and select Delete. The default keyboard shortcut is [Delete].

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3. Move the patch in front of both jointed elements to cover the joint:In the Network View, select the patch’s composite input and move it one port to the left, bringing it in front of both elements.

In the Camera View, select the patch drawing using the Animation Select tool. Hold down the [Alt] key and nudge the patch forward using the down arrow until it passes in front of both elements.You are moving the patch slightly on the Z axis (forward-backward).

4. In the Network View, drag a connection out of the joint parent peg and connect it in the patch input. The peg that controls the drawing from which the patch’s colour was copied must be connected to the patch.

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5. If the patch’s drawing pivot is different than (0,0), make sure to disable the Use Drawing Pivot option in its editor.

6. In the Camera View, verify that the joint’s components are displayed in the correct order.

7. Repeat steps 1 to 6 for every joint patch.

Basic Joint Patches Rigging: Method 2The second basic patch rigging method allows you to animate the patch itself during the animation if needed.

With first method, the patch will always follow your animation. Sometimes, when working with more advanced animations, you may have to move and animate the patch to show or hide a different part on the joint. At this point, the patch needs its own individual Peg to be animated. Using this method, the patch requires its own pivot points if you are using them.

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To rig the basic joint patches, method 2:

1. Move the patch in front of both jointed elements:In the Network View, select the patch’s composite input and move it one port to the left, bringing it in front of both elements.

In the Camera View, select the patch drawing using the Animation Select tool. Hold down the [Alt] key and nudge the patch forward using the down arrow until it passes in front of both elements.You are moving the patch slightly on the Z axis (forward-backward).

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2. In the Network View, drag a connection out of the joint parent peg and connect it to the patch’s peg input. The peg that controls the drawing from which the patch’s colour was copied must be connected to the patch.

3. In the Camera or Drawing View, set a drawing pivot for the patch if you are using drawing pivots in your rigging.

4. In the patch’s module editor, verify that the Use Drawing Pivot option is enabled.

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5. In the Camera View, verify that the joint’s components are displayed in order.

6. Repeat steps 1 to 4 for every joint patch.

Advanced Joint Patch RiggingIf you created your patch in the Colour Art, you now have to extract it and create a rig. This involves duplicating the drawing module.

The module’s copy will be linked to the same drawing column as the original. In the copy (patch), the Line Art (original part drawing) will be hidden and only the patch will appear. As both modules are linked to the same drawing column, the patch will automatically change at the same time as when the original drawing is swapped for another one.

To rig the advanced joint patches:

1. In the Network View, select the drawing element module that contains the patch.

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2. Right-click and select Copy. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[C] (Windows) or [ ]+[C] (Mac OS X).

3. Right-click and select Paste. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[V] (Windows) or [ ]+[V] (Mac OS X).

4. Click on the copied module’s yellow square.

The Editor opens.

5. In the name field, type the patch name according to your naming convention.

6. In the element editor, go to the Drawing tab.

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7. In the Vector Options section, disable the Read Line Art option.


Now that you have two modules, you can follow the basic joint patch rigging procedure. See the Basic Joint Patch Rigging topic.

Glue Joint Rigging

The glue joint uses a Glue effect module that you can find in the Module Library. As explained in the Glue topic, this section covers the basic and most popular glue method.

Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Reference Guide to learn more about the Glue module.

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To rig a glue joint:

1. In the Module Library, select a Glue module and drag it to the Network View.

2. In the Network View, connect both joint parts in the Glue’s right ports. Using the [Alt] key, slide the Glue module between the first part and the Composite module and connect the drawing module in the Glue module’s right port. Disconnect the second part from the composite module and connect it to the Glue’s middle port.

The Glue module should now be connected to the Composite module. The two drawing elements should be connected in the Glue and not in the Composite module.

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3. If the Glue result creates awkward shapes, load one of the parts in the Drawing or Camera View.




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7. In the Drawing or Camera View, use the keyboard’s arrow keys to nudge the artwork to match it perfectly with the other joint section.

You can also modify the rotation pivot for a better result.

8. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for each glue joint in the rigging.

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Creating the Peg FunctionsYour character breakdown is almost completed. You only need to create the peg function curves to allow in further task such as animation to combine and reuse animation assets properly.

By default, a peg element does not have all of its functions automatically created (rotation, position, scale, skew, etc.). A user working in Traditional or Paperless animation, compositing, or scene planning does not necessarily want a lot of columns in the exposure sheet. Instead, the artist will only create the ones needed.

When working in Cut-out animation, a rigged character or prop needs all of its peg function columns to be able to combine different actions. This is because the keyframes from

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the combined actions need to be inserted in existing columns. If the columns do not exist, the keyframes cannot be inserted.

You will always be able to consolidate a partial structure with a more complete one, such as a head action into a full body, as long as the complete structure includes the same partial structure. You can import an eye blink into a head, an arm into a body, etc., but you will not be able to perform the reverse. For example, you cannot import a body into an arm because the arm does not contain enough elements and functions to support the whole body structure.

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To create all of your peg’s functions at once, add a keyframe to your first frame.

To create your pegs functions:

1. In the Timeline View’s left window, click on the Master Peg’s Arrow button to collapse the Master Peg.

2. In the Timeline View’s right window, select the first frame, right-click and select Insert Keyframe. The default keyboard shortcut is [F6].

Reordering Views

Now that your main angle rigging is complete, you need to take care of the character’s other views.

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If your character’s views were created in separate scenes or layers, start rigging them by following the rigging process again.

If you decided to include all of the views (front, size, three-quarter, etc.) of your puppet in the same drawing elements (layers), you now have to order them. Since the network ordering was done for the main view (the front three-quarter angle), the other angles will probably not be displayed in the correct order. For example, the arms or the hair may be displayed in the back instead of in the front.

To order extra views, you do not need to change any Timeline or Network ordering. The Network and Timeline orderings are permanent positions.

This step is done using the Z-axis (forward-backward). This feature allows you to reorder a character’s views permanently, over time, or during an animation without having to create new layers.

The Z-axis ordering consists of a nudge forward or backward on the part that needs to be repositioned. It does not affect the Timeline or the Network order, but simply adds a keyframe to record the element position. This keyframe can be stored and reused later.

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To order extra views:

1. In the Timeline View’s left window, collapse the character’s master peg by clicking on the arrow button.

2. In the Timeline View’s right window, go to the view’s first frame.

3. Right-click on the selection and select Insert Keyframe. The default keyboard shortcut is [F6].

4. If the keyframe is a Motion keyframe, select it, right-click and select Set Stop-Motion Keyframe.

5. In the Animation Tools toolbar, choose the Select tool. The default keyboard shortcut is [Alt]+[1].


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7. In the Camera View, click on the part to be repositioned and hold down the [Alt] key. Using the [Up] or [Down] arrow keys, nudge the part until it moves to the desired position.

8. Repeat step 7 for each part to be reordered in the character’s view.

9. Repeat steps 2 to 8 for every character view.

10. Make sure that every keyframe is a Stop-Motion keyframe. This can be done in the Timeline’s left window, by selecting the collapsed character’s Master peg, right-clicking and selecting Set Stop-Motion Keyframes.

This technique allows the animator to insert those keyframes in his animation and have the full character turn to a new angle. This saves time and keeps your work organized because it is easier to keep track of the element positions. If you are reporting drawings into other layers, the result can be quite messy; if you then try to combine assets together, the system cannot in-between them properly.

Refer to the Library Management chapter to learn how to create templates for the full character and angle templates to quickly switch between the angles and views.

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Display Ordering FactorsEarlier, you linked the puppet through a Composite module in order to group all of the images’ outputs into a single one. This was done to facilitate animation and compositing.

There are essentially two factors that influence the layers’ ordering display: the composite order and the Z-values. You may recall ordering layers in your Timeline View earlier. The Timeline order corresponds to the composite module ordering. If you modify your composite order, it will change the Timeline order and vice versa.

You also changed the Z-value on some elements, such as the patch, and some layers for the different angles. When a part is pushed or pulled on the Z-axis, its composite order does not change.

The first deciding factor that the system will use to display the element order is the Z-value. Elements that are pulled closer to the camera are displayed in front, elements that are pushed away from the camera will be displayed in the back. If several elements have

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the same Z-value, the system will read the composite module order as the second factor. The leftmost element will be displayed in front of the others and the rightmost will be displayed behind.

Setting the Composite Types

Once the elements are displayed in the correct order (either from the Z-value or the Composite module order), you can set different ways to flatten them through the Composite module. Different types of flattening serve different purposes, as outlined below. Because of this, there are three types of Composite modules:

• As Bitmap on page 280

• Pass Through on page 280• As Vector on page 281

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As Bitmap

The As Bitmap type will flatten all of the elements going through it and transform them as a unique bitmap. It will also produce a smaller sized file, save rendering time, and crop the image to the output resolution size.

This module is quite useful for effects and regular compositing, but is not the most efficient for Cut-out interaction.

Pass Through

The Pass Through is a more advanced type of composite; the image output will still be a cropped bitmap. This method will take all of the elements and transform them into one single image, saving their individual Z-values. This means that a Cut-out animator will be able to take an external object and pass it through a character’s body part. In other words, a character that is flattened is able to take an object in his hands without having to include this object inside the character rigging.

This type of composite is generally best for a puppet rig.

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As Vector

The As Vector type is used mainly for compositing. Some effects require vectorial information, such as the palette colours or the Line Art, to work properly. You can now use a composite set to avoid having to crop and transform the images as bitmap.

Changing the Composite TypeNow that you know the different composite types, you can select the one that is appropriate for your production.

To change the composite type:

1. In the Network View, click on the composite module’s yellow square.

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The Editor opens.

2. Enable the As Bitmap, Pass-Through or As Vector option.


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Grouping

Once your rigging is completed, you must group the rig if this was not done previously. This helps you to organize large and complex networks. This way, once the animator has imported two or three characters into the scene, three groups modules will be displayed instead of all of the rigging connections of three puppets.

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To group elements:

1. In the Network View, select all of your elements. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[A] (Windows) or [ ]+[A] (Mac OS X).

2. Right-click your selection and select Group > Group Selection. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[G] (Windows) or [ ]+[G] (Mac OS X).

3. In the Network View, click on the Group’s yellow square.

The Editor opens.

4. Name the group according to your naming convention. For example: ab_Fr_Suit.


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Adding a Display Module

Finally, during the animation process, the animator will end up with more than one character in a scene. To see only one character or prop at the time, a Display module must be connected to each one of them, allowing you to view a certain section of the Network. By connecting a Display module to the puppet, the animator will be able to quickly display just that character or prop in his Camera View.

To add a display module to your puppet:

1. In the Network View, click on the group module’s right arrow to enter the group.

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2. In the Module Library, select a Display module and drag it to the Network View. In the Network View, you can also use the default keyboard shortcut [Ctrl]+[Y] (Windows) or [ ]+[Y] (Mac OS X).

3. In the Network View, click on the Display module’s yellow square.

The Editor opens.

4. Rename the Display module.


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Advantages and Disadvantages

* Recommended Method

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* Recommended Method

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Task Summary1. Create the breakdown scene

2. Import the model in the scene

3. Determine which parts will be broken down

4. Add the drawing elements

5. Name the drawings

6. Perform the Breakdown

7. Complete other puppet angles

8. Add extra parts and drawings

9. Create articulated joints

10. Set the drawing pivots (If you are using drawing pivots)

11. Order the puppet layers

12. Add the parent pegs

13. Rig the puppet

14. Set the peg pivots (If you are using peg pivots)

15. Enable the drawing pivots (If you are using drawing pivots)

16. Rig the joints (If you are using glue or joint patches)

17. Create all of the peg functions

18. Order other angles (If you placed all your angles in the same layer set)

19. Select the composite type

20. Group the rig

21. Add a display module

Next Task: Library Management

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Chapter 8Library Management

Previous Task: Character and Prop Breakdown

The library is essential to the Cut-out process. It is used to archive resources which can then be shared and reused across projects. The library can store any feature used in a Toon Boom Digital Pro production, including models, Cut-out animations, Paperless animations, Traditional animations, keyframes, trajectories, effects, drawings, morphing sequences, backgrounds, audio clips, etc.

Reusing elements stored within the library saves time and allows you to share different animations with other users.

During production, many different people will store and reuse elements in the library. Many files are manipulated there, so it is important to structure and manage the library. With a large production, someone is usually assigned to library management, which involves cleaning and organizing the files.

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Although the library is mainly used for Cut-out animation, it can also be employed when working with Paperless and Traditional animations.

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Chapter 8: Library Management

When working with Cut-out animation, the library provides a link between the pre-production (designs, colour styling, break-down, etc.) and the production itself (animation, compositing, ink and paint, etc.).

When a user stores elements within the library, these elements become Templates. This is the reason that Toon Boom Digital Pro’s reuse center is called the Template Library.

The Template library is not encapsulated in the software or the scene. The containers can be browsed and even reorganized through the operating system itself.

Elements such as sounds and backgrounds can be stored in the library through the operating system.

In Toon Boom Digital Pro, templates can be created for various elements, including trajectories, animation, drawings, effects, etc. To create templates in the application, simply drag the selected elements to the Template Library using either the Timeline or the Network View. This is explained later in the chapter.

The library allows the user to both create and import templates. This task is divided into:

• Structuring the Library on page 294

• Different Template Types on page 301

• Creating Templates on page 314• Importing Templates on page 318

• Editing Templates on page 325

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Structuring the Library

During production, many elements can be used and reused. All of these templates should be stored and organized to avoid losing time trying to locate missing features. Before creating templates, it is important to know where to store the information.

To structure your library, you will need to familiarize yourself with the following:

• Default Libraries on page 295

• Creating Libraries on page 295• Creating Subfolders on page 297

• Structure Tips on page 299

• Personal Libraries on page 300

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Default LibrariesThere are many locations available for your library. If you are a stand-alone user, you can choose to place your main library folder in the Toon Boom Digital Pro Library, stored in the user’s documents by default.

• Digital LibraryThe Digital Library is located in the user’s documents and can be managed from any Toon Boom Digital Pro scene.

Toon Boom Digital Pro provides other default library folders, called Local and Templates.

• LocalThe Local library is a folder contained within the scene directory. Any element stored in the Local folder will be accessible only from that particular scene.

• TemplatesThe Templates library is a folder containing sample templates such as blank riggings and Cut-out animation. These help the user create projects.

Creating LibrariesYou can also create your own library directory outside of Toon Boom Digital Pro. For example, if you are sharing the production with other users through a network, you can create the library folder directly on the server so that everybody has access. If you are a stand-alone user, you can create the library folder anywhere on your hard drive.

To create a library folder, you can use the Open Library option from the Template Library, or you can create a folder directly in the operating system.

To create a library from Toon Boom Digital Pro:

1. In the Template Library’s left window, right-click and select Open Library.


2. Browse to the location where you want to save the new library.

3. Click on the Make New Folder button.

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4. Name the new library appropriately.

5. Select the new library folder.


To create a library from the operating system:

1. In your operating system, browse to a suitable location, create a new folder and name it appropriately.

2. In the Toon Boom Digital Pro Template Library’s left window, right-click and select Open Library.


3. Browse to the location where you want to save the new library.

4. Select the new library folder.


Library folders are regular operating system folders.

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Locking and Unlocking LibrariesBy default, the library folders have a security lock to prevent users from moving, deleting or renaming templates and libraries by mistake. In order to perform these actions, you need to get the right to modify the library folder.

Once your work is completed in the library folder, we recommend that you remove the right to modify it.

When you do not have the right to modify a library, the folder icon is marked with a lock

. The lock is removed once you obtain the right to modify it .

To obtain and remove the right to modify a library folder:

1. In the Template Library left window, select the library folder.

2. Right-click on the selected folder and select Right to Modify to either obtain or remove the right to modify it.

Creating SubfoldersOnce your main folder has been created, you can put all of your templates in this location, or you can create subfolders for added organization. Subfolders can be created through Toon Boom Digital Pro or the operating system itself.

To create a subfolder from Toon Boom Digital Pro:

1. In the Template Library’s left window, select the library that will contain the subfolder

2. Right-click on the selection and select Right to Modify.

3. Right-click again on the selected library folder and select New Folder.

4. Select the main library folder, right-click and select Refresh. The default keyboard shortcut is [F5].

5. Click on the main library Expand button to display the subfolders.

6. Right-click on the new subfolder and select Rename.

7. Rename the folder appropriately.

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To create a subfolder from the operating system:

1. In your operating system, browse to the main library folder and open it.

2. Create a new folder inside the main library and name it appropriately.

3. Select the main library folder, right-click and select Refresh. The default keyboard shortcut is [F5].

4. Click on the main library’s Expand button to display the subfolders.

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Structure Tips

The following recommendations might be useful as you structure your work.

• The main library can be divided into categories to match different template types:

CharacterBackgroundAudioPropEffect

• The character section is often altered the most. It is recommended that you divide this folder between:

Main CharactersEpisode Characters

• Within the Main Characters folder, you can create a folder for each individual character.

• Episode characters are generally less numerous and can be stored in folders corresponding to their episode.

• Each character’s folder can be further divided into subfolders, such as: ModelAnimationKeyposesReuse Parts

• The Animation section can be organized by actions, such as:

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Run CycleWalk CycleJumpsMiscellaneous

• Some users may divide their animation folder by angle or view: FrontThree-quarterSideThree-quarter backBack

Personal LibrariesDuring the animation process, an animator will often reuse certain templates. Some animators have their own personal libraries to store their favourite templates.

If a template has been updated in the Master library, the library manager should send a note to the animators and the scene setup team to ensure that they update their personal libraries.

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Template Types

Now that your library is structured, you have a better idea of where to store backgrounds, animations, drawings, trajectories, effects, etc. These elements are selected from different locations and dragged to the Template Library.

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There are three views used to create templates: the Template Library, Timeline and Network Views. The Timeline and Network Views contain most of the scene’s information.

• The Timeline View will display pegs, keyframes, drawing layers, drawings exposure and timing.

• The Network View shows the entirety of the scene. It contains all of the Timeline

information, as well as advanced rigging connections, effects and groupings. Some effects and groupings can be accessed in the Timeline, but are not displayed as easily as in the Network View. Only the Network can display all of the composite modules and the double, triple, and quadruple connections between the modules. The Network View provides a tree representation of the scene, so it cannot display Timeline keyframes and timing information.

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A scene has different elements that can be reused as templates. These elements are created in different ways.

The main template types are:

• Cut-Out Character and Prop Template on page 303

• Network Effects on page 311• Drawing Animation on page 312

• Audio on page 313

Cut-Out Character and Prop Template

The Cut-Out Character and Prop is the main template type. The Template Library is usually employed to reuse these elements.

ReusingTemplate usage will vary between users depending on the animation technique and the studio’s method. Some studios will only reuse the character’s main break-down and create new animations. Others will reuse every aspect of an animation.

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Duplicating and CombiningSome studios will not combine the reused animation actions in the same layers. Instead, they will place the template beside another one and create a second set of layers for the same character.

Other studios will focus on ensuring that the templates join together and that they can come together in the Timeline View to produce only one set of layers per character.

DuplicatingIn some studios, the animators work very differently from each other, often breaking the original riggings and setting a character or prop to their own preference. This affects the layers and connection ordering, so Toon Boom Digital Pro cannot always retrieve the correct drawings and peg combinations to insert the new animation into.

In this case, these users will simply duplicate the character and expose the copies at different times. This technique can be quite simple and allows a lot of freedom when changing rigging, networking and connections.

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CombiningCombining the template layers requires more organization and control, but can be a very useful technique.

In order for this technique to be successful, the animator has to keep the original character/prop rigging. If the animator disconnects any elements, Toon Boom Digital Pro will not merge the values in the layers. If the order does not correspond exactly, the application will indicate that it is impossible to merge the templates. This technique is more advanced but is quite useful if, for example, you have to change a character size, interpolate between two templates, offset a character position and keep a simple Timeline View.

The ideal situation to incorporate the combination technique occurs when a character is completely built in the same set of layers. This means that the character builder placed all of the angles within the same layers. This ensures that the rigging is exactly the same

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between the angles. When a character is built in different layers, these two layers ares generally rigged in a way that is difficult for Toon Boom Digital Pro to combine.

Refer to the Character and Prop Break-Down chapter to learn more about the different rigging possibilities.

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Master and Animation TemplatesThe Timeline and the Network Views have different ways to display the scene, each view displaying different information.

These template types are classified as:

• Master Template on page 307

• Animation Template on page 309

Master TemplateA Master template is created from the Network View. This Master contains all of the connections, effects, composites, modules, pegs, advanced groupings, function columns, scene lengths, drawings, timings, etc.

Other templates can be created from the Network View, but are not necessarily Master templates. A Master template will be used to import the character/prop model puppet into a scene. It is usually comprised of just one or two frames and does not contain any animation. The Master template contains all of the character’s drawings, peg’s functions, advanced connections, composite and effect modules.

Refer to the Character and Prop Break-Down chapter for more information on preparing the Master template.

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Some studios create a Master template for each angle of a character, while others create only one Master containing all the angles of a character.

A Master template is created from the Network View and can be imported into any Network in an existing scene or the Timeline’s left window. There is no difference in the look of a Master or Animation template; only the inner information differs. When you create a Master template, be sure to name for easy identification.

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Animation TemplateAn Animation template, also known as an Action template, is created from the Timeline View. This template mainly contains keyframes and drawing exposures. When it is extracted from the Timeline View, it loses the extra connections, effects and groupings from the Network View.

Animation templates are designed to allow you to reuse animations, keyposes and part of an animation. For example, you can reuse head positions or a leg animation from a walk-cycle and place them inside other animations.

Unlike a template extracted from the Network View that always contains the full length of the scene, the Animation template can be only a certain amount of frames, one frame or

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the whole length of a scene. This can be applied to a single layer, a few layers or the whole set of layers.

An Action template will be used with a Master template. It cannot be used on its own since it does not contain all of the information required to rebuild the puppet skeleton and advanced connections. The standard process is to first import the Master template to the Network View or Timeline’s left window and then slide the Action template into the

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Timeline’s right window. This method allows you to first build the skeleton and then give it the right pose.

The combination of Master and Animation templates will function as long as the layer order and connections are the same. There is no difference in the look of a Master or an Animation template; only the inner information differs. When you create an Animation template, be sure to name it so that you can easily identify it as an Animation.

Network EffectsWhen you create customized effects with the effect modules, it can be useful to store them in your library to reuse later. This applies to effects created in the Network View from the Module Library, not hand-drawn special effects.

These effects are built in the Network View. They will be created from the Network View and can be imported into any Network in an existing scene.

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Drawing Animation

The Template Library is not only useful for Cut-out characters, but also for Paperless and Traditional animations. If you have hand-drawn characters, walk cycles, effects, or any other hand-drawn animations that can be reused, they can be stored in the library.

This template can be created from the Timeline or the Network View. You can either select one drawing, a drawing range or the whole layer of animation. To select one drawing or a range, use the Timeline View. To select the whole layer, use the Timeline or the Network View.

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You can also select more than one layer and combine them inside the same template.

Audio

The audio files are WAI, AIFF or MP3 sound files.

To create sound templates, you can open the storage folder directly from the Template Library or drag the frames or the whole layer from the Timeline View to the Template Library. You can also drag the sound files to a library folder through the operating system.

Note that audio layers do not show up in the Network View.

To import an audio template to your Timeline View, you first need to create a sound element.

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Creating TemplatesNow that your library is organized and you know what type of template to create, you can start the process.

Creating a template can be done from the Timeline or Network View. Creating a Master Template for a Cut-out character must be done in the Network View.

To create a template from the Timeline View:


2. Select the drawings, pegs, effects, keyframes, sounds, exposures, modules from the Timeline View and drag them to the Template Library’s folder. (Anything available in the Timeline View can be stored as a template.)



There is no need to save; it is automatically stored and saved as soon as you paste the selected templates in the library.

To create a template from the Network View:


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2. Select the drawings, pegs, effects, groups and composites modules from the Network View and copy and paste them to the Template Library’s folder. (Anything available in the Network View can be stored as a template.)



Renaming the TemplateIf a template was not named properly, it can be renamed later.

To rename a template:

1. In the Template Library’s left window, select the folder containing the template that you want to rename.

2. Right-click on the selected folder and select Right to Modify.

3. In the Template Library’s right window, select the template to be renamed.

4. Right-click on the selected template and select Rename.

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5. Rename the template.


Deleting a TemplateIf a template is not being used anymore or if you want to replace it, you can delete it.

To delete a template:

1. In the Template Library’s left window, select the folder containing the template to delete.

2. Right-click on the selected folder and select Right to Modify.

3. In the Template Library right window, select the template to be deleted.

4. Right-click on the selected template and select Delete.

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Verifying the TemplateOnce your template is stored in the library, you can verify if it was completed properly by displaying the thumbnails or the preview.

To verify the template:

1. In the Template Library, select the template to verify, right-click and select View > Thumbnails.

Note that if you do not see any thumbnails for the selected template, you can select the template, right-click on it and select Generate Thumbnails.

2. Double-click on the template to see the preview.

3. Playback the template in the Preview window. (If there are no drawings included in the template, the Preview will be empty.)

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Importing TemplatesOnce the templates are created, you are ready to import them into other scenes. You do not need to obtain the right to modify in order to import a template.


1. Open the Template Library and browse to the correct folder.

2. Select one or more templates.

3. Drag the selection to the Network View or the Timeline.

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If you drop the selection in the Timeline’s right side, the information will be inserted into already existing elements. In order for the template to combine with existing elements, the structure needs to be consistent. If you cannot merge the elements together, move on to the Timeline’s left side and create new elements.

When you import a template into a scene, there is no link between the Library and the scene. This creates a copy of all drawings, effects, trajectories, etc, so you are can safely modify anything copied into your scene.

Refer to the Library Management chapter in the Cut-out Animation Workflow book to learn more about importing templates with the Paste Special command.

Opening Templates as FoldersYou can also import a few selected drawings or palette files of a template. This is done by opening the template folder and dragging the selected drawings to the Timeline View and palette files to the Colour View.

To open a template as folder and import drawings:

1. In the Template Library, select the template.

2. In the Template Library menu, select Folders > Template > Open as Folder.

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The template’s content is displayed.

3. Once the template is open, select the drawings or palette files to import.

If necessary, you can display the thumbnails. In the Template Library menu, select View > Thumbnails.

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4. To import the selection:Drag the selected drawings to the Timeline’s right side and insert the drawings into an existing drawing element and drop it to the desired frame.

In the Timeline or Xsheet View, select the drawing element where you want to import the palette file and drag the selected palette file to the Colour View.

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Importing the Different Template TypesAs you have already seen, a variety of different template types are available. Each one has to be imported a certain way.

Cut-out Character and PropThe person in charge of the scene setup will be the one importing the characters in the scenes. Later, if extra information is needed, the animator will retrieve the templates from the library.

The character’s Master template has to be imported into the Network View or Timeline’s left window because it contains all of the effects, groupings and connections necessary to the puppet.

An Animation template has to be imported into the Timeline’s right window to combine with existing layers created by the Master template. An Animation template is meant to be merged with a Master template.

Paste SpecialWhen you drop a template in the Timeline View, you have the option to import only selected features of the template as new drawings, layers, keyframes, palettes, etc. This is done using the Paste Special option.

To open the Paste Special dialog box:

1. In the Template Library, select the template to be imported.

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2. Drag the selection to the Timeline or Network View. Before releasing the selection in the view, hold down the [Alt] key.

The Paste Special window opens.

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Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Reference Guide to learn more about the Paste Special option.

Network EffectsThe effect templates come from the Network View and must be imported into the Network View. Simply drag and drop the effect template in the Network View. Once the modules appear, connect them to the appropriate place.

Drawing AnimationIf you want to insert templates made of drawings, drag them to the Network View or the Timeline’s left window to create new modules. If you want to insert them into another existing layer, simply drag them in the Timeline’s right window and drop them into the desired drawing layer and the right frame.

AudioTo import audio templates, select the template and drag it to the Timeline’s left window to create the sound element.

If your audio files were not extracted from other Toon Boom Digital Pro scenes, you will need to create a sound element first. If you opened the audio files directory as a library, you will import the sound file only. There is no layer information contained in the template. In fact, this is not a template. You need to add a new sound element to your Timeline and then insert the file into the sound layer right side.

Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn how to add a sound element.

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Editing TemplatesDuring a production, there may be colours, models, and/or animation corrections to be done on the templates. There are two ways to preform these corrections:

• Creating a New Template on page 325

• Editing Templates on page 325

Creating a New TemplateThe character/prop builder will create a new template from the master scene in order to correct mistakes or update a puppet, palette or model, completely replacing the template from the library. This ensures that everything is updated and helps prevent future mistakes.

Editing TemplatesSometimes the necessary corrections are minor and you can modify the template itself. This technique is especially convenient if you do not have this template’s original file or scene.

In this case, you will use the Edit Template option to enter the template and modify it.

To edit a template:

1. In the Template Library’s left window, select the library folder containing the template to be edited.

2. Right-click and select Right to Modify.

3. In the Template Library’s right window, select the template to be edited.

4. Right-click and select Edit Template.

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The Edit Template interface opens.

5. Correct the template.

6. In the top menu, select File > Save. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[S] (Windows) or [ ]+[S] (Mac OS X)

The system generates the new template’s thumbnails.

7. In the top menu, select File > Quit (Windows) or Digital Pro > Quit (Mac OS X).

If your studio uses personal libraries, you should advise the animators of any template updates.

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Task Summary1. Structuring the Library

2. Establishing Template Types

3. Creating Templates

4. Importing Templates

5. Editing Templates

Next Task: Scene Setup

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Chapter 9Scene Setup

Previous Task: Library Management

The scene setup step is a very important part of the Cut-out animation production. The scene setup team’s main job is to import all of the elements necessary for the scene’s animation and compositing. They will analyze the storyboard scene and import the animatic, sound, characters, backgrounds, props and required effects. The scene setup team will also set the camera, the scene resolution and the scene composition. This is not only a technical job, but also a creative one.

This step saves time so that the animator can focus on animation and not lose time searching for and importing the scene’s elements. At the same time the team can, flag mistakes before the project goes too far in the production process and retrieve any missing elements that they notice.

With a scene setup team, the animation quality and production speeds are increased, and the number of retakes decreases. Since there are less people dealing with the compositing and the scene planning, there is improved consistency over the entire production.

The scene setup could almost be considered a digital equivalent of the Layout and Posing process in Traditional animation.

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The scene setup process is divided into three steps:

• Preparation on page 330• Importing Elements on page 334

• Setting the Scene on page 348

PreparationTo start the scene setup, you first need to get your references and prepare the scene to receive all of the necessary elements.

The preparation is divided into five steps:

• References on page 330

• Creating the Scene on page 331

• Using the Workspace on page 331• Setting the Resolution and Frame Rate on page 332

• Setting the Scene Length on page 333

References

For the scene setup process, the reference you use is the storyboard. To know what elements to bring into your scene, you need to look at the storyboard and establish a list of elements needed.

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Chapter 9: Scene Setup

Creating the SceneGenerally, scenes are created at the beginning of the project by the technical director or the person in charge of the project. However, they may also be created by the person in charge of the scene setup.

Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn how to create and open a scene.

Refer to the Production Structure and Organization chapter to learn how to create and organize the scenes.

Using the Workspace

Toon Boom Digital Pro provides you with a default workspace to setup your scenes. Set your Workspace drop-down menu to Scene Setup.

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Setting the Resolution and Frame RateOnce the scene is ready, you must set the scene resolution (HDTV, NTSC, PAL, etc.) and frame rate (24, 25, 30, etc.) if they were not set previously by a Toon Boom Storyboard import or during the scene creation.



The Resolution and Frame Rate dialog box opens.

2. Choose a resolution from the list or enter a new one.

3. Set the frame rate.


It is important to set the resolution before starting the positioning and the camera moves as it may affect the ratio and the composition.

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Setting the Scene LengthOnce you have set your resolution and frame rate, set the scene length by adding the right amount of frame to your scene. You can set the scene length from the top menu.

You do not need to do this step if you are importing your animatic as a QuickTime movie file format. The QT import script takes care of the scene length at the same time as the movie import.

To set the scene length:

1. In the top menu, select Scene > Scene Length.

The Scene Length dialog box opens.

2. Type the scene duration in the Frame field.


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Importing ElementsNow that the scene is ready to receive its content, you can start importing templates, characters, backgrounds and other elements needed.

There are different types of elements and ways to import:

• Importing Animatics and Sounds on page 334• Importing Templates on page 340

• Importing from External Sources on page 345

Importing Animatics and Sounds

The first element to import into your scene is your animatic. You will need to refer to it to find out which composition and elements to use.

Then, if you have a soundtrack, you can import it.

Importing the AnimaticThere are three ways to import an animatic in a scene:

• Importing a QuickTime Movie Animatic on page 334

• Importing an Image Sequence Animatic on page 335• Importing a Toon Boom Storyboard Animatic on page 336

Importing a QuickTime Movie AnimaticToon Boom provides a script called QTimport to import QuickTime movie files in the scene, cut them as image sequences and import the sound as an independent sound track. It will also establish the scene length.

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To import an animatic with the QTimport script:

1. In the Scripting toolbar, make sure that your QTimport script is available.

2. Browse to your animatic QuickTime movie.


4. If the movie is longer than the scene length, a dialog will open. This notifies you that the movie is longer than the scene and asks you if you want to extend the movie length.

5. Click on the Yes button to extend the scene length corresponding to your movie length.

A dialog box opens notifying you that the movie has been imported


Importing an Image Sequence AnimaticYou can also import a bitmap images sequence animatic that was created using third party software by using the Import Drawings feature.

You can use the same technique to import layout and posing that were created on paper and scanned in using third party software.

To import an images sequence:

1. In the top menu, select File > Import > Drawings.

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The Import Drawings window opens.

2. Click on the Folder button to browse and select your whole image sequence.


4. You can import the image into an existing element or create a new element.To import the image into an existing element, select Add to Existing Element and select the element from the Element list.

To import the image into a new element, select Create Element, type a name for the element in the Name field.

5. Do NOT select the Vectorize option.


Importing a Toon Boom Storyboard AnimaticIf the animatic was created with Toon Boom Storyboard, you need to create an Export to Toon Boom from that software. This function will create your scenes, as well as import your layout and posing and camera moves. This must be done at the beginning of the production.

If your project was created using Toon Boom Storyboard, the animatic and camera moves are already set in the scene. You can move on to the background elements import.

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SoundWith Toon Boom Digital Pro, you can import soundtracks and dialogue into your animations, making them more engaging and entertaining.

Toon Boom Digital Pro has several sound editing features that you can use to sync sounds to individual frames or moments in time. You can also use them to trim unwanted seconds from the beginning and end of sound files, as well to as loop sounds that you want to continue throughout your animation.

Importing SoundsTo add sound to your movie, you must first prepare the sound outside of Toon Boom Digital Pro. Then, back in Toon Boom Digital Pro, you must add a Sound element, which organizes sound files in your animation. A sound will play in the movie until it reaches the end of the file or a stop frame that you create in the Sound Element Editor.

You can import WAV, AIFF or MP3 sound files using either the Xsheet or Timeline View windows.

In the Timeline View, you must select the Show Sounds option to display sound

elements. Click on the Menu button and select View > Show > Show Sounds.

To import sound into your scene:

1. Add a sound element to your animation. In the Timeline, click on the Menu button and select Add > Sound. In the Xsheet, click on the Menu button and select Columns > Add Columns. Use the Add Columns dialog box to add a new sound column.

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An empty sound element appears in the Xsheet and Timeline View.

2. Open the Sound Element Editor.In the Timeline, double-click on the sound element’s name in the left-hand column.In the Xsheet, double-click on the header of the sound column.

3. In the Sound Element panel, right-click (Windows) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac OS X) a frame where you want the sound to start playing and select Import Sound.

4. In the Browse dialog box, select the sound file you want to import.

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If the sound file does not already exist in your animation, Toon Boom Digital Pro copies the file from its current location to the Audio folder within your scene folder.

Editing SoundsThe Sound Element Editor makes it possible for you to edit sounds that you created outside of Toon Boom Digital Pro and imported into your scene.

The Sound Element Editor consists of three main elements.

• The Sound Element panel displays the waveform of all sound files in the element.• The Current Sound panel displays the waveform of the selected sound so that

you can edit its properties.• The lip sync preview images appear when you lip sync a sound.

In the Sound Element Editor, you can:

• Adjust the start frame/time of a sound.

• Cut sections from the start and end of the sound.

• Adjust the volume of a sound clip and create fade envelopes.• Generate mouth charts.

Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn more about sound.

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Importing Templates

For a Cut-out production, all of the characters, props and effects can be imported using the Template Library. The puppets and models were previously created by the Character and Prop Builders and stored in the Template Library. You may also want to incorporate some elements that were created using third party software and stored in an external directory. In this case, the elements need to be imported via the Import Drawings option.

Refer to the Library Management chapter to learn more about templates.

Importing from the Template LibraryOnce the templates are created, you are ready to import them into your scene. The template import is quite simple.

There is no need to get the right to modify the library to import a template. You browse to the appropriate directory, select the necessary template, and drag it to your Network or Timeline View.

Using the Template Library, import the characters, props, effects and the background elements if they are also part of the library. If you have any external vector based elements to import, such as from Adobe Illustrator, a Flash movie or PDF format files, you will also use the Template Library to import them.

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If you have bitmap background elements painted in an external software, you will use the Import Drawings option.


1. Open the Template Library and browse to the appropriate folder.

2. Select one or more templates.

3. Drag the selection to the Network or Timeline View.


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If you drop the selection in the Timeline’s right side, the information will be inserted into already existing elements. In order for the template to combine with existing elements, the structure needs to be the same throughout. If you do not have the possibility of merging the elements together, move on to the left side of the Timeline and create new elements.

When you import a template in a scene, there is no link between the Library and the scene. It creates a copy of all drawings, effects, trajectories, etc. You are free to modify anything copied in your scene.

Opening Templates as a FolderYou can import selected drawings of a template by opening the template as a folder and then dragging the selected drawings to the Timeline View.

To open a template as folder and import drawings:

1. In the Template Library, select the template.

2. In the Template Library menu, select Folders > Template > Open as Folder.

The template’s content is displayed

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3. Once the template is opened, select the desired drawings to import.

In the Template Library menu, you can view thumbnails by selecting View > Thumbnails.

4. Drag the selection to the Timeline’s right side, insert the drawings in an existing drawing element and drop it in the desired frame.

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Scale Ratio Template

To maintain correct proportions between the characters and their environment, the Character and Prop Builder provides a Scale Ratio template. This shows the character or prop size in relation to other elements, such as other characters or props. This allows the Scene Setup person to set the scene composition to the correct scale and maintain it throughout the whole production.

At the same time as you import the scene’s elements, import the Scale Ratio template.

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Importing from External SourcesIf some elements were created in third party software, you can import them using the Import Drawings option or the Template Library.

Importing Bitmap DrawingsTo import bitmap drawings:


The Import Drawings dialog box opens.

2. Click on the Folder button to browse and select your drawing.



To import the image into a new element, selectCreate Element(s) > Create Single Element Named and type a name for the element in the Name field.

5. Select the Vectorize option and adjust the vectorization parameters if you want a vector based format. If not, it will stay as a bitmap file.

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6. Click on the OK button to import the file.

If you have PDF, SWF or AI formats, you can import them via the Template Library.

Refer to the Reference Guide to learn more about the vectorization parameters.

Importing External Vector DrawingsTo import an external vector design:

1. Open the Template Library.

2. In the Template Library’s left window, select the library folder where the drawing will be imported. Right-click and select Right to Modify.

3. Right-click again on the library folder and select Import Files

The Import Files browser opens.

4. Browse for the design file (*.Swf, *.Ai, *.Pdf).

5. Click on the Open button to import the file.

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6. Name the Template appropriately.


8. Drag the template from the Template Library to your Network View or Timeline View’s left side.

9. Copy or Link the palette in the scene.

10. The Palette Recovery dialog box opens. It asks you if you want to recover the colours from the original files as Toon Boom cannot find a palette file. Click on the Yes button to create a palette file for the element.

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Setting the SceneNow that your scene has all of the elements necessary for animation and compositing, you can start setting the scene. The process of setting the scene includes setting the camera position, adding pegs, setting the composition and adding other extra details to help the animators.

In this chapter, we only mention the basic compositing options. Refer to the Compositing chapter to learn more about cameras, compositing, display order and networks.

Setting the scene is done in four steps:

• Adding a Camera on page 348

• Adding Peg Elements on page 349• Setting the Scene Composition on page 352

• Setting the Final Details on page 363

Adding a CameraThe first thing to set in the scene is the camera’s position. Before setting any other element, it is essential to set the camera frame in order to know where to place the characters, backgrounds and props.

You have to start by adding a Camera element to your scene.

To add a camera element:

1. To add a Camera:

In the Timeline View, click on the Menu button and select Add > Camera.

You can also use the Add Elements button and add a camera type.

In the top menu, select Compositing > Effects > Favorites > Camera and select the Camera module.

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In the Module Library, go to the Move tab and select a Camera module. Drag it to the Network View.

Adding Peg ElementsThe camera and some background elements may be animated, so it is necessary to add and attach Peg elements to the Camera and background.

The Pegs are motion modules that allow element animation.

Refer to the Animation Basic Concepts and Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapters in the Introduction and Basics book to learn more about Pegs.

One of the main elements of the compositing step is the Peg element, used to animate elements. These elements can be drawings, other pegs, cameras or even effects. The Pegs can be added in the Timeline View or the Module Library.

To add a new peg element from the Module Library:

1. In the Module Library View, select a peg module.

2. Drag the Peg Module in the Network View. The default keyboard shortcut is[Ctrl]+[P] (Windows) or [ ]+[P] (Mac OS X).

To add a new peg from the Timeline View:

In the Timeline View, click on the Menu button and select Add > Peg. You can

also use the toolbar’s Add Peg button. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[P] (Windows) or [ ]+[P] (Mac OS X).

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If you have an element that needs to be parented to a peg, you can select that element and use the Timeline view’s Add Parent Peg button to parent it automatically and have the peg renamed corresponding to the element name.

Peg’s ParametersA Peg is composed of many customizable parameters, such as X, Y and Z positions, angle (rotation), skew, and scales. Each parameter has its own function. A function is a curve or a column containing keyframes and position values on certain frames creating a motion over time.

• You have the choice of a 3D path or separated positions for the X, Y and Z axes. • You can also lock the scale to get a one to one ratio or separate it to have squash

and stretch possibilities.

To display the peg’s parameters in the Timeline View:

1. In the Timeline’s left-hand side, click on the arrow button beside the peg’s name.

Adding a Parent PegTo animate drawing elements, cameras or other pegs, you need to hook them to a peg. This directs the elements on the correct trajectory, rotation, scale and skew and creates a hierarchy.

There are two ways to add a parent peg:

• through the Timeline View• through the Network View

To add a parent peg to elements in the Timeline View:

1. In the Timeline View, select the element to be parented.

2. Drag it onto the Peg Element to be the parent.

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You should now see the element being placed under the peg element and pushed to the right. This shows the hierarchy between the two elements.

To directly add a parent peg in the Timeline View:

1. In the Timeline View, select the element to be parented.

2. Click on the Menu button and select Add > Parent Peg. You can also use the

toolbar’s Add Parent Peg button. The default keyboard shortcut is [Shift]+[P].

To add a parent peg to elements in the Network View:

In the Network View, drag a cable from the Peg module’s Output port and connect in to the Element module’s Input port.

Refer to Network Navigation and Organization on page 542 to learn more about Output and Input ports.

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Setting the Scene CompositionNow that you are aware of the main setup features, you can start positioning your elements such as the drawings, camera and background.

To move elements in the Camera, Top or Side View, you have to use an animation tool such as the Select or the Translate tool.

Extend the ExposureTo extend a drawing’s exposure in the Timeline View:

1. In the Timeline View, select which drawing you want to extend.

2. Hold down [Ctrl] (Windows) or [ ] (Mac OS X) and drag your drawing to the last frame where you want it to be exposed.

To extend a Cut-out character or a peg in the Timeline View:

1. In the Timeline View, click on the Master Peg’s arrow button to collapse the peg and its children.

2. Copy the peg’s last keyframe and paste it into the last frame where you want it to be exposed.

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PositioningIf you want to select a drawing element to position, you have to enable the Element Mode.

You can also select the drawing element’s module directly in the Timeline or Network View.

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If you want to select a peg element to position it without animating, you have to enable the All Keyframes Mode.

You can change the selection style to be a Bounding box instead of a colour filling.

• In the top menu, select View > BBox Selection Style.

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You can move drawing elements visually or by typing values in the editor.

To move drawing element visually:


2. In the Animation Tools toolbar, enable the Element Mode. The default keyboard shortcut is [Shift]+[E].

3. In the Camera View, select the drawing element to be moved.

4. In the Animation Tools toolbar, select Translate, Rotate, Scale or Maintain Size to move your element as desired.

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5. Move the drawing element in the Camera View.

To type values in the Element editor:

1. In the Timeline, Camera or Network View, select the element to be modified.

2. To open the Element editor:In the Timeline View, double-click on the Peg module.

In the Network View, click on the Peg module’s yellow square.

In the Camera View, right-click and select Editor. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[E].

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The Editor window opens.

The selected module’s parameters also appear in the Module Properties window.

3. Go to the Transformation tab.

4. Type the necessary value in the corresponding field.


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AnimatingIf you want to select and animate your peg elements, you have to enable the Keyframe mode.

You can move peg elements visually, by typing values into their function columns in the Xsheet or by adding and moving keyframes on the Peg’s function curves.

To animate an element:

1. In the Animation Tools toolbar, enable the Keyframe mode. The default keyboard shortcut is [Shift]+[K].


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3. In the Camera View, select the element to animate.

4. In the Timeline View, set the red cursor to the frame in which you want to set a keyframe.

5. In the Animation Tools toolbar, select Translate, Rotate, Skew, Scale, Transform or Maintain Size to move your element.

6. Move the element in the Camera, Top or Side View.

7. In the Timeline View, verify whether your keyframe is set on Motion or Stop-Motion keyframe and switch it if needed. Right-click and select Set Stop-Motion Keyframes or Set Motion Keyframes.

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8. Play your animation by pressing the Play button. The default keyboard shortcut is [Shift]+[Enter].

If during your playback you realize that the timing is wrong, you can select the keyframe in the Timeline View and slide it to a better frame.

You can also display your trajectory’s Control Parameters in the Camera View and reposition the keyframe visually. In the Camera View, right-click and select Show Control Parameters to display the trajectory. The default keyboard shortcut is [C].

Displaying and Modifying Visual TrajectoriesYou can display trajectories in the Camera, Top and Side Views to better understand the way that elements are moving in the scene. This also allows for easier modifications. You can display a peg’s control to be able to see where elements are going, modify the curve and add keyframes and control points.

To display a trajectory:

1. In the Timeline or Network View, select the peg to display.

2. To display the Peg’s control parameters:In the Camera View, right-click and select Show Control Parameters to display the trajectory. The default keyboard shortcut is [C].

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The Trajectory appears in the Camera View.

3. To modify the trajectory in the Camera View:Using the keyboard shortcut [P], you can add control points on a 3D path to modify the shape.

Using the keyboard shortcut [F6], you can add a keyframe to the current frame.

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Using the keyboard shortcut [Alt]+[L], you can switch a selected point between Control Point and Keyframes.

Using the keyboard shortcut [O], you can toggle a selected point between a linear and curved shape.

Using the keyboard shortcuts [;] and [‘] you switch the previous and next keyframe or control point on the trajectory.

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Setting the Final DetailsDepending on what the studio has requested from the Scene Setup person, it is possible that he or she will also have to build the basic network and complete extra tasks such as replacing palettes for night style palettes, etc.

Refer to the Compositing chapter to learn more about building the basic network.

Refer to the Colour Styling & Colour Model chapter to learn more about palette style and loading palettes.

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Task Summary1. Get the references

2. Create the scene

3. Set the resolution and frame rate

4. Set the scene length

5. Import the animatic

6. Import the templates

7. Import the external elements

8. Add the camera

9. Add peg elements

10. Set the scene compositing

11. Set the final details

Next Task: Cut-out Animation

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Chapter 10Cut-out Animation

Previous Task: Scene Setup

Animation is one of the central steps of a Cut-out production. Without animation, there is no show! Cut-out animation follows the same principles as Traditional or Paperless animation. Toon Boom Digital Pro offers many tools and features to help the animator quickly produce high quality animation. In this guide, we will cover a variety of options and provide tips and tricks to be incorporated by the animator.

The Cut-out animation process is divided into four steps:

• Understanding Cut-out Animation on page 366


• Animating on page 386• Extra Animation Information on page 442

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Understanding Cut-out AnimationThe Cut-out animation consists of moving parts and pieces over time and recording their positions using keyframes.

To understand Cut-out animation you will have to familiarize yourself with the following five topics:

• Drawing Elements on page 366

• Peg Elements on page 367

• Keyframes on page 367• Drawings and Keyframes on page 369

• Cut-out Puppets on page 371

Drawing Elements

Unlike characters that have been created using Traditional and Paperless animation methods, Cut-out characters are drawn once and then cut into pieces. Each individual piece is drawn in a different drawing element.

Drawing elements are drawing containers also known as drawing layers. Drawings can be stored and exposed in drawing elements.

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Chapter 10: Cut-out Animation

Peg Elements

In the Camera View, drawing elements can display different drawings over time, but they have a static position. To move over time, they need to be attached, or parented, to a motion element (trajectory), known as a Peg.

Keyframes

Keyframes are the position, scale, rotation, and skew values set on certain frames. They are found on peg’s function curves.

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There are two types of keyframes:

• Stop-motion Keyframes on page 368• Motion Keyframes on page 369

Stop-motion KeyframesWhen using Stop-motion keyframes, also known as Step keyframes, the segment between two keyframes is constant. There is no animation generated by the computer between the poses. The drawing will remain in position until the next keyframe, then pops to its new position.

When working with Cut-out animation, Stop-motion keyframes are easy to use and are recommended for beginners.

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Motion KeyframesWhen using Motion keyframes, the segment between two keyframes has a variation. The computer generates animation between the poses. The drawing element that has been parented to a peg will move over time, even between the keyframes.

The Stop-motion keyframes have to be controlled on the function curves and in the Timeline View.

Drawings and KeyframesIt is important that animators understand that a drawing is not a keyframe; the keyframe is independent from the drawing layer.

Keyframes are position values, whereas a drawing is an exposure. These are always kept separate, each with its own layer. Keyframes are contained within peg elements, whereas drawings are contained within drawing elements.

The drawing’s exposure can change constantly without any keyframes. The drawing’s exposure is set on the drawing element. The keyframes control a trajectory. The peg

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element controls the drawing element animation over time, so the keyframes move the drawing element along a trajectory.

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Cut-out Puppets

In order for the character/prop to move and be animated, a peg is attached to each drawing element. A hierarchy can then be created between the pegs for a more advanced rigging. The animation technique will be influenced significantly by the puppet rigging. As explained in the Character and Prop Break-Down chapter, some rigging types allow you to use the auto in-between if you desire, or to select some parts independent of others. The animator must be aware of these possibilities and constraints. See the Establishing the Rigging Technique topic below.

To learn more about rigging, refer to the Rigging topic in the Character and Prop Breakdown chapter.

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PreparationThe Cut-out animation preparation is done in four steps:

• Scene Setup on page 372


• Establishing the Rigging Technique on page 374• Setting the Preferences on page 377

• Finding modules in the Network and Timeline Views on page 384

Scene Setup

Before animating, your scene needs to be setup.

Setting the scene means that you are importing the characters’ puppets and the background elements, setting the scene resolution and frame rate, and importing the animatic.

Depending on the studio or user’s organization, the scene can be setup by the animator or by a setup person.

To set up your Cut-out animation scene, read the Scene Setup chapter.

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Using the Workspace

Toon Boom provides a default workspace to animate your Cut-out scenes. Set your Workspace drop-down menu to Cut-out Animation.

The animator will mainly use four views: the Camera, Timeline, Template Library and Network Views. The Xsheet View does not really enter the Cut-out animation process except in a few cases. All of the keyframes and function curves are controlled from the Timeline and Network Views.

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Establishing the Rigging TechniqueOnce your scene is setup, you will have to study the Cut-out puppets that are in your scenes. If you did not build the characters and props yourself, it is a good idea to get to know their rigging construction. Since there are many rigging techniques, your animation constraints and limitations will vary. It will be helpful to know them.

There are four main rigging techniques:

• Open RigAll of the parts are independent of each other.

• Advanced Open RigAll the parts are independent of each other but a few master pegs control full members, such as the arms.

• HierarchyAll of the parts are parented and dependent on each other.

• MixA mix of the hierarchy and the open rig techniques.

Each one has their particularities and strengths. They will help you find the easiest, most comfortable way for you to animate. If you are not familiar with rigging a character/prop, you can easily test it visually in the Camera View.

To find a rigging technique:

1. In the Animation Tools toolbar, select the Select tool. The default keyboard shortcut is [Alt]+[1].

2. In the Animation Tools toolbar, enable the Keyframe Mode. The default keyboard shortcut is [Shift]+[K].

3. In the Camera View, select the character’s central part, such as the pelvis or the torso.

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If all the parts are selected at the same time, it means that you have a full hierarchy.

If the individual part is selected, it probably means that you have an open rig.

4. Next, select the upper piece of a member, such as the upper arm.

If the whole arm is selected, it means that you have a hierarchy. If you had an open rig result during the previous step and you now have a hierarchy, this means that you are working with a mixed rig.

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If the individual part is selected, it means that you have a fully open rig.

5. To be sure of your structure, repeat step 4 on other parts.

6. To know if you have an Advanced Open Rig structure, select a member part such as the hand.

7. In the Camera View, click on the Menu button and select Edit > Select Parent. The default keyboard shortcut is [B].

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If the whole arm is selected, it means that you have an arm master peg and you are working with Advanced open rigging.

You should now be able to determine whether you have a Hierarchy, Open, or Mix rig. This will guide you through the next animation steps.

Refer to the Character and Prop Break-Down chapter to learn more about rigging techniques.

Setting the PreferencesYou can animate a Cut-out puppet using Motion and Stop-Motion keyframes. The rigging technique that is used will determine which type of keyframe is more appropriate:

• Open Rig: Stop-motion Keyframes

• Advanced Open Rig: mainly Stop-Motion keyframes

• Hierarchy: mainly Motion keyframes• Mix: mainly Stop-Motion keyframes

Open Rig: Stop-motion KeyframesIf your animation technique requires mainly Stop-motion keyframes, you should enable the keyframe preference.

Later, if some of your keyframes have to be Motion keyframes, you can simply change the keyframes type in the Timeline View, switching between Motion and Stop-motion as much as you like. This means that you do not have to return to the Preferences setting to change the type of keyframe created.

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To enable the Stop-motion keyframe preference:

1. In the top menu, select Edit > Preferences (Windows) or Digital Pro > Preferences (Mac OS X).


2. Select the General tab.

3. In the Settings section, enable the Stop-motion Keyframe option.


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Motion KeyframesIf your animation technique requires mainly Motion keyframes, you should disable the Stop-motion keyframe preference.

Remember, you can switch keyframes to Stop-motion keyframes directly in the Timeline View, as described above.

To disable the Stop-motion keyframe preference:




3. In the Settings section, disable the Stop-motion Keyframe option.

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Default Separate ScaleIf you plan to add extra pegs (motion, trajectories) on your puppets to move and deform them across the scene, you should ensure that the Default Separate Scale preference is enabled. This option allows you to skew, squash and stretch.

To enable the Default Separate Scale preference:




3. In the Settings section, enable the Default Separate Scale option.

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Default Separate Positions

There are three pegs functions to control an element’s position: X, Y and Z.

X, Y and Z axes are universal terms to identify the three dimensions: X for left and right, Y for up and down and Z for front and back. Toon Boom Digital Pro has two methods of controlling these trajectories: 3D paths and Separate Positioning.

• 3D pathA 3D path is composed of four function curves: X, Y and Z (respectively: left-right, up-down, forward-backward) and a velocity (eases). In a 3D path,

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keyframes are automatically added onto the four functions. The velocity controls the three positions’ functions.The 3D path is useful for smooth and long trajectories, but less so for Cut-out animation. This is explained a bit further down.

• Separate PositionTo have Separate Positions means that the X, Y and Z functions are independent and each has its own velocity (ease) controls. Keyframes are unique to each function. A keyframe added on the X function will not appear on the Y or Z function, something that is very useful for Cut-out animation. This is explained a bit further down.

To enable the Default Separate Position preference:


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3. In the Settings section, enable the Default Separate Position option.


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Finding modules in the Network and Timeline ViewsWhen you are animating or setting up your scene you will need to find the module corresponding to the selected element in your Camera View. As Cut-out characters and props are composed of several modules and groups, a scene’s network or timeline will end up being loaded and complex.

To easily find the module corresponding to an element that you selected in your Camera View, you can use the Center on Selection function in your Timeline or Network View.

To center on selection in the Network View.

1. In the Camera View, select the element you want to find in your Network View.Enable the Keyframe of Element mode to select the peg or drawing element. In the Animation Tools toolbar, enable the Keyframe or Element mode.

2. In the Network View, click on the Menu button and select View > Center on Selection. The default keyboard shortcut is [O].

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The selected module is displayed at the center of the Network View.

To center on selection in the Timeline View.

1. In the Camera View, select the element you want to find in your Network View.Enable the Keyframe or Element mode to select the peg or drawing element. In the Animation Tools toolbar, enable the Keyframe or Element mode.

2. In the Timeline View, click on the Menu button and select View > Expand All. The default keyboard shortcut is [9].

3. In the Timeline View, click on the Menu button and select View > Center on Selection. The default keyboard shortcut is [O].

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The selected module is displayed at the top of the Timeline View.

Animating

Now that you know a bit more about Cut-out animation and your scene is setup, you are ready to animate.

The Cut-out animation process is divided into five topics:

• Starting the Animation on page 387

• The Cut-out Animation Tools on page 392

• Sound and Lip Syncing on page 410• Basic Animation on page 423

• Advanced Animation on page 428

• Changing the Layer Ordering on page 438• Importing Templates on page 440

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Starting the AnimationTo start your animation, you need to preform the following:

• Consulting the References on page 387

• Creating a Guide Layer on page 388

Consulting the References

If an animatic was imported into the scene, the animator should consult it to know what is to be achieved with the animation.

Usually, the animator or the scene setup person will place the animatic in a scene corner to have the possibility of watching both the animatic and the animation at the same time. If there is no animatic, the animator can always refer to the storyboard to find out the posing and the average timing. If that is unavailable and the animator is starting from scratch, this is the time to determine what will be animated and in which order.

To playback the animatic:

1. In the Play toolbar, click on the Play button to playback the animatic. The default keyboard shortcut is [Shift]+[Return].

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2. Enable the Loop button to playback the animatic in loop.

3. Click on the Stop button to stop the playback. The default keyboard shortcut is [Shift]+[Return].

Creating a Guide Layer

A useful tip when starting an animation, especially if you are a Traditional or Paperless animator, is to create a guide layer.

A guide layer is a drawing layer in which you draw rough poses of your characters to get the movement flow. They can all be drawn on the same drawing that you expose for the full scene length or you can break them into different drawings, revealed by accurate timing.

Another layer guide type is a drawing layer where you draw the feet mark for a walk cycle. It can also be a ground reference.

Using a layer guide is not obligatory, but it helps you to know where the animation goes, and correct any mistakes before even starting the character posing.

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Drawing the Guide LayerTo draw a guide layer:

1. In the Timeline View, click on the Add Elements button.

The Add Elements dialog box opens.

2. Name the drawing element appropriately. For example: guide.

3. Select Drawing type.


5. In the Timeline View, select the drawing element’s first cell.

6. In the Drawing tools toolbar, select the Brush tool. The default keyboard shortcut is [Alt]+[B].

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7. In the Camera View, draw the first animation pose.

8. If you want to draw your next pose in a different frame, go to the Timeline View and select the next cell in which you want to draw your second pose.

9. In the Timeline View, click on the Menu button and select View > Onion Skin > Show Onion Skin.

Blue arrows appear on each cursor’s sides.

10. Pull on the blue arrows to preview previous and next cells.

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11. In the Camera View, draw your second pose in the new cell.

12. Repeat the steps until you have drawn all of your poses.

13. If you have all your poses in the same drawing, go to the Timeline View’s right window, select the guide layer’s last cell, right-click and select Extend Exposure.

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The Cut-out Animation ToolsToon Boom Digital Pro offers a variety of tools and features used for animation.

Here are the main tools needed to animate:

• Keyframe Mode on page 392

• Transform Tool on page 393• Inverse Kinematics Tool (IK) on page 395

• Locks and Outlines on page 404

• Flips on page 405

• Drawing Substitution on page 407

Keyframe ModeIn order to move and animate pieces and parts over time, you need to select the peg elements, not the drawing elements. To do so, you must enable the Keyframe Mode. This mode will automatically select the peg and set keyframes when you move the part.

To enable the Keyframe mode:

In the Animation Tools toolbar, enable the Keyframe mode. The default keyboard shortcut is [Shift]+[K].

To reposition a whole Cut-out animation or character’s part, you have to select and move the pegs without modifying the animation. To do so, you have to enable the All Keyframes Mode. This mode will select your peg and reposition all of the keyframes.

To enable the All Keyframes mode:

In the Animation Tools toolbar, enable the All Keyframes Mode. The default keyboard shortcut is [Shift]+[A].

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Transform ToolFor a Cut-out character, the main tool to use is the Transform tool.

The Transform tool has many useful functions:

• Move• Scale

• Squash and Stretch

• Skew• Rotate

• Select

• Move the pivot point temporarily

It is not recommended to use the individual Rotate, Translate, Scale and Skew tools as they move each pieces from their own pivot point. They are compositing tools. The Transform

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tool will create a global selection. If many parts are selected, the Transform tool will move it as one piece. To do Cut-out animation, we highly recommend the Transform tool.

If you have hierarchy connections in your Cut-out character, the Transform tool will also be used as the Forward Kinematic equivalent.

The Transform tool can be used on any kind of rigging.

When many parts are selected with the Transform tool, the first selected part’s pivot will be used as the global selection’s pivot. This pivot can also be moved temporarily for the use of the animation.

The Transform tool will only work on peg elements.

To use the Transform tool:

1. In the Animation Tools toolbar, select the Transform tool. The default keyboard shortcut is [Alt]+[7].

2. In the Animation Tools toolbar, enable the Keyframes Mode or the All Keyframes Mode.

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3. In the Camera View, select the part to be animated and move it.

Inverse Kinematics Tool (IK)

The Inverse Kinematics tool will animate from the extreme and make the rest of the hierarchy follow (called the IK chain). It can be used on any piece connected in a hierarchy. However, you do not have to use IK every time that you have a hierarchy rig.

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This tool is really useful when you want to bend a character’s knees, make him sit, block a part in place and move the rest of the body, etc.

Inverse Kinematics will help a new animator to understand how a puppet should move. It will also help any animator to create difficult moves.

The Inverse Kinematics will not work on an Open rig character because there is no hierarchy chain present.

When animating a hierarchy puppet, an animator will use the Transform and Inverse Kinematics tools.

To use the Inverse Kinematic tools

1. In the Animation Tools toolbar, select the Inverse Kinematics tool. The default keyboard shortcut is [Alt]+[8].

2. In the Animation Tools toolbar, enable the Keyframe mode.

3. In the Camera View, hold the [CTRL] key down and click on the desired character part to select it.

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4. Move the part to the desired position. You can pull and push it from any area in the screen; you do not have to be directly on the selected piece to move it. Depending on where you are creating the move, the puppet will react differently.

IK Constraints

Using the Inverse Kinematics tool, if you pull a hand, the system will animate all of the parts included in the hierarchy chain, down to the torso, the hips, and the legs depending on your rig. Often, the animator will only want to animate a character’s part, such as the arm and not the whole body. To do so, there are IK Constraints such as IK nails that are used

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to temporarily cut or constrain the chain. The IK nails can be used to cut an IK chain or to block a part on the spot. For example, you can fix a character’s feet to the ground when he walks.

There are different types of constraints that can be placed on the chain:

• IK NailBlocks the X, Y and Z positions.

• Hold OrientationBlocks the angle

• Hold XBlocks only the X position

• Hold YBlocks only the Y position

• Enable Maximum and Minimum angleSets limitations on a peg angle to prevent the puppet from breaking apart.

To set IK Constraints



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3. In the Camera View, hold down the [CTRL] key and click on the character part to be nailed.

4. In the Inverse Kinematics toolbar, select the type of nail that you want to set.To add an IK Nail in the Camera View, hold down the [Shift] key and click on the part’s pivot.

To add a Hold Orientation constraint in the Camera View, hold down the [Shift] key and use the middle mouse button to click on the part’s pivot.

To remove all constraints, go to the Camera View and select all of the parts, right-click and select IK Constraints > Remove All Constraints.

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Applying IK Constraints on a Frame Range

When you animate a walking character and block the feet down, the blocking position will be perfect on the keyposes. However, when you use the Motion keyframes to auto in-between the animation, you will notice a movement of feet. This motion is caused by the in-betweening of the rotations.

The nail fixes your piece on the keyframe, but it will not hold it for the whole segment.

If you place a nail on the shoulder to move just the arm, you do not necessarily want to keep the shoulder in the same place until the next key pose. You will probably want the shoulder, or any other part that is nailed, to have a slight, natural motion following the main body action. Of course, this is not the case when you fix a hand or a foot on the spot. If you have a fixed hand or foot, you will probably want it to stay exactly where you placed it. That is why you can apply an IK constraint on a frame range and on selected parts.

To fix the part on the same spot requires an angle (rotation) correction on the parts that are moving too much. For example, to fix a foot that is moving too much, you will correct

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the angles on the foot, leg and thigh. To fix a hand, you will correct the angles on the hand, forearm and upper arm.

To apply IK constraints on a frame range:



3. In the Timeline View, set the cursor to the first animation pose.

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4. In the Camera View, hold the [Ctrl] key down and click on the part to be corrected, such as the foot or the hand.

5. In the Inverse Kinematics toolbar, click on the IK Nail button to set a nail on the part to be corrected. In the Camera View, you can also hold down the [Shift] key and click on the part’s pivot.

6. In the Inverse Kinematics toolbar, click on the Hold Orientation button to set a hold orientation on the part to be corrected. In the Camera View, you can also hold down the [Shift] key and use the middle mouse button to click on the part’s pivot.

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7. In the Camera View, follow the part’s IK chain and set an IK Nail in the last part to be corrected by holding the [Shift] key down and clicking on the part’s pivot. For example, the thigh or the upper arm.

8. In the Inverse Kinematics toolbar, click on the IK Keyframe button to indicate which frame you want to start applying the IK constraints to.

9. In the Timeline View, set the cursor to the second animation pose. This is the last frame where the IK constraint correction will be applied.

10. In the Inverse Kinematics toolbar, click on the IK Constraint button to apply the IK constraints on the indicated frame range.

Rotation keyframes appear on each frame of the corrected parts.

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It is recommended that you use the IK Constraint feature at the end of your animation.

Locks and Outlines

You can use the Lock feature in the Camera View to lock a character’s part or any other element in the scene. By enabling the Outline Locked Drawings option, your locked elements appear as wire outlines. This allows you to see through some parts and to select hidden parts. The lock only restricts the visual selection in the Camera View.

To lock elements:


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2. In the Camera View, select the element to be locked.

3. Right-click on the selection and select Lock > Lock.To unlock your elements, in the Camera View, right-click and select Lock > Unlock All.

To display locked elements as outlines:

In the top menu, select View > Outline Locked Drawings.

Flips

If you want to flip a part, a member or a whole puppet, use the Transform tool and the Flip Horizontal and Flip Vertical options.

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To flip a selection


2. In the Animation Tools toolbar: Enable the Keyframe mode if you want to set this flip as a keyframe on your animation.

Enable the All Keyframes mode if you want to apply this flip to your whole animation sequence.

3. In the Camera View, select the parts to be flipped.

4. In the Camera View, click on the Menu button and select Animation > Flip > Flip Horizontal or Flip Vertical.

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If the flip is not applied to your animation, it is probably because your peg is not set on Separate Scale.

Drawing Substitution

Although Cut-out animation mainly involves moving pieces around, quite a lot of drawings are swapped. The mouth can be reposition for expression and lip sync, the eyes can be repositioned for blinking, etc. When a person builds up a puppet, this creates a bank of extra drawings that can be substituted during the animation. If a drawing shape is ever missing, the animator can add it directly to his scene or send a request to the character builder.

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The extra drawings are contained in each drawing elements. To see them and swap them as you animate, you will use the Template Library’s Drawing Substitution. This will allow you to substitute a drawing for another one. This feature allows you to easily swap a drawing on your current frame. The new drawing’s exposure will be extended from the current frame to the next valid drawing. If there is no other drawing exposure in the layer, the drawing will be extended until the end of the scene. There is no need to enter any information.

As soon as you add a drawing to your scene, it will appear in your scene’s drawing substitution.

The drawings contained in the Drawing substitution are not related to the Template Library and the templates. The swap occurs through the drawings that are contained within the selected drawing element.

To substitute drawings:

1. In the Timeline View, go to the frame where you want to swap the drawing.

2. In the Animation Tools toolbar, enable the Element mode.

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4. In the Camera View, select the drawing to be swapped.

5. In the Template Library’s Drawing Substitution window, scroll through the drawings available and stop on the desired one. You can also use the Camera View default keyboard shortcuts [ [ ] and [ ] ].

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Sound and Lip Syncing

The animator will often have to animate the character’s mouth to match a soundtrack. It can be quite difficult to have the right frame match the sound.

To solve this problem Toon Boom Digital Pro provides a lip sync feature which analyses the contents of a sound element and generates a mouth chart based on the eight animation phonemes (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and X, which is used to represent silence).

Importing SoundsIf you decide to add sound to your movie, you must first prepare this sound outside Toon Boom Digital Pro. Then, in Toon Boom Digital Pro, you must add a Sound element to organize sound files in your animation. A sound will play in the movie until it reaches the end of the file or a stop frame that you have created in the Sound Element Editor.

You can import WAV, AIFF or MP3 sound files using either the Xsheet View or Timeline View.



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1. Add a sound element to your animation.

In the Timeline, click on the Menu button and select Add > Sound.

In the Xsheet, click on the Menu button and select Columns > Add Columns. Use the Add Columns dialog box to add a new sound column.

An empty sound element appears in the Xsheet window and Timeline.

2. Open the Sound Element Editor.

In the Timeline, double-click on the sound element’s name in the left-hand column.In the Xsheet, double-click on the header of the sound column.

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3. In the Sound Element panel, right-click (Windows) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac OS X) the frame in which you want the sound to start playing and select Import Sound.

4. In the Browse dialog box, select the sound file that you want to import.

If the sound file does not already exist in your animation, Toon Boom Digital Pro copies the file from its current location to the Audio folder within your scene folder.

Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn more about sound and editing sound.

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Creating a Mouth Chart

You can refer to the mouth chart positions as you draw the shape of your character’s mouth.

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To generate a mouth chart for a sound using the Sound Element Editor:

1. Open the Sound Element Editor.

In the Timeline View, double-click on the sound element’s name in the left-hand column.

In the Xsheet View, double-click on the header of the sound column.

2. In Sound Element panel, select the waveform that you want to generate the mouth chart for.

3. Right-click (Windows) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac OS X) the sound file and select Auto Lip-Sync Detections from the pop-up menu. A progress bar appears as Toon

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Boom Digital Pro analyzes the selected sound clips and assigns a lip sync letter to each sound cell.

Automatically Mapping Lip Sync DrawingsToon Boom Digital Pro can automatically map drawings in an element to the mouth chart you have generated for a sound. This can save you quite a bit of time when you are lip syncing a voice track.

In the Lip Sync Mapping dialog box, you can identify each lip drawing of a character. Toon Boom Digital Pro will then automatically label all of the cells in the character’s element with the appropriate name.

To automatically map lip sync drawings to a mouth chart:

1. In a lip-synced sound column of the Xsheet View, right-click (Windows) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac OS X) a cell and select Map Lip-Sync

The Lip-Sync Mapping dialog box opens.

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2. From the Destination element drop-list, select the element that contains the lip positions for the character’s voice track.

3. In the Mapping panel, type the drawing name in the field to the right of the phoneme it represents. If your drawings are already named with the phoneme letters, you do not have to do anything.


The dialog box closes. Scroll through the element with the lip position ,to see that all of the lip drawings have been mapped to the phonemes in the voice track.

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To playback your scene with sound, enable the Sound button in the Playback toolbar.

Modifying the Mouth ChartYou can change the lip position that has been assigned to a frame if you think that another position would be more appropriate.

For example, you may have a character who says nothing for ten frames, in between two speeches. Toon Boom Digital Pro would normally assign an X image for the silence period. However, if you want your character’s mouth to hang open in astonishment for these ten frames, you can change the lip assignment for these frames from an X to an F.

To change the lip assignment of a sound in the Xsheet:

1. Right-click (Windows) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac OS X) the cell that contains the lip position that you want to change.

2. From the Lip Sync > Change Mouth Shape to menu, select the letter that reflects the lip position that you want to use for that sound.

Toon Boom Digital Pro changes the mouth chart to reflect the new lip assignment.

You can also change the lip assignment of a sound in the Sound Element Editor.

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To change the lip assignment of a sound from the Sound Element Editor:

1. Open the Sound Element Editor.In the Timeline View, double-click on the sound element’s name in the left-hand column.


2. In the Sound Element panel, drag the frame slider to the frame whose lip assignment you want to change.

In the Lip Sync image area, the image on top represents the lip position assigned to the current frame.

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3. To change the image assigned to the frame, click on the image of the lip position that you want from below the preview image.

The preview image changes to the lip image that you select.

Recomputing the Mouth ChartWhen you generate the mouth chart for a sound in a sound element, you can either accept the lip positions assigned by Toon Boom Digital Pro or assign your own lip sync images.

If you change the sound’s start frame or reassign its lip position, you must reanalyze the sound and regenerate the mouth chart for it. This erases any manual modifications you may have made to the lip assignments in the mouth chart.

To recompute the mouth chart for a selected sound from a Sound column:

1. In a Sound column in the Xsheet View, right-click (Windows) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac OS X) the frame that contains the sound file you want to recompute the lip sync on.

2. Select Auto Lip-Sync Detections from the pop-up menu. The lip assignment for each frame is recomputed, erasing any modifications that you may have made.

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To recompute the mouth chart for a selected sound from the Sound Element Editor:



2. Click on the sound in the Sound element panel in the Sound Element Editor.

3. Right-click (Windows) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac OS X) the sound file and select Compute Lip-Sync from the pop-up menu. A progress bar appears as Toon Boom Digital Pro analyzes the selected sound clips and assigns a lip sync letter to each sound cell.

Regenerating the mouth chart erases any customized assignments you make.

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Sound ScrubbingToon Boom Digital Pro uses a process known as Sound Scrubbing to let you hear sound in real-time while you move the playback pointer forward or backward. This is very useful for finely tuned lip syncing.

You can scrub sounds from the Timeline View. When you scrub the sound from the Timeline, all of the sounds present will play.

To scrub a sound from the Timeline window:

1. To scrub a sound file from the Timeline, you must turn on sound playback and scrubbing.• Right-click on the frame markers at the top of the Timeline and select

Enable Sound Scrubbing.

2. At the top of the Timeline, drag the red frame marker along to hear the sound at each frame.

Using Cel Substitution to Swap Mouth Drawings in the ElementAs you are scrubbing sounds in the Timeline View, you may find that the mouth positions assigned by the Toon Boom Digital Pro lip sync analyzer are not all appropriate. You can use the Cel Substitution panel in the Template Library to replace one drawing with another from the same element directory.

To replace lip drawings in the element:

1. Open the Timeline and Template Library View.

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2. As you scrub the sound in the Timeline, verify the lip drawing assigned to the frame by looking in the Cel Substitution panel.

3. Drag the slider below the thumbnail image to change the drawing assigned to the current frame.

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Basic Animation

Basic animation is quite simple to handle and can work with any rigging type. A significant amount of the work is done visually and there is a minimal use of the Timeline View. You can animate in “straight ahead” or “pose to pose” without trouble. The basic animation result is quite professional and can be of notably high quality.

“Straight ahead” and “pose to pose” are Traditional animation techniques that can be used in any animation workflow. To animate “straight ahead” means that you are animating from the first frame through to the last frame in chronological order. To animate “pose to pose” means that the animator will first do the keyposes, which are the extreme poses in a movement. Next to be done are the breakdown poses, which are poses that complete the keyposes for better movement and timing description. Finally, you will end with the filling poses called the in-betweens. This technique is often the most used because it creates more solid and dynamic animation.

For basic animation, you will use the Transform tool. You can choose to animate in Stop-Motion or Motion keyframes. The majority of users will start their keyposes in Stop-Motion keyframe and later transform some to Motion keyframes. We recommend that you start with Stop-Motion keyframes. Once you are more comfortable with the tools, it will be easier for you to decide if you want to switch methods.

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Here are some general steps to follow to accomplish a basic animation:





4. Go to the General Tab.

5. In the Settings section, enable the Stop-Motion keyframe option.


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7. In the Timeline View, click on the Arrow button to collapse the character’s Master peg so that you see only one layer. We are not working with an open Timeline View for basic animation.

8. If you have a guide layer, refer to it to pose your puppet.

9. In the Timeline View, go to the first frame and select it.

10. Right-click your selection and select Insert Keyframe. The default keyboard shortcut is [F6].

11. In the Timeline View, go to the desired frame to set your first key pose.

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12. In the Camera View, pose your puppet using the Transform tool. This tool allows the possibility to temporarily modify your selection’s pivot point.

13. When the pose is satisfactory, go back to the Timeline View and select the pose’s frame.

14. Right-click on the selection and select Insert Keyframe. The default keyboard shortcut is [F6]. Add a general keyframe to block all of the functions in this position.

If you do not add this keyframe, the functions that are not blocked might be modified later, breaking your key pose.

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15. Following your guide or your imagination, go to the frame where you want to set the next key pose and repeat steps 12 to 14 for each key pose needed.

If you are using “straight ahead” animation, you can go on this way until the end of your animation.

If you are using “pose to pose” animation, you can then start your break down and add extra poses.

16. Once you are ready to do the in-betweens, you can continue with Stop-Motion keyframes and create your in-between manually. Alternatively, you can transform some of your keyframes to Motion keyframes and let the computer do the animation. If the computer breaks the movement, you can select the parts and reposition them.

At this moment, we recommend that you disable the Stop-Motion keyframe preference.

To transform a Stop-Motion keyframe into a Motion keyframe: in the Timeline View, select the keyframe to be transformed, right-click (Windows) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac OS X) and select Set Motion Keyframe.

17. If you want to start adding ease in and ease out on Motion keyframes, you should move on to advanced animation.

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Advanced Animation

For advanced animation, you will make more use of the Timeline’s structure. You will not necessarily be adding keyframes on all of the functions as you did with the basic animation technique. You also have the possibility to choose to animate with a collapsed or expanded Timeline View.

Once again, you have the choice to animate using Stop-Motion or Motion keyframes. You can still refer to a guide layer. The animation preparation is not very different than that of basic animation.

Advanced animation can be as simple as basic animation with ease in and ease out (velocity, slow-in, slow-out) on your Motion keyframes or it can be completely different.

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You can expand your Timeline View, add keyframes on only some of the functions, etc. There are many levels of advanced animation, ranging from quite simple to quite complex.

Here are some instructions to create a more advanced animation:



3. If you want to animate with Stop-Motion keyframes, in the top menu, select Edit > Preferences.


4. Go to the General Tab.

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5. In the Settings section, enable the Stop-Motion keyframe option.


7. In the Timeline View, click on the Arrow button to collapse the character’s Master peg so that you see only one layer.

8. If you have a guide layer, refer to it to pose your puppet.

9. In the Timeline View, select the first frame.

10. Right-click your selection and select Insert Keyframe. The default keyboard shortcut is [F6].

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11. You can now expand your Timeline View.

In the Timeline View, click on the Menu button and select View > Collapse/Expand > Expand All.In the Timeline View’s left window, click on the peg’s Function button to display the peg’s functions.

In the Timeline View’s left window, click on the modules’ Arrow button to expand or collapse their content.

12. In the Timeline View, go to the desired frame to set your first key pose.

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13. In your Camera View, pose your puppet using the Transform tool or the Inverse Kinematics tool. If necessary, the Transform tool allows you to temporarily modify your selection’s pivot point.

14. When the pose is correct, you have the option to proceed as if working with a basic animation and return to your Timeline View to select the pose’s frame and add a keyframe.

In the Timeline’s left window, click on the Master peg’s Arrow button to collapse the master peg.

Select the pose’s frame, right-click and select Insert keyframe.

15. Following your guide or your imagination, move to the next frame in which you want to set a key pose and repeat the previous steps.

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16. If you are using “straight ahead” animation, you can continue with this method until the end of your animation.

17. If you are using “pose to pose” animation, you can start your break down and add extra poses.

18. Once you are ready to do the in-betweens, you will notice differences from the basic animation. You can either collapse your Timeline View and proceed as with basic animation, or you can completely expand your Timeline and display the peg functions. You can select individual keyframes and segments and set them as Motion or Stop-Motion keyframes. For example, you may want just the head to rotate on a motion segment or you may want to stop a hand from flipping over by transforming to a constant keyframe.

In the Timeline’s right window, select a keyframe or a keyframe range, right-click and select Set as Motion Keyframe or Set as Stop-Motion Keyframe.

Velocity and EasesIf you want to start adding ease in and ease out on non-constant curves, you can display the function curve and modify the Bezier or ease curve. If you want to apply an ease to multiple functions and keyframes, you can use the Set Ease For Multiple Parameters script and set the amount desired.

The Velocity, also known as ease, will be used on motion segments. The Velocity must be adjusted directly on the function curve. When a keyframe is selected, ease values will appear in the right handle and left handle fields, and Bezier handle controls will appear on each selected keyframe. Simply pull on them to adjust the ease in and ease out, or type values in the fields.

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To modify a function curve from the Network or Timeline Views:

1. To open the Peg editor:In the Timeline View, double-click on the Peg Module.

In the Network View, click on the Peg Module’s yellow square.

The Peg Editor window opens.

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2. Go to the transformation Tab.

3. Click on the Function button to open the Function Editor window.

4. Add, remove, or slide keyframes along the curve.

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5. Select a keyframe and pull on its Bezier handles to adjust the velocity.

To modify a function curve from the Timeline’s peg functions:

1. In the Timeline View, click on the Peg’s Function button to display all of the Peg’s function columns.

2. Double-click on the desired function.

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3. Add, remove or slide keyframes along the curve.

4. Select a keyframe and pull on its Bezier handles to adjust the velocity.

Note that the editor will not be displayed if the function does not already exist.

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To set eases on multiple parameters:

1. In the Timeline View, select a keyframe range on one or many layers.

2. In the Scripting toolbar, click on the Set Ease For Multiple Parameters script icon.

The Set Eases dialog box opens.

3. Set the ease-in and ease-out intensity. 1 corresponds to 10% and 10 corresponds to 100%.


Changing the Layer Ordering

The layer ordering provided in Toon Boom Digital Pro saves time and simplifies the work. There is no need to create a new layer or to copy and paste artwork in other layers to change the order. The Z axis (forward - backward) allows the user to create a multiplane

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and move elements closer or farther from the camera. This allows the puppet pieces to be moved in front or behind the other ones without physically changing the layer position.

Toon Boom Digital Pro allows the animator to use a shortcut and move the piece with a micro nudge on the Z axis. The program simply creates a keyframe that can be moved at any time without having to change any drawing exposition or break any layer.

This means that the layer ordering is maintained throughout the whole scene. The animator is able to combine animation assets and the system can interpolate them.

To nudge elements on the Z axis:



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3. In the Camera View, click on the part to be repositioned and hold down the [Alt] key. Using the [Up] or [Down] arrow keys, nudge the part until it moves to the desired position.

Importing Templates

Reusing animations and assets is an important aspect of Cut-out animation. This is why Toon Boom Digital Pro offers a library to store all of the reusable information. At some point, the animator will not want to animate the same action twice, such as a walk-cycle or jump. The animator will store the initial animation in the Template Library where it can simply be selected and dragged into a new scene as needed. The animator can import the template to the Network or Timeline View.

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There are two types of templates: Master and Action/Animation. A Master template contain all of the effects, groups, composites and rigging information. The Action/Animation templates contain only the keyframes and drawings.

Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn more about creating and importing templates.

The animator can import a Master template into his Network View and start animating with it, or he can import an action template and slide it in the Timeline View. An action template is inserted in a Master template. The animator will import it to the Timeline View’s right window where all the keyframes are located.

To insert an Action template into a Master template, the layer ordering has to be the same. If it is inconsistent, the system will indicate that they cannot be combined; the animator will bring the Action to the Timeline’s left window or to the Network View.

The animator or the library manager can create action templates of a single keyframe of the different angles (front, three-quarter or side view). Then the animator can import and insert those action templates into his animation and his character will turn right away. The same pattern can be created for a head, an arm, the full upper body, etc. It does not need to be included in the full rig.

Refer to the Library Management chapter to learn more about angle templates.

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Extra Animation Information

To improve the quality of your Cut-out animation, you are not only limited to moving parts and swapping the drawings. There are other tools available. To create smooth inbetweens for parts like mouth shapes, hands, feet, arms, hair, you can use the morphing feature. You can use it to create beautiful head turns and effect animations.

Also, you can incorporate Paperless animation to replace some parts that are not working well in a particular scene.

To learn more about morphing and Paperless animation, refer to the Paperless Animation chapter.

Now you can practice your animation skills with Toon Boom Digital Pro and develop your own animation technique.

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Task Summary1. Understand Cut-out animation

2. Scene setup

3. Establishing the rigging technique

4. Setting the preferences

5. Basic animation

6. Advanced animation

7. Order the layers

Next Task: Compositing

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Chapter 11Compositing

Previous Tasks: Cut-out Animation

Once the ink and paint is done, the animation completed and the timing locked, you are ready to move on to the Compositing step.

The compositing step includes different components, such as the elements’ positioning, scene resolution, trajectories, camera move, effects and filters, etc. We are not dealing with effect animation, but with computer generated effects done with Toon Boom Digital Pro’s effect modules.

It is here that the three animation workflows merge together. Whatever your chosen path, they all end up in the same animation, together in the same scene. However, the Cut-out

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compositing can be a bit more complex due to the advanced networking of the different puppets.

The compositing task is divided into the following steps:


• Elements Setup on page 467

• Trajectories and Motions on page 493• Camera Moves on page 535

• Network Navigation and Organization on page 542

• Sound on page 560• Effects on page 564

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Chapter 11: Compositing

PreparationThe scene compositing preparation is divided into five steps:

• Opening the Scene on page 447


• Importing References on page 461 • Importing Background Elements on page 465

• Setting the Resolution and Frame Rate on page 466

Opening the SceneThe first step to commence your compositing is to open your scene.

Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn how to open a scene.

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Using the Workspace

Toon Boom Digital Pro provides a default workspace to composite your scene. Set your workspace drop-down menu to Compositing.

Workspace ViewsThe compositing process requires different views to complete the work. As the compositing process is a large undertaking, it requires a large number of features and functions. You should familiarize yourself with the views that you will need to use before starting the compositing process.

The compositor will need the following:

• Camera View on page 449• Timeline and Network Views on page 450

• Top, Side and Free Views on page 453

• Module Library and Template Library on page 456• Coordinates and Control Points and Module Properties Views on page 457

• Navigational Displays on page 459

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Camera View

The Camera View is the central view in Toon Boom Digital Pro. It is used to set up a scene, do the compositing, animate, draw and even paint. You can use Camera and Drawing tools in this view. The Camera View can display the scene’s elements in three modes:

• OpenGL: a fast display mode used to animate and playback animation in real time. OpenGL is the principal mode used to draw, animate and setup the scene.

• Render: a display mode used to see final image. The Render mode will calculate effects and anti-aliasing on the current frame. Note that to see the full animation in Render mode, you need to calculate the scene from the Playback View.

• Matte: a display mode used to see the element’s matte. A matte is the opaque shape of a drawing; you can also think of it as the drawing’s silhouette.

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The Camera View has a toolbar placed at the bottom which is used to switch between the different display modes, display information and modify the view.

• Calculates the final image on the current frame. Click on and hold down the

Render button and choose Auto-Render from the drop-down menu to automatically calculate the final image each time that you do a modification.

• Displays the scene in OpenGL View.

• Displays the scene in Render View.

• Displays the scene in Matte View.

• Shows or hides the Camera cone.

• Shows or hides the Camera Mask

• Prevents from drawing in the Camera View while working.

• Resets the Camera View to its default position.

• Resets the Camera View’s rotation to its default position.

• Displays only the colour art (layer) from a drawing.

• Displays only the line art (layer) from a drawing.

• Displays both line and colour arts (layers) from a drawing. Note that even in Preview Line and Colour Art mode, you will edit the Line or Colour Art depending on which one is selected.

Timeline and Network ViewsThere are two views that display the elements’ ordering: the Timeline and Network Views. The Timeline View is used more for the trajectories’ keyframes and the Network View for the effects and final compositing.

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Timeline View

The Timeline is used to display a simplified version of the scene elements and their timing. It displays drawings’ exposures and keyframes and also elements’ parenting, grouping and effects.

With the Timeline View, you can add elements to your scene, create drawings, modify exposures, as well as create keyframes and parent elements.

You can perform actions in the Timeline through the View menu. The Timeline also has a toolbar with the most frequently used tools.

• Enables or disables all of the elements.

• Enables the selected elements and hides all of the others.

• Adds different elements to the scene.

• Deletes selected elements from the scene.

• Adds a Peg element to the scene.

• Automatically adds and parents a Peg element to each selected element.

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Network View

The Network View is used mainly to create effects, parenting between elements and advanced connections. It is used during the compositing process and Cut-out character building. The Network View works with the Module Library. The Module Library provides all modules necessary to the Network construction.

• To see effect results in the Camera View, set it to Render mode and click on the

Render trigger. See the Camera View for more information.

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Top, Side and Free Views

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The Top and Side Views are used mainly for multiplane scenes. They allow the scene’s stage to be seen from the top or the side. This allows the camera cone and the spacing between the different elements can be seen.

The Free View is used during the compositing step. Its main use is to allow the user to see a multiplane scene’s disposition. We could almost consider the Free View to be a 3D

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display, as it lets the user rotate the scene through all possible angles to understand the spacing between the elements.

• To rotate a scene in the Free View, hold the [Spacebar]+[Alt] keyboard shortcut down while moving the mouse.

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Module Library and Template LibraryFinally, to build the network, the compositor will need a bank of modules. The main view for this is the Module Library, which contains any module necessary to network construction. The module combination can be saved in the Template Library and reused throughout a production.

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Coordinates and Control Points and Module Properties Views

The Coordinates and Control Points are used to edit keyframes and control point parameters, such as the position, continuity, bias, tension and lock in time.

• Continuity controls the smoothness of a transition between the segments joined by a point.

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• Tension controls how sharply the path bends as it passes through a control point or keyframe.

• Bias controls the slope of the path so that it flows towards one side of the motion point or the other.

Each time a keyframe is selected from the Camera, Timeline, or Xsheet View, its parameters appear in the Coordinates and Control Points View.

The Module Properties View is used to display modules, elements and effects editors (parameters). To modify or rename a module (peg, drawing, effect, quadmap, etc.), simply click on the module in the Network or Timeline View and the parameters will automatically appear in the Module Properties View.

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Navigational DisplaysTo see images coming out of different places in the Network View, such as a character, a set of effects, the full scene, or a single module, you need display modules. They can be connected to any Network’s module. Generally, it is a good idea to place one under the final Composite Module to display the final image.

Any display module added to a Network View will appear in the Display drop-down menu available in the interface top toolbars, or in all of the views in advanced display mode. It allows you to see the information entering each display module.

To learn how to connect a display module to your Network, see the Network Navigation and Rules on page 542 .

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Refer to the Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn about display modules and advanced display mode.

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Importing References

Once the scene is open and is set, you are ready to import your scene’s references and background elements.

Importing the AnimaticThe most popular reference for compositing is with the animatic. The person in charge of the scene setup imports the animatic into the scene. This can be done by the compositor, Paperless animator, layout artist or scene setup person.

You can import three types of animatic:

• QuickTime Movie

• Images Sequence

• Toon Boom Storyboard Animatic

Importing a QuickTime Movie AnimaticToon Boom provides a script called QTimport to import QuickTime movie files in the scene, cut them as image sequences and import the sound as an independent soundtrack. It will also establish the scene length.

To import an animatic with the QTimport script:

1. In the Scripting toolbar, click on the QTimport script icon.

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The Open browsing window opens.

2. Browse to your animatic QuickTime movie.


4. If the Qt is longer than the scene length, a dialog box window will open.

5. Click on the Yes button to extend the scene length corresponding to your movie length.

A dialog window opens.


Importing an Images Sequence AnimaticYou can also import a bitmap images sequence animatic created with third-party software with the Import Drawings feature.

You can use the same technique to import layouts and posings that were created on paper and scanned in with third-party software.

To import an images sequence:


The Import Drawings window opens.

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2. Click on the Folder button to browse and select your whole image sequence.


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To import the image into a new element, select Create Element and type a name for the element in the Name field.

5. Do NOT select the Vectorize option.

6. Click on the OK button to import the file.

Toon Boom Storyboard AnimaticIf the animatic was created with Toon Boom Storyboard, you need to create an Export to Toon Boom from that software. This function will create your scenes and import your layout, posing and camera moves. This must be done at the beginning of the production, not partway through.

If your project was created using Toon Boom Storyboard, your animatic and your camera moves are already set in your scene. You can move on to the background elements import.

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Importing Background Elements

Once your references are imported, you can start importing different background elements, such as underlays, overlays and backgrounds. Once more, you will use the Import Drawings command.

With this technique, you can import bitmap or Toon Boom Digital Pro vector-based images. If you painted your backgrounds in a Toon Boom Digital Pro scene or in a third-party bitmap software, you will import the backgrounds this way.

Refer to the Importing Images section of the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn how to import your backgrounds.

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Setting the Resolution and Frame RateIf the scene resolution was not set previously by the animator, scene setup person or by a Toon Boom Storyboard import, it is the first thing to be done by the next compositor. For the Cut-out animation workflow, the animator or scene setup person will often take care of this point prior to the animation. As for Traditional and Paperless animation, it is more likely that the compositor will do it.



The Resolution/Frame Rate dialog box opens.

2. Choose a Resolution from the list or type your own.

3. Set your Frame Rate.


It is important to set the resolution before starting the positioning and the camera moves, as it may affect the ratio and the composition.

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Elements SetupYou are now ready to position your elements and your camera. Before moving anything around, it is a good idea to familiarize yourself with some of the compositing features.

It is important for the compositor to know about:

• Animation Tools on page 467• Scene Components on page 476

• Selecting Elements Using the Element, Keyframes, and All Keyframes Modes on page 480

• Multiplane Environment on page 482

• Display Order on page 482

• Element Positioning on page 488

Animation ToolsMost of the compositing happens in the Camera View. Toon Boom Digital Pro has a set of tools to select, move and animate elements around the Camera View. These are the Animation Tools. They can be mainly found in the Animation Tools toolbar.

These tools are:

• Select Tool on page 468

• Translate Tool on page 469

• Rotate Tool on page 470• Scale Tool on page 471

• Skew Tool on page 472

• Maintain Size Tool on page 473• Transform Tool on page 474

• Inverse Kinematics Tool on page 475

• Offset Spline Tool on page 476

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Select Tool

The Select tool is used to select elements in the Camera, Top and Side Views.

• Using the middle mouse button and Select tool, you can move an element around.

• Using the middle mouse button, the [Alt] key and Select tool, you can rotate an element.

• Using your middle mouse button, the [Ctrl] key (Windows) or [ ] key (Mac OS X) and Select tool, you can scale an element.

• The default keyboard shortcut is [Alt]+[1]

• In the top menu, select Animation > Animation Tools > Select

Refer to the Selecting Elements Using the Element, Keyframe, and All Keyframes Modes section below to learn about the Element, Keyframe, and All Keyframes Modes.

Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn more about Pegs.

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Translate Tool

The Translate tool is used to move selected elements on the X, Y and Z axes. You can move elements in the Camera, Top and Side Views.


• In the top menu, select Animation > Animation Tools > Translate• Hold down the [Ctrl] key (Windows) or [ ] key (Mac OS X) and click on the

element to select it.

To use the Translate tool, simply select the element with the Select tool, then use the Translate tool move your selected element up, down, left or right.

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Rotate Tool

The Rotate tool is used to rotate selected elements. You can rotate elements in the Camera View.


• In the top menu, select Animation > Animation Tools > Rotate• Hold [Ctrl] (Windows) or [ ] (Mac OS X) down and click on the element to select

it.

To use the Rotate tool, simply select the element with the Select tool, then with the Rotate tool click and rotate the element around its centre.

You can click on the element’s pivot that appears when using the Rotate tool and move it to a different location to rotate the element from a different point. Doing this, you change the element’s pivot position. So if you are animating a peg element, the previous animations will now rotate from that new centre. If you want to temporarily move the pivot point without modifying your animation, use the Transform tool.

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Scale Tool

The Scale tool is used to scale, squash and stretch selected elements. You can scale elements in the Camera, Top and Side Views.


• In the top menu, select Animation > Animation Tools > Scale• Hold [Ctrl] (Windows) or [ ] (Mac OS X) down and click on the element to select

it.

If you want to squash and stretch your elements, make sure that the scale function is unlocked. Select the element and in the Module Properties View, make sure that the scale function is set to Separate. To use the Scale tool, simply select the element with the Select tool, then with the Scale tool click on the scaling control points and scale, squash or stretch the element from its centre.

You can click on the element’s pivot that appears when using the Scale tool and move it to a different location to scale the element from a different point. Doing this, you change the element’s pivot position. So if you are animating a peg element, the previous animations will now scale from that new centre. If you want to temporarily move the pivot point without modifying your animation, use the Transform tool.

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Skew Tool

The Skew tool is used to skew selected elements in the Camera View.


• In the top menu, select Animation > Animation Tools > Skew• Hold [Ctrl] (Windows) or [ ] (Mac OS X) down and click on the element to select

it.

If you want to skew your elements, make sure that the scale function is unlocked. Select the element and in the Module Properties View, make sure that the scale function is set to Separate.

To use the Skew tool, select the element with the Select tool, then use the Skew tool and click on the control points to skew the element.

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Maintain Size Tool

The Maintain Size tool allows you to move a selected element on the Z-axis and to scale it in proportion so that it does not change visually from the camera perspective. You can move selected elements with the Maintain Size tool in the Top and Side Views. This can be used to create a multiplane effect and keep all of the elements registered. The distance illusion will start to show when the camera is animated.

• The default keyboard shortcut is [Alt]+[6]• In the top menu, select Animation > Animation Tools > Maintain Size• Hold [Ctrl] (Windows) or [ ] (Mac OS X) down and click on the element to select

it.

To use the Maintain Size tool, in the Top or Side View select the element with the Select tool. With the Maintain Size tool, click and move the selected element forward or backward.

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Transform Tool

The Transform tool is mainly used for Cut-out animation. It is a combination of the Select, Translate, Rotate, Scale and Skew tools. It will work only on peg elements. The Transform tool moves the selection as a global element and assigns it a single pivot point. The other tools will consider each element and each pivot point.


• In the top menu, select Animation > Animation Tools > Transform

To use the Transform tool, click on the peg element to select it and click on the different transformation control points to move, rotate, scale, skew, squash or stretch the peg element.

The Transform tool allows you to temporarily move the peg element’s pivot for a better transformation without affecting the rest of your animation.

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Inverse Kinematics Tool

The Inverse Kinematics (IK) tool is used to animate a chain of peg elements. It is principally used on Cut-out puppets with hierarchy connections. For example, the animator can select a puppet’s hand, move it, and have the arm, elbow and body follow the move.


• In the top menu, select Animation > Animation Tools > Inverse Kinematics• Hold [Ctrl] (Windows) or [ ] (Mac OS X) down and click on the element to select

it.

To use the Inverse Kinematics tool, select the element with the Select tool, then with the Inverse Kinematics tool click on or beside the selected element to move it around.

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Offset Spline Tool

The Offset Spline tool is used to offset a peg’s visual trajectory to a better location without offsetting or modifying the animation itself. You need to display the peg element’s control parameters in order to see the visual trajectory.


• In the top menu, select Animation > Animation Tools > Offset Spline

To use the Offset Spline tool, go to the Camera View and select the peg element with the Select tool. Display the peg’s trajectory by right-clicking and selecting Show Control Parameters [C] then, with the Offset Spline tool, click on the trajectory and move it to its new location.

Scene ComponentsDuring the compositing process, you will encounter different scene components. Each component has a different purpose:

• Drawing Elements on page 477For any image or drawing

• Peg Elements on page 478For Motion elements

• Sound Elements on page 478For Soundtrack and dialogue sound files

• Effect Modules on page 479For effects that can be applied to drawing elements

• Composite Modules on page 479To merge many drawing elements in one single drawing output.

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Drawing Elements

Drawing elements are any element containing drawings, bitmap images, animation sequences, backgrounds, masks, etc.

A drawing element can be offset, scaled, translated, flipped or rotated, but cannot change position over time. If you wish to perform any of these operations over time, you will need to hook the drawing element to a peg element.

The drawing elements are accessible in the Timeline, Network, Xsheet, Camera, Top and Side Views.

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Peg Elements

Peg elements are motion elements. They are trajectories on which you can hook drawing elements or other peg elements. They are used to move, scale, flip, skew or rotate elements over time.

The peg elements are accessible in the Timeline, Network, Xsheet, Camera, Top and Side Views.

Sound Elements

Sound elements carry sound files such as soundtracks, music files or dialogue. They appear in the Timeline and Xsheet Views.

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Effect Modules

Effect modules are used to create effects on drawing elements such as blur, transparency, tone and highlight.

The effect modules are found in the Module Library and are accessible in the Network and Timeline View. To see the full result of an effect in the Camera View, you must use Render Mode. See the Camera View for more information.

Composite Modules

Composite modules are used to merge several drawing elements into a single drawing input. The composite modules are often used to combine all of the scene components in the final image output.

The composite modules are accessible in the Network View and can be found in the Module Library.

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Selecting Elements Using the Element, Keyframes, and All Keyframes Modes In the Camera View, you can select either drawing or peg elements. The drawing elements cannot be animated over time. To be animated, they need to be hooked to a peg element. The Keyframe Mode is used to select and animate peg elements in the Camera View.

To enable and disable the Keyframe mode:

1. To enable the Keyframe Mode:

In the Animation Tools toolbar, click on the Keyframe button.

In the top menu, select Animation > Keyframe Mode.The default keyboard shortcut is [Shift]+[K].

Also, when you want to select peg elements to modify their position without animating them (offsetting the whole animation), you must enable the All Keyframes mode to select

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peg elements instead of the drawing elements. To select the drawing elements, you must enable the Element mode.

To enable the All Keyframes mode:

1. To enable the All Keyframes mode:

In the Animation Tools toolbar, enable the All Keyframes button.

In the top menu, select Animation > Peg-Only Mode.The default keyboard shortcut is [Shift]+[A].

To enable the Element mode:

1. To enable the Element mode:

In the Animation Tools toolbar, enable the Element Mode button.

In the top menu, select Animation > Element Mode.The default keyboard shortcut is [Shift]+[E].

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Multiplane EnvironmentToon Boom Digital Pro is a 2D animation software, but offers multiplane positioning. The elements can be moved on the three axes: X, Y and Z. The X-axis is used for the left and right (east and west) moves. The Y-axis is used for up and down (north and south) moves. The Z-axis is used for forward and backward moves. This means that an element can be moved right, left, up and down, as well as being pushed away or pulled closer to the camera. In other words, Toon Boom Digital Pro has a digital multiplane camera, not to be confused with a 3D environment.

Display OrderAs Toon Boom Digital Pro has a multiplane space and an advanced compositing setup, there are some useful display rules. What is displayed in front or behind? What is visible, what is not? Which view order prevails over another? These are important to know when using Toon Boom Digital Pro.

There are four ordering levels:

• Xsheet View on page 482

• Timeline View on page 485

• Network View on page 486• Z value on page 487

Xsheet View

The Xsheet View is related to the drawings (Drawing View, drawing tools, drawing steps). It allows you to order or hide any element in order to facilitate the work without affecting the scene’s actual ordering and compositing. You will often need to go back to the Drawing View for some touch ups, or to hide or change some elements in order to be able

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to see more clearly. You do not necessarily want to modify the compositing work that has already been done.

To order columns in the Xsheet View:

1. In the Xsheet View, select the column headers to be moved.

2. With the middle mouse button, move the column to the desired place.

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3. Release the middle mouse button when you are ready to drop the column.

The left column is displayed on top and the right column is behind everything else.

To hide and display columns in the Xsheet View:

1. In the Xsheet View, click on the Menu button and select

View > Show Column List. You can also click on the Column List button.

2. Disable or enable the elements that you wish to hide or display.

To hide and display element types:

1. In the Xsheet View, click on the Menu button and select

View > Show Column List. You can also click on the Column List button.

2. Click on the top icon buttons to display or hide a complete element type, such as a 3D path, drawing, function or sound.

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3. You can also use the Eyes icon to hide or display all of the elements in the exposure sheet.

Timeline View

The second ordering level is the Timeline View, related to the Camera View. The Timeline View contains the timing, exposures and keyframes for the drawings, trajectories and function curves. It allows more complex ordering and parenting than the Xsheet View. The Timeline View is a visual representation of the scene. It does not display the drawing names and values.

Using this method, the timing is more condensed and you are provided with a better global overview of the exposure of each element in relation to the others. In a way, the Timeline View is less detailed than the Xsheet View.

To order elements in the Timeline View:

1. In the Timeline View, select the elements and move them above or under the other ones. (Do not drop the selection onto another module. This will create a parent hierarchy between these modules instead of reordering them.)

The top element is displayed in front and the bottom element is displayed behind everything else. Reordering elements in the Timeline View will not change the ordering in

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the Xsheet View. The Xsheet View is mainly related to the drawing and Traditional process, whereas the Timeline View is used more for digital animation and compositing.

Network View

Toon Boom Digital Pro has a Network View composed of modules and connections representing the different elements, filters, effects and trajectories in the scene. There is no timing or exposure displayed, but all of the effects and parenting connections can be demonstrated very easily. The Network View is a very useful visual reference used to quickly understand a scene’s composition. It allows multiple connections from one element to many others placed anywhere in the scene, without changing the ordering, something that is not easily done in Timeline View.

Since the Network View is the most advanced ordering level, it will override the Xsheet and the Timeline Views. However, there are many connections between the Network and Timeline Views. In the Network View, the elements are ordered through a Composite Module. This module is used to combine many image outputs into a single unit. It can almost be considered a flattened element or a pre-compositing module. By default, the left most element is the top element. The Composite Module order is the same in the Timeline View. If you change the element orders in the Composite Module, the Timeline’s order will update accordingly. You can have more than one Composite Module in your

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Network View. All of these elements, including all of the Composites, will end up in one Composite Module to output one single final image.

Z valueThe Z value is another ordering rule to consider. Elements can be animated on the Z-axis (multiplane) over time, which is difficult to represent in a Composite Module. It would be confusing to have the Network’s connections changing place over time, so the Network and Timeline Views’ ordering will stay the same visually.

The first thing that the system will do is to read the Z value of each element and respect this order. If two or more elements have the same Z value, it will then read the Composite Module order.

The Z value is the first ordering rule, followed by the Composite Module order.

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Element PositioningNow that you are aware of the main setup features, you can start positioning various elements, such as the drawings, the camera and background.

To move elements in the Camera, Top or Side Views, you must use one of the animation

tools, such as the Select or the Translate tools.

If you want to select a drawing element, you must enable the Element mode.

You can also select the drawing element’s module directly in the Timeline or Network View.

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You can change the selection style to a Bounding box instead of a colour filling:

• In the top menu, select View > BBox Selection Style.

You can move drawing elements visually or by typing values in the editor.

To move drawing element visually:

1. In the Animation Tools toolbar, click on the Select tool. The default keyboard shortcut is [Alt]+[1].

2. In the Animation Tools toolbar, enable the Element mode.

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3. In the Camera View, select the drawing element to be moved.

4. In the Animation Tools toolbar, select the Translate , Rotate , Scale ,

or Maintain Size command to move your element as desired.

5. Move the drawing element in the Camera View.

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To type values in the Element editor:

1. In the Timeline, Camera or Network View, select the element to be modified.

2. To open the Element editor:In the Timeline View, double-click on the Peg Module.


The Editor window opens.

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The selected module’s parameters appear in the Module Properties View.

3. Go to the Transformation tab.

4. Type the value needed in the corresponding field.


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Trajectories and MotionsNow that your scene is setup and positioned properly, you can start adding pegs and animating elements.

The trajectories and motions process is divided into seven steps:

• Adding Pegs on page 493• Pegs’ Parameters on page 495

• Creating a Function Curve on page 503

• Parenting on page 510• Keyframes on page 512

• Interpolation on page 518

• Displaying and Modifying Trajectories on page 521• Animating Elements on page 527

Adding PegsOne of the main elements in the compositing step is the Peg element. It is used to animate drawing elements, peg elements, cameras or effects. The pegs can be added from the Timeline Module Library or Network View.

To add a new peg from the Timeline View:

1. In the Timeline View, click on the Menu button and select Add > Peg. You can

also use the toolbar’s Add Peg button. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[P] (Windows) or [ ]+[P] (Mac OS X).

If you have an element that needs to be hooked to a peg, you can select that element

and use the Add Parent Peg option to automatically hook it and have the peg renamed corresponding to the element name.

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To add a new peg from the Module Library:

1. In the Module Library View, go to the Move tab and select a Peg Module.

2. Drag the Peg Module in the Network View.

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To add a new peg from the Network View:

1. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[P] (Windows) or [ ]+[P] (Mac OS X).

Pegs’ ParametersA Peg is composed of many customizable parameters, such as the X, Y and Z positions, angle (rotation), skew and scales. Each parameter has its own function. A function is a curve or a column containing keyframes and position values on certain frames, creating a motion over time.

• You have the choice of a 3D path or separated positions for the X, Y and Z axes.

• You can lock the scale to get a 1:1 ratio, or separate it to allow squash and stretch possibilities.

To display the peg’s parameters in the Timeline View:

1. In the Timeline’s left-hand side, click on the Peg Function button beside the peg’s name.

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Ease and Bezier FunctionsWhen you create a function to control a parameter over time (Scale, X, Y, Z, Rotate), you have the choice of an Ease or Bezier Function.

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These function editors present different ways of editing the values over time. The shape of the created graph indicates the velocity of the function, regardless of the chosen editor. The type of function that you choose is largely based on your own working preference.

With the Ease Editor, you can edit the shape of the function curves using the ease-in and ease-out controls. You may choose to use this type of function if you are used to working with ease-in and ease-out values.

Velobased FunctionsYou can also create Velobased functions for certain effects, like changes in rotation or size over time. In these cases, the Velobased functions are linked to the velocity of a 3D path. You cannot change the shape of a Velobased function to control its velocity.

With Velobased functions, you can link changes in rotation or scaling to the velocity of a 3D path. This makes it possible for changes in rotation or scaling to progress at the same speed as changes to the position of an element.

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Customizing the ParametersOnce you have made your decision as to whether you want to lock or separate your peg’s parameters, you are ready to set them.

If you prefer to work one way more often, there are preferences available. In your general preferences, enable the Default Separate Positions to get separate X, Y and Z, or disable it to get a 3D path. The 3D path is set by default. Enable the Default Separate Scale to get separate X and Y scales. It is highly recommended to use default separate scales.

3D PathsIn a 3D path, the X, Y and Z curves are locked together and controlled by a single velocity function. When you add a keyframe, it is added on all three trajectories at once, as is the velocity. This is very useful for doing smooth, long trajectories.

To set a 3D path:

1. Open the element editor:In the Timeline View, double-click on the Peg Module.


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The Peg Editor window opens

2. Select the Position tab.

3. Click on the Function Arrow button and select Create 3D Path.

You can click on the Function button to open the Function Editor.


You have to lock or unlock your peg functions before starting the animation. As the columns are independent, this does not convert the columns from one to the other, but creates new ones.

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Separate PositionsIn Separate positions, the X, Y and Z curves are independent and have velocity controls directly on their own function curve. This is useful when you want to set keyframes on only one of the curves without affecting the others.

This type of function is useful for Cut-out animation

To set a Separate Position:



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The Peg Editor window opens


3. Select the Separate parameter.

4. Click on a Function Arrow button to create either a Bezier or a Ease function.




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Lock or Separate ScaleWhen using the scale function, you can have a single function curve controlling vertical and horizontal scale, or have them separated. This means that when using the single function, the values will be the same for the X (horizontal) and the Y (vertical) axes, enabling a uniform size change without distortion. However, if you separate the scale functions, you will be able to squash, stretch and skew your elements.

To lock or separate the scale:





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3. Select the Separate or Lock parameter.



Creating a Function CurveBy default, when a peg element is added to the scene, no function curve is created. The compositor will generally create the ones needed to avoid having an overload of useless functions.

When you select a peg element in the Camera View and move it around, it will automatically create the corresponding function curves.

If you need to create certain functions manually, you can always do it through the peg’s editor. You can also link a peg’s parameter to an existing function curve.

To create the function curves for your project:

1. To open the peg element editor:In the Timeline View, double-click on the Peg Module.


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The Peg Editor opens.

The Peg’s Parameters appear in the Module Properties View.

2. Select the tab corresponding to the function you want to create.

3. Click on the Function Arrow button beside the local function information.

4. Create a Bezier, Ease or Velobased curve.


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To link a peg’s parameter to an existing function curve:




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2. Select the tab corresponding to the parameter you want to link.

3. Click on the Function Arrow button beside the Function field and choose an existing function from the drop-down list.

You can choose a function from different drop-down lists such as: 3D Path, Bezier, Ease, Velobased, Expression, 3D Path, Connected, Unconnected, All.

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To disconnect a function:





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2. Select the tab corresponding to the parameter you want to disconnect.

3. Click on the drop-down arrow button beside the function and choose the Local option from the drop-down list.

To open the Function Editor:

1. To open the element editor:In the Timeline View, double-click on the Peg Module.



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2. Select the tab corresponding to the function curve that you want to see.

3. Click on the Function button beside the local function information.

The Function Editor window opens.

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ParentingTo animate drawing elements, cameras or other pegs, you need to hook them to pegs. This directs the elements to the right trajectory, rotation, scale and skew.

Hooking one element to another to create a parent hierarchy is called Parenting. You can create parent hierarchies for elements in the Timeline and Network Views. In the Timeline View, you can parent an element to a peg or add a parent peg directly to the selected element.

Parent pegs are the exact same as regular peg elements. They are simply added to selected elements and named the same way as that element.

To parent elements in the Timeline View:

1. Add a Peg element in the Timeline View.

Click on the Menu button and select Add > Peg. You can also use the

toolbar’s Add Peg button. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[P] (Windows) or [ ]+[P] (Mac OS X).

2. On the left-hand side of the Timeline, select the element’s module to be parented.

3. Drag it onto the Peg Element.

You should now see the element being placed under the peg element and pushed to the right to show the parenting between these two elements

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Adding a Parent Peg:

1. On the left-hand side of the Timeline, select the element to be parented.

2. In the Timeline View, click on the Menu button and select Add > Parent Peg.

You can also click on the Parent Peg button. The default keyboard shortcut is [Shift]+[P].

To parent elements in the Network View:

1. In the Network View, drag a cable from the Peg Module’s Output port and connect to the Element Module’s Input port.

On the left-hand side of the Timeline, you should now see the element being placed under the peg element and pushed to the right to show the parenting between these two elements.

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KeyframesA function curve has different types of points: keyframes and control points.

• A Keyframe has a precise position and frame.

• A Control Point has a position but no fixed frame or timing. It is mainly used to deform a trajectory. There are no velocity handles available on a control point. The velocity segments are set between keyframes only, making curves and trajectories much smoother.

Keyframes

There are different ways to add keyframes:

• By moving the peg element in the Camera, Top or Side Views. Make sure that the Keyframe Mode is enabled.

• By adding them on the Timeline’s layers,

• By typing values in the Xsheet View

• By adding them on the function curve.

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The Keyframe is displayed as a square.

To add a keyframe in the Timeline View:

1. On the right-hand side of the Timeline, select a cell on the peg’s function that you want to animate.

2. Right-click (Windows) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac OS X) the selected cell and select Insert keyframe.

To add a keyframe in the Xsheet View:

1. In the Xsheet View, go to the peg’s function column where you want to add a keyframe.

2. Double-click on the cell where you want to add a keyframe and type a numeric value.

3. Press [Return] to continue to the next cell.

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4. Press [Esc] to exit the typing mode.

To add a keyframe in the Function Editor:

1. Open the Peg’s editor:In the Timeline View, double-click on the Peg Module.



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2. Select the tab corresponding to the function where you want to add the keyframe.

3. Click on the Function button beside the function to edit.

The Function curve window opens.

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4. Select the frame where you want to add the keyframe.

5. Click on the Add Keyframe button.


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Control Points

A Control Point will not show in the Timeline View because it has no precise frame to be displayed on. It will appear on the function curve and in the Camera View.

There are different ways to add control points:

• By displaying the peg trajectory in the Camera View and pressing the keyboard shortcut [P].

• By adding a keyframe on the function curve and disabling the Lock in Time option.

The Control Point is displayed as a circle.

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InterpolationInterpolation is the computer-generated motion between two keyframes. Some animators and compositors like to create their own inbetweens, while others like to have the computer do it. Toon Boom Digital Pro offers the possibility of having Stop-Motion and Motion keyframes.

Stop-Motion KeyframesTo have a Stop-Motion keyframe means that there is no computer-generated motion between two keyframes. The segment is constant or flat. The Stop-Motion keyframe is also known as the Step keyframe.

Motion KeyframesTo have a Motion keyframe means that there is computer-generated motion between two keyframes. The segment has a variation over time.

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Switching between Motion and Stop-MotionYou can switch a keyframe between Stop-Motion and Motion at any time in the Timeline View, Function Editor top menu or Camera View.

To toggle between Motion and Stop-Motion in Timeline View:

1. On the right-hand side of the Timeline, select one or more keyframes to be modified.

2. To toggle between Motion and Stop-Motion:Right-click (Windows) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac OS X) on the selected keyframes and select Set Motion Keyframes or Set Stop-Motion Keyframes.

In the Timeline View, click on the Menu button and select Motion > Set Motion Keyframes or Set Stop-Motion Keyframes.Use the default keyboard shortcuts [Ctrl]+[K], [Ctrl]+[L].(Windows) or [ ]+[K], [ ]+[L] (Mac OS X).

To toggle between Motion and Stop-Motion in the Function Editor:

1. On the function curve, select one or more keyframes to be modified.

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2. Enable or disable the Stop-Motion Keyframe option to set a Stop-Motion or Motion keyframe.

The first and last keyframes will always be locked in time.

VelocityThe Velocity, also known as ease, will be used on motion segments. The Velocity has to be adjusted directly on the function curve. When a keyframe is selected, ease values will appear in the right handle and left handle fields, as well as Bezier handle controls on each

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selected keyframe. You can simply pull on them to adjust the ease in and ease out, or type values in the fields.

Displaying and Modifying Trajectories

You can display your trajectories in the Camera, Top and Side Views to better understand the way that your elements move in your scene. This also makes it easier to modify them. You can display a peg’s control to be able to see where your elements are going, modify the curve and add keyframes and control points.

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Displaying a TrajectoryTo display a trajectory:

1. In the Timeline or Network View, select the peg to display.

2. To display the Peg’s control parameters:In the Camera View, right-click (Windows) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac OS X) and select Show Control Parameters to display the trajectory. The default keyboard shortcut is [C].

In the Camera View, click on the Menu button and select View > Camera > Show Control Parameters.

The Trajectory appears in the Camera View.

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Modifying a TrajectoryTo modify a trajectory visually:

1. To modify the trajectory in the Camera View:Using the keyboard shortcut [P] you can add control points on a 3D path to modify the shape.

Using the keyboard shortcut [F6] you can add a keyframe to the Current frame.

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Using the keyboard shortcut [Alt]+[L] you can switch a selected point between Control Point and Keyframes.

Using the keyboard shortcut [O] you can toggle a selected point between a linear and curve shape.

Using the keyboard shortcuts [;] and [‘] you can select the previous and next keyframe or control point on the trajectory.

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Offsetting a TrajectoryBy default, a peg trajectory, also called a spline, starts from the stage centre (0, 0, 0). You can always move your visual path to fit it with an element centre. If you have more than one element parented to the same peg, you can move the trajectory to one of them, or to the centre of the group.

Offsetting your trajectory will not offset or modify your animation. It will simply facilitate your work.

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To offset a spline/trajectory:

1. In your Animation Tools toolbar, select the Offset Spline tool. The default keyboard shortcut is [Alt]+[9].

2. In the Camera, Timeline or Network View, select the Peg element to be offset.

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3. In the Camera View, move the trajectory to the proper position. You can move it on the X and Y axes, but also on the Z-axis using the Top and Side Views.

Animating ElementsNow that you know how to parent elements, how to set your peg’s parameters and how to modify your function curves, you are ready to animate your elements.

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You can move peg elements visually, by typing values in their function columns in the Xsheet, or by adding and moving keyframes on the Peg’s function curves.

To animate an element:

1. In the Animation Tools toolbar, enable the Keyframe mode. The default keyboard shortcut is [Shift]+[K].


3. In the Camera View, select the element to animate.

4. In the Timeline View, set the red cursor to the frame where you want to set a keyframe.

5. In the Animation Tools toolbar, select the Translate , Rotate , Skew ,

Scale , Transform or Maintain Size command to move your element.

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6. Move the element in the Camera, Top or Side View.

7. In the Timeline View, verify whether your keyframe is set on Motion or Stop-Motion keyframe and switch it to suit. Right-click (Windows) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac OS X) and select Set Stop-Motion Keyframes or Set Motion Keyframes.

8. Play your animation by clicking on the Play button. The default keyboard shortcut is [Shift]+[Enter].

If you realize that the timing is wrong during playback, select the keyframe in the Timeline View and slide it to a better frame.

You can also display your trajectory’s Control Parameters in the Camera View and reposition the keyframe visually. In the Camera View, right-click (Windows) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac OS X) and select Show Control Parameters to display the trajectory. The default keyboard shortcut is [C].

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9. Once your keyframes and control points are set, you can adjust the timing and velocities.

Be careful with the Timeline’s Delete option. If you apply it to a closed peg (collapsed), this will clear the actual keyframe but also any drawing exposure or other keyframes contained on children drawings and peg elements. Be sure to use Remove Keyframe instead, or expand your Peg element before using Delete option.

Modifying an Animation Using the Function CurveSometimes correcting an animation is easier to do using the function curves because it allows you to see the actual points and their values.

You can display the function curve from these places:

• Network View• Timeline View

• Xsheet View

To modify a function curve from the Network or Timeline Views:

1. To open the Element editor:In the Timeline View, double-click on the Peg Module.


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2. Go to the tab corresponding to the function to be modified, such as Scale or Angle.

3. Click on the Function Arrow button to get the function curve.

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4. Click on the Function button to open the Function Editor window.


To modify a function curve from the Timeline’s peg functions:

1. In the Timeline View, click on the Peg’s Function button to display all of the peg’s function columns.

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2. Double-click on the desired function.

The Function Editor window opens.


The editor will not show if the column does not already exist.

To modify a function curve from the Xsheet View:

1. In the Xsheet View, double-click on the function column’s head.

The Function Editor opens.

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When you select a frame in the Function editor, you can activate the Show Current Frame option. This way, you see the effect immediately in the Frame or Camera View.

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Camera MovesToon Boom Digital Pro has a camera that can be moved on the X, Y and Z axes. Having the camera move on the Z-axis offers the possibility to create truck in and truck out, as well as multiplane camera moves. The default camera position is centred and backed up to 12 fields.

The camera is treated the same way as any other element. The same tools and selection modes are used to offset or animate it. To animate the camera, you need to connect it to a peg element.

This means that you can animate the camera visually, with the function curve or by typing values in the Xsheet column. If you have a precise layout or traditional exposure sheet information to follow, you can reproduce it exactly in the Xsheet View.

You can add a camera element if you do not have any in your scene by default.

Refer to Animating Elements on page 527 to learn how to animate the camera.

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To add a camera element:

1. To add a camera:

In the Timeline View, click on the Menu button and select Add > Camera.

You can also use the Add Elements button and add a camera type element.

In the top menu, select Compositing > Effects > Favorites > Camera.In the Module Library, go to the Move tab, select a Camera Module and drag it to the Network View.

To create a traditional Camera move:

1. If you do not have one yet, add a camera to your scene.

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2. To open the Camera editor:In the Timeline View, double-click on the Camera Module.In the Network View, click on the Camera Module’s yellow square.

The Camera Editor window opens.

3. Change the 12 Field Z position to 0 (zero). This will reset your Camera position to centre stage. It will also make sure that the keyframe’s values will be exact and not off from 12 field.

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4. In the Timeline or Network View, add a Peg element.

In the Timeline View, click on the Add Peg button. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[P] (Windows) or [ ]+[P] (Mac OS X). In Module Library, go to the Move tab and drag a Peg Module to the Network.

5. In the Network or the Timeline View, parent the Peg to the Camera.

6. To open the Peg editor:In the Timeline View, double-click on the Peg Module.In the Network View, click on the Peg element’s yellow square.

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The Peg Editor opens

7. In the Peg’s editor, create the required function curve.Select the tab corresponding to the function you want to create.

Click on the Function Arrow button beside the Function information.Create a Bezier, Ease or Velobased curve.


Click on the OK button.

8. In the Xsheet View, go to the function column where you need to type a value coming from the layout or paper exposure sheet.

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9. In the Xsheet View, double-click on the appropriate cells and type the layout or traditional Xsheet field chart values.

10. In the Function Editor, if there is some ease in and ease out, click on the Velocity

Editor button to open the velocity function editor and set the proper eases.

Now let us see what it would look like on the Stage:

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The Xsheet View is very useful for typing precise motions and values. However, if you want a simplified view of this movement to be able to modify the timing quickly and without having to cut and paste all of the values in all of the columns, the Timeline View is more appropriate. It displays the keyframes as black squares that you can slide along the layer.

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Network Navigation and Organization

Network Navigation and RulesToon Boom Digital Pro is an integrated pipeline software. This means that all of the steps, from drawing creation to final render, can be handled in the same software. It also means that a maximum amount of information is contained in a scene. The Timeline and the Xsheet Views can display this information in a way that is appropriate to different tasks, but a visual representation is required for all of the effects, elements, multiplane and other scene components. This is when the Network View is useful. It is designed to be more efficient in clearly displaying a large amount of components and allows for more advanced parenting and organization.

Through a visual set of connections, the Network View shows how each element in the scene is brought to the final image. It allows you to add extra elements and effects, and to go beyond the possibilities offered by Timeline and Xsheet capabilities.

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Basic RulesThe basic rules of the Network View are quite simple and can help you accomplish quite a bit.

Each element in the Network View is called a module. There are different types of modules. First, there is the Drawing Element Module for transferring drawing information. Then there are the Effect Modules for processing effects on drawings and transferring drawing information. There are also Input/Output Modules, Movement Modules and Compositing Modules.

Each element in the Network View is called a module. There are different types of modules.

• Drawing Element Modules transfer drawing information.

• Effect Modules process effects on drawings and transfer drawing information.

• Input/Output Modules

• Move Modules

• Compositing Modules

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Input and Output PortsEach module carries both an Input and an Output port, placed respectively on top and bottom. Some are green, others are blue or bright green.

• Blue is for drawing information

• Light Green is for position and movement

• Bright green shows the element on top of the composition and uses that same element’s Z position and applies it to the whole Composite Module. When many elements have different Z positions (Multiplane, different distances from the Camera) and are placed through a Composite Module that flattens them together (one image, one Z value), the system needs to give this new image a Z position. The bright green port element information is used.

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Finally, some modules contain more than one Input port. These are usually Effects Modules that require different drawing or positioning information in order to perform their calculation. When the two ports are blue, the one on the right is for Drawing and the one on the left is for Matte. If it is light green, the drawing needs extra positioning information.

Adding and Connecting ModulesEach module used to build a network is available in the Module Library. In addition, each time that you create a layer from the Timeline or Xsheet Views, a corresponding module is created.

To import modules from the Module Library:

1. In the Module Library, select the desired module and drag it in the Network View.

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To connect modules:

1. In the Network View, pull a connection cable from the first module’s output port and connect it in the second module’s input port.

You can also select the module to connect, hold down the [Alt] key and drag the module on an existing cable.

You can also group elements when you start to have too many modules.

To group elements:

1. In the Network View, select the elements to be grouped.

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2. In the Network View, click on the Menu button and select Modules > Group Selection. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[G] (Windows) or [ ]+[G] (Mac OS X).

Enter a group by clicking on the module’s right black arrow.

Exit a group by clicking on the Network group hierarchy in the Network View’s bottom left corner. The default keyboard shortcut is [Backspace].

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Network OrganizationWhen you start compositing a scene, there are floating modules in the Network View. These modules are a series of Drawing and Peg Modules that correspond to the scene elements.

Before adding more elements, it is recommended that you organize your Network View and add Composite and Display Modules.

The Composite Module is one in which many drawing elements are connected, merged and outputted as one single image.

Organizing the ModulesToon Boom Digital Pro provides a script to organize and spread your network’s module in a more convenient setup.

To use the Order Network script to organize your network:

1. In the Network View, select some or all your modules.

2. In the Scripting toolbar, click on the Order Network Up or Order Network

Down button.

The Order Network dialog box opens.

3. Set an X Overlapping value.

4. Set a Layer Spacing value.

5. Set a Vertical Spacing value.

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Connecting Elements to a Composite ModuleIf you have already ordered your elements in the Timeline View, you can automatically connect them in the same order into a Composite Module. Alternatively, you can connect them in the preferred order directly in the Network View.

You can also add a Composite Module to your Network from the Module Library and connect the elements manually.

To connect many elements to a Composite Module:

1. In the Network View, add a Composite Module from the Module Library. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[H].

2. In the top menu, select Edit > Preferences (Windows) or Digital Pro > Preference (Mac OS X).

3. Go to the Advanced Tab.

4. Enable the Advanced Display option.

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5. In the Global display drop-down menu or Timeline View Display menu, make sure that your Display drop-down menu is set on Display All to see any unconnected elements in the Network View.

6. In the Timeline View’s Composite drop-down menu, select the corresponding Composite Module.

7. In the Timeline, select all of the elements to be connected in the Composite Module.

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8. Drag the selection over to the Timeline View’s composite drop-down menu.

9. All of the modules are now connected to the Composite Module.

To connect elements manually to a composite:

1. In the Module Library, select a composite module and drag it to the Network View. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[H].

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2. In the Network View, connect all of the elements’ outputs to the top of the composite. Extra ports will appear automatically.

Once all of your elements are connected to your composite module, you can add a Display module and connect the final composite module in it.

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Display ModulesThe Display Module is an important element in the displaying rules. It can be found in the Module Library and imported in the Network View. The Display Module can be connected to any module outputting drawing images, such as drawing elements, effects or composite modules. The purpose of this module is to display its content in the other views, principally the Camera, Timeline and Playback Views. There can be more than one Display Module in a network. This allows you to visualize different sections of the scenes without disabling or disconnecting elements that could be in the way. This technique is quite useful in Cut-out animation as it allows you to see one puppet alone without having all of the other characters in the way. It is also useful during compositing, to help you to visualize effects individually.

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Global Display

Toon Boom Digital Pro has a Display toolbar used to select the different display modules available in the network. When selecting a new display, all of the views will update to show the content of the new display module. The Display toolbar is called the Global Display.

• To select a new display module, show the Global display drop-down list and select the name of the desired display module

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Display ModesToon Boom Digital Pro has both a basic and advanced display mode. By default, Toon Boom Digital Pro is set on the basic mode.

• Basic Display ModeWhen creating a scene in basic display mode, a display module is automatically added to the network and connected to the final composite module All of the views are set to display it. This means that only the elements connected in that composite module will show in the Camera View.You can add and connect more display modules to your network and select the desired one through the Global Display drop-down menu.

• Advanced Display ModeTo switch from basic to advanced display mode, you need to enable the Advanced Display preference.

Refer to the Prefernces section in Digital Pro Basic Concepts to find out about the Advanced Display preference.

When Toon Boom Digital Pro is set on advanced display mode, a Display drop-down menu appears in each View. These menus allow you to set the views to different displays. By default, all views are set on Global Display to follow the Global Display toolbar selection. However, you may want different views set on different displays. For example, a user can have one Camera View to display the full scene and another Camera View to only display the character being animated. In this case, the user will set one Camera View on the final display and the other on the character’s display module.

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If you want the views to follow the Global Display toolbar selection, set the view display menu to Global display.

Finding modules in the Network and Timeline ViewWhile animating or setting up your scene you will need to find the module corresponding to the selected element in your Camera View. As Cut-out characters and props are composed of several modules and groups, a scene’s network or timeline can become overloaded and complex.

To easily find the module corresponding to an element that you selected in your Camera View, you can use the Centre on Selection function in your Timeline or Network View.

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To centre on selection in the Network View.

1. In the Camera View, select the element that you want to find in your Network View.

In the Animation Tools toolbar, enable the Keyframe or All Keyframes mode to select the peg element.

In the Animation Tools toolbar, enable the Element mode to select the drawing element.

2. In the Network View, click on the Menu button and select View > Centre on Selection. The default keyboard shortcut is [O].

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The selected module is displayed at the centre of the Network View.

To centre on selection in the Timeline View.

1. In the Camera View, select the element that you want to find in your Timeline View.

In the Animation Tools toolbar, enable the Keyframe or All Keyframes mode to select the peg element.

Enable the Element mode to select the drawing element. In the Animation Tools toolbar, enable the Element mode.

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2. In the Timeline View, click on the Menu button and select View > Expand All. The default keyboard shortcut is [9].

3. In the Timeline View, click on the Menu button and select View > Centre on Selection. The default keyboard shortcut is [O].

The selected module is displayed at the top of the Timeline View.

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SoundWith Toon Boom Digital Pro, you can import soundtracks and dialog into your animations to make them more engaging and entertaining.

Toon Boom Digital Pro features several sound editing features that you can use to sync your sounds to individual frames or moments in time. You can also use them to trim unwanted seconds from the beginning and end of your sound files, as well as to loop sounds that you want to continue throughout your animation.

Importing SoundIf you want to add sound to your movie, you must first prepare this sound outside of Toon Boom Digital Pro. Then, in Toon Boom Digital Pro, you must add a Sound element, which organizes sound files in your animation. A sound will play in the movie until it reaches the end of the file or a stop frame that you create in the Sound Element Editor.

You can import WAV, AIFF or MP3 sound files using either the Xsheet View or Timeline View windows.




1. Add a sound element to your animation.

In the Timeline View, click on the Menu button and select Add > Sound.

In the Xsheet View, click on the Menu button and select Columns > Add Columns. The default keyboard shortcut is [Shift]+[C]. Use the Add Columns dialog box to add a new sound column.

Click on the OK or Apply button.

An empty sound element appears in the Xsheet and Timeline Views.

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The Sound Element Editor opens.

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3. In the Sound Element panel, right-click (Windows) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac OS X) the frame where you want the sound to start playing and select Import Sound.

4. In the browse dialog box, select the sound file you want to import.


If the sound file does not already exist in your animation, Toon Boom Digital Pro will copy the file from its present location to the Audio folder in your scene folder.

To playback your scene with sound, enable the Sound button in the Playback toolbar.

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Editing SoundThe Sound Element Editor makes it possible for you to edit sounds that were created outside of Toon Boom Digital Pro and imported into your scene.

The Sound Element Editor consists of three main elements:

• The Sound Element panel displays the waveform of all sound files in the element.

• The Current Sound panel displays the waveform of the selected sound so that you can edit its properties.

• The lip sync preview images appear when you lip sync a sound.

In the Sound Element Editor, you can:

• Adjust the start frame/time of a sound.

• Cut sections from the start and end of the sound.• Adjust the volume of a sound clip and create fade envelopes.

• Generate lip charts.

Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts in the Introduction and Basics book to learn about sound.

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Effects

At this point, all of your elements should be positioned and animated. Your image resolution, frame rate, camera move, peg animation and network organization should be done. You are now ready to move on to the last compositing step: Effects.

This step is mainly done in the Network View. The Module Library provides all of the modules necessary to build the effects. Most effects’ parameters can be animated over time with function curves available within their editor.

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To create effects:

1. In your Module Library, select the desired effect module and drag it to your Network View.

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2. In the Network View, connect the drawing or other element’s output port to the effect module’s input port and connect the effect’s output port to a composite, display or other effect module.

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You can also select the effect module, hold the [Alt] key and connect the effect to an existing connection.

3. In the Network View, click on the module’s yellow square to open the editor.

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4. The Editor opens.

5. In the editor, modify the desired parameters.

6. Click on the Apply button to see the modifications.

7. Once done, click on the OK button to validate.

Before adding effects to your network, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with a few points:

• Effects and Modules Available on page 568

• Functionality on page 594

• Effect Suggestions on page 598

Effects and Modules AvailableThe Module Library provides a variety of filters and modules to build your network and your effects.

For further information about the effects parameters and functionality, refer the Reference Guide.

We can divide the effects and different modules into five categories:

• Effects on page 569

• Group on page 588• Input/Output (IO) on page 590)

• Move on page 591

• Plug-ins on page 593

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EffectsThe following effects are available:

• Blur Directional on page 570

• Blur Radial on page 570• Blur Variable on page 571

• Greyscale on page 571

• Colour Art on page 572• Colour Card on page 572

• Colour Override on page 573

• Colour Scale on page 573• Colour Screen on page 574

• Composite on page 574

• Composite Generic on page 575• Contrast on page 575

• Crop on page 576

• Cutter on page 576• Dither on page 577

• External on page 577

• Transparency on page 578• Field Chart on page 578

• Anti-Flicker on page 579

• Focus Multiplier on page 579• Focus on page 580

• Glow on page 580

• Glue on page 581• Gradient on page 581

• Grain on page 582

• Highlight on page 582• Line Art on page 583

• Matte Blur on page 583

• Matte Resize on page 584• Motion Blur on page 584

• Negate on page 585

• Pixelate on page 585• Refract on page 586

• Remove Transparency on page 586

• Scale on page 587

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• Shadow on page 587

• Tone on page 588

Blur Directional

The Blur Directional effect creates a blur effect that blurs the image in on direction or angle. This effect is useful in creating a speed impression, such as a fast car.

Blur Radial

The Blur Radial effect creates a blur effect that blurs evenly in all directions. This effect is useful in creating cloudy effects.

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Blur Variable

The Blur Variable effect creates a radial blur that varies within a single image based on the white and black values in the matte you supply. This effect is used to give the impression that an object is out of focus.

The Blur Variable requires a matte input.

Greyscale

The Greyscale effect adds a certain amount of black and white into the image. The image can be anywhere between complete greyscale to full colour. This effect is useful in creating a flashback transition between current time to old days.

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Colour Art

The Colour Art displays only the Colour Art layer of a drawing element. This effect is useful if you want to show only the colour filling zones and give a painting look display or Cut-out character patches (if they were created with the Colour Art method).

Colour Card

The Colour Card is a solid colour card fitting the camera size.The Colour Card can be used to fill the scene background with a solid colour when there is no background image included.

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Colour Override

The Colour Override processes the colours in a drawing element. The file format of the drawings in the element must be TVG (Toon Boom Vector Graphic) files. With the Colour Override, you can change colours from the palette without affecting the actual palette, swap clone palettes, replace a certain colour zone by a bitmap texture, and hide or display selected colours.

When you have a character in Cut-out style and you want to use the Colour-Override Module, you will need to set the Character Composite Module to be: As Vector. This will output a vector drawing instead of bitmap. The Colour-Override Module needs a vector image and the palette information to process its effect. When using a bitmap, no palettes are available.

Colour Scale

The Colour Scale effect offsets an image colours. This effect is useful in creating ambient transitions, such as from day to night time.

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Colour Screen

The Colour Screen filters (or screens) out certain colours from a bitmap image. You would usually use this module to matte out a particular colour from a three-channel image.

For example, you could use the module to make a blue screen background transparent behind a live-action element or to create transparency around an overlay.

Composite

The Composite Module combines multiple source images, including all of their transformations and effects, into a single bitmap or vector image for each frame.

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If you have effect modules such as a cutter or a tone in your character rig, these parts will not show up through a composite module that is set to As Vector because an effects module would usually output a bitmap image.

Composite Generic

The Composite Generic combines two images into one output image. The image linked to the left port of the module is layered on top of the image in the right port, based on the colour and alpha composite operation that has been chosen.

Contrast

The Contrast effect contrasts the colours in an image.

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Crop

The Crop Module is used to crop an output image to a certain resolution. Use this module to pass from widescreen to a full screen resolution. For example, from a 16:9 resolution to a 4:3 resolution.

Cutter

The Cutter cuts out a portion of an image using a mask shape (matte). You can use the Cutter to match a character to a background or to cut any other element.

The Cutter requires a matte input.

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Dither

Dithering is the process of approximating a higher number of colours in a low bit-depth colour system. Use the Dither Module to give the appearance of greater colour variability in 8-bit per channel colour images.

The Dither Module can be useful in the case of a gradient that varies, for example, between 100 and 105 in the blue channel. Because the difference in the colour values is not great, banding might be introduced into the image. In this case, you would use the Dither Module to give the impression of more values of blue, decreasing the unwanted banding effect.

The results of the dither operation may be imperceptible to the eye. You may not see the difference between dithered and undithered images in Toon Boom Digital Pro.

External

The External Module is used to process images through external programs and input the resulting images back into the network.

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Transparency

The Transparency effect is used to make an image partially transparent. The Transparency fades the alpha channel of the image by the amount that you select. The Transparency effect is useful to fade images in and out, or simply to apply a transparency.

Field Chart

The Field Chart Module displays a field chart so that you can position your elements in the Camera View using the field chart.

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Anti-Flicker

The Anti-Flicker Module is used to compensate for flickering in your output to TV formats.

The Anti-Flicker Module applies a vertical blur to the rendered output. You should put the Anti-Flicker effect before a Write Module in the Network View.

Focus Multiplier

The Focus Multiplier effect works with the Focus effect. The Focus Multiplier applies a blur to the selected element based on the blur radius in the Focus-Set Module.

Use the Focus Multiplier only when you want to apply the focus to selected elements, or when you need to apply the focus before working on more effects in a composite operation.

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Focus

The Focus effects is used to set up depth-of-field effects to your scene. Use the Focus Module to determine how much blur will be applied to images based on their distance from the focal point.

The Focus effect will work when you have a multiplane scene setup.

Glow

The Glow effect adds a bright soft-edged light or diffuse light region around an image. The Glow effect is useful in creating a shining rim around a sun or stars.

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Glue

The Glue effect is used to repair the cracks that appear between joints during Cut-out animation. The Glue effect is useful when applied to Cut-out puppets’ elbows or knees

Gradient

The Gradient effect is used to create a transition of colour or alpha values between two areas of colour. Use two points to indicate where those two coloured areas are. You can then move these points to create a varying transition of colours.

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Grain

The Grain effect is used to add a film grain to an image. The film grain looks like video noise.

Highlight

Use the Highlight effect in your Network View to add a highlight to the drawings in an element.

To produce the highlight effect, you must create drawings to control where the highlight will appear (the matte).

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Line Art

Use the Line Art Module to read only the line art in an element. You would place a Line Art Module after an Element Module in the Network View to display only the line art output by the module.

Matte Blur

You can use the Matte Blur effect to blur a matte or change its colour.

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Matte Resize

You can use the Matte Resize effect to expand a matte outward in all directions evenly. The Matte Resize effect increases the size of a matte from its centre.

Motion Blur

Use the Motion Blur command to create three types of effects:

• Motion blur

• Blur with a matte

• Particle effect

To create a motion blur, you must also create a motion path for the element using a Peg Module.

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Negate

Use the Negate effect to invert the colour and/or alpha values in the colour art and line art of an image. The Negate Module subtracts the original value of each channel (RGB or A) from the maximum value of that channel (255 for 8-bit channels) to produce the negative image.

Pixelate

Use the Pixelate effect to apply a mosaic effect to an image (and its matte) based on the matte you supply. Pixelation makes the image look like it is made up of square tiles.

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Refract

Use the Refract effect to create effects like ripples, rustling leaves, and heat waves. This effect is based on the principle of light refraction, which happens when a beam of light passes through mediums of different density, causing the light to refract, or change angles. This effect makes objects appear offset from their real position, or distorted.

Think of the effect of a wave in a pool of water. If you look at objects beneath the wave, they appear offset from their position as the wave passes over it.

Remove Transparency

Use the Remove Transparency effect to negate the transparent values in an image.

You can use the Remove Transparency effect to remove the result of antialiasing around an image.

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Scale

The Scale Module scales the output of an operation to the desired output resolution. You can use this module to scale the resolution of a composite operation for output to anamorphic projection systems. You can also use this module to scale down the output to a lower resolution when you want to enable a quicker composition.

Shadow

With the Shadow effect, you can turn a vector drawing element into a shadow.

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Tone

Use a Tone effect in your Network View to add a dark coloured region to the top of drawings in an element.

To produce the tone effect, you must create drawings to control where the tone will appear (the matte).

GroupThere are four modules in the Group category:

• Group on page 588

• Multi Port In on page 589

• Multi Port Out on page 589• Placeholder on page 589

Group

Use the Group Module to group elements and modules to keep your Network View clean and organized.

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Multi Port In

A Multi Port In Module is added by default in a new Group Module. Use it to add one or more input ports to the Group Module so that you can process an image through the modules in the Group Module.

Multi Port Out

A Multi Port Out Module is added by default in a new Group Module. Use it to add one or more output ports out of the Group Module so that you can process an image from the Group outside the Group Module.

Placeholder

Use the Placeholder Module in a network when you are unsure of the module you will put in its place, or if you want to lay out a custom network for future use.

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Input/Output (IO)There are three modules in the Input/Output category:

• Display on page 590

• Element on page 590• Note on page 591

Display

Use the Display Module to display the results of a network.

Element

Use a Element Module for each Drawing element, vector or bitmap, that you want to display in your rendered animation. The Element Module brings your images into the compositing network so that the system can render them.

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Note

The Note Module allows you to record any textual information that is relevant to your project. Use its editor to enter comments, suggestions or reminders. Note Modules can be added anywhere in the network, including in groups.

MoveThere are five modules in the Move category:

• Camera on page 591• Offset Position on page 592

• Offset Position (Legacy) on page 592

• Peg on page 592• Quadmap on page 593

Camera

Add a Camera Module to the Network View of your scene when you want to:

• Change the static position of the camera• Change the position of the pivot point on which the camera rotates

• Change the angle of rotation of the camera

• Change the field-of-view of the camera (zoom level)• Attach the camera to a peg to change its position or rotation over time

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Offset Position

Use the Offset Position Module to apply a different position, scale, rotation or movement to one or more existing elements without having to duplicate them. It applies the translations in a peg after compositing so that drawing elements outside of the camera frame or images larger than the resolution of the scene are not clipped.

The Offset Position Module applies the Flip and Alignment options from the Element Module to prepare the image before composition.

Offset Position (Legacy)

The Offset Position (Legacy) Module creates the same position offset as the Offset Position Module and is used for backward compatibility with previous Toon Boom Digital Pro versions.

Peg

The Peg Module controls the transformation of elements (position, rotation, skewing and scaling) over time. The green port at the top and bottom of the module indicates that it accepts position data information (from another peg, element or quadmap) and outputs position information.

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Quadmap

Use the Quadmap Module to deform the shape of an element. For example, you could use it to create a drop-shadow effect on an element.

Plug-insThere are five effect plug-ins available, including:

• Brightness-Contrast on page 593

• Sparkle on page 594

Brightness-Contrast

The Brightness-Contrast plug-in is used to modify the contrast or brightness of an image. You can also apply this module to simultaneously control the brightness and contrast of an image.

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Sparkle

The Sparkle plug-in is used to add a sparkle effect to your scene. You have a high degree of control over the look and colour of the sparkles displayed.

FunctionalityAn effect module always needs a drawing input and sometime a matte or shape input. A matte provides drawing information that will be used to determine the area where the effect will be applied on the drawing. The details and colours within the matte drawing do not matter, as the system will only use the shape and transparencies in it. A matte is also known as mask.

The matte principle can be demonstrated on the Tone effect.

The drawing element is connected in the right port and the matte (shape, mask) in the left one. The Tone Module then applies darker colours where the matte overlaps the image,

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blurs the tone edge, and finally clips out the extra tone zone outside of the drawing before outputting a final drawing with a tone.

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The tone’s parameters can be adjusted in the module editor and any of them can be linked to a function column to be animated overtime. This means that all of the effects can be customized.

To open the effect module’s editor:

1. In the Network View, click on the module’s yellow square.

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The Module Editor opens.

When you select the effect module, its parameters are displayed in the Module Properties View.

You can apply more than one effect module to an element. When several modules are adjusted and combined, it is useful to be able to reuse them and not have to rebuild them every time. You can store the modules in the Template Library and reuse them in other scenes and productions.

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Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn about creating templates.

Refer to the Reference Guide to learn more about the effect modules and their functions.

Effect SuggestionsThere are many effect possibilities, some simple and others more complex. Here is an example of an advanced effect:

• Create Shadows and Highlights without Matte Drawings on page 598

You can find this pre-built effect in your Template Library. To use it, simply open the Template Library, select the Shadow_Effect template from Templates > Effects and drag it to your Network View.

Create Shadows and Highlights without Matte Drawings

Users often want to have shadow or light on their animations, but do not want to draw it. Here is an effect to create computer-generated tone, highlights and drop shadow, and to

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avoid drawing matte. This effect is useful for all Traditional, Paperless and Cut-out animation.

To create shadow and highlight on one or several elements:

1. In the Network View, add a Composite Module. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[H].

2. Connect all of the drawing elements needed to the Composite Module. This Composite Module is now your character’s image output.

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3. Connect your character’s image output (Composite Module) to the main Composite or to its proper place in your network.

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4. Drag the following modules from the Module Library: Offset Position Modules (x2)Peg Module (x1)Quadmap Module (x1)Highlight Module (x1)Shadow Module (x1)

5. Drag a second output from the character’s composite and connect it to the first Offset Position Module’s right port.

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6. Connect this Offset Position Module to the final Composite Module or to its proper place in the network, left of the original character’s connection.

7. Connect one Peg in the Offset Position’s left port.

8. In the Animation Tools toolbar, enable the All Keyframes Mode.

9. In the Network View, select the Offset Position’s Peg Module you just connected.

10. In the Animation Tools toolbar, select the Translate tool.

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11. In the Camera View, slightly offset the second character’s output.

12. In the Network View, connect the Offset Position Module to the Highlight Module’s left port. Use the [Alt] key to connect the module to an existing connection.

13. Drag a second connection from the character’s composite module in the Highlight module’s right port.

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14. Open the Highlight Module Editor by clicking on its yellow square and enable the Invert Matte option.

15. Connect the original character’s Composite Module to the second Offset Position Module’s right port. Use the [Alt] key to automatically connect a module to an existing connection.

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16. Connect the Quadmap Module to the Offset Position Module’s left port.

17. Connect the Offset Position Module to the Shadow Module.Use the [Alt] key to automatically connect a module to an existing connection.

18. Select the Quadmap Module in the Network View.

19. In the Animation Tools toolbar, make sure the Element Mode or All Keyframes Mode are enabled.

20. In the Animation Tools toolbar, select the Select tool.

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21. In the Camera View, right-click (Windows) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac OS X) and select Show Control Parameters. The default keyboard shortcut is [C].

The Quadmap contour controls appear.

22. In the Camera View, move the Quadmap Contour Controls to the desired position.

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23. In the Camera View, right-click (Windows) or [Ctrl]-click (Mac OS X) and select Show Control Parameters to hide the Quadmap controls.The default shortcut is [C].

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Verifying Effects and Final Images

Once you have created function curves to animate your effects, or if you want to see your scene and effects playing in real time, you can verify them by performing a quick render in Playback View.

You can preview an image sequence in your Playback View. This can be used to preview the render, but also to create temporary render from different display modules in a network. It can be very useful for a compositor who wants to see his effects and filters result without loading the hard drive with a lot of images. Also, you can connect a display module to a specific effect, load it in the Playback View and see the result without calculating the whole scene.

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To create a temporary render in the Playback View:

1. To select a display module:In the Playback View, select a display module from the Display drop-down menu. (Advanced mode)

In the Display toolbar, select a display module.

2. In the Playback View, click on the Menu button and select Source > Load From Display Module to create a temporary render.

To change the Playback View rendering’s resolution select Edit > Preferences, then go to the General tab. Type the proper resolution in the Playback View section.

The playback loads.

3. Playback the render.

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Task Summary1. Opening the Scene

2. Importing the references

3. Importing the background elements

4. Setting the resolution and frame rate

5. Ordering the elements

6. Positioning the elements

7. Adding the Pegs

8. Animating the elements

9. Creating the camera move

10. Organizing the network

11. Adding the filters and effects

12. Previewing the filters and effects

Next Task: Export - Render

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Chapter 12Export - Render

Previous Task: Compositing

Now that your project is fully animated, painted and composited, you are ready for Rendering, the final step in the Production workflow.

This is the point where Post-production tasks begin. All of the Toon Boom Digital Pro renders will be imported into third-party editing software, where transitions and extra filters will be added. They will also be mixed with the final soundtrack and then sent to the final project media.

If your project is composed of a single scene and all of your effects and sounds have been completed with Toon Boom Digital Pro, the project is completed. All that is left is for you to render your final movie.

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Toon Boom Digital Pro exports scenes in two ways:

• as a Movie• as an Image Sequence

The rendering process is divided into the following three steps:

• Preparation on page 612• Rendering on page 633

• Verifying the Render on page 638

PreparationTo render your scene you must first choose the type of rendering and then set the rendering parameters.

The process is divided into five steps:

1. Opening the Scene on page 612

2. Using the Workspace on page 613

3. Movie or Image Sequence? on page 613

4. Single Render on page 614

5. Multiple Render on page 622

Opening the SceneBefore you can render your scene with Toon Boom Digital Pro, you must open it.

Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn how to open a scene.

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Chapter 12: Export - Render

Using the Workspace

Toon Boom Digital Pro provides a default workspace to render your scenes. Set your Workspace drop-down menu to Render.

Movie or Image Sequence?The first thing to do when rendering a scene is to establish whether it should be exported as a movie file or as an image sequence. This will be determined by your final editing requirements.

To decide between a movie export or image sequence, check if the final editing software requires image sequences or movie files.

You should also consider whether or not you should apply some filters or effects by batch processing in another image treatment software. If this is the case, you are better off with image sequences.

If your scene is complete and there is no need for final editing, a movie file is best.

In some cases, you may need to render out both an image sequence and a movie file, perhaps because the director needs to see a movie clip to approve the scene. In this case, Toon Boom Digital Pro allows you to export both formats simultaneously. In fact, you can

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export as many file formats, resolutions and movies that you want all at the same time. This way, you do not have to repeatedly go through the rendering process for each of the formats you require. You can initiate your render and walk away while the computer does all of the work.

Toon Boom Digital Pro exports movies in two formats:

• QuickTime Movie (*.Mov)• SWF (Flash Movie)

There are many formats available for the image sequence export:

• TGA (Tga, Tga4, Tga3, Tga1)• SGI (Sgi, Sgi4, Sgi3, Sgi1)

• SGIDP (Sgidp4, Sgidp3)

• OMFJPEG• OPT (Opt, Opt4, Opt3, Opt1)

• PSD (Psd, Psd4, Psd3, Psd1)

• PSDDP (Psddp4, Psddp3)• YUV

• PAL

• SCAN• PNG (Png, Png4)

• VAR

• TVG

Single RenderWith Toon Boom Digital Pro you can render one or several outputs at once. This section explains the Single Render process.

A Single Render can be done two ways:

• Display Module on page 615• Write Module on page 617

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Display ModuleTo export a single movie file there is very little preparation required. You only need to ensure that you have a display module reading the images that you want to render out.

You cannot connect many elements in a Display Module all at the same time. Instead, you need to pass them through a Composite Module and connect this to the Display.

To add a Display Module:

1. In the Module Library, select a Display Module and drag it to the Network View. In the Network View, you can also use the default keyboard [Ctrl]+[Y] (Windows) or [ ]+[Y] (Mac OS X).

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2. In the Network View, connect the Composite Module to the Display Module’s Input port.

Refer to the Toon Boom Digital Pro Basic Concepts chapter in the Introduction and Basics book to learn about display modules and rules.

It is recommended that you use a precise display module to read your scene instead of the Display All mode.

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Write ModuleIf you want to render out an image sequence, you need a Write Module. The Write Module is used to set a file format, file name, directory and advanced options regarding that module.

In this case, it is useful to also use a Display Module and connect the same elements in both the Display and Write Modules to be sure that you will render exactly what you see.

To add a Write Module:

1. In the Module Library, select a Write Module and drag it to the Network View.

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2. In the Network View, connect the Composite Module to the Display Module’s Input port.

Once your Write Module is connected in the right place, you need to adjust the settings.

The Write Module is used for two types of exports:

• Image Sequence on page 618

• QuickTime Movie on page 620

Image SequenceTo export an image sequence, you need to adjust few settings in the Write Module’s Editor.

To set the Write Module to export an image sequence:

1. In the Network View, open the Write Module’s Editor by clicking on the yellow square.

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The Editor opens.

2. In the Output tab, select the Drawings option to create an image sequence.

3. Click on the Choose button and browse to the desired directory to save the output. You can also use the default directory to save in the default Frames folder included in the scene directory.

4. In the Filename field, type the image sequence’s name prefix. It is very important to leave the dash (-) symbol at the end of the name to separate the image name from the image number.

5. In the Leading Zeros field, select the number of digits.

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6. In the Drawing Type field, select the file format.

7. In the Start field, select the Start number for the image sequence.

8. Click on the OK or the Apply button. It will not start rendering yet. These are only the settings. You can still modify your scene.

QuickTime MovieYou can also set a Write Module for a QuickTime movie file.

To export a QuickTime movie from a Write Module:

1. In the Network View, open the Write Module’s Editor by clicking on its yellow square.

The Editor opens.

2. In the Output tab, select the Movie option to create a movie file.

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3. Click on the Choose button and browse to the desired directory to save the output. You can also use the default directory to save in the default Frames folder included in the scene folder.

4. In the Filename field, name the output file. You do not need to write the file format extension.

5. In the Video Options field, click on the Customize button to set your video options.


7. In the Audio Options field, click on the Customize button to set your audio options.

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9. Click on the OK or the Apply button.It will not start rendering yet. These are only the settings. You can still modify your scene.

Multiple RenderToon Boom Digital Pro allows you to render many formats and resolutions of a scene at the same time so that you do not have to come back between each render to start a new one.

Write ModulesUsing Multiple Render is easy. You need to connect as many Write Modules as needed to match the required number of exports. Then adjust each Write Module’s settings to create image sequences or movies.

It is very important to name your output files differently, especially if you save them all in the same directory, so that they do not overwrite each other.

When you have multiple Write Modules in a scene, it is useful to rename them according to their output settings such as: low_resolution_movie or HDTV_sequence.

Exporting Different ResolutionsTo export different resolutions at concurrently, you need to create a combination of Write, Scale-Output and Crop Modules.

Scale Output Module

Once your Write Modules are connected, you need some Scale Modules to change the resolution output of the Write Module. For example, if you export in a high resolution and a low resolution, you need one Scale-Output Module.

You can scale up the output’s size, but that will not have a good result. It is better to set the scene resolution to the highest resolution needed in this export and use the Scale Modules to scale down the other outputs.

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It is also better to use the Scale-Output Module to scale down in a same aspect ratio so that it does not distort the image.

To add a Scale-Output Module:

1. In the Module Library, select a Scale-Output Module and drag it to the Network View.

2. In the Network View, connect the Composite Module into the Scale-Output Module’s Input port.

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3. In the Network View, connect the Scale-Output Module to the Display and Write Modules’ input ports.

To set the Scale Module:

1. Open the Scale-Output Module’s Editor by clicking on the module’s yellow square.

The Scale Output’s Editor opens.

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2. Select a resolution from the suggested Resolution Name list or type new Resolution Values to indicate what resolution to scale to.


Crop Module

If you wish to output two files with different aspect ratios, such as wide screen and full Screen, you can use the Crop Module. This module is used to crop the final image in order to discard excess information without distorting the render.

If you start with a higher resolution and want to crop down to a lower resolution, such as HDTV to NTSC, you will need to combine the Crop Module with a Scale Module.

To add a Crop Module:

1. In the Module Library, select a Crop Module and drag it to the Network View.

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2. In the Network View, connect the Composite Module into the Crop Module’s Input port.

3. In the Network View, connect the Crop Module to the Display and Write Modules’ input ports.

To set the Crop Module:

1. In the Network View, open the Crop Module’s Editor by clicking on the module’s yellow square.

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The Crop Module’s Editor opens.

2. Type new Resolution Values to indicate what resolution to crop to.

3. You can manually enter the X -Y Offset, or move it visually in the Camera View by selecting the right Display Module in the Display toolbar.

If you want to create a Pan and Scan effect (panning the cropped selection over time to show more information), you can create a function to animate the

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cropped selection. Click on the Function Arrow button beside the Local dialog box to create a Bezier or ease curve.

4. If you created a function curve to animate the cropped selection, click again on the

Function button and edit the curve by adding keyframes and moving the selection box in the Camera View. (Refer to the Compositing chapter for more information about function curves.)

5. Enable the Draw Frame option if you prefer to have Toon Boom Digital Pro draw the frame over the rendered scene instead of cropping the images.

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6. Click in the colour rectangle to adjust the frame colour as desired if you have enabled the Draw Frame option.


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ConnectingOnce you know the type of render you want to do, you will need to retrieve your modules from the Module Library and connect them to the scene’s network.

To connect multiple renders:

1. In the Module Library, retrieve the necessary Write, Scale-Output and Crop Modules.

2. Connect the final Composite Module to the first Write Module. (Make sure that you have a Display Module reading the same information.)

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3. Open the Write Module’s Editor by clicking on its yellow square.

The Editor opens.

4. Name the Write Module according to the render type that you are planning to do.

5. Set the Write Module parameters.


7. Connect the other Write Modules and repeat steps 2-6.

8. Using the [ALT] key, insert the Scale-Output Modules between the final Composite Module and their corresponding Write Module.

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9. Using the [ALT] key, insert the Crop Modules between the final Composite Module and their corresponding Write or Scale Module.

10. Connect a Display Module to each Scale-Output or Crop Module to be able to see each final image in your Camera View.

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RenderingYou can render your scene from a Display Module or a Write Module.

Rendering from a Display ModuleIf you planned to create a single movie file from your scene, you simply need to go to the File menu and render out the file.

A Display Module can create two export formats:

• SWF (Flash) on page 633

• QuickTime Movie on page 635

SWF (Flash)To export a Swf file:

1. In the top menu, select File > Export > Swf.

The Export to Flash Movie dialog box opens.

2. In the Export to section, browse to the desired directory by clicking on the Browse button.

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The Choose a File Name to Save Under dialog box opens.

3. Name the output file and click on the Save button.

4. In the Export from Display Module field, select the right Display Module to render from.

5. In the Export Range section, select the frame range to render.

6. Set the Options according to your needs.


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QuickTime MovieTo export a QuickTime movie:

1. In the top menu, select File > Export > QuickTime Movie.

The Export to QuickTime dialog box opens.

2. In the Export to section, browse to the desired directory by clicking on the Browse button.

The Browse dialog box opens.

3. Name the output file and click on the Save button.

4. In the Export From Display Module field, select the right Display to render from.

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5. In the Export Range section, select the frame range to render.

6. In the Options section, click on the Video Options button to set the video options.

7. In the Options section, click on the Sound Options button to set the sound options.


Rendering from the Write ModuleIf you want to render from your Write Module, you will need to use the Render Network option in the File menu.

To render from the Write Module:

1. In the top menu, select File > Export > Render Network. The default keyboard shortcut is [Ctrl]+[Shift]+[Y] (Windows) or [ ]+[Y] (Mac OS X).

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The Render Network dialog box opens.

2. In the Range section, select the Frame Range to render.

3. Enable the Preview option if you want to automatically see the image sequence result once the render is done. (The preview will not show up for a QuickTime movie.)

4. Select Field Composite if you want Toon Boom Digital Pro to render the final images as fields for display on interlaced monitors.


Refer to the Reference Guide for more information on Field Composite options.

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Verifying the RenderOnce the render is completed, you can verify the result to see if everything is correct.

QuickTime MovieTo verify a QuickTime movie, you simply need to browse to the previously chosen directory and open the file.

Flash MovieTo verify a Flash movie, you simply need to browse to the previously chosen directory and open the file.

Image SequenceThere are two ways to verify an image sequence.

• Digital Pro Play Module on page 639

• Playback View on page 642

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Digital Pro Play Module

Toon Boom Digital Pro provides a Play Module to preview image sequence renders. This module can be used by an experienced Toon Boom Digital Pro user or by somebody without the software knowledge. For example, the director can load the sequence in the Digital Pro Play Module and approve a scene.

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To use the Digtal Pro Player:

1. Start the Digital Pro Player from your operating system.

2. In the Top menu, select the File > Load From Directory.

The Browse For Folder window opens.

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3. Browse for your image sequence directory.



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Playback View

You can also preview image sequence renders in the Playback View included in Toon Boom Digital Pro. This view can be used to preview render, but also to create temporary render from different display modules. This can be very useful for a compositor who wants to see his effects and filters result without loading the hard drive with a lot of images.

Previewing the RenderTo load an already existing render in the Playback View:

1. In the Playback View, click on the Menu button and select Source > Load From Folder to see an already existing render.

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The Browse For Folder window opens.

2. Browse for your image sequence directory.



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Temporary RenderTo create a temporary render in the Playback View:

1. To select a display module:In the Playback View, select a display module from the Display drop-down menu (Advanced Display Mode).

In the Display toolbar, select a display module (Basic Display Mode).

2. In the Playback View, click on the Menu button and select Source > Load From Display Module to create a temporary render.

To change the Playback View rendering’s resolution, select Edit > Preferences and go to the General tab. Type the proper resolution in the Playback View section.

The playback loads.

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Task Summary1. Choosing the render type

2. Setting Write Module (if needed)

3. Rendering

4. Verifying the render

Next Task: Integrating Toon Boom into a Cut-out Workflow

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Chapter 13Integrating Toon Boom

into a Cut-out WorkflowAs demonstrated in this book, many steps from the 2D animation workflow can be achieved in Toon Boom Digital Pro with its many optimized tools to help animators, designers, colourists, compositors, etc. But how do we apply this in a production context? This chapter will let you know. Here, we demonstrate different ways to integrate Toon Boom Digital Pro to your Cut-out animation workflow.

You will learn how to organize your tasks and create your particular pipeline. Depending on the amount of people working on a team and the animation technique used, the tasks will be distributed differently. Some users will do three of them as in another context a user will do only half of one.

This chapter is divided in five categories covering the different user types and studio sizes, workflow suggestions, team organization, how to mix different animation techniques and the system requirements necessary for your production:

• Integration for an Individual User on page 648 (one user)

• Integration for a Small or Medium Studio on page 655 (two to thirty-five users)

• Integration for a Big Studio on page 667 (more than thirty-five users)

• Mixing Other Animation Techniques on page 680

In each of these sections, you will find workflow examples, suggestions on how to distribute these tasks among the team and other tips to help you work more efficiently.

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Integration for an Individual User

The individual user does all of the project steps, from the script to the final distribution. Sometimes the user will get the script from clients and produce the rest of the project alone. Toon Boom Digital Pro’s integrated pipeline and optimized tools can be used to create a fast, high-quality and well structured animation by a single user.

The individual user has almost limitless workflow possibilities and can decide to skip or reverse steps. This chapter features the most popular workflow examples.

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Chapter 13: Integrating Toon Boom into a Cut-out Workflow

Workflow SuggestionFirst consider the workflow example and analyze the steps’ ordering and organization.

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In the above example, we suggest a pipeline with a minimum amount of steps and a maximum amount of tasks accomplished within Toon Boom Digital Pro.

As you can see, there are fewer steps than the Cut-out workflow presented in the 2D Animation Workflows chapter of the Introduction and Basics book.

In a Cut-out animation project, there is no need to do the posing step because the characters are always on model and the scene setup step is meant to set the scene elements’ scale and compositions.

We also skipped the animatic step. Generally, the user has the project quite clearly developed in their mind and can go directly from the storyboard to the animation.

You will notice that the storyboard is done with the Toon Boom Storyboard software, which has the advantage of being completely digital and compatible with Toon Boom Digital Pro. It creates a layout directly out of the storyboard, an automatic animatic, the project’s scenes, and the scene’s length. There is no time lost scanning the whole board and importing it into the project.

Starting the Process

The ScriptA Cut-out project starts the same way as any animation workflow: with a script or synopsis. It can be written by the users or acquired from the client that the project is being created for.

Following the script, you will start designing the characters, props and locations and build the storyboard. At this point, the process starts to vary.

Finding the User’s ExperienceThe amount of experience that a user has in producing Digital animation is an important factor in deciding which direction to go. There are many animation techniques and workflows available for creating a Cut-out project.

If the animator has never done digital animation or used a timeline or function curves, starting on a more basic level recommended to get used to the system and tools. If the user knows the computer well but has never really animated, he or she might want the system to help by providing tools to learn animation. Toon Boom Digital Pro offers these possibilities.

The two main decisions that have to be made for a Cut-out production are:

• the rigging technique (character breakdown)

• the animation technique

If you have the opportunity to rig characters and props yourself, your animator profile will help choose which rigging and animation techniques you should use. You will first need to define your user profile.

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User Profiles The four main animator profiles that we find among the Toon Boom Digital Pro users are:

• Traditional animatornot familiar with digital graphic systemswants to find his/her usual animation skills and principles in the software.

• Advanced digital animatorwants to find animation tools and principles that allow full control over the animation.

• Animator without experiencefamiliar with digital graphic systemswants to find easy animation tools and learn how to animate.

• Animator new to digital graphic systems, but has some animation knowledgewants to produce quick and easy animations for fun or for short deadlines.

Once you have determined which user profile you fit into, you should review the recommended types of animation. Once you are more comfortable with the tools, you can estimate with greater accuracy which direction to go.

The choices are:

• Open Rig technique with Stop-Motion Keyframe animation.

• Open Rig or Mixed Rig technique with Stop-Motion or Motion Keyframe animation.

• Complete hierarchy rigging technique with Motion Keyframe animation or Open Rig technique with a mix of Stop-Motion or Motion Keyframe animation.

• Complete Hierarchy rigging technique with Motion Keyframe animation or Open Rig with Stop-Motion Keyframe animation.

Pre-Production Variants

DesignAfter the script, the user will design the characters, props and locations. We recommend that you design these directly in Toon Boom Digital Pro, as these elements will be broken down and rigged in the program. This way, whatever the breakdown technique chosen, the lines will be the same style, the palette will already be created and there will be less work involved in the breakdown and rigging.

Refer to the Character, Prop & Location Designs chapter to learn more about the design.

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Storyboard, LayoutFrom the storyboard, the project usually goes to the layout and posing process.

For a Cut-out project, the storyboard does not need to be on model as the characters and props used for the animation are reused puppets that are always on model. Also, the individual user has a really good idea of what to do and does not really need to communicate the information. The posing step can be skipped; using a rough storyboard made out of thumbnails used, go directly to the scene setup and then the animation.

The background layout step can also be achieved inside Toon Boom Digital Pro.

Colour StylingThe colour styling must be done before the animation and the character breakdown. Doing the colour styling in Toon Boom Digital Pro saves you from having to recreate palettes and colour models. When you reach the character break-down step, Toon Boom Digital Pro saves time by using the colour model that it created to break it apart.

Refer to the Colour Styling and Colour Model chapter to learn more about colour styling.

Production

Character and Prop BreakdownThe character and prop break down can be done in several ways. The individual user must decide which user profile fits best before starting this task. It is important to do this step correctly as these puppets will be duplicated throughout the entire project.

Refer to the Character and Prop Breakdown chapter to learn more about the breakdown.

LibraryThe library is usually managed by the breakdown artists. It is important to keep the library well-organized since it is a central piece in the animator’s project.

Refer to the Library Management chapter to learn more about the library.

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Scene SetupBefore animating, the individual user will take the necessary elements from the library and import them into the scene and then set the composition.

Refer to the Scene Setup chapter to learn more about the scene setup.

AnimationThe animation technique has to conform to the rigging technique. The individual user has to establish a profile in order to determine which direction to go.

To increase the quality of your Cut-out animation, you may find it helpful to consider Paperless animation features.

Refer to the chapter on Cut-out Animation on page 365 to learn more about animation.

Post-ProductionWhen all of the scenes are rendered out, the user will:

1. Assemble the scenes using an external application

2. Add the sound to the project.

3. Add final effects and filters.

4. Render out to the master.

5. Distribute the scene, unless there is dubbing to be done.

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Project RequirementsTo create a Cut-out project, an individual user needs:

Refer to our website for updates on the system requirements. http://www.toonboom.com/products

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Integration for a Small or Medium Studio

Small and medium studios are composed of two to thirty-five users. The size of the team will help determine how the tasks are distributed.

Structure and organization is key to the smooth operation of any studio. The people working on the project must be able to communicate and maintain a uniform style over the entire project. Using Toon Boom Digital Pro’s integrated pipeline and optimized tools to create a fast, high-quality and well structured animations will help maintain uniformity and encourage communication throughout the production team.

The size of a team can also have an impact on the way that the pipeline is structured. This chapter features the most popular workflow examples.

Note:

In each workflow, we suggest staffing levels and quotas for an average production. These amounts may vary according to the project quality, complexity and schedule. These numbers do not include system administrators, supervisors, producers and directors.

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A Cut-out production reuses a lot of assets, saves time, keeps a maximum amount of work in the same studio and reduces the amount of resources and budget needed. Toon Boom Digital Pro allows you to keep everything in the same software, so that the information can be communicated and organized more easily between team members. In this workflow example, we eliminated as many traditional and hand-drawn steps as possible and keep all of the steps in an integrated pipeline.

Other than the script writing, audio recording, and post-production, all of the tasks are accomplished within Toon Boom’s software.

Note:

The storyboard is done with the Toon Boom Storyboard software. It has the advantage of being totally digital and compatible with Toon Boom Digital Pro. It creates a layout directly from the Storyboard to animate the project’s scenes and the scene lengths automatically. Animatic and sounds coming from the storyboard are incorporated into every single scene. There is no time lost scanning the whole storyboard and adapting it to the project.

In a Cut-out animation project, there is no need to do the posing step because the characters are always on model and the scene setup step is meant to set the scene elements’ scale and composition.


The ScriptAny project starts with a script, either from the studio itself or acquired from the client requesting the project.

Following the script, the design team will design the character, props and locations and the storyboard artist will build the storyboard.

Finding a Studio’s ExperienceThe amount of experience a studio has producing digital animation is an important factor in deciding which direction to go. There are a lot of animation techniques and workflows possible for creating a Cut-out project.

If the studio has never done Digital animation or used a timeline or function curves, they may want to start on a more basic level to get used to the system and the tools. The two main decisions that have to be established for a Cut-out production are:

• Rigging technique (Character breakdown)

• Animation technique

To decide what rigging and animation techniques to use, you need to define your user profile.

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User ProfileThe four main profiles we find among the Toon Boom Digital Pro users are:

• Traditional animatorsnot familiar with digital graphic systemswant to find his/her usual animation skills and principles in the software.

• Advanced digital animatorswant to find animation tools and principles that allow full control over the animation.

• Animators without experiencefamiliar with digital graphic systemswant to find easy animation tools and learn how to animate.

• Animator new to digital graphic systems, but has some animation knowledgewant to produce quick and easy animations for fun or for short deadlines.

Once you have determined which user profile you fit into, you should review the recommended types of animation. Once the studio is more comfortable with the tools, personal techniques can be developed.

The choices are:

• Open Rig technique with Motion Keyframe animation.


• Complete hierarchy rigging technique with Motion Keyframe animation or Open Rig technique with a mix of Stop-Motion and Motion Keyframe animation.



DesignsWe recommend that you design the characters, props, and locations directly in Toon Boom Digital Pro as they will be broken down and rigged in it. This way, whatever the breakdown technique chosen, the lines will be the same style, the palette will already be created and it will be less work to break-down and rig. You can also deign them on paper and scan them in, but this is less efficient in the use of paper resources and time.

On a small project, there is generally one person in charge of the character, prop and location designs. If there is a lot of work to be accomplished, the work can be divided

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between two people, one taking care of the characters and props and the other one taking care of the locations.

• Small studio:one character, prop and location designer

• Medium studio:one character and prop designerone location designer

Refer to the chapter on Character, Prop and Location Design on page 25 to learn more about Colour Styling.

DialogueThe dialogue is also recorded from the script. This step is often recorded outside of the studio and handled by one person. If there is dialogue involved in the project, the final version will have to be recorded soon enough to import it into the project before the animation. This allows the animator to do the sound breakdown and animate the mouth and expressions, as well as the storyboard is required.

• Small or medium studio:one person in charge of the audio recording

Storyboard The storyboard can be started in tandem with the design and the audio recording, but some studios wait until the designs and the audio recording are finalized.

In a small studio, there will generally be one or two storyboard artists. In a medium studio, there are normally two artists, but there may be up to three.

A storyboard artist normally has three to four weeks to create a twenty-two minute episode. To know how many storyboard artists you require, calculate the amount of time allocated for the project to be completed. A storyboard artist will average between two and three storyboards per series.

• Small studio: one to two storyboard artists

• Medium studio: two to three storyboard artists

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Animatic reelThe animatic reel, also known as leica, is made from the storyboard. The storyboard must be completed, approved and locked before the animatic is done. The person in charge of the animatic must ensure consistency over the entire production. A second person can help if you are rushed, but it is generally handled by one person.

Note:

If the storyboard is done on paper, someone will have to scan the storyboard and prepare it for the animatic. In a small team, the animatic person can take care of the scan, or a person can be assigned to that specific task.

• Small studio: one animatic person (also in charge of the scan)

• Medium studio:one animatic personone storyboard scan person* (could be the animatic person)

*If the storyboard is created on paper.

Colour StylingThe colour styling must be done before the animation and character breakdown. By doing the colour styling in Toon Boom Digital Pro, you will not have too recreate palettes and colour models. At the character breakdown step, Toon Boom Digital Pro saves time by using the colour model created to break it apart.

If the backgrounds are painted in an external software, we recommend to do the locations (key backgrounds) colour styling in that same external software.

For a small or medium-sized team, one colour stylist is usually enough, especially if this is done in Toon Boom Digital Pro.

• Small and medium studios:one colour stylist (can also be a colourist or compositor)

Refer to the chapter on Colour Styling and Colour Model on page 91 to learn more about colour styling.

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Production

Background LayoutFrom the storyboard, we normally go to the layout and posing process. For a Cut-out project, the storyboard does not even need to be on model as the characters and props used for the animation are reused puppets that are always on model.

The background layout step can also be achieved with Toon Boom Digital Pro.

In a small studio, the background layout can be handled by one person, while a medium studio might assign two or three people for this task. For the small studio with limited resources, the storyboard artist will create the layout.

To produce a full twenty-two minute episode in one week, about 300 scenes (150 to 160 original backgrounds, the rest reused), will require four or five layout artists.

• Small studio:one background layout artist (can be the storyboard artist)

• Medium studio:two to three background layout artists

Refer to the chapter on Background Layout on page 51 to learn more about layout.

Background PaintingThe backgrounds can be painted in Toon Boom Digital Pro or in an external software. In a small team, one person can handle the background painting. In a medium team, there will probably be two people painting the backgrounds.

• Small studio:one background colourist

• Medium studio:two background colourists

Refer to the chapter on Painting the Background on page 135 to learn more about colouring backgrounds in Toon Boom Digital Pro.

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Character and Prop BreakdownThe character and prop breakdown can be done in many ways. It is important to do this step correctly as these puppets will be duplicated over and over through the whole project.

The character breakdown step can be handled by one or two people on a small team and two or three on a medium one.

The library is normally managed by the breakdown artists. It is important to keep it organized because it is a central piece in the animator’s project.

To build the characters and props for a full twenty-two minutes per week, there will be generally three or four breakdown artists.

• Small studio:one or two character and prop breakdown artists

• Medium studio:two to three character and prop breakdown artists

Refer to the chapter on Character and Prop Breakdown on page 159 to learn more about character and prop breakdown.

Scene SetupThe production starts with the scene setup, which is the equivalent of traditional posing. The scene setup team is a central point in a Cut-out production because they ease the workload of the animators, keep a consistency over the project, reduce the amount of retakes and increase the animation quality and speed.

A scene setup person does not do that task full-time. Once all of the scenes are ready, they can help with other tasks, such as character and prop designs, character building, etc.

• Small studio:one scene setup person

• Medium studio:one to two scene setup people

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Refer to the chapter on Scene Setup on page 329 to learn more about the scene setup.

AnimationThe animation technique has to conform with the rigging technique. The studio has to establish its profile in order to determine which direction to take.

In certain situations, Paperless animation features can help increase the quality of your Cut-out animation.

The number of animators needed for a production is directly related to the amount of animation that has to be produced per week and how long the studio has to deliver the show. We generally see about three to four animators in a medium studio; a smaller studio will have two or three animators.

In a small team, the animators will animate their own effects, whereas a bigger team can have one effect animator to help the Cut-out animators.

The animation quotas depend on the requested animation quality. A proficient animator can produce up to 60 to 65 seconds of animation per week for a medium complexity. For a lower complexity of animation, the rate is 70 to 75 seconds. For very high quality animation, the productivity is around 35 to 40 seconds per week.

• Small studio: one to two animators (Cut-out and effects)

• Medium studio:two to three animatorsone effect animator


CompositingThe compositing is generally a bit more advanced and complex for a Cut-out production than for a Traditional or Paperless one.

On a small team, the animators will probably do their own compositing. In a medium studio, there will be two or three compositors.

The rendering step is generally handled by the compositor.

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About five compositors are required to composite a full twenty-two minutes of medium complexity, per week.

• Small studio:Animators do the compositing

• Medium studio:two or three compositors

Refer to the chapter on Compositing on page 445 to learn more about the Compositing task.

Post-ProductionWhen all the scenes are rendered out, the user will:





5. Distribute the scene, unless there is dubbing to be done

In a small and medium team, a single person is sufficient to create the final editing. Very often, the final transfer will be done by an external post-production company.

• Small or medium studio:one final editing person

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Project RequirementsTo create a Cut-out project, a small or medium studio needs:

Refer to our website for updates on the system requirements. http://www.toonboom.com/products

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Integration for a Big Studio

Big studios are composed of more than thirty-five users. The size of the team will help determine how the tasks are distributed.

Structure and organization are key to the smooth operation of any studio. The people working on the project must be able to communicate and maintain a uniform style over the entire project. Toon Boom Digital Pro’s integrated pipeline and optimized tools can be used to create a fast, high quality and structured animation by a large team.

The size of a team can also have an impact the way that the pipeline is structured. This section presents the most popular workflow examples.

Note:

In each workflow, we present suggested staffing levels and quotas for an average production. These amounts may vary according to the project quality, complexity and schedule. These numbers do not include system administrators, supervisors, producers and directors.

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A Cut-out production reuses a lot of assets, saves time, keeps a maximum amount of work in the same studio and reduces the amount of resources and budget needed. Toon Boom Digital Pro allows you to keep everything in the same software, so that the information can be communicated or organized more easily between team members. In this workflow example, we tried to eliminate a maximum number of Traditional and hand-drawn steps and keep all of the steps in an integrated pipeline.

We have suggested two different workflows to help people starting their studios.

• In Workflow A, most of the steps are done inside Toon Boom Digital Pro.

• In Workflow B, most of the pre-production is accomplished traditionally or in external software.

In example B, the characters and props missing parts are requested through forms and are handled by the character and prop breakdown team, whereas in example A, they are done by the animators themselves. So, Workflow A gives more liberty to the artists, while Workflow B offers more control over what is happening in the production.

Note:

The storyboard is done with the Toon Boom Storyboard software. It has the advantage of being totally digital and compatible with Toon Boom Digital Pro. It creates a layout directly from the Storyboard to animate the project’s scenes and the scene lengths automatically. Animatic and sounds coming from the storyboard are incorporated into every single scene. There is no time lost scanning the whole storyboard and adapting it to the project.

In a Cut-out animation project, there is no need to do the posing step because the characters are always on model and the scene setup step is meant to set the scene elements’ scale and composition.


The ScriptAny project starts with a script, either from the studio itself or acquired from the client requesting the project.

Following the script, the design team will design the characters, props and locations and the storyboard artist will build the storyboard.

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Determining a Studio’s ExperienceThe amount of experience a studio has producing digital animation is an important factor in deciding which direction to go. There are a lot of animation techniques and workflows possible for creating a Cut-out project.

If the studio has never done Digital animation or used a timeline or function curves, they may want to start on a more basic level to get used to the system and the tools. The two main decisions that have to be established for a Cut-out production are:

• Rigging technique (Character breakdown)• Animation technique

To decide what rigging and animation techniques to use, you need to define your user profile.

User ProfileThe four main profiles we find among the Toon Boom Digital Pro users are:

• Traditional animatorsnot familiar with digital graphic systemswant to find his/her usual animation skills and principles in the software.

• Advanced digital animatorswant to find animation tools and principles that allow full control over the animation.

• Animators without experiencefamiliar with digital graphic systemswant to find easy animation tools and learn how to animate.

• Animator new to digital graphic systems, but has some animation knowledgewant to produce quick and easy animations for fun or for short deadlines.

Once you have determined which user profile you fit into, you should review the recommended types of animation. Once the studio is more comfortable with the tools, personal techniques can be developed.

The choices are:

• Open Rig technique with Stop-Motion Keyframe animation.


• Complete hierarchy rigging technique with Motion Keyframe animation or Open Rig technique with a mix of Stop-Motion and Motion Keyframe animation.


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DesignsWe recommend that you design the characters, props, and locations directly in Toon Boom Digital Pro as they will be broken down and rigged in it. This way, whatever the breakdown technique chosen, the lines will be the same style, the palette will already be created and it will be less work to break-down and rig. You can also deign them on paper and scan them in, but this is less efficient in the use of paper resources and time.

The number of designers needed will depend on the project content and the time allocated to the pre-production. A big studio will usually have one or two designers for the characters, one for the props and one or two for the locations.

• Big studio: one or two Character Designersone Prop Designerone or two Location Designers

Refer to the chapter on Character, Prop and Location Design on page 25 to learn more about Colour Styling.

DialogueThe dialogues are also recorded from the script. This step is often recorded out of the studio and handled by one person. If there is dialogue involved in the project, the final version will have to be recorded soon enough to import it in the project before animation. This allows the animator to do the sound breakdown and animate the mouths and expressions.

• Big studio:one person in charge of the audio recording

Storyboard The storyboard can be started in tandem with the design and the audio recording, but some studios will wait until the designs and the audio recording are finalized.

In a big studio, there will generally be ten to fifteen storyboard artists per production. Again, this amount can vary. If the storyboards are quite simple and fast to create, a studio can handle the work with only four storyboard artists.

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A storyboard artist normally has between three to four weeks to create a twenty-two minute episode. To know how many storyboard artists you need, calculate the amount of time allocated for the project to be completed. On average, a storyboard artist will do between two and three storyboards per series.

• Big studio: 10 to 15 storyboard artists

AnimaticThe animatic, also known as leica, is made from the storyboard. The storyboard must be completed, approved and locked for the animatic to be created. There will be one person in charge of the animatic to maintain the consistency over the whole production. More people can help if you are rushed, but it is generally handled by one person. A big studio can have more than one animatic person per production depending on the delays.

Note:

If the storyboard is done on paper, someone will have to scan the storyboard and prepare it for the animatic. In a small team, the animatic person can take care of the scan, or someone can be assigned specifically to that task if you have a larger team.

If the storyboard is created with Toon Boom Storyboard, the storyboard artist can easily create the animatic to really show and set the desired timing.

• Big studio:one to three animatic peopleone storyboard scan person* (could also be the animatic person)

*If the storyboard is created on paper.

Colour StylingThe colour styling must be done before the animation and the character breakdown. By doing the colour styling in Toon Boom Digital Pro, you will not have too recreate palettes and colour models. At the character break-down step, Toon Boom Digital Pro saves time by using the colour model that it created to break it apart

If the backgrounds are painted in an external software, we recommend to do the locations (key backgrounds) colour styling in that same external software.

For a big studio, two colour stylists are often enough.

• Big studio:two colour stylists

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Refer to the chapter on Colour Styling and Colour Model on page 91 to learn more about colour styling.

Production

Character and Prop BreakdownThe character and prop breakdown can be done in many ways. It is important to do this step correctly as these puppets will be duplicated over and over through the whole project.

The character breakdown step can be handled by three or four people, depending on the complexity of characters and the amount of elements to create. Once the studio is fully aware of the techniques to use and is really up to spread, it will be possible to reduce or adjust the amount of people needed.

The library is normally managed by the breakdown artists. It is important to keep it organized because it is a central piece in the animator’s project.

To build the characters and props for a full twenty-two minutes per week, there will be generally three to four breakdown artists.

• Big studio:three to four character and prop break-down artists

Refer to the chapter on Character and Prop Breakdown on page 159 o learn more about character and prop break-down.

Background LayoutFrom the storyboard, we normally go to the layout and posing process. For a Cut-out project, the storyboard does not even need to be on model as the characters and props used for the animation are reused puppets that are always on model.

The background layout step can also be achieved with Toon Boom Digital Pro.

In a big studio, the background layout can be handled by four or five people.

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To produce a full 22-minute episode in one week, about 300 scenes (150 to 160 original backgrounds, the rest is reused), it will require about four or five layout artists.

• Big studio:Four or five background layout artists

Refer to the chapter on Background Layout on page 51 to learn more about Colour Styling.

Background PaintingThe backgrounds can be painted in Toon Boom Digital Pro or in an external software. On a major project, the background painting team uses four or five people per production.

• Big studio:four or five background painters

Refer to the chapter on Painting the Background on page 135 to learn more about colouring backgrounds in Toon Boom Digital Pro.

Scene SetupThe production starts with the scene setup, which is the equivalent of traditional posing. The scene setup team is a central point in a Cut-out production because they ease the workload of the animators, keep a constancy over the project, reduce the amount of retakes and increase the animation quality and speed.

A scene setup person does not do that task full-time. Once all of the scenes are ready, they can help with other tasks, such as character and prop designs, character building, etc.

• Big studio:three or four scene setup people

Refer to the chapter on Scene Setup on page 329 to learn more about scene setup.

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AnimationThe animation technique has to conform with the rigging technique. The studio has to establish its profile in order to determine which direction to take. In certain situations, Paperless animation features can help increase the quality of your Cut-out animation.

The number of animators needed for a production is directly related to the amount of animation that has to be produced per week and how long the studio has to deliver the show. We generally see fifteen to twenty animators in a big studio. Some studios will have one or two effect animators to help the Cut-out animators, while other studios let the animators do their own effects.

The full animation is done by the same animator. There is generally no assistant to do the in-betweens. Cut-out animation is a process that is considerably faster than Traditional or Paperless animation, so the animator can assume the entire work. Also, a better animation quality is maintained if the same person animates the whole scene.

The animation quotas depend on the requested animation quality. A proficient animator can produce up to 60 to 65 seconds of animation per week for a medium complexity. For a lower complexity of animation, the rate is 70 to 75 seconds. For a very good animation quality, the productivity turns around 35 to 40 seconds per week.

• Big studio: fifteen to twenty animatorsone or two effect animators


CompositingThe compositing is generally a bit more advanced and complex for a Cut-out production than a Traditional or Paperless one.

A big studio will have four or five compositors to handle one project.

The rendering step is generally handled by the compositor.

About five compositors are required to composite a full twenty-two minutes of an average project per week.

• Big studio:four to five compositors

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Refer to the chapter on Compositing on page 445 to learn more about the Compositing task.

Post-ProductionWhen all of the scenes are rendered out, the user will:





5. Distribute the scene, unless there is dubbing to be done

The final editing will be generally done by one person to keep the flow constant throughout the entire episode or movie. The final transfer will often be done by an external post-production company.

• Big studio:one final editing person

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Project RequirementsTo create a Cut-out project, a big studio needs:

Refer to our website for updates on the system requirements.http://www.toonboom.com/products

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Mixing Other Animation TechniquesToon Boom Digital Pro is designed to handle Traditional, Paperless and Cut-out animation. Each technique has its own advantages and disadvantages, these are explained in the 2D Animation Workflows chapters in the Introduction and Basics book.

Mixing in Paperless AnimationEven if you draw everything on paper or animate with Cut-out puppets, you can use the digital hand-drawn advantages.

Effects Animation

Effects animation such as smoke or water can take a long time to draw and use a lot of paper for the many in-betweens. Instead of doing it on paper, you can hand draw it digitally and use the Morphing feature to accelerate the process and create the in-betweens.

Refer to the chapter on Paperless Animation chapter to learn about the Morphing feature.

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Tones and Highlights

Tones and highlight levels use a lot of paper and can easily be drawn digitally. It does not require a lot of skill to draw them with the pen tablet and this will save a great deal of paper and scanning time.

For a Cut-out character, tones and highlights can be generated automatically through the compositing step, but for a higher quality look, draw them by hand on an extra layer once the animation is completed.

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Mixing in Traditional AnimationSome animators are more comfortable drawing some elements on paper. Toon Boom Digital Pro can handle all three animation techniques, so there is nothing to stop an animator from animating something on paper and then scanning it to incorporate in a Paperless or Cut-out scene. However, it is often quicker and requires less materials to hand draw digitally.

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Index

Index

Numerics3D Paths 498

AAdding a Camera 348Adding and Connecting Modules 545Adding Colour Pots 40Adding Drawing Elements 36, 63, 188Adding Extra Pieces 201Adding Peg Elements 349Adding the Parent Pegs 236Adding the Pegs 233Advanced Animation 428Advanced Joint Patch Rigging 266Advantages 240, 251, 256Animate Mode 392Animatic 17Animatic / Leica Reel 673Animatic / Leica reel 660Animating 358, 386Animating Elements 527Animation 653, 663, 676Animation Scenes 17Animation Template 309Animation Tools 467Anti-Flicker 579Applying IK Constraints on a Frame Range

400As Bitmap 280As Is 78As Vector 281Audio 313, 324Automatically Mapping Lip Sync Drawings

415

BBackground Layout 661, 674Background Painting 661, 675Backgrounds 17Balancing the Colours 128Basic Animation 423Basic Joint Patches Rigging

Method 1 261Method 2 263

Basic Rules 543Blur Directional 570Blur Radial 570Blur Variable 571Bottom 78Breakdown and Rigging Tips 160Breakdown Preparation 166Breaking Down 192Brightness-Contrast 593Brush and Pencil 29, 59Brush Size 172

CCamera 591Camera Move 535Camera View 449Centre First Page Horizontal 76Centre First Page Vertical 76Centre Left and Right 75Centre Top and Bottom 75Changing the Composite Type 281Changing the Layer Ordering 438Character and Prop Break Down 652Character and Prop Break-Down 674Character and Prop Breakdown 662Choosing the Rigging Technique 238Classical Joint 204Cleaning and Inking the Background 67Cleaning and inking the model 44Clone Palette 115Colour Art 572

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Colour Card 572Colour Model Scene Structure 95Colour Model Storage 92Colour Override 573Colour Scale 573Colour Screen 574Colour Styling 652, 660, 673Colour Types & Properties 108Combining 305Combining or separating the angles 184Combining the angles 184Complete and overlapping pieces 183Completing the Other Angles 201Composite 574Composite Generic 575Composite Modules 479Composite Types 279Compositing 663, 676Connecting 630Connecting Elements to a Composite

Module 549Consulting the References 387Contrast 575Control Points 517Coordinates and Control Points and Module

Properties Views 457Copying and Pasting Drawing Pivots 222Copying and Pasting the Parts 199Create Shadow and Highlight Without

Matte Drawings 598Creating a Basic Palette 39Creating a Function Curve 503Creating a Guide Layer 388Creating a Mouth Chart 413Creating and Loading a Palette 104Creating and Opening the Scene 26Creating a New Palette 105Creating a New Template 325Creating a Template from the Network view

130Creating a Template from the Timeline view

130

Creating Libraries 295Creating Strokes 149Creating strokes after the drawing is

completed 124Creating strokes once the drawing is

completed 150Creating strokes while drawing in Line Art

125, 150Creating Subfolders 297Creating Templates 314Creating the Drawing Elements 183Creating the Glue Joint 215Creating the Joint 205Creating the Peg Functions 272Creating the Scene 52, 166, 331Creating the Template 129Crop 576Crop Module 625Customizing the Parameters 498Cut and complete 193Cut-out Animation Workflow 11Cut-out Character and Prop 322Cut-Out Character and Prop Template 303Cut-Out Puppet 371Cutter 576Cutting and Completing the Parts 193

DDefault Libraries 295Default Palette 38, 62Default Separate Positions 381Default Separate Scale 380Deleting a Template 316Design 651Designing directly in the breakdown scene

177Designs 17, 658, 672Dialogue 659, 672Display 590Displaying & Modifying Visual Trajectories

521

684

Index

Displaying and Modifying Visual Trajectories 360

Displaying a Trajectory 522Display Modes 555Display Module 285, 615Display Modules 553Display Order 482Display Ordering Factors 278Dither 577Drawing Animation 312, 324Drawing Elements 366, 477Drawing Pivot 219Drawings and Keyframes 369Drawing Substitution 407Drawing the Guide Layer 389Duplicate Palette 119Duplicating 304Duplicating and Combining 304

EEase and Bezier Functions 496Editing Sounds 339, 563Editing Templates 325Edit Texture 113Effect Modules 479Effects 564, 569Effects and Modules Available 568Effects Animation 680Effect Suggestions 598Element 590Element Ordering 228Element Positioning 488Elements Setup 467Enabling the Drawing Pivots 230Establishing the Rigging Technique 374Exporting a Panoramic Background 74Exporting Different Resolutions 622External 577Extra Angles Ordering 274Extra Animation Information 442Eyelids and pupils 179

FField Chart 35, 61, 169, 578Final Editing 17Finding a Studio’s Experience 657, 671Finding modules in the Network and

Timeline view 384, 556Finding the User’s Experience 650Flash Movie 638Flipping logos 182Flips 405Focus 580Focus Multiplier 579Functionality 594

GGetting the References 26Global Display 554Glow 580Glue 214, 581Glue Joint Rigging 268Gradient 581Grain 582Greyscale 571Group 283, 588

HHierarchy 250Hierarchy Summary 254Highlight 582

IIK Constraints 397Image Sequence 618, 638Import a Bitmap Layout 141Import a Toon Boom Digital Pro Vector-

Based Layout 141Importing a Colour Model Template 143Importing an Image Sequence Animatic 335

685


Importing an Images Sequence Animatic 462

Importing Animatic and Sound 334Importing a QuickTime Movie Animatic 334,

461Importing Background Elements 465Importing Bitmap Drawings 345Importing colour models created in Toon

Boom Digital Pro 174Importing Elements 334Importing external vector-based models

175Importing External Vector Drawings 346Importing From External Sources 345Importing from the Template Library 340Importing Models 97Importing Palettes and Models 142Importing References 461Importing Sounds 337, 410, 560Importing Templates 318, 340, 440Importing the Animatic 334, 461Importing the Background Layout 140Importing the Different Template Types 322Importing the Model 174Importing the References 55Importing the Storyboard 55Importing the Template in the Background

Painting Scene 141Information Icons 10Input and Output Ports 544Input / Output (IO) 590Integration For a Big Studio 667Integration for an Individual User 648Integration for a Small and Medium Studio

655Interpolation 518Inverse Kinematics 475Inverse Kinematics Tool (IK) 395

JJoint Patch 208Joints 203

KKeeping the fingers with the hand 180Keyframes 367, 512

LLeft 76Libraries 20Library 18, 652Line Art 583Line Art & Colour Art 120Line Art and Colour Art 148Line Up 34, 168Line-Up Template 132Loading Palettes and Models 145Locking and Unlocking Libraries 297Lock or Separate Scale 502Locks and Outlines 404

MMaintain Size 473Master and Animation Templates 307Master Template 307Matte Blur 583Matte Resize 584Mix 256Mixing In Paperless Animation 680Mixing In Traditional Animation 682Mixing Other Animation Techniques 680Mixing Paperless animation 180Mix Summary 256Model Observation 178Models 18Models Created Outside of Toon Boom

Digital Pro 99Models Designed in Toon Boom Digital Pro

98Modifying an Animation Using the Function

Curve 530Modifying a Trajectory 523

686

Index

Modifying the Mouth Chart 417Module Library and Template Library 456Motion Blur 584Motion Keyframes 369, 379, 518Mouth shapes directly on the head 180Move 591Movie or Image Sequence 613Multiplane Environment 482Multiple Render 622Multi Port In 589Multi Port Out 589

NNaming 101Naming Convention 14Naming convention 183Naming Conventions 14Naming Extra Drawings 202Naming the Drawings 189Navigational Displays 459Negate 585Network 486Network Effects 311, 324Network Navigation and Organization 542Network Navigation and Rules 542Network Organization 548Note 591

OOffset Position 592Offset Position (Legacy) 592Offset Spline 476Offsetting a Trajectory 525Onion Skin 59, 202Onion Skin and Light Table 31Opening Templates as Folder 342Opening the Scene 447, 612Open Rig 239Open Rig Summary 241Open Templates as Folders 319

Ordering the Network 235Organizing the Modules 548Outputting a Layout to a Bitmap format 70

PPainting 126, 151Painting in a New Scene 98Painting in the Same Scene 98Painting the Background 147Painting the Model 120, 126Painting your background 151Palette Backup 23Palettes 21Palettes and Colours 37, 62Palette Storage 22Palette Types & Styles 115Paper Models 99Parenting 350, 510Parts Breakdown 192Pass Through 280Paste Special 322Peg 592Peg’s Parameters 350, 495Peg Elements 367, 478Peg Pivot 225Pen Tablet 33, 61Personal Libraries 300Pivots 218Pixelate 585Placeholder 589Playback View 642Play Module 639Plug-ins 593Positioning 353Post-Production 653, 664, 677Pre-broken model 199Preparation 26, 52, 92, 137, 330, 372, 447,

612Pre-Production Variants 651, 658, 672Previewing the Render 642Production 652, 661, 674

687


Production Scenes Structure 14Production Scene Structure 14Project Requirements 654, 665, 678Pros & Cons 287

QQuadmap 593QuickTime Movie 620, 635, 638

RRecomputing the Mouth Chart 419References 18, 330Refract 586Remove Transparency 586Renaming a Drawing 191Renaming a Series of Modules 165Renaming the Template 315Render 19Render from Write Module 636Rendering 633Rendering from a Display Module 633Render Network 70Reusing 303Rigging 226, 241, 254, 257Rigging Joint Patches 260Rigging Joint Patches and Glue Joints 260Rigging Template 164Right 77Root Directories and their Structure 15Root Directory 15Rotary Table 32, 60Rotate 470

SSample Templates 160Scale 471, 587Scale Output Module 622Scale Ratio Template 344Scan the Layout from a TWAIN Device 141

Scene Components 476Scene Creation 94Scene Setup 372, 653, 662, 675Select 468Selecting Elements, Using the Animate

Mode and Peg-Only Mode 480Separate Positions 500Separating the angles 185Setting the Final Details 363Setting the Peg Pivots 257Setting the Preferences 233, 377Setting the Resolution and Frame Rate 54,

332, 466Setting the Scene 137, 348Setting the Scene Composition 352Setting the Scene Length 333Setting up the Workspace 96Shadow 587Sharing the Colour Model 129Single Render 614Size Relation 34, 167Sketching 41, 64Sketching the Background 58Sketching the Model 28Skew 472Sound 337, 560Sound and Lip Sync 410Sound Elements 478Sound Scrubbing 421Sparkle 594Starting 657, 670Starting the Animation 387Starting the Process 650Stop-Motion Keyframes 368, 518Storyboard 19, 659, 672Storyboard, Layout 652Stroke Creation 123Structure Tips 299Structuring the Library 294Subdirectory 16Subdirectory Structure 16SWF (Flash) 633

688

Index

Switching between Motion and Stop-Motion 519

TTask Summary 24, 50, 90, 133, 157, 289,

327, 364, 443, 610, 645Templates 129Template Types 301Temporary Render 644Texture Pen and Transparent Pen 33Textures 19The Advanced Joint Patch 211The Cut-Out Animation Tools 392The Script 650, 657, 670Timeline 485Timeline and Network Views 450Tips & Tricks 152Tips and Tricks 31, 60, 178Tone 588Tones and Highlights 681Tools 29Toon Boom Storyboard Animatic 336, 464Top 77Top, Side and Free Views 453Tracing 197Tracing Directly Over 45Tracing in a New Layer 48Tracing the Parts 197Traditional Animation Workflow 11Trajectories and Motions 493Transform 474Transform Tool 393Translate 469Transparency 578Typing a Drawing Name 189

UUnderstanding Cut-out Animation 366User Profile 658, 671User Profiles 651

Using Cel Substitution to Swap Mouth Drawings in the Element 421

Using the Gradient Colour 154Using the Stroke Tool to Create Tone and

Highlight Zones 152Using the Workspace 27, 53, 139, 167, 331,

373Utransform 71Utransform Options 87

VVelobased Functions 497Velocity 520Velocity and Eases 433Verifying Effects and Final Images 608Verifying the Render 638Verify the Template 131, 317

WWorkflow Suggestion 649, 656, 668Working Directly in the Production Scenes

138Working in a Special Background Scene 138Workspace 448, 613Workspace Views 448Write Module 617Write Modules 622

XX-Sheet 482

ZZ value 487

689


690

cut-out animation workflow

Documents

integrating

digital graphic

default keyboard

digital pro

default keyboard

inverse kinematics

cel substitution

toon boom