Cartooning In Toon Boom Wiki - Recently Updated Pages

Adjusting and tweaking

JK-TGRS — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:28:30 CDT

Adjusting and Tweeking: This page contains multiple tips and tricks for improving your animation work.

Converting Tweens for Non-constant segments from 1's to 2's
To use tweening first and then convert it to 2's, you establish the keys and create the tweened segment and set your spacing as best you can using your function curves. That makes your non-constant segment on 1's. Tweening is always on 1’s by how it is implemented in TBS. Now go to the end of the segment and step back two frames, with the transform tool active "add a keyframe". Then repeat this step back two frames and adding a keyframe process all the way back until your entire segment has been subdivided on 2's with keyframes connected by constant segments. You now have captured the computer assisted tweening and converted it into a sequence of keyframes. If you are not totally happy with the final spacing at this point you can tweek some of those keys. The point here being that you get the aid of automated tweening but the ability to adjust things after the tweens have been created.

Adjusting Animation Timing With Set Exposure and the Cells Panel

You have created a sequence of drawings, your keys, and you want to set up the timing for this sequence of drawings and then go in and add additional inbetweens without changing the timing you have already established for these keys. You always want to extend exposures from the first frame of the sequence of frames in an exposure set. For example, you have a drawing titled c-12 at frame 23 and you want to extend its exposure for 3 frames. You select c-12 at frame 23 and you <right click> and choose "set exposure to 3". This adds 2 additional exposure frames of drawing c-12 and pushes all additional cell exposures out to allow those exposures to be added at frames 24 and 25. Suppose that you want to change your timing and set the number of exposures of drawing c-12 to 4 exposures instead. You go back to frame 23, in this example, and select just drawing cell c-12 again at frame 23 and <right click> and choose "set exposure". This opens a dialog panel where you will enter 4 in the “frames” text box and click OK. You now will have 4 exposure frames of c-12 instead of 3 again the downstream drawing are relocated to accommodate this timing change. Suppose you don't like that timing and you really wanted it to only be 2 exposure frames. You need to go back to frame 23 ,again, and select drawing c-12 and this time <right click> and choose "set exposure to 2" .This reduces the exposure frames for drawing c-12 down from 4 to 2 and the downstream cells are shifted back to account for the reduction in frames used by drawing c-12. You can add or subtract exposures for each drawing in a sequence of drawings using this technique as a way to adjust and fine tune your animation timing.

Now suppose that you have your timing adjusted and you now want to start adding some in between drawings into this timed out sequence of keys but you don't want to change the timing. You move to a frame where you want to replace an existing drawing exposure with a new inbetween drawing, and select that frame either in the timeline or on your exposure sheet. Now go to your "Cells" panel, where you will see a preview of the drawing cell that is currently occupying that frame. To replace that drawing cell with a new blank drawing, you just pull the slider handle at the bottom of the "Cells" panel all the way over to your far left and this replaces the current drawing with a new blank drawing and you are ready to draw your in between. You repeat this technique for each in between drawing you want to add into your already timed out sequence.

Suppose that you don't want to use the Cells panel to insert blank cells for your inbetweens as described above. Here is another approach where you want to duplicate the cell in the previous frame and then just modify the new cell as your inbetween. You have a sequence of frames with a cell followed by one or more hold frames of that same cell. You move the frame slider to whichever hold frame in this sequence that you want to convert into an inbetween. You right click to open the context menu and select the "duplicate drawing" command.You now have an exact uniquely named duplicate of your original cell and you can modify it into your inbetween.

C1- -C2-C3-C4-C5-C6- (13 frames) "C1" is a cell that is exposed three times the "-" represents a hold frame.
C1C7-C2-C3-C4-C5-C6- (13 frames) C7 is a duplicate of C1 to be modified as an inbetween.
C1C7C8C2-C3-C4-C5-C6- (13 frames) C8 is a duplicate of C7 to be modified as an inbetween.

Notice that the timing has not changed, it is still 13 total frames but you have now inserted two duplicate cells for inbetweens between key drawing C1 and key drawing C2. The same process is repeated to put in inbetween cells between keys throughout the sequence by converting holds to duplicates of the previous key drawing cell.

This technique also works on the timeline. You select the desired drawing which is represented by a tick mark on the track for the element and <right click> and choose set exposure and enter the desired total number of frame exposures in the dialog panel.

Readers are encouraged to update this informational content, add keywords to assist other readers in locating this page, or link this page to other pages where appropriate. If this term is not yet defined please feel free to start the definition of this term and other readers will hopefully add to or improve upon that beginning.

copy and paste

JK-TGRS — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 07:47:32 CDT

Copy and Paste has a lot of different contexts so it isn't just simply a matter of copy and paste, but rather what you are wanting to copy and paste. You can copy and paste entire drawings (cells) or you can copy and paste component parts of complete drawing (drawing objects) or you can copy and paste selective key framed parameters. And in addition to the various contexts for copy and paste there is also duplicating for cells which isn't the same as a copy and paste.

So how do we sort all this out? First we need to be clear that a cell is a complete drawing. An element is a stack of drawings (one or more cells). Each of those cells can be assigned to one or more frames for that element in a time line sequence. The assignment of a cell to a frame is called an exposure. A cell is not a frame, a frame is not a cell. There is only one of each frame that exists in a time sequence, but there can be many instances of the same cell exposed in that same time sequence. So each frame is numbered to identify its time based location in the sequence. And each cell is uniquely named so that it can be identified each time it is exposed (assigned to a specific frame). When you copy a cell and paste that copy to a new frame for the same element then you have just actually assigned the same identical cell to an additional frame. It isn't a separate copy it is the same exact cell, it just has been assigned an additional exposure. In the exposure sheet adjacent frames that have the same cell assigned to them are indicated by a line through the frame much like you made a "ditto" notation on a piece of paper to show that the word on the line above is repeated on the next line and so on.

If you want to have a unique instance of a cell you don't copy and paste the cell you duplicate the cell.

The easiest way to duplicate a cell is as follows.
(1) select the cell you want to duplicate in the exposure sheet or in the timeline.
(2) right click to open the context menu.
(3) select the "add exposure" command (keyboard short cut R)
(4) move to the frame where the added exposure was created and select the new exposure of your original cell.
(5) right click to open the context menu.
(6) select the "duplicate drawing" command.
You now have an exact uniquely named duplicate of your original cell.

A different type of duplication:
If you select a cell in element "A" and you drag it to a frame position in a new element "B" on your exposure sheet (or timeline) the cell will be renamed to fit the naming order for element "B" and it will no longer be assigned to the frame it occupied in element "A", but the originally named version of the cell still exists in element "A", it just no longer has a current frame assignment. So it appears to disappear. You see a cell is a drawing and it exists in the element where it was created even if it is no longer assigned a time sequence frame position for that element.

If you select a frame for element "A" and you go to the "cells" panel and type in the number for the "missing" cell, it will be there and will be reassigned to that frame in addition to being a unique cell in element "B".

Because the same cell is part of two separate elements it has two unique names and therefore each instance of that cell is unique and separate from the instance in the other element. Effectively you duplicated the cell in a different element by dragging the cell from one element to another element.

What about other form of copy and paste? Let's copy a drawing object. First we need to be sure we are clear on what is a drawing object. A cell is a drawing and a drawing is composed of one or more drawing objects. So if you have a cell displayed in drawing view you can use the drawing select tool (keyboard short cut 1) to select any of that drawing's component drawing objects. You can hold down the shift key as you select drawing objects to create a temporary group of drawing objects. Once you have your desired drawing object selected you can use the "edit>copy drawing object" command to copy the drawing object. Next you need to select a new cell in the same or a different element in your exposure sheet. This often is confusing for people because if a cell doesn't exist for a frame location in an element and you select that frame location TBS will create a new cell and assign it to that selected frame as soon as you paste into the new cell or start to draw in the new cell. Just remember a frame is not a cell and cell is not a frame.

OK, so how do we paste a drawing object into our selected cell. We will use the "edit>paste drawing object" command. But this command is only available if the drawing view window has "focus". Which means we must click on the drawing view window to give it "focus" then we can execute the paste action for the copied drawing object.

Toon Boom Studio Collaborative - Home Page

JK-TGRS — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:14:32 CDT

IMPORTANT NOTE:
Be sure to check the "What's New" tab above to see the latest activity here at the Cartooning In Toon Boom Wiki.

WELCOME

Welcome to the Cartooning in Toon Boom Studio collaborative Wiki. Now that you are here what can you do and how do you do it? You can look up information about important terminology in the Glossary of Terms, or you can find interesting tips and techniques in the Index of Tips and Techniques. You can find tutorials in the Index of Tutorials or you can just perform a "keyword" search using the "keyword" search box located above the "-Wiki pages" side panel on your left. Just type in a word or phrase that relates to what you want to learn. It's that easy.

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OUR GOAL

This Wiki has been created as a shared knowledge resource for Toon Boom Studio users everywhere. It is a companion site to the Cartooning In Toon Boom blog. Our goal, over time, is to populate this wiki with a complete glossary of terminology and techniques pertaining to cartoon making, animation, and the usage of Toon Boom Studio. A wiki is a community built on responsible contributions and collaboration and in that spirit we invite readers of this wiki to add to this knowledge base. You as a participant in the wiki can assume many roles. You are first a reader but you also can be an editor or an author. Before you move from being just a reader, please visit the Author-Editor Guidelines page to better understand how to perform those responsibilities.

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If you have questions about how to use Toon Boom Studio software or about cartoon making and animation in general, we now have Discussion Forum Threads included as part of the Wiki that can be used for discussing and answering those questions. (please read the important exceptions statement below)

DISCUSSION FORUM THREADS EXCEPTIONS GUIDE

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Glossary of Terms

JK-TGRS — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:10:47 CDT

Readers are encouraged to add additional terms and to create a new information page for any term which doesn't currently have its own page. If a term currently has its own page, then readers are encouraged to add to the content on that existing term information page. If you create a new term information page for a term, please use the template called Definition page .

3D space

alpha value, animation, animation cycles, animation project, animation properties, Auto Light Table

Brush tool

camera, Camera View window, catalog, cell, cell notes, cell swapping, child, clone, Close Gap tool, color palettes, color swatches, color transform effect, constant segments, Contour Editor tool, contours, control point, copy, cushion, cut-out animation, Cutter tool

Draw Top Layer, drawing elements, Drawing View, Dropper tool

easing, element notes, Elements, Ellipse tool, Eraser tool, Exposure Sheet, exposures, extreme

flattening, flipping, frame, frame rate, Function Editor

global library, Grabber tool

image elements , inking

keyframes

layering elements, library, lip chart, local library

media elements, motion guide, motion path, motion points

non-constant segments

object drawing model , onion skin, overlay, Optimize

paint all, palettes, palette styles, paste, peg, pen definitions, Pencil tool, pivot point, Properties window

Rectangle tool, Rotate tool,

Scale tool, Sceneplanning views, Scissor tool, Set Exposure, Side View window, Sound Element Editor, spacing, Static Light Table, Stroke tool

templates, Text tool, Timeline window, timing, Top View Window, Transform tool, tweening

vectorizing, velocity

workflow

zone, Zoom tool

peg

JK-TGRS — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 08:07:03 CST

peg: We can direct computer aided animation using keyframes but we need a way to connect an element to many different types of keyed frame values as well as a way to specify the length of our connecting segments between each beginning and ending keyed frame pair. We also need a place to tie a velocity function curve to each connecting segment. In Toon Boom Studio we have a container for keyed frame values and inbetweening instructions and that container is called a peg. Looking back to the origin of the registration peg, we can see that pegs and peg bars were originally created as registration devices, and we are still using them in that way in our virtual version too. We are registering animation attribute values and instructions to art work elements for specified frame sequences.

In Toon Boom Studio beginning with version 3.5, we can have pegs in two forms. We can have them as independent element tracks in our timeline or we can have them as integrated parts of other element tracks where the peg is included inside of a drawing or image element track. The important point here is that any usage of pegs for containing information and instructional registration is a part of compositing and planning and therefore only useful in the timeline directly associating the pegs with Camera View for scene planning. Pegs have no real meaning with respect to the exposure sheet which is primarily used to manage drawing organization and Drawing View.

A peg, whether an independent element or integrated into a drawing or image element, can contain multiple different types of attributes of keyed frame values at each individual frame in a scene (location, scale, rotation, or skew values). TBS provides specific visual indicators on a timeline track display for each type of keyed value present at each single frame. Conceptually a peg element is a collection of pegs, each of which is a multi-valued container. Each frame position of a peg element is a peg container. For simplification we just refer to the peg element and its individual peg containers as a peg. So just like the term keyframe can be singular or plural depending on the context of our use, the same thing is true for the term peg. And a peg element can contain many connecting segments as defined by each occurrence of a starting and ending key framed value for the same type of attribute.

This means that even though three segments, one for scale and one for rotation and one for location, might all start at the same frame they don’t have to be the same length, they can each end on different frames. Each segment does not have to have the same type of inbetweening method either, some could be constant and the others non-constant, and each non-constant segment has its own unique velocity function curve that controls the in between image spacing. That’s a lot of flexibility for us as animators to be able to direct.

So to extend what we have learned so far, pegs are used to keyframe animate objects across time. You can attach one or more elements to a peg and you can attach pegs to other pegs to create complex hierarchies of control. Pegs are used to facilitate computer rendered inbetweening. So when you have elements attached to a peg, you can set keyframes and TBS interpolates inbetween those keyframes based on the values of those keyframes and the type of connecting segment used. And you can use velocity function curves to adjust the way the inbetweening is applied which is often called “custom easing” or "cushioning". Basically the curve specifies the rate of change between the images, their spacing.

Additionally, pegs can be controlled by motion paths which are 3D and those motion paths can have adjustable keyframes and they also can have frame independent motion control points. That allows you to have some motion control that has to happen at a specific point in time and other motion controls that are 3D space dependent and not time dependent. At this point, you should begin to see that TBS has some very sophisticated functionality that can provide a lot of flexibility for us as animators once we master the skills of directing this method of communicating instructions to the render engine. There is a new way to use pegs in v3.5 as each image or drawing element now includes a peg as part of that image or drawing element. This means that keyframing does not require attaching elements to separate peg elements as was the case in previous TBS versions. Of course the power and flexibility of separate peg elements still exists and so this new creation of integrated peg elements is not just a simplification but is also an enhancement.

On top of the many uses pegs have in the animation process, they can also serve as organizational devices, or folders of sorts, which can hold assets in your libraries and maintain them in a very orderly manner. For example, if you have a cut-out character, and want to save it in your global library, you could drag each individual element into the library, where each would become a template. However, this can easily cause a lot of clutter in your library, but we can use pegs as containers or folders to store all those elements and make them much easier to access later on. To do this all you need to do is take your cut-out character, and create a parent peg at the top of your timeline. Attach all of your elements to this parent peg, name it whatever you like, collapse it and drag that peg into your library. It will bring all attached elements with it, and they will keep their hierarchical relationships and any key frame values as well. This is a great way to store characters as well as groups of background elements or just about anything else you want to organize. When you need the assets again, simply drag your peg "folder" into your timeline, expand it, and you will have all the elements right at your fingertips in a new project.

Readers are encouraged to update this informational content, add keywords to assist other readers in locating this page, or link this page to other pages where appropriate. If this term is not yet defined please feel free to start the definition of this term and other readers will hopefully add to or improve upon that beginning.

peg hierarchy

JK-TGRS — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 08:01:12 CST

Peg Hierarchy: Creating a pegged hierarchy of elements is a technique used in TBS to create and maintain relationships between the included elements. This is particularly useful in insuring that elements move together in a coordinated and predicitable manner. It is also the basis for construction of cut-out character rigs.

How to attach elements to pegs to establish a peg hierarchy

Assumptions: you have created one or more drawing or image elements and each of those elements contains one or more cells. If not you need to create your elements to follow these steps.

You are using TBS (studio not studio express) V 3.0 or higher.

We will be working in the timeline, on your left is a list of elements each element is also referred to as a track. When a track label is highlighted that means it is the current selection. For the purpose of this explanation I will use several drawing elements which I have named D1, D2, D3. These are just example names and not significant. I will name my pegs P1, P2, P3 ect. These are example names also and not significant.

My timeline track list starts off looking like this with 5 tracks:
D3
D2
D1
P1
Camera

Step 1: I select track D3.

Step 2: I go to the upper left corner of the timeline and click on the "add peg element" icon (it looks like an arc with a plus sign in the middle)

My timeline track list now looks like this with 6 tracks:
P2
D3
D2
D1
P1
Camera

I now want to attach D3 to P2.

Step 3: I click on D3 and hold the left mouse button while I drag D3 directly on top of P2 then I release the mouse button.

My timeline track list now looks like this with 6 tracks:
>P2
D3
D2
D1
P1
Camera

Notice that D3 is now indented under P2 which indicates that it is attached to that peg element. P2 shows a triangle icon that lets me collapse or uncollapse the peg and its attached elements.

I'm going to do the same thing to my camera and P1

Step 4: I click on Camera and hold down the mouse button and drag Camera directly over the top of P1 then release the mouse button.

My timeline track list now looks like this with 6 tracks:
>P2
D3
D2
D1
>P1
Camera

Now I'm going to attach D2 and D1 to a new peg.

Step 5: I select D2 and click on the Add Peg Element icon to create the new peg

My timeline track list now looks like this with 7 tracks:
>P2
D3
P3
D2
D1
>P1
Camera

Step 6: I "<shift> select" both D1 and D2 hold down the mouse button and drag this group of elements directly over the top of P3 and then release the mouse button.

My timeline track list now looks like this with 7 tracks:
>P2
D3
>P3
D2
D1
>P1
Camera

Now I want to attach P2 and its attached element D3 and P3 and its attached elements D2 and D1 to a common parent peg P4.

Step 7: I select P2 and click on the Add Peg Element icon to create P4.

Step 8: I click on the triangle next to P2 to collapse the peg.

Step 9: I click on the triangle next to P3 to collapse the peg.

Step 10: I "<shift> select" tracks P2 and P3 and hold down the mouse button and drag this group of pegs directly over the top of P4 and then release the mouse button.

My timeline track list now looks like this with 8 tracks and all pegs un-collapsed:
>P4
>P2
D3
>P3
D2
D1
>P1
Camera

That's the process, step by step, for creating parent child relationships using pegs in a hierarchy

Readers are encouraged to update this informational content, add keywords to assist other readers in locating this page, or link this page to other pages where appropriate. If this term is not yet defined please feel free to start the definition of this term and other readers will hopefully add to or improve upon that beginning.

Working with Sound

JK-TGRS — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 07:36:50 CST

Working with Sound: The purpose of this page is to collect information related to working with audio in Toon Boom Studio. Audio recording plays a key role in the production of animated cartoons. The actual source recording and sound preperation is done outside of TBS and therefore the variety of methods employed and tools utilized can vary widely. Hopefully over time we will build up a good resource here on the subject.

Recording and Processing Audio -- sourced from notes written by Peter Schwaiger

First of all, the quality of your recorded audio depends on every part of the signal chain it has to go through: voice, microphone, soundcard, software. Cheap components have a tendency to produce more noise ( undesirable sound ) than state-of-the-art products.

Second, whether you are using a condenser microphone or a dynamic one, in most cases a microphone signal has to be pre-amplified to get enough gain. This is what a pre-amplifier does; condenser microphones additionally need phantom power of 48V, which usually is also supplied by the amp; dynamic mics don't; but condenser mics mostly sound better and clearer on vocals than dynamic mics.

Next, you have to take into account the resolution of your sound card. Normally, 16 Bit should be enough (this is the resolution of an audio cd).

And last but not least, the signal has not only to be recorded to sound good, it also has to be processed. Vocals, whether spoken or sung, need to be compressed to be understandable when underlaid with music or other sounds. A compressor "compresses" the dynamic range of your audio - i.e. first reduces only the loudest parts of your audio, then makes the whole signal louder again. The loudest parts are now as loud as before. But everything underneath is now raised up, which gives the signal more overall loudness. (This is why you can hear a rock singer breath, though there's a drummer and tons of electric guitar there at the same time.)

And now the good news: there are some good and cheap condenser mics on the market. Personally I use an AKG C-1000 for quick vocal takes, but there a others, like the Samson C-1 etc. When it comes to soundcards, if you ever plan to buy another one, think about buying an external device. There are many so-called audio interfaces on the market now, some based on USB, some on firewire, many of them rather cheap - especially, if you only record vocals and therefore don't need many mixing inputs. These interfaces are kind of external "soundcards". (I would always prefer to convert my analoque audio signal to digital outside the humming box of my computer.) Most of them have microphone pre-amps (and phantom power) already built in - so you don't need any additional components.

Finally, I can't recommend any particular audio recording software, since this depends on your OS as well as personal taste. I use Apple Logic Studio and Garageband most of them time, since I do own a small recording studio, but there's lots of others.Please, don't compress your "dirty" signal - not only would you make the vocals louder, but also the unwanted noise. Credit -source Peter Schwaiger

Readers are encouraged to update this informational content, add keywords to assist other readers in locating this page, or link this page to other pages where appropriate. If this term is not yet defined please feel free to start the definition of this term and other readers will hopefully add to or improve upon that beginning.

Rotate tool

JK-TGRS — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 11:20:20 CST

Rotate tool: The rotation tool is one of the scene operation tools used for key framed animation. It is located on the scene tools palette and can be selected by using keyboard short-cut key 8.

The rotation tool is similar to the skew tool in that you really only want to use it for two things. (1) Positioning the green pivot point used for referencing the rotation angle. (2) Copying or deleting just a rotation keyframe from a frame containing other types of keyframes.

But when you are animating rotation parameters you should use the transform tool to set rotation keys.

Here is an additional tip. The skew pivot and the rotation pivot are the same green pivot point so you can only have one set pivot point per element either for rotation or for skewing. You may want to use a separate parent peg element for an element where you need to have seperate fixed pivot points for both rotations and skewing,that way you don't interfere with the rotational pivot point setting of the attached drawing element. You would then set your rotation keys on the element itself and the skewing keys on its attached parent peg element. Or you can just use the transform tools temporary (blue) pivot point for setting your skew pivot reference when you are setting your skew keys. Just remember that you can't move the green pivot point for either rotations or skewing after you start keyframing without impacting all previously set rotation or skew keys.

Readers are encouraged to update this informational content, add keywords to assist other readers in locating this page, or link this page to other pages where appropriate. If this term is not yet defined please feel free to start the definition of this term and other readers will hopefully add to or improve upon that beginning.

Skew Tool

JK-TGRS — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 10:59:41 CST

Skew Tool: The skew tool is one of the scene operation tools used for key framed animation. It is located on the scene tools palette sharing the same icon space as the rotation tool and doesn't have a direct hot key like the other scene operations tools so you can access this tool by selecting the rotation tool and then click on the small arrow next to the rotation tool icon and select the skew tool from the context menu.

The skew tool is similar to the rotation tool in that you really only want to use it for two things. (1) positioning the green pivot point used for referencing the skew angle. (2) copying or deleting just a skew keyframe from a frame containing other types of keyframes.

But when you are animating skew parameters you should use the transform tool to set skew keys. Hold down the ALT key while you have your element selected with the transform tool and it converts into a skewing control box.

Here is an additional tip. Because the skew pivot and the rotation pivot are the same green pivot point you may want to use a separate parent peg element for skew animating that way you don't interfere with the rotational pivot point setting of the attached drawing element. Or you can just use the transform tools temporary (blue) pivot point for setting your skew pivot reference when you are setting your skew keys. Just remember that you can't move the green pivot point for either rotations or skewing after you start keyframing without impacting all previously set rotation or skew keys.

Readers are encouraged to update this informational content, add keywords to assist other readers in locating this page, or link this page to other pages where appropriate. If this term is not yet defined please feel free to start the definition of this term and other readers will hopefully add to or improve upon that beginning.

Index of Tutorials

JK-TGRS — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 18:15:37 CST

Automated Lip Sync - A Video Tutorial
Importing a Series of Bitmapped Images into Toon Boom Studio to create a pencil test. - Video Tutorial

Key Framed Animation
Key Framed Animation - Part 1
Key Framed Animation - Part 2
Key Framed Animation - Part 3
Key Framed Animation - Part 4
Key Framed Animation - Part 5

General Animation and Toon Boom Usage Tutorials
A Good Place to Start - Part 1
A Good Place to Start - Part 2
A Text Scrolling Technique In Perspective
Creating A Custom Color Palette
Creating Multiple Shots in a Single Scene
Drop Shadow Technique
Jumping Into Animation - Part 1
Jumping Into Animation - Part 2
Thumbnail Planning Technique
Using A Subtractive Animation Technique

Cut-Out Character Animating
Animating Cut-Out Characters Part 1
Animating Cut-Out Characters Part 2
Introduction To Photo Cut-Out Animation Part 1
Introduction To Photo Cut-Out Animation Part 2
Introduction To Photo Cut-Out Animation Part 3

Readers are encouraged to update this informational content, add keywords to assist other readers in locating this page, or link this page to other pages where appropriate. If this term is not yet defined please feel free to start the definition of this term and other readers will hopefully add to or improve upon that beginning.

Index of Tips and Techniques

JK-TGRS — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 18:14:35 CST

Here is a jumping off point for finding Tip, Tricks, and Techniques that are useful in using Toon Boom Studio.

Tips & Tricks

Adjusting your timing using the Set Exposure command

Cell swapping in an element

Adjusting and tweaking your timing by converting TBS tweened non-constant segments from 1's to 2's

Creating A Custom Color Palette

Flipping to check your animation timing

Inking in Thick and Thin Lines

Importing artwork from Flash into Toon Boom Studio

Layering Elements in 3D space

Using Elements Notes and Cell Notes

Techniques

Automatic Lip Sync - a 2 part video tutorial
Importing a Series of Bitmapped Images into Toon Boom Studio to create a pencil test. - Video Tutorial

Cut-out Rigging and Animating
Animating Cut-Out Characters Part 1
Animating Cut-Out Characters Part 2
Introduction To Photo Cut-Out Animation Part 1
Introduction To Photo Cut-Out Animation Part 2
Introduction To Photo Cut-Out Animation Part 3

Key Framed Animating
Key Framed Animation - Part 1
Key Framed Animation - Part 2
Key Framed Animation - Part 3
Key Framed Animation - Part 4
Key Framed Animation - Part 5

Classical Hand Drawn Animating
A Good Place to Start - Part 1
A Good Place to Start - Part 2
Jumping Into Animation - Part 1
Jumping Into Animation - Part 2
Thumbnail Planning Technique

Effects and Special Techniques
A Text Scrolling Technique In Perspective
Creating Multiple Shots in a Single Scene
Drop Shadow Technique
Using A Subtractive Animation Technique

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Toon Boom Studio File Format

Michael.Massing — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 13:37:07 CST

There are many files types that are linked to the Toon Boom Studio application. This being said, not every one of those file types can be opened directly or by the application itself, so here is a quick description of all the file types along with their purpose:

.tbpd:
The tbpd file stands for Toon Boom Project Directory. This is a file type that is only applicable for Mac users. Basically these are packaged files so they include all the other files that you launch to open up your project on the Mac platform. If you want to access the file assets of your project on the Mac you will first need to navigate to the package tbpd file in the Finder and then Cntrl+Click on the tbpd file to do a Show Package Content. This will bring you inside the package where you will have access to drawings/bitmap/sounds that you have imported or created in your project so far. Viewed from a PC machine the tbpd file will be shown as a simple folder which contains the tbp and the subfolders that contain the project contents.

.tbp:
The tbp file stands for Toon Boom Project. These files are the core of your project and will be the files that you open to access your project on Windows PC (you can also open tbp file under Mac but you will first need to access the tbpd package content to see the tbp). The information contained inside the tbp file is limited to the project information (names of elements and such), peg and timing information and links to all the external files such as the drawings/bitmaps/sounds. This means that if you move a tbp file away from its location in the project folder you will still be able to open the project but no contents will show (you will get error messages about being unable to access drawings).

.tbd:
The tbd file stands for Toon Boom Drawing. These are the actual vector drawings that you create with Toon Boom Studio. Those file cannot be opened in any way with Toon Boom Studio, they are accessed through the links contained inside the tbp file. The only way to get those files into a project, other then the one in which they were created, would be to create a second project with in which you create a drawing with the exact same name and afterward replace the newly created drawing with the one from to old project. Basically you are creating a link to a drawing file and then substituting an identically named file in its place. Be aware that this method is not the easiest one to get drawings transferred ,you should use library templates instead. This drawing substitution method is mostly used for recover drawings from corrupted projects.

.tbc:
The tbc file stands for Toon Boom Catalog. These files are the core of the library. Their purpose is to tell Toon Boom Studio where the templates are saved on your machine. It does not contain any specific files but rather links to the actual templates. These type files will be created when you create a new library from inside the Toon Boom Studio Library panel. It is not possible to open such a .tbc file directly with the Toon Boom Studio application, if you want to import a catalog file that you have downloaded you will need to use the Open Library...command from the Library panel inside TBS. Even though these files are referred to as catalogs they should not be confused the actual catalogs that can be created as subdivisions of a library inside theToon Boom Studio application. A tbc file is actually a full library by itself, which can contain many subdivision catalogs, which you have created to subdivide it, so only one tbc file will be created even if you create multiple catalogs to subdivide that library).

.tbt:
The tbt file stands for Toon Boom Templates. These are the template files that are created whenever you drag content from your timeline panel to the library. A tbt file cannot be opened by itself directly with Toon Boom Studio. To get the template inside of Toon Boom Studio you will first need to open up the Toon Boom Studio application and then access your library. In there select a library or catalog into which you want to import the template and then right click (cntrl+click on Mac) in the right part of the library to use the Import Template command. Once imported you will be able to modify the template itself by using the Edit Template command by right clicking on the template in the library. Once you are done working on that template save your work and right click on that same template to use the Return to Scene command.

.tbcp:
The tbcp file stands for Toon Boom Color Palette. You can create these files to export and import color palettes from one project to another. These files contain the color swatches for the color palette that was previously created and exported from a TBS project. The tbcp file cannot be opened directly with Toon Boom Studio but rather needs to be imported using the Import Palette command from the context menu associated with the Color Palette tab of Toon Boom Studio.

Be aware that the above file information is very technical and straight to the point, as this page is describing the file types and their usage by the Toon Boom Studio application. The purpose of this page is to help readers understand why this file or that file does not open directly or gives the user an error message when they try to open the file directly; for detailed software usage information about how to get things done inside TBS make sure to look for and read the more detailed usage topics in the Wiki.

lip chart

JK-TGRS — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 11:27:40 CST

lip chart: It can be a difficult task to know how to draw a characters mouth so that it matches the sound at the right frame. To help you solve this problem Toon Boom Studio provides you with the lip sync feature which analyses the contents of a sound clip element and generates a lip chart based on the eight animation phonemes (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and X, which represents silence). You can refer to the lip chart positions as you draw the shape of your character’s mouth. Basically sounds can be brok en up phonetically. You don't want to try to match your mouth positions to each letter in a word but rather to the sounds being made. The mouth chart on the left was created by Rob Campbell to help you get a better sense of the mapping of the basic phonemes to the TBS lip chart letters. It is a great resource. Just don't be confused by the use of letters either by Toon Boom or in these mouth charts. The letters represent phonetic sounds. So as you listen to dialog, listen for the sounds and begin to relate your facial muscles to how you make those sounds you don't speak in letters you speak in sounds. You spell with letters.

Lips charts have to be approached based on the orientation of the character speaking. If the character is in profile that will require a different set of mouth positions than if the character is face forward or in 3/4 perspective. The TBS lip sync functionality is a great tool to help you with your lip sync animation but you also need to look at it as just a great starting point. The final work is up to your own artistic skill. Many artists use in-betweening techniques to blend the mouth movements as the character speaks as opposed to "snapping" the characters mouth from position to position. Like any animation you want to first establish your keys and then you can apply in-betweens to smooth out the motions. Another important observation is that facial muscles distort as a character speaks but teeth do not.

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Field Guide

JK-TGRS — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 11:09:15 CST

Field Guide: A field guide is a reference grid used to layout animation drawings. The easiest way to produce your work at a standard size (and of knowing where the center is) is to use an animation graticule (also called a field guide). Normally these show all the field sizes from 1F to 12F.

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Zoom tool

JK-TGRS — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 11:08:32 CST

Zoom tool: The zoom tool which looks like a magnifying glass is used to allow you to change the zoom level of the current view. When the zoom tool shows a + (plus) that indicates that it will produce magnified views, this is the default setting for the tool. To produce reductions in magnification the plus is changed to a - (minus) by holding down the ALT key. To use the zoom tool for either magnification or reduction of the current view you select the zoom tool from the drawing tools panel (keyboard shortcut 5) then you can click anywhere in the current drawing or camera view to change the zoom level. Multiple clicks will produce multiple zoom level changes. To specifically designate the drawing section in which you want magnification, you can drag a bounding box around the area.

Unfortunately, Toon Boom Studio does not have numeric zoom percentages available for selection, but there is an easy way toconsistently achieve specific zoom levels using your 12 field guide (keyboard shortcut G). A 12 field is equivalent to 100% zoom percentage or 1:1 which is the default zoom level. Then to know a particular percentage zoom you can divide 12 by the percentage zoom desired. For example 12 divided by 4 equals 3 so that means a 3 field equals a 400% zoom percentage.

For quick reference an 8 field is 150% zoom, a 6 field is a 200% zoom, a 4 field is a 300% zoom, a 3 field is a 400% zoom, and a 2 field is a 600% zoom.

To set the zoom to a particular % you use the zoom tool to pull a diagonal bounding box between the field numbers of the field size you want as your zoom, so pulling a diagonal bounding box between the 4's thatdesignate a 4 field on your field guide will get you a 4 field view which is a 300% zoom. Then using the keyboard short cut key B you can toggle between active views, for example between 100% zoom and 300% zoom, etc.

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flipping

JK-TGRS — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 15:21:31 CST

Many animators like to "flip" their drawings to check out how an action is progressing. There is a little talked about trick in TBS that is a great alternative to traditional "flipping" . If you highlight a sequence of cells in one or more elements in your exposure sheet or on the time line and then press the Shift + Enter key, TBS will just render a preview of just that sequence of cells and by using the "loop" button on the render viewer, you can watch them flip over and over and see how the action is looking. This is much nicer than trying to use the A and S keys to manually flip through a sequence. It is a really fast way to flip through any sequence of cells you select. One more of those little animator friendly features in Toon Boom Studio.

[ The following excellent approach and creative ideas have been contributed by David Nethery ]

Another technique for "flipping" or "rolling" between drawings in ToonBoom Studio 4.0 is to use a Griffin Powermate USB controller . Assign the A and S key shortcuts to the Powermate, so when you turn it clockwise it will advance frame-by-frame through the drawings on the timeline or X-sheet or if you turn it counter-clockwise it will go back up the X-sheet or timeline frame-by-frame. By rocking back and forth with the Powermate knob you can simulate "flipping" between drawings as on a traditional animation disc. I also have mine set up so that it returns to the First Frame by pushing down on the Powermate knob ( The key shortcut I use is Shift+B ; you can use any unassigned key shortcut you want in the Toon Boom Preferences, then assign it to the Griffin Powermate controller. )

This photo shows a single Powermate in use with an Intous tablet as a "flipping" controller to rock back-and-forth along the timeline .

I like to use a second Powermate which can be assigned the V and C key shortcuts to rotate the drawing area . Shift+C returns the image to it's original orientation. The Powermate can be programmed with multiple key shortcuts depending on how you turn it or if you click the knob or click and turn at the same time.

These days I use a Cintiq tablet more than the Intous , so here is a photo showing my dual-Powermate set up with my Cintiq and animation desk. However, a dual-Powermate set up can be used with a regular Intous Tablet , too, with the Powermates resting on the edge of the tablet or on the surface of your work table in front of you computer monitor.

(I have my Cintiq retrofitted into a traditional animation desk . If you have a Cintiq and want to retrofit it to a desk you can get the mount from TurnTablet.Com . )

In the photo the upper Powermate controls the rotation of the workspace and the lower Powermate controls the scrubbing of the timeline for the "flipping" effect. It is much easier to simply reach over and give the knob a little turn to perform these functions than to reach to the keyboard to find the keys for the rotation or the flipping funcitons. I can reach over and control it with the Griffin Powermate knob without looking away from my drawing. (Note: in this photo the open application shown is TVPaint , not ToonBoom Studio, but the function of the Powermate knobs is the same for both applications -- one for scrubbing the timeline, the other for rotating the workspace. )

Another way of controlling the flipping (scrubbing) and/or rotation with the Cintiq tablet or the Intous 3 Tablets which have the express keys and touchstrips is to program one of the touchstrips with A and S key shortcuts so that simply running your finger over the touchstrip will "flip" between drawings on the timeline and you can program the other touchstrip with V and C to rotate the drawing space .

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Importing Bitmap scanned images to TB 4.0

JK-TGRS — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 08:50:56 CST

Here is an excellent tutorial, created by "DNethery", for importing scanned bitmap images into TBS 4.0 with added alpha channel transparency so that "traditional" pencil tests can be created . (using the "Import & Vectorize WITH TEXTURE" function in TB 4.0) . This tutorial not only shows how to import pencil drawings to produce a pencil test but it also shows how to use PhotoShop to add a transparent alpha channel to your scanned images before you import them. A well done video that explains the process step by step.

color transform effect

JK-TGRS — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 19:01:55 CST

Color Transform Effect: A color transform effect is a dynamic element which can be used to apply and control the animation of color and opacity changes. You attach elements whose colors you want to change over time to Color Transform Effect elements. Then, you change the properties of the Color Transform Effect elements at selected keyframes. Toon Boom Studio calcul ates the color values of each image on an attached element at each frame for you. You can transform any visual element type - drawing, image, or media.

You can add/subtract (Additive) values to/from the color channels (red, blue, green and alpha) or you can multiply (Multiplicative) the current color values by a value. Alpha values control opacity / transparency of the attached elements. Check out the page on flattening to learn more about the purpose of the Flatten check box at the bottom of the Color Transform Effect panel.

The tutorial A Text Scrolling Technique In Perspective is available to help you learn more about the application of color transform effects.

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flattening

JK-TGRS — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 18:34:29 CST

flattening: The Flatten command merges drawing layers into one, reducing the number of vector points in your drawings and potentially reducing the file size of your animation. The Flatten command is different from the Optimize command in that it does not verify first to make sure that the merge will not affect the final appearance of the image. If the layered objects have transparencies, the cumulative effect of the transparency is not preserved when you flatten the layers. Also, the Flatten command may not preserve the layer order of overlapping centerline shapes.
The Flatten command reduces the number of selected drawing object layers to one layer. This reduces the amount of memory required for the drawing object, but does not preserve any effects created by overlapping transparent colors.

Multiple Drawing elements attached to the Color Transform Effect may not occupy the same front-back position. This can affect the position of the Color Transform Effect layer. By default, a Color Transform Effect applied to multiple drawings will apply the effect at the current position of each drawing. You can activate the Flatten option to flatten the Color Transform effect layer so that it appears at a single position. This option is available in the Color Transform Effect parameters panel.

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color palettes

JK-TGRS — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 08:52:56 CST

color palettes: One great feature in TBS is the color management system. And one of the really useful things you can do in planning a production is to create individual color guide palettes for each of your characters or scenes or prop sets. It is easy to go to the properties panel on the color tab and create a new custom color palette. Then you will want to rename the new color palette to something meaningful. Like "Professor" if that is the name of your character. Then you can begin to populate the "Professor" color guide with the colors you need for this character. With the (+) plus icon you can add a new color swatch and then name that swatch. For example "coat" or "trousers" or "hair". Then to set the actual color for the swatch you can use the color picker panel to select the color you want. Perhaps you want to duplicate a color from a different swatch on another palette. You can pick up any existing swatch color from any drawing and assign it to your new swatch by using the dropper that is on the color picker panel. Just drag the dropper over the desired color on an existing drawing and click on that color. Be sure you use the dropper that is on the color picker panel and not the dropper that is on the tool selection panel as they function differently. If you don't have the colors you want on an existing drawing then just create a temporary drawing and paint a stroke for each color you want to copy from your other palettes. Color palettes can also be exported and saved and imported into different animation projects. Now when you are building your new color palettes you can pick up these colors and assign them to your new swatches with the method described above. Learning to build color guide palettes is simple and very useful and you will be glad you took the time because it makes the painting of your characters much faster and easier later on.

A color palette is a collection of color swatches and each swatch is also uniquely named. So you can, when designing a character, break that character up into paint zones and by naming those zones and their corresponding color swatch you create a color model. Then you can change the colors of your character just by changing the properties of the associated color palette swatch. It is a global change for each scene where you used that color palette. A swatch can contain a solid color or a gradient color or a bit map texture. This is a very nice addition to your cartoon making tool set because you can now have very good control and consistency of your painting. Don't be lazy, take the time to name your color guide palettes meaningful names and name each swatch a meaningful name also. You will be glad you did.

Not only does TBS have the ability to support customizable reusable color palettes and to perform global color replacements by swatch, but it also supports color styles which are variations on basic color palettes for individual effects in different situations. So two copies of the same color palette can have the same name but have different color style names. So you can have the basic color palette for a character and then have many color style variations based on things like lighting or environmental situations. You can copy or duplicate a color palette and give it a new style name while keeping the original palette name, then you can use really quick tools like tint offsets which let you adjust the colors of all the swatches in that color palette at the same time. For example you could adjust all swatches alpha setting in one step or you could apply a tint blend to blend a specified amount of a color to all the individual swatches in that color palette. So if you wanted to have your character in a situation where you wanted a particular cast lighting effect over their normal color model for example a twilight mood or a fire side mood you can do this with just a single tint blend offset for your color palette for that color style. Oh yes, and if you go back and add a new color swatch to any of the same named color palettes that swatch gets updated on all of the other palettes which share that palette name but have different color styles applied.

To learn more about color palettes you can read this tutorial: Creating A Custom Color Palette

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