“For Flash animators trying ToonBoom, first tip: trying to translate Flash skills to ToonBoom results in frustration. ToonBoom is not Flash.”

Renato Vargas (a.k.a. Rindolphus) posted an article on his blog I’ll tell you a story… where he explains how you can easily solve some perspective issue by creating the basic architectural elements of your background in Google SketchUp. Then export an perform the painting in Toon Boom Animate.

This technique is not new, more and more production are using Google SketchUp (or other 3D software) to create more accurate 3D background for 2D animated project. I remember that the guys from Film Roman used that techniques in King Of the Hill during storyboarding phase to always get accurate BG and save pre-preduction time.

Sébastien M.

In a recent blog post, Micheal Sporn talks about the decline of the dope sheet, and why everyone should absolutely use them as a tool to aid in animation.
“With the advent of the computer, and as you mention programs such as Toon Boom (which employs its own version of an X-sheet,) studios presumably have reduced their dependence on such charts. Since I know how valuable these sheets are in relaying information, I’ve kept them up in my studio. The sound track is read on the prepared sheets. I don’t demand that anyone fills them out – certainly not when many animators today are developing their animation in the computer – but the sheet gives an excellent way to plan the scene, and the animators can take that information and use it as they like.“
I cannot agree more with Kayvon Darabi-Fard ! There are still several benefits of using an XSheet over the timeline, especially in frame by frame aimation. The best approach is to combine both XSheet and timeline during production. It provides the best of both world ! This is why all Toon Boom Animation software come with both…

Sébastien M.

Want to import something to your panels instead of doing a fully paperless storyboard ? Here are a couple of easy quick tips from Ko Maruyama at DigitalMediaNet. He released another Toon Boom Storyboard Pro video tutorial that you can learn from here :

http://siggraphnews.digitalmedianet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=597041

Sébastien M.

Toon Boom releases Tips and Tricks as well as Freebies every month to help and inspire the users.

This month, we just released a tip about Camera and Object Shakes using the Random Fill feature. If ever you wondered what that tool was about, check that tips and tricks out!

Lately, Toon Boom also produced the following freebies and tips: 

• Animate: Sunset/SunRise Effects
• Animate: Genie Smoke Cycle
• Digital Pro: Adapting a Character Design to Use Inverse Kinematics
• Digital Pro: Effect Templates 7 – Dynamic Outlines
• Digital Pro: Cut-out Puppet
• Storyboard Pro: What Happens When You Export Your Storyboard to Digital Pro or Harmony
• Storyboard Pro: Pumpkin Templates
• Pencil Check Pro:  Using Annotation Columns

Toon Boom grew a beautiful pumpkin patch just in time for Halloween. You can download the new goodies from our website starting today. There is a pumpkin set for Storyboard/Storyboard Pro that you can use to decorate your shots and another one for Digital Pro including cool effects. You will discover a new way to use the Glue effect other than fixing articulation. Pull on the pumpkins’ top piece to see what we are talking about! 

 Marie-Eve

The first tips and tricks for Toon Boom’s line testing software Pencil Check Pro has been published. It shows the benefits of the annotation column, which allows you to draw on your exposure sheet like you were doing on paper. Annotations, timing, pacing, slugging, comments… use this new powerfull and unique feature to improve your digital pipeline.

Check it out here.

Sébastien M.

Well, I’m pretty sure most of you already know the answer to that question. For those who don’t or for those who can’t explain it, check out this 7 minutes video where Oncle Walt presents another invention (a revolution at that time) from the Disney Studio.

Sébastien M.

Mark Simon can to Montreal and spend a couple of days with us to share his workflow, tips and advises on how he works with Toon Boom Storyboard Pro. 5 Videos are currently available here:

Sébastien

A lot of people are wondering which rigging technique to choose when comes time to build a cut-out character. There are three main rigging techniques: Open Rig Full Hierarchy Mix Rig Refer to the Digital Pro or Harmony User Guide for more information about those rigging techniques.

If your production has a cartoony and dynamic style, it is recommended to go with Open Rig. It gives the freedom to the animation to select and stretch whatever he wants without affecting the rest of the character. It is the technique allowing the maximum of freedom and cheats.

If your production has a more realistic style keeping human proportions and does not involve a lot of stretching or deformations, it is recommended to go with Mix Rig, which is a mix of Hierarchy and Open Rig. This way, when you rotate the arm/shoulder, the rest of the arm (forearm and hand) will follow naturally.

The Full Hierarchy technique is not recommended since it gives the less freedom to the animator. Use this technique only if you need to produce a very long and fast animation is a short amount of time. This means about 3 to 4 minutes of animation per animator per week. Obviously, we are nott alking about a high animation here.

Marie-Eve