If you want much more complex tutorials for OpenToonz, check out NobleFrugal Studio on Youtube! I've learned a ton from their tutorials, and they explain it wonderfully.
What you Need:
- A computer with a 64-bit build (generally not an issue, most nowadays are)
- OpenToonz (https://opentoonz.github.io/e/index.html)
- FFmpeg (https://www.ffmpeg.org/download.html)
- A graphics program that can save images with transparency (often as a PNG)
- An audio program that can save things as WAV files (if you want music), like Audacity*
- *A note about Audacity -- as of 7/4/21, do not download any Audacity version past 3.0. Audacity 3.0 and above collect secure data and are considered spyware. Versions below 3.0, to the best of my knowledge, are still safe to use.
- A go-getter attitude
Program Anatomy:
- Let's go over what everything we care about is, yeah? Click on the image to enlarge it. You can also open it in a new tab if you want.
- Here are some of the most important things that I use:
- A: Your viewing window. Here is where you see your video, and also where most of the tweening will occur. Nifty! You can see where your camera is by looking at the red dotted outline labeled "camera 1". Only stuff within this will get into your video! Move your view with your middle mouse button and zoom in and out with the scroll wheel.
- Also in this window, you can also right click on the viewing window and choose “activate onion skin” from the dropdown. This will make editing across time easier, since it lets you see each frame overlapping one another! You can turn it on and off this way.
- B: The Fx schematic view. This very complicated-looking window is used in applying Fx effects, like fading images in and out. I really only use it for that, but it also has lots of other uses.
- C: The Xsheet. This shows you your frames over time, and what you have that takes up those frames. The frames (on the vertical axis at the left) proceed from frame one at the very top to... However many frames you need, at the bottom. You can scroll up and down to see more. On the horizontal axis at the top, you have your columns. I go into detail more on those later.
- D: The ever-necessary animate tool! By clicking this, you'll be put into animate mode. This mode gives you the special animation menu, shown below! I mostly use the means position, rotation, and scale. You can also auto-center your image with center. The numbers to the right show you how you've edited your image so far -- E/W shows horizontal movement/stretching, and N/S shows vertical. These numbers are different for each type of animation, so they might show 0,0 for position but -30,-20 for scale, if you have an image that's centered but scaled down to be smaller. You alter your figure in whatever means is selected by clicking with the left mouse button and dragging.
- E: The selection tool. What you start the program in. This just lets you look around without messing with anything. In theory it also lets you select columns through the viewing window, but I haven't figured out how to do that without making it mad at me.
- F: The playback buttons. You can pause, play, loop, or inch forward frame-by-frame with these.
- G: The slider. Shows where you are in your animation. You can move it back and forth as you'd expect.
- H: Some camera alteration buttons -- the main two that I use. The first one shows you the whole screen, while the second shows you only what the camera is seeing. The former view is useful if you want to move the camera around or move objects offscreen, while the latter is useful to see how your camera movements look or preview your view without waiting for it to load forever.
- I: A singular column! These are very, very important. Think of these like layers on a Photoshop file. They stack from left to right, meaning the image on the leftmost layer will be placed underneath all the ones to the right of it. To turn off a layer to the preview function, click the green "eye" button. To turn off a layer in the viewing window, click red box button.
- We'll learn more about keyframes later, but know that each column obeys a singular set of keyframe instructions. Keyframes only apply to the things inside of that column, and every file in a column will obey them (so, even if frames 1-10 have image 1 and frames 11-20 have image 2, they'll all move right to left if that's what you have in the keyframes).
- J: An image file placed into a column. These can be altered to last over many frames, as described later in the "adding images" section.
- K: A handy little keyframe tool. If you click this, whatever frame you have selected will become a keyframe for whatever column you have selected. If I were to click it in the example image I have up there, I would make frame 180 a keyframe for column 23.
- L: A keyframe marker. Seeing this little key shape on the Xsheet means that that frame is a keyframe for that column. You can also see that a little white line descends from this icon until it reaches another key icon below -- this is the Xsheet's way of showing you that the image is changing over those frames, slowly going from keyframe 1 to keyframe 2.
- Also along this little white line will sometimes be two triangles. These triangles can be dragged up and down to affect the rate of the movement -- by default, the motion tends to be fastest towards the middle and slowest at the beginning and the end. If you drag the little triangles all the way up and down to be right next to the keyframes, your rate of motion will be close to constant all across the animation.
- M: The frame that you have selected right now. Frames can be selected just by clicking on one in the Xsheet. A selection will be a certain frame within a certain column.You can also see the number of the frame you have selected on the left side of the window, where it has a little red and green circle next to it.
- You can move your selection up or down one frame at a time by pressing your up or down arrow keys. This is useful for camera movements.
- N: A very simple "turn music off and on" button. If it's yellow, the music will play along with the video if you click the play button in the viewing window.
Setup:
- When you first open the program, you'll see a "create a new scene" menu. This is where we make our new video file! Enter in a name, a location you're saving the OpenToonz file (I use the default location) a camera size, and a frames per second rate. Then click "create scene". If you already have some Opentoonz files you've been working on, they'll be visible in the box on the right, so they're super easy to open.
- FPS rate is important for all animators. This is how many frames play within one second -- AKA, how fast they're moving. I normally use 24 FPS. Once in the program, you can view and change FPS rate by going to “Xsheet” --> “Scene settings”.
- The camera setting decide how large the video will be (in pixel measurements). If you (like me) have no editing software you can use to crop stuff, it’s critical to make sure you have the right size! I use 1280 x 720 px, though 1920 by 1080 px is also popular. You can also edit this later in the Xsheet menu, and save measurements using the "add" button there.
- Now, when you open your program, it might look a little different -- different windows, some of them which I don't have, and some of which are missing. You can feel free to set up your program any way that you want, but here's how I set up mine:
- Get rid of everything but the viewing window and the Xsheet. Do this by clicking and dragging the window (grab it from the top bar) into its own window, and then click the X to close it.
- Open up the Fx schematic view. Go up to the uppermost task bar and click "Windows". From here, go down and select "Schematic". A new window will appear! Drag it down underneath the viewing window and place it there (a little reddish line will show you where it's gonna go). Once the schematic view is open, click the button in the lower right of the window called "toggle Fx/Stage schematic". This will show the Fx progress. Out of everything described here, the only time I use this Fx schematic is for fading things in and out (or otherwise altering the transparency of an object), so if you plan on only following this tutorial and don't need to do that, then you can just skip this bit.
Getting Things in There:
Adding Images:
- I like to use PNG files for this, since they support transparent backgrounds (which are VERY important for this method!) Most graphics programs support them, though this is a weakness of MS Paint, because it doesn’t allow you to set transparent backgrounds. So, sorry Paint fans, but it’s best to stick to another program. I use Photoshop elements, but I know that there are many other free programs.
- Import a PNG file by clicking and dragging it into the Xsheet. Drag it to the frame and column in which you want it to start appearing. Say yes to the prompt. It should appear in the Xsheet. These are your objects!
- For each object, click normally on the first frame. A little lighter, rounded box will appear below the frame box. Click on it and pull it down. This will apply the object to multiple frames!
- If you apply the layer to a frame that you end up not wanting it to be in, simply click and drag to select the frames. Then, right click on this selection. In the menu that appears, click “delete”. Poof!
- If you want to move the instance of the object to a different set of frames, you can click and drag that little light blue bar at the left edge of a set of frames.
Adding Music:
- You can add music, too. WAV files work best for this – I like to record and export my music with Audacity, which is free and supports WAV formats. To apply your music, just click and drag it to the frame where you want it to start playing, just like an image. You can click and drag it to apply to different frames, just like you can for images.
Keyframes and Motion:
Moving Images:
- Next, we control how our object changes over time by making key frames. Select one of the frames you want to be a key frame. You can click the keyframe button to designate it as a keyframe. Then, using the animate tool, alter it in any manner you see fit (either with position, scale, rotation, or one of the other options). If you have onion skin on, you should be able to see how the object moves across the other frames as a sort of ghostly trail. You can make as many key frames as you like, for all your objects!
- Keyframes will be applied to all objects within a column. Any object in a column will do whatever the keyframe tells it to. If you want an object to not follow a certain keyframe pattern, you need to move it to a new column. Any objects you have in other columns will need to be made separately.
- Even if you change the exact file you're using within a column, the keyframe pattern will still apply. For example let's say you have a file of a person with their eyes open called "image 1", and then a file with their eyes closed called "image 2". You insert image 1, apply it across several frames, and use keyframes to add a zoom effect. If you delete some frames of image 1, and then add image 2 to fill up those empty frames, the person will blink, with the zoom still applied to them! This is how I do all my actual animation, this way the pans and zooms will still apply to a character even if they're blinking or twitching or whatever.
- After clicking that little key icon on a key frame once, you can drag it up and down, so you can change where that key frame occurs. Just like for images!
Moving the Camera:
- Even though the camera isn't shown in the Xsheet, it also works with keyframes. In order to edit the position of the camera, you need to use the column-selection menu that pops up with the animate tool. At the very top, you should see "camera 1" listed among the columns. Click it! Any animation you do will now apply to the camera -- so, if you select position, you'll move the camera around.
- However, you can't get the position of the camera to move unless you use your keyframe button. Click it to designate keyframes. From here on, keyframes operate just the same as they do for images, except you can't see them in the Xsheet so you need to make sure that you're keeping in mind where they are (as you scroll through frames one at a time with your down arrow key, camera key frames are shown as that keyframe button appearing blue).
Other Important Stuff:
Saving:
- You can save your OpenToonz file by going to "File" --> "Save Scene". Not "Save Level", though -- that won't do anything with what we're doing.
Fading Columns In and Out:
- It is weirdly hard to get crossfades in this program, but there is indeed a way to do it, and it involves that Fx Schematic we talked about earlier. Fading in and out is a Fx effect, which, like keyframe animation, applies to an entire column. In your schematic window, select the column you want to fade in or out by clicking on it. Then, right-click on it and select the following: "Insert Fx" --> "Layer_Blending" --> "Transparency". This will cause a little box to pop up near your selected column in the schematic view. If you double-click on it, a window will pop up with a transparency scale, running from 0 (completely opaque and visible) to 100 (completely transparent and invisible). Select frames in the Xsheet, and designate them keyframes using the key icon in this menu. The fade doesn't show up in the viewing window, but it will show up if you preview your video, so don't panic if you don't see it right away.
Altering How your Keyframe Motion Works:
- I mentioned earlier that OpenToonz tends to default to motion that gets faster in the middle, but slower closer to the keyframes. If you find yourself wanting even, smooth motion that doesn't change its rate, you can get this across your whole animation! Go to "File" --> "Preferences". A new window will appear. Then, select "Animation" in the sidebar at the left. If you click "linear" in the dropdown menu, you'll have linear animation by default! Nifty!
Previewing Animations:
- You can go to “File” --> “Preview” to preview your animation! It will take some time to load.
Exporting the Thing
- Now, this is where it gets… Tricky. Tricky because, if you want your video to end up in the best format (mp4), you need to download some outside software. The software is called FFmpeg, and can be found at FFmpeg.org. You need to download the executable build (which is different for Windows, Linux, and Mac computers). Download the file to your desktop (FFmpeg is fairly well-known, and this is the official site, so it’s safe) and then extract the file.
- If you open this folder, you’ll see a subfolder. Open that. Then you’ll see three subfolders and some text files, but all that we’re interested in is the “bin” folder. Open this. There are three files inside – select them all, and copy them.
- Now, open up another window of file explorer. Go to the file location “OS (C:)”, then click on “OpenToonz [version] stuff” (as a note, I’m currently using version 1.2). Once here, we create a new file, called “FFmpeg”. Open this file, which is empty, and then paste the files you previously copied into this folder.
- Now, open up OpenToonz. Go to file, then to preferences, and then click on “import/export”. You’ll see a blurb describing FFmpeg, and a little box. Your file explorer should have a little URL box on top of it – copy and paste what’s in there (something like “C:\OpenToonz [vers] stuff\FFmpeg”), and then press enter. Then close the program and open it again.
- Whew! That was the hard part, it’s smooth sailing from here. Go to file and click “output settings”. The window that pops up has lots of information, but the most important thing is the camera size (which should be whatever you picked earlier, like my 1280 x 720 px) and the file settings. In the file settings, choose a destination for where you want your file to end up (normally the desktop) and choose a name for your file. Then, press the dropdown menu right of the name space and select “mp4”. Go to options and bump your video quality up as far as possible. Then, go ahead and click render! It’ll take a bit of time, but when everything gets done, you’ll have a beautiful animation waiting for you on your desktop! Yay! Do with it as you wish.
General Animation Tips:
- This doesn't have as much to do with the program, but I've had a few people ask how my animation progress goes, and if I have any tips. Here are some!
- Start every animation you make, even MAP parts, with a script. This is super important to getting a feel for how things will go, and making sure you know what you're going to be drawing. Normally I script by copy-pasting the lyrics of the song I'm using into a Notepad file, and writing shot descriptions of every shot I plan to have, complete with movement.
- Move to thumbnailing / story-boarding next. This is done by creating tiny, simple versions of the frames that are much less detailed to give yourself an idea of what each shot will look like. Here's an example of part of one of my story-boards:
- Now, making compelling and interesting shots really is an art. It takes a lot of work to make an animation look good, and here are some things to keep in mind:
- Backgrounds, backgrounds, backgrounds. I hate them, you hate them. But hot dang, they can make a shot look good. Get a good idea of where your animation is taking place -- don't just make it a forest, make it in front of a mossy log near a gnarled oak tree, with some rocks and birch in the distance! Or instead of making it a house, make it in an office room with a desk and a bookshelf near the window! Have your backgrounds give as much to the scene as your characters do. They're super important for setting the tone!
- Color palettes. I may be biased here, because I love weird palettes. But get an idea of what colors you want to use and focus on, and why you're using them. Is it bright and saturated? Or is it dark and drab? What colors are most important and symbolic? Use those sparingly, and make them pop! Time of day, location, and the intended tone of your animation can help when picking color palettes.
- Change up your shot angles. Don't just flip from one face to another -- have some shots that are low-angle, looking up at your characters, or have some that are high-angle, looking down at your characters. Have some close-ups and some far shots. Play with perspective and putting objects in the background or foreground.
- Keep your motion style consistent. If there's movement in one shot, make sure there's movement in the next shot. Don't go from a shot with a pan to a completely still one, unless it's meant to say something. Even a little left-to-right pan or a zoom can help make it feel more cohesive! Either moving shots or still shots are fine! But choose which one you want for your video.
- Keep the beat of your song in mind! If it's a fast song, have quick shots and movements. If it's a slow song, have slower ones. I also like to time the appearance of new shots and specific motions to beats in the song -- it can make the video much more cohesive and interesting.
- Then start working frames! There are lots of ways to do this. Some people sketch everything out and make sure it works first, and then color things in, and some people complete each frame before moving to the next. I tend to fall into the latter camp, but the former is probably safer. Draw, draw, draw. This is the intensive part.
- All in all, remember to draw whatever you want to draw, but draw with purpose! Have clear settings, tones, and motion. And, of course: try new stuff! Get crazy! Get weird! Have fun with it! That's what the animation hobby is for. : )
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