I am new to Toon Boom, I downloaded it last night and used it for the first time today. I made a very simple animation by going key frame by key frame using copy and paste and moving it in each frame. It turned out ok for my first attempt at the program. Playing around I have noticed that I can also animate from the camera screen.
I did another test drawing two circles. The first I animated frame by frame using copy and paste. The second I went into the camera view and used the motion tool to animate that one. When I play it in camera mode I see both circles moving. But if I go into drawing the one i moved in the camera screen does not move at all. Why is this? I also noticed that in one the whole grid moves, as i understand I am moving the whole cell and not just the object within the cell…?
My main questions are:
1. When would you animate something in the camera screen using the motion tool vs animating it in the drawing screen using key frame?
2. Would you ever draw in the camera screen? I noticed I am able to do so but am unsure if when you should do so.
3. Why does the circle I animated in camera view not show the animation in the drawing view?
I have used After Effects in the past and found it super easy to make stuff right off the bat… lol… this is driving me crazy though :). I tried doing some searches for this info but was not having much luck.
Thank you all in advance,
Michelle
Michelle, welcome to the world of Toon Boom.
I believe I can help you. Here are some articles which should help to explain the functions of Camera View and Drawing View and how the differ and their usage in creating animation. Then there is a tutorial on animating a bouncing ball using only Camera View. Read these in the order presented below. There are also many other helpful tutorials available on the blog so I included the link to the Learning Track. -JK
1. TOONBOOM BASICS PART 2 - read this first.
2. TOONBOOM BASICS PART 1
3. KEYFRAMING THE BOUNCING BALL
4. CARTOONING IN TOON BOOM THE LEARNING TRACK
Thank you for your quick reply. I actually found those same articles last night (which are wonderful and very informative) and I do understand the concepts in the basics part 2 but I still am confused at when and why one would animate in the drawing view vs in camera view? and If you would ever ever draw in camera view? Are both of these just a preference, easier to animate, etc? Thank you again!!
Drawing view is for creating drawing elements which can be animated using your animation camera (camera view), Drawing View is your animator’s drawing board so it is also used to draw traditional animation.
Camera View is your multi-plane camera stand and it is use to display your animation work. In animation there are techniques that are created by drawing the action frame by frame and there are techniques that are created by the skillful usage of the camera stand and all it’s features.
An animator’s tool set should include all the techniques that are possible by using both approaches and in fact most animation uses a combination of these approaches.
As a general rule drawn animation is created in drawing view and composited and enhanced on the camera stand. As to when to use each work environment that is a matter of developing a workflow that is most comfortable. Personally I only draw in drawing view and never in camera view. I hope this will help you and I’m glad you are using the articles which I created as learning tools. -JK