Animating photos

Hello,

I am new to this. I am trying to create a cartoon using photographs like Monty Python or JibJab. I am very impressed with this product. I was able to load the face and a series of photographs of the mouth and jaw. I made each photo of the mouth different. I then tried to use the lip synch feature, but can only get it to work from the drawing mode. Is there a way to either have the lip synch feature utilize the photographs in the image section or is it possible to load the photos of the jaw in the drawing section.

Thanks,
Mark.

Hi Mark,

Unfortunately, at the moment it is only possible to use the lip-sync mapping with drawing elements. For now, you will need to manually rename the element so they fit the mouth shape of the sound column. If you are having problem to do that let us know and we will tell you how to display the shapes

Although we are considering the feature and might add it in future release of the software.

Best regards,

Ugo

Hello,

Thank you for your help. How do I rename this. I have tried, but I still can’t access thiese photographs. Is there a way to save the photo as a drawing?

Mark.

you can import your photos into the drawing element only by vectorizing them during the import. then they wind up as black&white vector excerpts of your bitmaps.

the other way is to draw upon imported images in a rotoscoped way while you have them on a virtual light table under your vector drawings, but thus you can’t use your originals in a way you would like to.
cheers,
rob

Thank you so much for your help.

How do I do this. I’m sorry to be so dumb about this, I haven’t had any experience regarding this.

I appreciate your help.

Thanks,

Mark.


the first method: you create a drawing element (in the exposure sheet to the right; one drawing element is already there by default), then right click > import and vectorize, then you choose your bitmaps.

the second method: you create an image element in the exposure sheet, right click > import images.
then you push your drawing element in the hierarchy on the top of the image element (in case it isn’t yet) by dragging it.
then you switch the light bulb (‘L’ key), then you see both elements as you draw: your drawing and the image below it. it will be dimmed to make your drawings easier.
cheers,
rob

Hello again,

I have been trying to do what you say, but I am a little lost. In the last email you told me to right click on import image, from where? Do I open an image catagory in the exposure sheet? That is the only place where I saw an import image selection. If this is the case how do I do the rest? I will telll you very briefly what I am trying to accomplish. I would like to animate a photo much like Monty Python or Jib Jab. I would like to create charictors that I can reuse that have very basic 2d shapes and expressions. The lip synch feature is very interesting and would help me if it were to work. I also need to know how to create charictors that I can put into the scenes. The video tutorials go over how to put the finished product in but don’t tell me how to put them together. If this program isn’t right for this type of product, would you know what I could use?

Thanks again for your help.

Mark

hi mark
1. the imports are to be done by a right click in the first frame of an element in the exposure sheet, either a drawing one (import and vectorize) or into an image one (import of images).
2. you can’t edit bitmaps (images in the image element), so you would have to import the ready frames of your film from outside.
3. you can but rotoscope your images to lay over the lip positions in the drawing element on top of the image element (remember: after switching the light bulb on, and placing the drawing layer over the image one in the exposure sheet).
then you export your film with both layers: the drawing one with yout hand-drawn lips and the non-editable image layer with the rest of the body.

as an alternative you can import the vector images from adobe illustrator software into your drawing element, if you don’t want to draw in toonboom studio.
4. as for monty python style: you can move your images all around the place (using the peg in the timeline to the bottom of the software interface), though, so if you place the image layer under the drawing layer (with your lips positions) in the exposure sheet, and you avoid any editing of the images, then it’s possible to achieve similar effects as terry gilliam did them…

but to use pegs is pretty complicated if you’re a newbie to animation. then you should read the manuals or watch other posts here, especially by jk-tgrs, who is a born teacher :slight_smile:
cheers,
rob



Toon Boom Studio is very well suited to support this type of cut out animation. You must prepare your bitmapped images in another product such as Photoshop and save them in a supported format with an alpha channel. The process is to create the character in Photoshop and cut it into the number of pieces that suit your desired style of animation (IE arms, legs, torso, head ect.) Each body part will be saved to its own individual file as stated above with an alpha channel. You will then import each body part into a seperate image element in an exposure sheet. You will end up with one image element for each different body part (IE head, right arm, left arm, chest, hips, left leg, right leg ect.) If you have multiple positions for the same body part (IE straight left leg, slightly bent left leg, bent left leg etc) those same body part pictures will all go into the same image element (left leg). Once you have all your body part elements created in the exposure sheet you can follow the cut out tutorial on how to assemble them an attach them to pegs and build a cut out character heirarchy.


As to the lipsync problem, here is a suggestion that should work just fine and is easy to do. First import all of your mouth positions, that you created in Photoshop and saved with an alpha channel,into an image element named something like “mouth”. You will then want to rename each cel in that element to match the appropriate lip synch symbols for the auto lipsync (A,B,C,D,E,F,G,X) So you will end up with cel names like mouth A, mouth B and so on. Next you want to create a new drawing element and name it mouth2 and in that element create eight cels named the same as your image element mouths (A,B,C,D,E,F,G,X) So you will end up with cel names like mouth2 A, mouth2 B and so on. These cels will be place holders and need not contain anything drawing wise.
Next you will map the cels from your drawing element mouth2 to the lipsync symbols (this process is well described in the help system) Basically mouth2 A will map to lipsync symbol A and mouth2 B will map to lipsync symbol B and so on. Now when you perform the lipsyncing as outlined in detail in the lipsync tutorial provide with Toon Boom you will have your mouth2 cels properly assigned to frames to match your sound. Because they are blank cels nothing will actually show on your character but all you have to do is use the “cel” tab in your properties panel to match the cel names in your mouth image element with the cel names in your mouth2 drawing element and you have your bitmapped imaged mouths lipsynced. It is really not that difficult and is mostly done just looking at the exposure sheet to match the cel names. Hope this helps. It requires no vectorization what so ever.

But, you need to be aware that although cut out animation such as you have described requires very little drawing, if any, and appears to the novice to be simple, it is not, and it requires knowledge and experience to execute and although Toon Boom is excellent software to support this type of work, you will still have to be willing to do the work to learn this style of animation the software can only do so much, the rest requires the creativity and skill of the artist doing the work. -JK

Hello again,

I have really been enjoying this process. I have pieced together my animation and have for the most part figured out the lip synch program. I have animated the lips on each face and am attempting to redraw the jaw. I can do this, but is it possible to copy the drawing and move it to a different possition in the next cell, then applying the same priciples to the lip synch. Every time I have tried to do this, it changes the drawings in the other cells as well.

Thanks,

Mark.

This could be a misusage of terms but I suspect it is more conceptual than that:


In TBS “lingo” a drawing (in an element) and a cell are pretty must one and the same. So if you actually are copying a drawing to a new cell you are actually just adding an additional exposure of the same drawing and if you then try to edit it you are actually editing the original cell too. What I suspect you are wanting to do is copy a drawing object or collection of objects, not the entire drawing. An object in a drawing or a collection of objects in a drawing is refering to the contents of the drawing. This can be confusing conceptually because if you want to copy all the objects that comprise a drawn cell you sort of think of them as being the same thing. But you have to go into the cell and select drawing objects using the shift key to collect all the desired drawing objects you want to copy and then use the Edit>Copy Drawing Object command. Then go to your “new” cell and use the Edit>Paste Drawing Object command to preform your move of this copied object collection.

One additional tip, if you do something in the exposure sheet (add a cell for example) or something in any other window panel between the time you copied the drawing object and when you want to paste the object, be sure to first “click” inside the “drawing view” window to insure it has “focus” (a Windows term for making something active). otherwise the paste drawing object command will not be available. The importance of gaining “focus” in the appropriate window panel can’t be overstated in learning to use Toon Boom Studio. Hope this helps -JK