I’m playing around with the new demo version of TBStudio4.
I tried TB a few years ago and I’m giving it another shot, so I’ve just started… freshman anew… exciting!
I’m here on level one0one, and can’t figure out how to reposition drawings that are on different layers.
I understand the ‘reposition drawings’ instrument is for moving and rescaling all drawings in one element. But what do I do with drawings on different levels? Say… I’ve got my character and I’m seeing him in auto-light box view, so I can see through all levels. Great. Now I want to scale him. Not just his head, mouth, or arm. The whole figure, not just a piece at a time (which would be impossible anyway without getting all proportions and positioning wrong… so this can’t be an option).
If I put him in a Peg then I can do it with the animation tools… but can that possibly be the only way?
Thank you,
Josh
To the best of my knowledge you can’t scale multiple elements as a group in drawing view. You can scale multiple elements as a group in camera view using either the select tool to do global scaling or the transform tool or the scale tool to do keyed frame scaling (animatable). In general that’s the way you would want to approach scaling multiple elements as a group. It doesn’t effect the actual drawings themselves and lets you have a single source group that can be scaled differently depending on its usage in your movie. The scale of images in drawing view is pretty much irrelevant except relative to each other when you are creating the character so as long as you originally created them proportionately there should be no reason to have to rescale them in drawing view. So scaling is normally reserved to when you position your character in your scene in camera view. At that time you have infinite scaling possibilities as described above. -JK
I see. Thank you for the explanation!
I do find this switching a little hectic.
I understand there’s a logic in ‘Here is where you draw’ and ‘Here is where you animate’. And I guess the inability to change sizes and position in Drawing Mode is to avoid changing stuff unintentionally.
Still, I would find it pretty handy to be able to change things, scale them, reposition them on-the-fly, while I draw.
I know it’s always better to plan ahead and avoid surprises, and it’s cool that the software should help you not make mistakes. But I do find this a bit of an imposition.
Sound wrong? 
I’m just talking on the basis of what I see, so this might just be a first impression.
Anyway, I’ve got a long way to go on this program still, so better get on with it…
Thank you very much,
cheers,
Josh
The software is extremely flexible. It can be used to draw and layout using a field guide in drawing view and you could scale as you go just fine just not multiple elements as a group. And for classically trained animators that approach is very comfortable. But for most users layout and compositing is much more flexible when done in camera view. Most people like to work large when they draw because it is just easier. But then they like to scale down their art to make it easier to composite their scenes. The more you work with Toon Boom the more you will find that there are many ways to approach the workflow.
Check out the CALICO MONKEY blog because Will Reinhardt has his own unique way of working with TBS. Then check out my blog Cartooning In Toon Boom where I use a very different approach to the way Will works. In both cases we get the desired results but the differences in approaches highlights the flexibility of Toon Boom to accommodate different artists and their personal preferences. -JK
I see what you mean.
Each stroke and shape is automatically a group, so you can draw freely a whole figure while still keeping bits and pieces divided.
I’ll check out both sites, thank you very much!
Josh