need export glitch help 911


Hi-

i have imported photoshop files (png) via vectorize with texture-
one file is a backdrop and the others are files that blink on and off in front of the backdrop (to “animate” it).
each one has transparency (except the backdrop)
all the files are white with detailed drawings made of bold simple black lines (mouse drawn)

when i exported it to quicktime
it looked good but some of the blinking files w/ transparency had very slim very noticeable black lines here and there around them where the color met the transparency. this kills the illusion of the animation of the backdrop entirely.

i need to know what to do to fix this ASAP!!

i could reimport another way (i’m going to try bitmap after i finish typing this)

but i don’t understand why some work and some don’t

a fix would save the work i’ve done so far

ultimately i have timed every frame to match a soundtrack laboriously and hope to be able to export it to a file that final cut can read so i can line up the visuals with the soundtrack!
(toon boom wouldn’t import the five minute sound file saying it was too big and that i should cut it onto pieces)

help!

(dear forum gods: please don’t be upset that i also posted this under the export forum section, i’m in a spot!)

Well, not sure if this solves your problem, but have a look at this thread:

http://www.toonboom.com/support/forums/toonBoomStudio/index.php?board=2;action=display;threadid=2485;start=msg9805#msg9805

Cheers
Nolan

Nolan=

you rock my world.


first test looks like it’s working.


if the whole thing is fixed, well then i’ll just have to send you vibes of joy!

i’ll let u know
linda

it is true that if you import a file into toon boom that has transparency (i had png’s that came from PS) you could end up with results when you export that are not visible on the timeline.
i had random thin black lines around each drawing’s edges.
for me this was due to the fact that when i created my drawings with transparency, i had both drawn around the edges and erased around the edges. this caused there to be 1/2 transparent+ 1/2 colored pixels around the edges. on export, these pixels then move to a default (for me it was black) and only show up on export. for me the fix in PS was to magic wand (uncheck contiguous) the transparent pixels in the files and erase, select inverse, create a layer, fill the now inverse selected spaces (for me it was filled with white to match my work but it could easily be any color or image) drag the new layer under the old, layers>merge visible, re-save and use this new file. this makes all your edges solid and stops the crazy default issues.
nolan posted links above that lead me to the answer (but their problem and solution are a bit different) via referencing defaults and 1/2 colored pixels, i figured it out.

i’m posting this in case its helpful for anyone else.

Hi,

The black or white lines around your elements is related to the transparency type of your alpha.

Basically there is 3 (probably more but those are the main) ways to make transparency.

1. Using a white alpha layer that is subtracted from the image
2. Using a black alpha layer that is subtracted from the image
3. Putting the alpha directly on the image

If you have images made in any of the first 2 methods you may get white or black halo around your images for when there is a blurring of the alpha the white/black will be semi transparent. Toon Boom Studio currently support straight alpha. If you get this problem you may simply want to export the image again in a different format. PNG should have a straight alpha which should give you the exact result.

Regards,

Ugo

I’ve seen the “import Photoshop PNG” issue show itself when trying to animate a cut-out character made from a range of PNG “body parts”.

This drove me nuts for a long time. I wish ToonBoom would provide a flag on import of the PNG files, maybe outlining each major group of pixels in the “Preview” option of import-vectorize with texture.

I was using the Scene Planning option on ToonBoom and was having a heck of a time selecting each element with the transform/motion/rotation tools. It looked like ToonBoom had gone mad and was randomly selecting anything - from the background to other elements.

If I selected the “Drawing” view and clicked on the image, say of a small human hand, ToonBoom would highlight just the hand. What it wouldn’t do is give any indication that there was a single, invisible pixel in the far right hand corner of the vectorized PNG file. In my case it seemed to be about a meter away from the actual hand, far outside the normal grid background.

With that single, invisible pixel, ToonBoom assumed that the associated image was about a meter square…and encompases pretty much everything.
Hence the weird behaviour trying to select different elements.

I wish that ToonBoom, at least in the drawing or default view, highlighted or indicated what it thought was the outer bounds of the image.

Hi,

If you are experimenting difficulties with the picking of element that you have vectorized you should be able to use the K key in the drawing move to see the exact outline of the drawing. You can from there adjust it the way you want with the Contour editor so you can pick things more easily afterward.

If the selection issue is in the Camera view you can trigger on the outline view through the View>Show Outline on Selection option. This will show the exact outline of the element when you use your scene planning tools.

Be aware that if you plan on doing some cut-out bitmap you should use the Import and Vectorize option of the software to import each piece of character for the import bitmap will alway give you a full screen image (even if there is alpha).

Regards,

Ugo

Thanks Ugo
Just tried it out and it looks like the “Reposition All Drawings” in the Drawing view works (I presume this is the “K” key you’re refering to).

I’ve got a little averse to using the “Select” tool in the Scene Planning view - it’s too easy to select the wrong object slightly and move it out of place.

Might be handy to have an option to Import & Vectorize a bitmap but make it fit to the maximum dimensions of the project drawing grid…?

A+

Looks like you got it figured out, but the best solution I had to solving the problem of exporting images or movies while using png-imported images with transparency was to go to each imported png image layer in the timeline, double click the layer to pull up its’ Layer Properties, go to the Drawing tab, and finally select Transparency Type as “Straight”, NOT premultiplied with white or black. You can choose this setting when you are originally importing the art into the project.