Start on this page and also the associated blog tutorial referenced there. It should turn on some light bulbs for you as to how to use the set exposure command to rough out and adjust timing in a sequence. It’s pretty much as easy as in Flipbook. -JK
Adjusting and Tweaking Timing
… start an animation in TBS 5 in the following manner (as you would in, say Flipbook)?
In Flipbook, one very convenient way of getting going is you draw your keys on exposures 1,2,3,4, etc. Then for each key you type a number to set rough timings. This extends that exposure by whatever number you type. Then, when you want to do a breakdown, you just click in the cell in the exposure sheet and draw. It creates a new exposure there, and automatically extends it to the next exposure, without moving anything. Fast, easy. And you get a nice clean preview with no blank exposures.
In TBS (as best I can tell), you can’t simply draw a breakdown. You have to go through this elaborate procedure of dialing the cell number back down to zero to get a clear exposure, then extend it yourself, which moves all the other exposures downstream, so then you’ve got to go move them. Or in the alternative, select every key/breakdown every time and dial up its cell number. A nightmare.
Or, if you simply draw your keys and your breakdowns without extending them, you get blank exposures all through your preview.
This is driving me completely insane as I have a lot of work to do, and I know there MUST be something I’m missing. I can’t believe it could be this convoluted.
Thanks for any help you can offer!
I’ll check it out - thanks!
I’ll check it out - thanks!
Ok, so I read that whole page and it basically points out the very problems I allude to in my question, but offers no solution.
Does anyone have a fast easy technique for doing early spacing/timing work that isn’t the convoluted process as described in the aforementioned page?
Thanks very much in advance!
Hi,
You can proceed as follows: in exposure sheet name the cells of the element on which you locate the ends of action leaving blank cells between them, in timeline you will have created a named cell (K1), then an area with blank cells (no named, hold space) and then the another named cell (K2). Enable onion skin and draw on both named cells (the keys of action.) Set the position of the breakdown drawing by placing the cursor over it´s frame position and draw the cell directly. In the same way you would create the inbetweens. If you need to move a numbered cell in a hold, just move dragging it. In Timeline drag an drop preferences you can uncheck automatically extend exposure (righ click) to prevent fill with exposure the hold space. You may copy drawing objects from a cell and paste them into another desired position to modify the copied draw and create an intermediate pose without affecting the original time between key drawings. If you need to remove a cell from your timeline, just delete it, (this turns the swapping cell to 0), the picture will always remain available in the cells panel and can retrieve it by typing its number in the frame cell that you needs in exposure sheet . (The Toon Boom cell number assignation is done in the same way that the drawings are created.) If not, you must create a previous numbered cells secuence and work on it. Not looks too hard, I hope that helps you. Best Regards. Yoryo
Thanks so much, Yoryo.
Would you mind telling me where the timeline preference to not automatically extend exposure while moving is? I can’t find it in Preferences, and a search of “timeline preference” in the user guide brings up no results. This will help a lot, as for some reason Toon Boom, when I’m moving frames in the timeline, sometimes chooses to extend the exposure of the previous frame, and sometimes doesn’t, and I have no idea how it distinguishes when to extend and when not to. I’m sure it’s my fault somehow, but I can’t find the way to change that preference.
Thanks!
Hi,
When you had created a end named cell and you want to expand the hold space, you must make right click on this named cell in Timeline, and drag it to the new location, at this time the window:¨ Timeline drag and drop preferences¨ open, and you can set any properties refered a pegs or drawings. In this case, if you don´t want extend the exposure until the new cell location, uncheck ¨automatically extend exposure¨ in the drawings windows part. The result is a blank extended hole as you need. (If you work on Mac, make a mouse click on the cell, press Ctrol. and drag the cell in timeline to the new position.) It works. Yoryo.
I wish to clarify a command for PC users:
When you had created a end named cell and you want to expand the hold space, you must make click on this named cell in Timeline, press Alt key and drag it to the new location, at this time the window:¨ Timeline drag and drop preferences¨ open, and you can set any properties refered to pegs or drawings. Thanks all. Yoryo.