I would like to animate a character riding a bike, so the character staying in the middle and the background scrolls behind him. What is a good way to do this do the background doesnt have to be an eight foot drawing of houses on the street?
If it were me I’d use the long scroll method. But, if you don’t want
that you could try a background that’s say 2x the width of your camera
view and when it reaches the end (via scrolling)on say frame 100, you
could move it back to it’s original start location on frame 101 and it would
continue all over again. Then just cycle that.
But that’s just me, I’m a completely green when it comes to animation.
Hope it helps though!
okay, now I’ve looked everywhere I can think of and I cant find instruction on how to make my background scroll. Do I use the Motion Tool?
Adam
You can use the motion tool or the transform tool. I’m not adept enough
yet myself to know really the pros and cons of each.
Rough steps (I’m no expert, so bare this in mind!):
1. Set your background scroll on a layer.
2. Move your background scroll to it’s 'start location.'
3. Create a keyframe where you want it to start scrolling (say frame 100).
4. Create another keyframe where you want it to stop scrolling (say frame 1000).
5. Using the motion or transform tool, now drag your background scroll to the 'end location.'
This should work. There are other ways of doing this, but this is the most direct way
I know of at the moment.
Luck!
Hi.
If you want cycle a background, You can proceed step by step as follows:
1 - In drawing mode, draw a picture of the overall width of the frame. Copy and paste drawing object. Paste the copy on the right side of the original design… Correct the union between drawings so that there are no line or color breaks.
2 - In camera mode, create a peg that contains the picture and create two successive keyframe. Extend the drawing exposure two frames.
3-Turn on onion skin, one previous frame.
Select the first keyframe of the peg. With the motion tool, place the drawing so that it ends on the right side of the frame.
2 Select the second keyframe. With the motion tool move the drawing so that start on the left side of the frame. Help with the onion skin for the perfect match contours.
Turn off onion skin.
4 - Collapse the peg, and lengthen the cycle as you want. In the penultimate frame, create a keyframe and then delete the last. This is achieved with a correct splicing of cycles.
Show result in quick preview - loop mode. Is very cool. I hope you understand my basic English. Greetings. Yoryo
There is an excellent tutorial on background looping here: http://www.toonboom.com/products/toonBoomStudio/eLearning/tipsTricks/bgLooping/index.php That is in the Toon Boom site under e-learning - Tips & Tricks. If you are new to Toon Boom it will help you get a handle on it to go through the Tips & Tricks and the tutorials there. I found the workout series helpful also. Good luck.
That is a great tutorial, thanks for posting! I’m not sure how I missed that
one as I’ve looked through the same page before 
Follow up question: Why would you go through the extra work of splitting up
a long scrolling background as shown in that tutorial? Is it only so you don’t have
to draw as much background? Or are there any other benefits?
Thanks for any thought!
As mentioned before, the background of continuous cycle represents a great saving of work, and is widely used in many situations Travellings following the posting of a character, where the focus is not the same background, but the action figure. Yoryo.
Yeah, I could already see that was the primary reason. But as per my
question, are there any other reasons or is it just the one.
It is a method to simplify the work and as reason could point in time and production costs. The reuse of art work in cycles and new scenes is a practice widely used throughout the history of animation.
Has also been used in avant-garde aesthetic that would open new avenues of expression. I dont´t know of some other reason that might have. Greetings. Yoryo.
Gotcha, thanks.
I actually can’t import my whole background. its 88 inches wide and the file is too big. I tried cutting it in two parts but it is still too big.
I cut my drawing into pieces, and I can import them now, but I can’t seem to be able to import more than one of them into a frame to link them back together. any ideas?
Adam
Hi Adam. To merge the scanned or camera images that form the background must first import the pictures, (uncheck fit image to camera width) then with right mouse button on the cell image: convert element to vector.This element convert the image in drawing object and now you can select it. Delete all image elements, work only with the drawing elements now created.
Next, select each image vectorized (from the second drawing element) and copy and paste drawing object one after the other in the first drawing element. Then discard those elements that were copied in the first one.
Now, create a camera peg, insert keyframes and create a camera trajectory with the motion tool. It works fine but don´t know if there is a maximum at the longest possible. You should experiment about this. Greetings. Yoryo.
I’m trying that idea now, cutting and pasting the drawing together in one Element, but I can only fit two of my drawings in the Drawing view. Can I make the canvas wider? so to speak. its like only a fourth of my drawing in a view-able area. I can drag it back in, but can scroll over to it, cause its like the page ends.
To display a larger area must make a click on the workspace window and go with the z key enlarging the display area (with x key you can close up to that area), you can also use the magnifying glass tool. Then you can place each section copied in the background element, one followed the other.
it is also possible to select the sections and move the joints to the center of the workspace, to come closer to accurately image and join each section. Finally in sceneplanning view, the camera frame determine the area you want to use the image, and the camera peg the trajectory. Yoryo.