Toon Boom Frustrations

Retired Products Toon Boom Studio General Discussion
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Just want to rant a little on a few frustrations I’m having with toonboom.

Overall I like the program. So I hope folks wont take this the wrong way. Also I’ll admit I’m pretty new to the program so maybe I’m just doing it wrong. But after scouring the help file and online, these are the conclusions I’ve come to.

  1. Animating the camera is a PITA. You have to parent it to a peg (aka Null to the rest of the world). There is a little slider icon on the bottom of the camera field, which works if it’s set to static. But if you want to animate it, no you don’t use that slider, you have to do it in the graph editor. If you are animating the position of the camera you have to have the peg selected, but if you want to zoom you have to have the camera selected.

Seriously folks. Look at how 3d cameras work in EVERY 3d package out there and conform. All camera controls including movement should be contained in the camera object. When I go to the graph editor for camera, I should be able to do EVERYTHING i need to in there. Axis, Heading, Scale (or zoom)

Another note. North South East and West? Are you freaking kidding me?
This may have made sense to some guy in the 1800s when animation was invented. But it’s TOTALLY illogical unless you are only animating maps.
I realize that’s probably how they do it at Disney. But it’s time for the traditional animation folks to re-evaluate some of their century old methods.
We need:
Axis: XYZ Rotation: Heading, Pitch, Bank Scale: XYZ
Clearly despite the fact that it’s a 2d program we are working in 3d now. Get with the program folks.
Also, why can’t I enter certian numbers in the Static FOV, like 5degrees.
Personally I’d rather see a focal length that can be matched to a camera plate.

  1. The graph editor sucks. Check out Maya, Modo, Lightwave, Max ANYTHING.

  2. Overwriting files without asking you if you want to overwrite the files.
    Are you serious? This is REALLY bad.

Ok, I’m sure there is more but my render is done.

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  1. It makes more sense when you realize the software comes from a traditional 2D animation background where N-S, E-W are commonly understood concepts along with the field chart. A parent peg is not the same as a null point in 3D software, there are some sublte differences.

The camera likewise funtions more as a counterpoint to an animation camera bed as opposed to a traditional 3D camera. Perhaps a now-outdated concept but not alien to traditionally trained 2D animators. Also by allowing the separate axes to be treated independently, does offer some benefits for complex movements that can be tightly controlled and isolated.

Be aware that the 3D space of TBS is not a true 3D space in the way you are used to with 3D programs. It is in fact a 2.5D space under the hood that has been expanded upon.
Again, this is based more on traditional 2D animation concepts than pure 3D. Many 2D animators still use the traditional layout measured in fields.

  1. Please explain what you mean