Learn to Animate

Images can either be imported into Tahoma and added directly to the project, or loaded from the existing location. If you are adding a large sequence or anything with particularly large file sizes to a project, importing can be slow depending on the processing power of the computer. In many cases, it saves a lot of time to move the sequence or etc. into the project folder ahead of time.

Loading from inside the project +—

1. If needed, download your pixilation photo folder (or etc.) from Google Drive & then double-click on the zipped directory to unzip it
2. Move the photos from their folder to the "Extras" folder for the project:
   1. In Finder, find your folder (in Downloads, unless you already have the photos elsewhere on the computer)
   2. Double-click on the folder to open it
   3. Select all of the photos with CMD+A
   4. Copy all of the photos with CMD+C
   5. Find your project folder in Finder & double-click on the name to open it
   6. Double-click on the "Extras" folder to open it
   7. Use CMD+V to paste all of the photos
3. In Tahoma, go to the "Browser" room
4. Find your project & open the "Extras" folder
5. Right-click on the sequence name & choose "Load"

As long as the sequence uses the proper name format, it will display as a single item in Tahoma's Broswer.

Importing from outside of the project +—

1. Right-click in the top, leftmost empty cell in the Xsheet/Timeline - or (Timeline only) right-click on the first cell of an existing level
2. Select "Load Level"
3. Use the Browser to select your image sequence (the sequence will display as a single file DSC..jpg - or something similar) then choose "Load"
   1. If your assets are located inside of Downloads or another folder you can't directly access, in the Browser, go to "My Computer" → / → Users → your username

When adding images or other resources from outside of Tahoma, you might be asked to choose between importing and loading the file.

• Importing - makes a full copy of the file in the "Extras" folder (this makes backing up your work easier - recommended)
• Loading - loads the file from the existing location (keeps the project size down and sometimes helpful when the file might be edited more outside of Tahoma)

Additionally, you can drag and drop the first image in a sequence into the Viewer or Timeline/Xsheet and the entire sequence will load/import.

Adjusting Highlights and Shadows +—

In many photo editing programs (such as Photoshop), the overall ranges for highlights and shadows can be adjusted. This process is usually called "Adjust Levels" or something similar.

1. Select the cells in the level that you want to adjust
   1. Left-click and drag to select consecutive cells
   2. Command-left-click to select non-consecutive cells
   3. To select all cells in the level:
      1. Left-click on the light-colored left edge of a cell in the Xsheet
      2. Left-click on the light-colored top edge of a cell in the Timeline
2. In the program menu, go to Level → Adjust → "Adjust Levels..."
3. Move the dials to make adjustments as desired:
   1. Select "Auto" to let Tahoma autocorrect the lights and darks
   2. Or manually adjust the lights and darks
      1. Adjust the dials along the histogram (the graph)
         1. The left dial adjusts the shadows - usually should line up with the leftmost edge of the histogram's shape
         2. The left right dial adjusts the highlights - usually should line up with the rightmost edge of the histogram's shape
      2. Adjust the overall range of light/dark:
         1. Drag the lower left dial to the right to both lower the contrast and to make the selected images lighter
         2. Drag the lower right dial to the left to both lower the contrast and to make the selected images darker
      
4. Select "Apply" and click on the corner "X" (top-left corner) to close the window
5. To remove changes, with the "Adjust Levels" window open, select "Reset"

Adjusting Brightness/Contrast +—

1. Select the cells in the level that you want to adjust
   1. Left-click and drag to select consecutive cells
   2. Command-left-click to select non-consecutive cells
   3. To select all cells in the level:
      1. Left-click on the light-colored left edge of a cell in the Xsheet
      2. Left-click on the light-colored top edge of a cell in the Timeline
2. In the program menu, go to Level → Adjust → "Brightness and Contrast..."
3. Move the dials to adjust brightness and/or contrast as desired, then select "Apply"
4. Click on the corner "X" (top-left corner) to close the window

Adjusting Size +—

The size of Tahoma's camera is likely smaller than the image size. We can easily correct the camera size to fit the photos. You can see the camera size based on the red, dotted outline.

1. Go to the "FX" room
2. Click on the bottom right toggle to switch the Schematic window from its FX mode to the Schematic mode
3. Double-click on the camera
4. Select "Use Current Level Settings"
5. Click on the corner "X" to close the camera settings window
6. Switch back to the "2D" room

Adjusting Orientation +—

When using the animation stands (instead of a tripod) to do traditional animation forms like sand or paint-on-glass animations, all of the photographs will be upside down. To correct the orientation, use the "Animate" tool.

1. Press "A" to switch to the Animate tool
2. Make sure "Col1" - or your layer name is selected
3. Change the mode to "Scale"
4. Type -100 in the "Global" field of the tool option bar

Adjusting the Frame Rate +—

1. Preview the Timing:
   Playing an animation with lots of very large photographs directly in the Viewer often lags the program. Use the Flipbook to preview your timing instead:
   1. Always "Save All" before using preview (CMD+S | CTRL+S)
   2. File → Preview or (CMD+R | CTRL+R)
   3. Right-click in the middle of the Flipbook and select "Fit to Window"
   4. After the calculations are finished (the red is gone in the progress bar), use the controls to play/pause the animation as necessary
      
2. Adjusting the Frame Rate:
   Traditionally animations are made of 24fps where 12 frames repeat one time. Sometimes you may want to change the frame rate to easily speed up or slow down the entire animation. FPS stands for frames per second.
   1. In the Flipbook preview, change the frame rate value and play to see changes
      
   2. When you have found your desired frame rate, go to the program menu, Xsheet → "Scene Settings"
   3. Change the frame rate as needed

Other Timing Adjustments +—

Sometimes you want your timing adjustments to only apply to a single level - or selected cells from that level. In that case there are several options to adjust the timing.

1. Select the entire level by clicking on the dark dragbar on the top of the cells or left-click and drag across a range of cells to select them (the dragbar is on the left side of the cells in the Xsheet)
2. Right-click on the selected cells to open the context menu
3. Choose a menu option - some will automatically apply, others have settings to set first:
   • Step - slow down the pace by displaying each selected cell for 2, 3 or 4 frames
   • Each - speed up the pace by displaying only every 2nd, every 3rd, or every 4th frame
   • Edit Cell Numbers:
     • Reverse: reverse the direction of the selection
     • Repeat: repeat the selected cells to a specific frame number or for a specific number of frames (this command is also on the command bar for easy access)
     • Time Stretch: stretch the selection to hold across a number of frames
     

Reordering Images in a Level +—

1. Select the cell (or cells) to be reordered
2. Use the shortcut "Q" to toggle backwards in the image sequence
3. Use the shortcut "W" to toggle forwards in the image sequence

For Animation II

There is a cleanup process that allows photographs (or other raster images) to be converted to Toonz Raster Levels. This makes the images fillable and allows for easy changes to color.

Often, animators may "clean up" scanned or photographed line drawings to test out characters, viewpoints, and/or movements.

More information coming soon.

Pixelation Quest

1. In your group, plan out your Pixelation animation
2. Take photos for your animation
   1. Pose actors and/or objects (actors should freeze in place for each pose)
   2. Take 2 photos
   3. Repeat steps A. and B. as necessary
3. Download photos and share with all group members
4. Setup the Project and Scene in Tahoma +—

   1. Choose "New Project" in either the startup window or the menu (File → Project Management → New Project)
   2. Select the project location
   3. Give your project a name
   4. Press "Ok"
   5. If using the startup window, give your first scene for the project a descriptive name and select "Create Scene"
   6. If the project was created through the menu, save the default untitled scene to give it a descriptive name (CMD+S | CTRL+S or File → Save All)
5. Load the Image Sequence +—

   1. If needed, download your pixilation photo folder (or etc.) from Google Drive & then double-click on the zipped directory to unzip it
   2. Move the photos from their folder to the "Extras" folder for the project:
      1. In Finder, find your folder (in Downloads, unless you already have the photos elsewhere on the computer)
      2. Double-click on the folder to open it
      3. Select all of the photos with CMD+A
      4. Copy all of the photos with CMD+C
      5. Find your project folder in Finder & double-click on the name to open it
      6. Double-click on the "Extras" folder to open it
      7. Use CMD+V to paste all of the photos
   3. In Tahoma, go to the "Browser" room
   4. Find your project & open the "Extras" folder
   5. Right-click on the sequence name & choose "Load"

   As long as the sequence uses the proper name format, it will display as a single item in Tahoma's Broswer.

6. Adjust the level as necessary (values, brightness, contrast, size, and/or timing)
   1. Resize the Camera +—

      The size of Tahoma's camera is likely smaller than the image size. We can easily correct the camera size to fit the photos. You can see the camera size based on the red, dotted outline.

      1. Go to the "FX" room
      2. Click on the bottom right toggle to switch the Schematic window from its FX mode to the Schematic mode
      3. Double-click on the camera
      4. Select "Use Current Level Settings"
      5. Click on the corner "X" to close the camera settings window
      6. Switch back to the "2D" room
   2. Add a title image to the beginning of the animation (hold for at least 2 seconds)
      1. Create a new raster level for background layer
         Making a raster level +—

         1. Click on the first cell of the image sequence in the Timeline (or the first cell of the next column in the Xsheet), and use the Command Bar to create a new Raster level
            1. Give the background a descriptive name
            2. Set the step to "48" to stretch out the background to last for 2 seconds
            
         2. In the Level Palette:
            1. Add a new style by clicking on the new style button
            2. With the new color selected, go to the Style Editor and choose a new color (click higher in the right triangle to lighten the value & reveal the rest of the color wheel if needed)
            3. Repeat as necessary to create your color selections
         3. Change the Style Editor to the "Raster" tab - there are a variety of brushes you can use here that only work on raster and smart raster levels
         4. To add a specific brush to one of your colors, select the color(style) first in the level palette and then click on the brush of your choice in the Style Editor (you can change brushes for a style as many times as you would like)
         5. From the toolbar, use the Brush tool (B) and the Eraser tool (E) to draw your background
            1. In the Tool Option Bar above the Viewer, you can change the size and opacity of the active brush - you can even use a brush as an eraser
            2. In the Style Editor under Settings, you can change the settings for the active brush as needed
      2. Create either a new vector or toonz raster level to add text
         Using text +—

         The "Type Tool" allows you to use any font on the computer to create text - but keep in mind, after it is created it is no longer editable as text. Text can only be added in Vector or Smart Raster levels.

         1. Click on the first cell of the next column in the Xsheet (or the first cell of the image sequence in the Timeline), and use the Command Bar to create a new Vector level or Smart Raster level
            1. Give the level a descriptive name
            2. Make sure to set the step to "48" so that the text last for the same amount of time as the background
         2. Select the "Type" tool (Y)
         3. Set the font, style, size and orientation as necessary for the font in the Tool Options bar
            
         4. Click in the viewer and begin typing
            • While the text is still active and editable, any of the tool options can be changed
            • Clicking outside of the text in the Viewer or changing tools completes the text objects, so that the text is no longer editable as text
         5. To adjust the size or position of the text after it is applied, use the "Select Tool" (S)
            The select tool allows for changes in size, position, and rotation without setting keyframes and usually only applies to the active drawing
            1. Leaving the selection type set to rectangular, left-click and drag around your text to select
               1. For vector letters, you may want to select all of the letters and put them in a group (CMD+G | CTRL+G) to easily edit all of the letters at the same time
            2. To resize: left-click and drag the corners
            3. To rotate: hover near just outside of a corner until the cursor changes, then click and drag to change the angle
            4. To reposition: hover inside the selection until the cursor changes, then click and drag the selection to the new location (or use the arrow keys)
               • Use the arrow keys to move the selection slowly
               • Use shift+arrow to move the selection faster
   3. Add credits to the end of the animation (hold for at least 2 seconds)
      1. Create a new raster level for a background layer
      2. Create either a new vector or toonz raster level to add text
   4. Adjust the placement of the levels on the Xsheet/Timeline into a logical sequence
      Reorganizing +—

      Levels can be dragged and dropped in the Xsheet/Timeline to adjust the overall sequence of an animation.

      1. Move the image sequence (photo) level down to make room for the title
         1. Select every cell for your image sequence
            1. Left-click on the cell dragbar (top, darker edge) of a cell in the Timeline
            2. Left-click on the cell dragbar (left, darker edge) in the Xsheet

            →

            • Don't click on the dragbar for the active cell
            • When the level is selected successfully, it has a light border
         2. Drag and drop the cells down to the 49th frame (or whatever frame is necessary)
      2. In the same way, move the title sequence & credits as needed
   5. Render to Video