what is a "keyframe"? what is the canonical example of how to use "keyframe" in opentoonz?
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Trevor Boyd Smith
May 8, 2016, 4:43:37 PM5/8/16
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what is a "keyframe"? what is the canonical example of how to use "keyframe" in opentoonz?
when i hear "keyframe" i think it is a frame where the lead animator spends lots of time drawing. and then you go from keyframe to keyframe by drawing the inbetween frames. so a storyboard frame may be a keyframe... but then you need lots of other keyframes inbetween the storyboards that would be done by the lead animator. is my description of a keyframe correct/wrong?
what features/tools does opentoonz have for keyframes? canonical example for keyframes in opentoonz?
Herbert123
May 8, 2016, 7:37:05 PM5/8/16
to opento...@googlegroups.com
In classic hand-drawn animation, the "keys" are the most important drawings in a sequence - or as Richard Williams explains:
"The keys - the storytelling drawings or positions that HAVE to be there to show what's happening. Put it where you can see it... so it READS."
Sometimes we also call these the "golden poses". These keys are important whether working in 2d, 3d, paperless or paper-based animation. We should always have these. And we should spend time on getting the most visually pleasing, interesting, and readable poses at this point. If we get it wrong at this point, nothing will save the animation from mediocrity.
Next you add the extremes between the keys: "Any other drawings that HAVE to be in the shot [sequence]." These are contact positions, for example, while walking, or the extreme positions/poses of a bird flying from A to B. When animating in software (no matter 2d or 3d) you would be adding more keyframes to resolve these.
When we translate these to animation software, these golden poses would be the first keyframes we create in the software. Keyframes in software are saved transformations of position, rotation, (non-proportional and proportional) scaling, and visual properties (such as transparency, colour, effects, and so on). When working with cut-out and 3d characters, multiple elements must be keyframed in animation software for the body position, leg and arm rotations, head movements, facial expressions, lip-sync, and so on, and so forth.
In short, when we talk about "keyframes" I assume changes in transformations and properties in animation software at a specific point in time. When we think of "keys" I tend to assume these are the major storytelling poses and extremes in an animation sequence, whether 3d or 2d, paper or digital.
After deciding on the main keys and the extremes (keys), breakdowns or passing positions are added. These require more keyframes to be set in the animation application you'd be animating in.
And then inbetweens are added. With paper based animation and stop-motion animation straight-ahead animation can be used in this last stage for a more natural flow. With 2d and 3d animation software the inbetweens are generally taken care of automatically - although at any stage the animator may decide to take manual control.
Finally, in the fifth stage other elements may be added, such as tails or antennas swinging around, flappy ears, clothing bits, and so on. Which require more keyframes in the software. Or they may be automatically calculated in the software. We also start the polishing process sometime between the fourth and fifth stage - at least, that is how I work.
In OpenToonz ANY change you make between two frames is recorded as a keyframe - which include positioning, transformations, colour changes, animated effects, and more. It is up to you to decide in what category these keyframes happen to fall: (part of) a golden pose key, an extreme key, a breakdown/passing position key, an inbetween key. Obviously these categories can be applied to any type of animated sequence, whether it involves a bunch of characters, a natural effect such as a waterfall, an explosion, or a simple colour change. :-)
In OpenTOonz many things can be keyframed:
"The keys - the storytelling drawings or positions that HAVE to be there to show what's happening. Put it where you can see it... so it READS."
Sometimes we also call these the "golden poses". These keys are important whether working in 2d, 3d, paperless or paper-based animation. We should always have these. And we should spend time on getting the most visually pleasing, interesting, and readable poses at this point. If we get it wrong at this point, nothing will save the animation from mediocrity.
Next you add the extremes between the keys: "Any other drawings that HAVE to be in the shot [sequence]." These are contact positions, for example, while walking, or the extreme positions/poses of a bird flying from A to B. When animating in software (no matter 2d or 3d) you would be adding more keyframes to resolve these.
When we translate these to animation software, these golden poses would be the first keyframes we create in the software. Keyframes in software are saved transformations of position, rotation, (non-proportional and proportional) scaling, and visual properties (such as transparency, colour, effects, and so on). When working with cut-out and 3d characters, multiple elements must be keyframed in animation software for the body position, leg and arm rotations, head movements, facial expressions, lip-sync, and so on, and so forth.
In short, when we talk about "keyframes" I assume changes in transformations and properties in animation software at a specific point in time. When we think of "keys" I tend to assume these are the major storytelling poses and extremes in an animation sequence, whether 3d or 2d, paper or digital.
After deciding on the main keys and the extremes (keys), breakdowns or passing positions are added. These require more keyframes to be set in the animation application you'd be animating in.
And then inbetweens are added. With paper based animation and stop-motion animation straight-ahead animation can be used in this last stage for a more natural flow. With 2d and 3d animation software the inbetweens are generally taken care of automatically - although at any stage the animator may decide to take manual control.
Finally, in the fifth stage other elements may be added, such as tails or antennas swinging around, flappy ears, clothing bits, and so on. Which require more keyframes in the software. Or they may be automatically calculated in the software. We also start the polishing process sometime between the fourth and fifth stage - at least, that is how I work.
In OpenToonz ANY change you make between two frames is recorded as a keyframe - which include positioning, transformations, colour changes, animated effects, and more. It is up to you to decide in what category these keyframes happen to fall: (part of) a golden pose key, an extreme key, a breakdown/passing position key, an inbetween key. Obviously these categories can be applied to any type of animated sequence, whether it involves a bunch of characters, a natural effect such as a waterfall, an explosion, or a simple colour change. :-)
In OpenTOonz many things can be keyframed:
- camera movement
- drawings (morphing from one state to another, handy for inbetweening)
- individual elements which are grouped in larger constructs (cut-out characters)
- mesh deformations with bones
- pegs, hooks
- level transformations
- effect parameters through the schematic view
- individual drawn frames are keyframes as well - although not explicitly labelled as such in OT
- property changes such as colour, etc. (often via effects)
To read up on this, get a copy of Richard Williams' "The Animator's Survival Kit". Required reading for anyone interested in animation.
syn1kk
May 14, 2016, 9:36:10 PM5/14/16
to OpenToonz Users Forum
thanks for the really great post. i'm a beginner and so all of this is new but I'm making progress.
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