how do you scan hand drawn frames?

[Ian Abrams]

I have a epson perfection V500 scanner and I have installed a driver to scan (not from within the program). I have been going to Scan>>define scanner at which point I click TWAIN scanner driver to get a message saying: "no TWAIN scanner is available" and if I click internal scanner driver nothing happens but when I click "scan" I get a message saying: Unknown scanner mode." and I cant seem to select a scanner mode in the scan settings. How am I supposed to properly set up my V500 scanner and scan a series of frames?   

[JJ Parks]

I also had this problem. This is the one reason I never was able to use TraceMan with the RETAS package because I never could figure out a way to properly scan my hand drawn cels, which defeated much of the purpose for me. Good luck and if you find out please post the solution!

[Alex Avila]

I am having the same problem as well. I have an Epson Stylus NX420. I'm not sure how to set it up with Opentoonz; however, GTS is able to recognize the scanner and I was able to scan in drawings. If you are on Windows, you should give GTS a shot

[Cody3D]

Are you familiar with GTS?
I've been tinkering around with it, but I'm still confused about certain aspects of the program...

It seems that it specializes in turning scanned documents into "easy-to-paint" aliases, where only black and white pixels are present. The program can also detect for certain colors within the document, and convert them into aliased lines as well... This function is crucial for animation studios whose inbetweeners draw in separate colors to indicate highlights, shadows, and background elements (as most Japanese studios do).

I believe GTS was included in the open-source release because it was the program that Ghibli used to alias/refine their paper frames... So even if OpenToonz's scan and cleanup processes were correctly working, I doubt they'd be of use to anyone capable of using GTS.

That said, I still think it is important that we restore those processes... Perhaps we can even integrate the GTS environment into OpenToonz. Whatever makes paper-based productions easier to create.

[Brian B]

I'm having the same problem with OT not recognizing my scanner. Then again, it';s not an Epson, it's an HP Photosmart D110 series. So it's a few years old. ;) I was wondering if there's a way to get it to work with OT?

If not, I'd find that kind of weird, considering the art program I've been using (Paint Shop Pro 6) has been with me for about 16-17 years. (Yep, still installs and works in Windows 8.1! after all these years) Works with my scanner and has a TWAIN connection via a USB 2.0 cord to my ancient PSP6 program.

Then how do I import a background I've already made? What are the file format limitations for importing? And is there a way to place a background into OT in different layers? Like, if I have a background, a layer for a character, and then a layer for whatever foreground pieces I might have? Along with preserving transparency in the foreground, if possible.

I know that's a lot of questions, but I'm playing around in OT without much reference for the layout or controls, seeing as my art program and animation program are so ancient, they're practically fossils in computer-time. LOL Thanks greatly in advance to whomever can answer my questions! :)

[Herbert123]

Scanning into OpenToonz is a very simple process - but I do not use the built-in tool, which does not work for me.

Instead, download Irfanview first:
http://www.irfanview.com/

Make sure your scanner works on your system. My old LideScan 60 has no drivers from Canon which work, and I use the excellent Vuescan instead (which improved the quality of the scans considerably to boot).

It is also possible to use your webcam or other devices, documents, files, and such with a universal Twain driver like UniTwain:
http://www.terminalworks.com/unitwain.
A tad expensive, though. Although if you do need support for webcams or cameras, Unitwain could work for you.

With Irfanview and Vuescan installed, here are the steps:

1) open IrfanView
2) File-->Acquire/Batch Scanning

At this point you must choose to either scan a single image, or a batch of images. A background would be a single image. A group of drawings for an animated character would be a batch.

I will assume we are scanning in a bunch of drawings for an animated character.

3) Click on the "Multiple image (batch mode) radio button.

4) select your twain source first. Click on the button marked "Select TWAIN Source" and select the source. I wish to scan with my flatbed scanner, and I choose Vuescan. If I had wanted to scan frames with my Logitech web camera, I would have chosen Unitwain.

5) The important bit! Set the Output file name to any name EXCLUDING dots, spaces, etc. Then affix a DOT/PERIOD character at the end  "."
Next, set the starting counter at 1, the incrememnt at 1, and the number of digits to 4.

It is also possible to remember the last scan counter, which is SUPER handy in case you have worked on a first batch of drawings for your animation, and continue the next day, or you wish to work in smaller batches.

6) Set the destination directory to you OpenToonz project/scans folder. (see screenshot).
Finally, select a OT compatible import format. I choose PNG for lossless images. If you prefer to work with jpg, be certain to check the quality settings under the OPTIONS button before proceeding.

7) Click OK to begin scanning.

8) This depends a bit on the scanner software. In Vuescan I click the preview button, and draw a selection frame for the part I wish to scan. I then click "Scan".  I scan the next drawing. Scan button. And the next. Scan button.

If you have a bunch of frames on the same sheet of paper, just preview once, and create a new selection for each drawing, and hit the scan button for each frame.

9) When finished, I close Vuescan. Irfanview will then automatically save all scans as numbered name.000x.png files.

10) Open OpenToonz, and open the file browser. Navigate to your scans folder, and voila: OpenToonz displays your scanned in drawings as a sequence. Drop in a level, and start cleaning up.

[Herbert123]

Btw, Vuescan link: https://www.hamrick.com/

Quite affordable, and it saved me from having to purchase a new flatbed scanner. And the quality of the scans is very good.

[Brian B]

Thank you Herbert123, Sorry my reply wasn't sooner, only just got on for a few minutes before bed. First chance I've had to check the forum today. :(

So, I found my printer/scanner at VueScan...
https://www.hamrick.com/vuescan/hp_photosmart_d110a.html

I haven't fully checked out the Vuescan or IrfanView sites yet. I hope they're free.... I only need my all-in-one to work with the program, not a webcam or other peripherals. So I need both programs?

I still don't understand is why my scanner doesn't work for OpenToonz directly. I'm attaching the select source area from my Paint Shop Pro 6. If a program that's about 17 years old can work with my all-in-one, why can't OpenToonz? Is it because it's not 64-bit?

I've read a little more on both sites, and both sites talk about not working with the OS, but my all-in-one works with my OS just fine. Just not with OpenToonz.
Sorry, I guess I'm just a little bit confused. I should've gotten on when I was more awake. I guess I'll have to check it again out tomorrow. ^_^;

Thanks again!

[Herbert123]

IrfanView is completely free, and one of the oldest and well-respected image viewers on Windows. It is also great for batch processing images and file names - WAY faster than Photoshop. We are talking at least ten times as fast, if not faster.

Vuescan is unfortunately not free. The basic version costs $49, and the professional version $89, but you get free updates forever with the professional one. For me it was worth the cost, since my scanner works just fine, but the drivers from Canon would not work on WIndows 7.

In your case you do NOT require Vuescan at all: you state your scanner works fine with all applications, except Toonz. Irfanview should have no issues at all working with your scanner.

So follow the steps as described, and select one of the HP sources. Then scan away. :-P

Btw, OpenToonz will not work with Vuescan. I will contact the developer, and perhaps he can make it work with Toonz - that would make almost ANY scanner compatible with Toonz.

I will let you know.

[Brian B]

Thanks so much again Herbert123!

I'll go back over your earlier posts and see about getting IrfanView set up!

Cool, yeah if Vuescan could work with Toonz, that'd be awesome! :D

Thanks!
Brian

[JJ Parks]

I used Paint Shop Pro 4 for YEARS lol. I have a special spot in my heart for that software as well. Glad to know I'm not alone ^_^.

[justicem...@gmail.com]

Hello sir you seem very knowledgeable about opentoonz. How do u import previously scanned images into gts to trace. I dont have an Epson scanner cause its too expensive

[JJ Parks]

Hi Justice. I am a little out of date with OpenToonz as I have since switched to Toon Boom Harmony. I had an earlier version that had a lot of issues with crashing and problems with my hardware, but I did eventually have a decent system going. It does seem that only the Epson scanners (or those with proper TWAIN support) will work but if you have the drawings scanned in, feel free to send them to me and I’ll see if I can print/scan them for you (if there’s not like 100,000 of them lol). Let me know :) I’ll do my best.