Animating in OpenToonz is a struggle (but worth it)

OpenToonz is a free open source animation software that has a lot to offer for the broke starving animator, although using it itself is a struggle.
Two years ago I graduated from my animation course and couldn't afford the programs the school provided, so to keep animating after school I found OpenToonz. Not Sponsored.
In this video I am animating a simple head-turn in OpenToonz, this isn't a tutorial. It goes over my process of animating a simple headturn as well as going over some features of OpenToonz, I go over the pros and cons of the software, and the reason as to why it is a struggle to use. Thanks for watching!
Check out My Webtoon! Alice the Vampire Slayer
www.webtoons.c...
Programs Used in the video:
ClipStudio Paint
DaVinchi Resolve 17
Audacity
OpenToonz
Where else can you find me? (links)
Twitter: / rainpuddle856
ko-fi: ko-fi.com/pudd...
Instagram: puddles_art856
Like comment and subscribe for more!
/ @puddles856
I usually post animations on this channel and occasional speed draws every half century. And Now Im sharing my stories with you, from paranormal experiences to the worst commissions ever.
Make sure to sub so you don't miss any speed draws/ paints and animations as i have a lot of videos planned for the future! and Another video is just around the proverbial corner.
Thanks for watching ur the real MVP

[@Puddles856]

Thanks for watching !

[@CKLawrence]

i know for a fact you will someday gain lots of attention with your art style and animation skills, non to mention humor and other things i believe in you

[@lyasweetheart]

I’m downloading OpenToonz again while watching your video! Can’t wait to finish watching this and you have a new sub :D ❤

[@Puddles856]

hope you wont have the same problems lol, and thx for watching!

[@lyasweetheart]

@@Puddles856

[@UltimatePerfection]

Get Tahoma2D - it's basically OT, but with extra features, better support and less bugs.

[@towersket]

Oh god that is terrible, I remember that happening when I would try to use Krita at some point. Also this turned out so well, congrats ^^

[@Puddles856]

havent tried krita before, sucks that it also has that problem... also thx!

[@Musashi-if3tl]

Loved your style of commentary😊 So organic and relatable 😅

[@Puddles856]

@@Musashi-if3tl lol, thanks : )

[@Musashi-if3tl]

​@@Puddles856 You have good charm😊 should make more content.

[@Puddles856]

i agree, new vid out soon lol

[@bicianimations1895]

This is really good animation!

[@nakowashere]

i use opentoonz a bunch, and ive gotten so used to it i cant even use adobe animate without feeling wierd

[@francesca5295]

Hello! you may like to know that open toonz has shift and trace. it's in the view menu at the end. you first have to turn it on and then still in the view menu select edit shift. you can put shortcut to both

[@Puddles856]

Thanks for the info, thats very helpful!

[@Eldr1tchGl1tch]

opentoonz has autosave; when you make the file there's a button on the buttom that says save every X minutes, the default is 15

[@Puddles856]

true, I think i have it set differently but despite its autosave features, it always manages to crash before autosave or manual save (for me anyways) Thanks for commenting : )

[@Eldr1tchGl1tch]

@@Puddles856 you can send it to autosave like every 5 minutes or even one minute if it hates your pc

[@Glitchhusky9304]

@@Puddles856 it tends to crash even with auto saving I would recommend you go to file and save the project a lot just in case

[@BrownTortoise-u2s]

I don't know if it's normal but the constant glitching of the software is something that kills me. It sometimes takes me 6hrs to animate anything. Still gonna continue working at it. I downloaded this because Studio Ghibli used it, but I'll be damned if this doesn't make me feel like a Greek tragedy.

[@Puddles856]

frfr

[@Shrimpperdgjokk]

If you’re open to trying other softwares Krita is free and has an animation feature!

[@Puddles856]

@@Shrimpperdgjokk thats cool, didnt know it had that feature. I'll be sure to check it out! :D

[@prawnfishh]

I'm trying to animate in krita but I hate it sm shehwowojwjwjw 😭😭maybe I just have skill issue....

[@lokeshkoli1210]

​@@prawnfishhI can understand as doing lipsync is a nightmare, so is arranging the frames. 😅

[@prawnfishh]

@@lokeshkoli1210 haha yeah!! I'm more okay at using it now tho hehe

[@therealestfleet]

chat we got a new puddles video ✨✨

[@Puddles856]

woop woop

[@tresure4life]

I went from 1.6.1 to 1.7.1 and it's weird. I switched a while ago, and I'm used to it now. When i first got 1.7 i didn't know how to create scenes 💀 I'm dumb ngl

[@UltimatePerfection]

Not really struggle for me, more of a time-consuming annoyance. But I use Tahoma2D which is basically "OpenToonz with Blackjack and..." to paraphrase Bender. (I'm in a manual clean up process right now and I can't use T2D's cleanup tools due to how it's drawn and I never did any cleanup work to begin with meaning I don't have experience with doing it efficiently so that might color my judgement).

[@Puddles856]

@@UltimatePerfection im getting a lot of Tahoma2D recommendations lol: hope the clean up goes well!

[@bicianimations1895]

Dude, exporting in opentoonz is a pain

[@Puddles856]

so true! 😤

[@JP-zi9mr]

just save all and go into your OpenToonz stuff folder.

[@derekstepan3888]

in professional studios, you would only ever export as an image sequence. With my own work, I never export to a video except for the final edit and that is done in an editing program such as Davinci Resolve (it keeps my work light and easy to edit with a not so new CPU/GPU). I have created the anime style in opentoonz alone. It is all about skill as the software allows you to do just as much in animation and compositing as paid software (honestly, it is better than most paid software and I have used them all). Opentoonz stroke order tweening is just as good as Cacani if you know how to use it. The compositing is just as good as Harmony or After Effects in many aspects especially for 2D cel animation!! Understanding the pipeline is very useful to maximize your abilities in OT.

[@tresure4life]

How? Setting up ffmpeg for MP4 is pretty simple and exporting PNGs is easier than existing. I have problems with importing... Idk if I'm just dumb but half the stuff I get refuses to be a png or jpeg so when I'm done with opentoonz it doesn't save the import, only the drawings

[@bicianimations1895]

@@tresure4life i have tried countless tutorials to set up an ffmpeg and nothing has worked for me, i still havent been able to export anything that i make

[@pinkieshikita]

Where did you study animation, im studing animation as well 2 Years im in me 2 semester, do you have an advice for studying this? And I was thinking exactly the same I can't afford after colleague the softwares so I'm looking for an alternative even though I haven't finish colleague yet

[@Puddles856]

Well, I studied Animation and Graphics at NBCC, it was a two year program instead of 4 years, so we could be molded by companies after graduation. I'm not the best with advice but here we go, keep in mind the 12 principals of animation, there are breakdowns of this here on KZbin, practice a lot ( if you dont like the way an animation turned out try remaking it, if it doesn't look right check and see if you're following the arcs because in animation everything moves in arcs.) My teachers encouraged us to "Think 3D Volumes" that means you aren't just drawing a 2D character they should have volume and depth with solid drawings, it also helps to imagine how they interact with objects and environments, this is mainly why Character Sheets and Model sheets for Objects the character interacts with and even backgrounds are created before the animation, (different angles and positioning to help as a guide.) - there were also book recommendations like - The Animators Survival Kit by Richard Williams, Your Career in Animation by Levy and a book that I dont have - Disney Animation: the Illusion of Life by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnson.... I also recommend taking breaks away from your desk or wherever you're working from its both good for your eyes and will make finding mistakes a lot easier with fresh eyes, and well dont go super detailed in the first pass it makes the animation intimidating, focus on the primary motions first before adding any secondary motion to your animation.... (also teachers recommend watching animated movies and analyzing the animations by breaking it down and if you want watch behind the scenes footage of the animation process ) Not sure if this was what you were looking for and sorry this is such a long response, but I hope you found some of it helpful, main takeaway : practice and dont give up if you get frustrated! good luck animating !

[@OriginalClass1c]

Plz how to reset the like layout like palletes and all I accidentally moved it and can't out it back to normal plz 😭🙏

[@OriginalClass1c]

The canvas

[@Puddles856]

@@OriginalClass1c Choose windows - Workspace - Reset to default rooms (thats what dr google says anyways, hope it helps)

[@OriginalClass1c]

@@Puddles856 ty

[@cedricadougba324]

Thanks, Jesus-Christ loves you.