Blender Grease Pencil - Storyboard Animatic Tutorial - 1 of 6 - Basics, UI, Modes,Canvas

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

Hi everybody. Currently 88% of viewers are not subscribed. If you find you enjoy my content please consider subscribing. Thanks very much.

[@Yahnart]

FINALLY! Why is it so hard to find Animators showing an in depth look into the process of 2d and 3d? WHY!?! So glad I found this guy.

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

The KZbin algorithm hates us :)

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

IMPORTANT NOTE: At 4:38 'DRAW MODE' I do not show the step how to switch to draw mode. To do this, select your grease pencil object, press TAB and select 'DRAW MODE' to begin drawing. Alternatively, change the mode in the top left corner from 'Object mode' to 'Draw mode'

[@theartofstory9487]

DUDE! THIS IS SO FANTASTIC! TOTALLY accelerating my work flow and helping me stand out in my studio work! Subscribed and liked! Thanks for doing these and making them available!

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

Fantastic thanks alot. I enjoy your content . Cheers

[@tle90]

This is by far the most insightful and well made tutorial series for GP. I can’t believe you released this amazing content for free, thank you so much!! The Blender community is full of awesome people like yourself 😊

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

@@tle90 thank you for your comment. Great to know.

[@chagaze7199]

i am at 3/6, and frankly your formation is very nice and efficient and totally actual even after 3 years! THANK YOU!

[@noelcastillo3829]

You are a pioneer in this approach, fantastic!

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

Thank you

[@AnimatedLoopHD]

Man, blender can be used for pretty much every aspect of the production pipeline

[@BjornUltimatum]

Thank you for making this. I've been importing my 3d renders into a 2D software and drawing over the frames. If I can do both my 3D and 2D animation in Blender I'll be able to experiment more and do it all in a free program ^^

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

Yup. It's the true hybrid tech. Working in 3d does make the process more complicated, more technical, but what you get out of it is fantastic so it's up to each artist to evaluate the pro's and cons. I also work over 3d myself, as it is still faster for me, at the moment. You can also do that in blender by simply strapping the GP layer in front of the camera. But I was more interested in exploring what it's like working genuinely moving around in 3d space.

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

NOTICE: this tutorial series and blend files are also available to purchase on Gumroad. Link: gumroad.com/l/OQPqmC

[@leonardoromero2000]

Thanks for sharing. I'm gonna make the SuperSimple 2D man exercise.

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

Great .

[@christophervaca7116]

Excellent. I like the look of your story boards.

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

Thanks Christopher

[@asthalis]

Hi and thank you for your amazing videos ! I was struggling with the grease pencil and it helped me a lot. One more (happy) subscriber !

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

Glad to hear it thanks for the sub

[@ericavillar284]

thanks a lot!!! it is very helpfull!!! Subscribed and liked! we want more!!

[@filipemecenas]

Thanks !!! Thats awesome !!

[@ryanjnealmovies]

I only have one button on my pencil so I'm having difficulty mapping it to right click/middle mouse... it's on the top and every time I press it the lead falls out. Thank you so much for uploading this, Mr Storyboards; This series is excellent.

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

Hello Ryan . I had this problem also when I first started . I found the solution to be to use the magical pen provided with your magical etchasketch wacom tablet. Works wonders. Real pencils dont work sadly although I hear they are working on a fix for that that involves 2 pieces of fresh white bread, perfectly buttered on their pretty white faces . Hope that helps

[@JECohen84]

What is the best way to achieve what you did I really like The flow. For the 2D part did you draw in the animation flat 2d mode? Free hand?

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

Hi. All the 2d stuff is hand drawn yes. I explain everything in the videos

[@MaxNMotion]

For me the grid won't show up at all, even though my opacity is 1.0, the color is black (not the same as the background) and I have it toggled on in the viewport overlays...

[@whatever-jj4vs]

Great tutorial! I have one issue though. When I want to draw in the surface mode the offset changes depending on how much zoomed in or out I am. Even when I set the offset to a really small number like 0,03 the difference is still quite visible. I've found out that switching to the orthographic view instead of perspective when drawing gets rid of this issue but is there another way to fix it?

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

Ergh...I hate this too.......there us a workaround or fix I can't recall what it was sorry. I know sofie jantak had a work around but thatc was a while ago. Sorry.

[@whatever-jj4vs]

@@SpitfireStoryboardsThanks for the reply! I watched her video on it too. She used a solidify modifier to draw on the surface with 0 offset and then swichted it off for the render. A really cool and smart solution but for now I think I'll just stick with switching to the ortoghraphic view when drawing. It feels quicker and a bit more simple for a blender newbie like me.

[@nasiuwu3823]

Hi! And thank you for amazing video! I have question for you in 11:41 you can move the grid, i try but it can't move like you? It would appreciate if you answer that thank you

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

Thanks. Yeh I go into object mode, and move it using g. If your canvas is set to origin then it will visibly move when you move the object. Hope that helps

[@nasiuwu3823]

Oh my god! Thank you so much! It's work!!! 😭😭😭

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

@@nasiuwu3823 great. Yes alotbof issues you'll pop into are just things that once you understand the process, will become second nature

[@chananyaminster]

do you have any tips for learning art in general? I'd love to be able to use grease pencil, but I can't draw well enough to use it.

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

I would suggest Proko channel, his tutorials cover drawing intensely. Drawing will take a lot of practice, but the journey is never complete, so get good enough to feel like u are comfortable drawing what you are trying to, then try grease pencil.

[@alekjwrgnwekfgn]

Do you think it will be possible... When we get an NVIDIA Omnisphere connector for Blender, we could storyboard in Blender and have a USD scene/Level common and live between Unity or Unreal- or BOTH AT THE SAME TIME...!!?!!

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

I think that is a possibility in the future. The bridge between unreal and blender is quite good now and it's early days so fingers crossed. The big question is grease pencil , as it has no real exquivalent in other programs, but I bet there is a way to get some kind of baked in animation from it to display in other software

[@JECohen84]

Do you use the grease pencil on a new plane for each frame?

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

No using the methods shown here. If u check out my Cursor Snapper videos , I thinkntgat might be more what u are asking about

[@randala9345]

How did you get your brush to draw like that? When i draw a big chunk of my stroke disappears and it also moves very slow, it’s not like when im drawing with a normal drawing software and i can’t do my lines correctly :c

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

You'll have onto make a video to show me . You could b clipping through something or any number of issues . How old is computer ?

[@LucasSoaresCA]

where is canvas grid orientation and onion skin in blender 4.0.2?

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

Canvas orientation ( front side etc) is in the same place but the overlay controls like canvas and onion skin moved to a new grease pencil squiggle icon next to the round overlay toggle up top right

[@Cassthetic_Art_Official]

Hey what if you have an XP-Pen tablet? Do i need to change my settings for the tablet as well?

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

It’s a personal preference thing, but I really like having the lower button as middle mouse, for easier navigation. If yr pen has 2 buttons, try it see if u like it

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

It’s a personal preference thing, but I really like having the lower button as middle mouse, for easier navigation. If yr pen has 2 buttons, try it see if u like it

[@Cassthetic_Art_Official]

@@SpitfireStoryboards Alrightly Thank you 🙏

[@shamon_in_tent]

sometimes the layer seems to stick back while the linework layer moves through the animation - any idea?

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

Im not sure what you mean. Could you try clarifying ?

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

Not sure what stick back means

[@shamon_in_tent]

@@SpitfireStoryboardsThe fill layer in the grease pencil doesn't move with the linework layer within the same grease pencil on a second layer. As i move through the keyframes, the linework moves and the fill stays put where i drew it. I think that means I need to make sure I draw the fill at each keyframe. Oh ok i think that makes sense.

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

@@shamon_in_tent are you using origin and are you moving the object around? If yes to both then all laters should move as the object moves but of course if the drawing changes and you havent drawn a new fill to match it it will hold ( but should still move how the object moves)

[@JECohen84]

im having issues, I draw on the first frame then go to the next frame, I tried copy pasting the image and erasing some bits and adding to it to make it move... that didnt work. tried again and the line work disappeared... im not sure what im doing wrong

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

Come to the discord. U can show us what u mean then . Link in my bio page

[@bluewavesoverfuji]

Canvas is not displaying with all the settings set up just as shown...hmmmm. Could it be the scale of the file or something?

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

Possibly. If you go down to the settings and scale up the canvas grid, u might see it. Another way would be to click an object and see what size it is. A human figure should be around 1.7m on the z axis in blender for real world scale

[@bluewavesoverfuji]

@@SpitfireStoryboards thanks I'll try checking the model scale :D

[@JECohen84]

how do I import an image to use as reference and I want to go over it with grease pencil

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

Drag the image from your folder into the viewport

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

If u don't find a tip in my videos feel free to type your request in KZbin as there is a strong chance someone else has a video about it. Importing images into blender is simple and there are videos about it

[@tilitila88]

Hi, Been trying to draw in "surface" and it doesn't do it.WHat am I missing?

[@tilitila88]

I figured it out! I had an offset in the Surface panel..

[@tilitila88]

Thx anyway!

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

@@tilitila88 glad u fixed it

[@etugba124]

PLS HELP! Whenever I learn a new program, I can understand the hardest things right away and dont do the easiest thing. I accidentally lost my cursor pivot and can't find it :( where I can open again :((

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

Hold shift and right click to make it appear where you want it. Have you swithced the overlays off? You can only see it with them on

[@etugba124]

@@SpitfireStoryboards Im such a noob :) yes, I checked overlays, it was closed, I opened it. Xx Sorry

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

@@etugba124 everyone has these moments including me ;)

[@bloopboop9320]

12:32 I have bot fill and stroke selected but it isn't drawing in the same way you are. Are there any other settings that need to be selected to fill in the same manner that you are?

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

Hi Chris. Not that I am aware of mate sorry. That's all I have selected and it acts like this.

[@e4jbm659]

I figured it out! Both base colors of Stroke and Fill must have to be the same. If Fill's base color is just black with cubes you have to give it a color to create the same effect. Hopefully you've found this useful.

[@bloopboop9320]

@@e4jbm659 Sweet! I'll test it later!

[@josea.rodriguez2076]

I was experiencing the same issue and found out the solution after a loooong time investigating. When you expand the "Surface" dropdown list (which is what reveals the checkboxes for "stroke" and "fill"), you will notice that to the right is an icon for the Material Presets. Click on that then select "Stroke and Fill". It was not working for me either since by default Blender had "Stroke only" selected (makes no sense). I hope this helps!

[@tsamtsaminsane9097]

Hi I have a question, the surface setting, its not doing the same thing as yours in my blender. is there a setting for it?

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

Can u explain what the difference is ?

[@tsamtsaminsane9097]

@@SpitfireStoryboards it's not sticking to the surface like yours, it's kind of like floating

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

@@tsamtsaminsane9097 yes no problem. In later versions the default setting is floaty. OK easy fix : go up to surface mode and underneath u will see the Offset option. Drop that right down .

[@tsamtsaminsane9097]

@@SpitfireStoryboards ooooowwwww thank you 🙏🙏🙏

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

@@tsamtsaminsane9097 yup. I'm very sure that it used to be a much lower setting by default .

[@JECohen84]

How do I make it so when I hit R, or S for rotate or scale, so that instead of it doing it automatically and starts rotating or scaling I want it to shows me the icon of rotation or scale on the object

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

I take it you are referring to object mode? U need to have it selected using the orb icon with the overlays on. If you go to 3:51 on this particular video, u can see the things I have selected. On the left tools I have the rotation type symbol on and up in the top right oI have both the overlays on.

[@JECohen84]

@@SpitfireStoryboards yea so in your video you switch to scale or rotation right. and the icon tool thing shows up where you can actively click on the axis you wish to manipulate. for me when I hit R it automatically goes in to a wild array of rotations based on my mouse movement. I find that very annoying. Idk how to fix that.

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

@@JECohen84 don't press r. Just select the object and hit the gizmo. Thats the point of the gizmo orb thing.Or if u press r then press x y or z for the axis u wish to rotate .

[@JECohen84]

@@SpitfireStoryboards thanks! how do I upload an image that I want to go and use the grease pencil to go over it.

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

@@JECohen84 just drag the image file into the viewport

[@thesameerzhussain]

Do you have a Discord server

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

@@thesameerzhussain yeh if u go to my community tsb and clip up in my profile bit you will see the link.

[@therealmilowerx]

I loved this tutorial but you kinda lost me at the end with the Fill thing. It did not auto fill for me like it did for you.

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

Was your material a fill material? A material has a line and fill option that needs to be checked. If you look at the material when I select it, the green one I can see there.

[@therealmilowerx]

@@SpitfireStoryboards Probably not! I will check! Thank you great tutorials. Your interface is a lot different than the new Blender but I was able to follow along more or less.

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

@therealmilowerx yeh it's changed a bit now and when gp3.0 comes out in 4.1 it is likely to be quite different again

[@WillFalcon]

8:48 does not work, just put strokes in the air not onto the surface.

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

Did u try the offset ? Did that make a difference ?

Sorry, but I can't stand tutorials with music on top of a barely understandable narration. It ruins the whole thing.

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

This was my first video so I hadn't figured out the levels yet. Shame it is distracting for you.

[@saltedcaramel536]

⁠@@SpitfireStoryboards Nah you’re doing great! Especially for a first vid. The video was quite straightforward for me, though throwing in some editing would help make it more concise as well as set a faster pace

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

@@saltedcaramel536 thanks for the feedback. My later videos have better editing but i dont want a faster pace for deep videos. Not my style. I will do for some shorter vids in the future though where they are more directly about fewer things. Cheers though.

[@tle90]

It’s perfectly understandable. You just have skill issues. Maybe just be better?

[@BOOGLEMANN-m2j]

THE AUDIO IS NFG !!!! GET A BETTER MICROPHONE - MAKE A SOUND AREA SNUFF THAT ECHO !!!!

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

I did. This video was 3 years ago.

[@BOOGLEMANN-m2j]

@@SpitfireStoryboards do a service to all whom may watch - remove the bad ones ! remake & augment your tutorials to the latest version !

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

@user-fn2vp1sw1h in 3 years, only 2 people have complained. And I literally apologise for it in text at the beginning. I will make more videos as I have already done but I will not be removing these videos .

[@BOOGLEMANN-m2j]

@@SpitfireStoryboards . I am an ARMY OF ONE

[@BotsandMagic]

Where is a good place to learn the basics of blender before watching these? I'm trying to keep up but you either skip steps or refer to tools I don't know. Storyboard Pro is way easier to use for boarding than this

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

Thanks for the feedback. For absolute basics of blender navigation and familiarity with software I'd say perhaps Grant Abbit. For more about every detail to do with grease pencil settings and function 2d wise, try Dantti or Daniel M Lara or Paul Caggegi. I'm focusing on the process of hybrid here. I use storyboardpro too. Great software. But the 3d element is rubbish. Blender is the place for truly hybrid work atm.but it is quite complex to start with.

[@SpitfireStoryboards]

Which bits specifically are you feeling like I skipped steps/tools? It would help point you further in the right direction re my other response.