Using cut-out characters in multiple projects using sub-xsheets - OpenToonz Tutorial

[@DarrenTAnims]

*Thanks for watching.* Timecodes for skipping the video and software links are in the description *All OpenToonz tutorials:* kzbin.info/www/bejne/qZKnf3qMn5lpjsU

[@DarrenTAnims]

Yes. In exactly the same way. Tahoma is OpenToonz, but neater.

[@ArtofJJSamson]

Thank you for making all the titles so google-able! Great stuff!

[@DarrenTAnims]

I'm pleased they're helping 😀

[@liamnaidoo6231]

Thank you so much. This was exactly what I was looking for!

[@DarrenTAnims]

Superb. Glad it helped, Liam

[@antonistheodoridis3848]

Hello thank you for the tutorial. Could you explain the difference between loading or importing a scene? Thanks

[@DarrenTAnims]

Sure. If you're in a different project when you choose to load the subxsheet, pressing Load loads the scene and drawings from its original location, so if you change them in its original scene, then it'll show the change in both places because you're actually changing the same drawing. But if you import then you'll get a copy in your new project so changing the drawings won't change the original drawings.

[@antonistheodoridis3848]

@@DarrenTAnims thanks

[@JorgedelCampoAndrade]

This is the explanation I'd been looking for a long time...

[@UIDIY]

I'm working a 10 minute short. Do you think it's better to make each scene as a separate project and render them individually and them put all the clips together to make the final video?

[@DarrenTAnims]

I would say so, yes. The shorter the scenes, the less likely they are to go wrong. OT hasn't broken too many times for me, but I've read enough posts from folks where they've worked on a project for a number of weeks and now it won't load. So if they'd made the scene shorter, they'd have finished it sooner and be onto the next scene. Plus, if something does go wrong, it's normally in the scene file. The drawings usually remain intact. But you'd have to create a new scene and re-add them and re-add any animation (using the animate tool or plastic tool) and any effects. So I guess, if you ask yourself, at what point is it too much work to re-import your drawings to a new scene. And finally, it just makes filmmaking easier. So you can choose to add fade ins/outs to a scene in your editing program. You can add crossfades between scenes in the editing program. Or you can go back and more-easily change the timing of an earlier scene in OpenToonz without affecting later ones. I hope that help. Good luck. Let me know when it's finished. I'd be happy to promote it for you.

[@danisnicee_]

@@DarrenTAnims wow what a piece Thanks a lot for this info right here exactly what I needed

[@DarrenTAnims]

@@danisnicee_I'm glad you liked it

[@Tandorf]

Hello, let's say I have a scene that only contains one cut-out character (all body parts, 3 different hands). Including bones - ready for "Inverse Cinematics". I would load this into a new project as "Sub-XSheet". Would it be possible to use inverse cinematics with this character in the new scene? If yes - how? I've tried many things and I can't do ANYTHING with the imported character except scale or rotate it completely!!?? If I move a part in the subsheet-area, nothing changes "outside"!!!

[@DarrenTAnims]

That's a great question. When you load in another scene as a subxsheet, you see all of your character as a single column, as you've seen. To animate it, you need to open the sub xsheet and animate the separate columns inside, then close it to see the main timeline. And then finally resequence the subxsheet (from a context menu option on the subxsheet header)

[@Tandorf]

@@DarrenTAnims Thank you. I just wanted to delete my question, because it worked "now" (but I changed NOTHING!!!). *** OpenToonz is a sometimes treacherous software. ***By using Inverse Kinematics, it seems that you have to touch a bodypart to set the first key frame. That I did not know.

[@1empi]

❤❤❤

[@DarrenTAnims]

Thanks

[@1empi]

Thank, really I got a lot from your videos

[@kurtcobain7388]

first i thanks allah than i thanks you very much Darren .......this thing i was searching for it since i start to learn OP ...because of this i stop learning OT but you really help me here ... all my problem was just in this ( open Sub - xsheet ) and i finally find it by you 👍👍👍👍

[@DarrenTAnims]

I'm pleased this helped. Keep at it. OpenToonz can be stubborn to learn. But as you learn more and more, it becomes more and more fun. Happy animating friend!

[@kurtcobain7388]

@@DarrenTAnims exactly you are 100% right ...now i will search for what is the difference between open sub-xsheet & collapse & resequence & explode sub x sheet...i hope i find it in your videos

[@DarrenTAnims]

@@kurtcobain7388 It's funny you should ask about those commands. I cover exactly those in my next video, due out on Friday (out now for my Patreon supporters). I've mentioned them in other videos too, so a quick search on my channel should highlight them.

[@kurtcobain7388]

@@DarrenTAnims i will search for it now......and can i ask .... why most of the ppl chose clip studio paint ? is it worth it

[@pieterluthi7678]

Does this work in the same way in Tahoma, Darren?

[@DarrenTAnims]

Yes, it works in exactly the same way. Tahoma has all of the same tools as OpenToonz. It basically is OpenToonz, but with a few neater UI features..

[@pieterluthi7678]

@@DarrenTAnims thanks for your prompt respons! I think (hope?) I've told you before: your tutorials are BRILLIANT!

[@DarrenTAnims]

@@pieterluthi7678 Thank you, my friend. I'm pleased you're finding them useful.

[@anandchandra7687]

Darren T, can u please tell me, how can I make changes to a scene's drawing without changing the original scenes' drawings. As I'm copying a chr's front view scene with a different name to convert it into a back view scene. But it's changing the entire drawing of the front view scene also. Can you please help. Thanks

[@DarrenTAnims]

If I read this right, I think it's the duplicate function that you need. You can find out on the context menu, but it doesn't always show on the menu when you can use it. So I use the keyboard shortcut, D, either on an empty frame after the drawing or on an extended frame.

[@anandchandra7687]

@@DarrenTAnims many thanks for the time. I don't want to copy the drawing into the similar scene. Pls, assume that I created a scene/animation with a green bouncing ball naming, BALL 1. Now I want to copy this entire scene/animation with a different name, BALL 2, with some changes in the drawing and color without effecting the previous scene's drawings', BALL 1. When I'm using the clone xsheet option, it's copying the entire scene, creating another scene, BALL 2. But it's also changing the drawings of the BALL 1 scene when I'm applying the changes to the BALL 2 scene. Many thanks again.

[@DarrenTAnims]

Oh! Now I understand. You want a duplicate scene. The best way to do this is to export the scene. Unfortunately, you can only do this using the browser. Go to the browser room or open the browser panel, from the Windows menu. Then find your scene. Right click on the event file and choose export scene. Tick to create a new project. Find a new location. Export. Notes you should have a copy of the scene AND the drawings.

[@anandchandra7687]

@@DarrenTAnims I'm obliged with ur help. Thanks for the time u gave and for the trouble shooting also. I've also seek another way to do that by choosing the IMPORT option rather than the LOAD option while 'loading as sub xsheet' option. And u don't have to create a new project via this way. I tried the both way and they work well. This will save a lot of time while drawing, as u don't have to draw a complete drawing. Hope I'll finish my project and get a valuable feedback from u.thanks a lot again.

[@DarrenTAnims]

There's always more than one way to do things in OpenToonz and you know what you're trying to achieve better than I can, so that's good that you found another way to achieve your solution 🙂

[@saharmohamed3677]

good character! but I want to ask question. what if I make cutout animation and put arm column behind the body can I put arm In front of body in another frame and I am using plastic tool

[@DarrenTAnims]

Thanks dude. Great question. Yes you can. I've not demonstrated this yet. I should do so at some point. Basically, if you've got each character piece on a separate column; using the animation tool, add a key on the last frame where the arm is behind the body, then on the next frame, set to edit the position and you'll see some text entry boxes along the top. Change the SO (Stacking Order) value from 0, where negative numbers move that column backwards and positive moes it forwards. All columns start at 0, so the column order determines the order. So if you make one column SO=1, that will appear in front of all columns with SO=0 regardless of the column order. And as it's an animation tool value, it'll be shown in the function editor. I hope that makes sense.

[@DarrenTAnims]

There's also a SO value available for the plastic tool. When you're in Animate mode, you can see the Distance & Angle values, you've also got an SO entry, so you can adjust them there too.

[@saharmohamed3677]

thank you!

[@curtisnewton895]

you lost me with "drawing substitution"...what does it do ?

[@DarrenTAnims]

Drawing substitution, using the Q & W keys changes the drawing to the next one in the level.

[@TooN_AC]

Are you work with to project in opentonoz ? I mean it's open multiple tng file?

[@DarrenTAnims]

Can you ask again in a different way please? I don't quite know what you're asking.

[@3dsculptor659]

thanks for the video. Do you know why my Manga Studio images (PGN) always appear as backgrounds only when I import? I want to rig them and animate and not use them as mere reference.

[@DarrenTAnims]

Hi. When you import them, they should appear as a drawing in a "column". You should then be able to manipulate that drawing as you see fit. So to rig ans animate them, you will want to split each item to separate columns and connect them as in my previous tutorials or you can use the plastic tool (tutorial coming up in 2 weeks) to animate them. As an aside, I've found it a little hit and miss when I import a drawing with layers from photoshop/krita. Sometimes it creates a column for each layer and sometimes it imports them all to one column.

[@3dsculptor659]

Thank you very much. Seems like I imported the wrong way. I haven't had the time to watch your other tutorials yet.