Using the plastic tool (part 1) - 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

[@lofwyr5063]

You can save processing power by simply rendering your mesh animated asset to raster and re-importing it into toonz. You can then put that animation into a sub x-sheet as well, and you'll have a very efficient, copyable asset. Of course, it's useful to keep a copy of the meshed original, to do more adjustements, but if you're fully satisfied with the result, then 'baking' it into its own rasterized animation is pretty good.

[@DarrenTAnims]

Awesome suggestion. Thanks for sharing.

[@eniosan]

Hello Darren T, Thanks for a wonderful video ! Quick question... do you have note on what video you explained a little about the "graphic editor" ?

[@DarrenTAnims]

Thanks buddy. I can't remember which it would have been. I've talked about it in a couple of videos, so hopefully you'll come across it soon. It's not too hard to use, but it is a little peculiar.

[@fahads_artwork]

really nice

[@DarrenTAnims]

Thank you

[@VintageToilet]

Have you attempted to use the plastic tool combined with the skeleton tool? When I do it it lags incredibly slow. :( it’s as if they are fighting eachother.

[@DarrenTAnims]

Yeah it can do. It depends how complex your scene is and what else is on screen. I've found if you hide some columns it can speed out up quite a lot. But it lags more than I'd expect it to 😞

[@garymankey6186]

Can you link a image to the plastic tool so it moves with the mesh?

[@DarrenTAnims]

Yes. That's what you do when you create the mesh, but if you mean a 2nd image, then maybe, depending what you want. Just attach the columns on the stage schematic. You might want to add a hook and attach that to a joint on the stage schematic. I've got a video about hooks that could help: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oXOalauEqq10p6M

[@drendelous]

are there situations in which we need to use plastic tool on vector layers?

[@DarrenTAnims]

Good question. I think there are situations where someone will want to use the plastic tool on all layer types. It's just a quick shortcut to animating whatever you've drawn, so can be useful on any object.

[@norabodonyi5175]

I imported the parts of a figure, hooked them to the right places, then I created the meshes of the parts one after the other. The meshes don't cover the parts and the sceletons move only the meshes, not the parts. Why?

[@DarrenTAnims]

It sounds like you've moved or resized the drawing columns with the animate tool. If this is the case, just delete those animation keys and use the animate tool on the mesh level. If not, you'd need to share some screenshots for me to understand the issue. You can do this on my Discord - link in the description.

[@norabodonyi5175]

I used only the hook tool, after applying it the parts changed their place, they moved to the body. It would seem, that hook tool can't be used in this case.@@DarrenTAnims

[@DarrenTAnims]

If you used the hook tool on the drawings and attached a mesh to the drawing level, that'll be why. If you're using a mesh, you don't need the hook tool.

[@norabodonyi5175]

Thank you!@@DarrenTAnims

[@AmateurishAstronaut]

Why can't I find the plastic tool anywhere?

[@DarrenTAnims]

Thanks for the question. There's an expander arrow at the bottom of the toolbar that will reveal it.

[@pieterluthi7678]

Don't know if there is much dialogue happening here, but I was wondering about loading a plastic tool animation as a sub-xsheet. I loaded it successfully, the plastic tool animation was in place and playing correctly. But when I previewed the animation, the plastic tool animation wasn't visible. Anybody know what that's about?

[@DarrenTAnims]

I had a similar issue once. To get it to work, I had to setup the plastic mesh and skeleton again in the new scene.

[@pieterluthi7678]

Thanks for answering Darren! Too bad it doesn't work, would save a lot of time. Maybe one day. The people in the OT group didn't have a solution either.

[@DarrenTAnims]

It certainly would. I wouldn't be surprised if you could do it somehow though.