newartofanimation

This is a quick example of how useful the ‘copy’ of a level can be as it will automatically update when the original is changed.

I’ve done some more sophisticated applications of this but this is a simple translation to the right and left in order to get repetition.  The red lines are tinted so that I know which ones are the originals and can easily add to them (rather than adding via the copies which may result in lines being drawn where we don’t want them.

The finished product in almost all cases would break up these patterns in appropriate ways.

Duplication can also be accomplished within the schematic view but that isn’t as responsive as directly drawing onto the canvas and seeing those lines automatically repeat.

Started doodling and Kylo Ren appeared.

I keep feeling the need to grab some reference, especially with the helmet and to make it more ‘realistic’ but I kept reminding myself this wasn’t that kind of doodle.  The definition of doodle implies randomness… aimlessly following lines… to see what might emerge.

The error in this effort is that too much time was spent on little things… but that was mostly an effort to explore brushes and techniques in the painting stage.

It’s interesting that the elements that define the character are pretty basic.  Metal mask, cowl, red glowing laser sword that doesn’t burn cleanly like other light sabers.  I’m left with the impression that Kylo Ren is a simple and yet very well thought out character visually.  The simplicity accentuates the mystery surrounding him and why we might struggle to better know the character.  Of course the obvious element that shrouds the character in the unknown is the mask, accentuated by the dark colors of the cowl, mask and the red of his saber.  The chrome, which I didn’t attempt to include here adds a hint of what the character thinks about himself.  He is meticulous and well interested in the finest details and yet despite all that he is on shaky ground without a solid foundation… and therefore highly unstable.

Baron has learned to sit before he gets to eat.

This guy started life as a standin for a storyboard test.

A little while later he completed the story himself so I.m thinking about telling his tale.

It took me a little while but I finally figured out where to turn on the option to have OpenToonz render a Level’s filter color and transparency which is set at the top each column in the xsheet.  This is very useful and I knew it had to be there.  It was hiding right there in plain sight at the bottom of the Scene Setttings dialogue box.

This can be especially useful in organizing a Project’s elements so they can be tracked more easily without altering the actual artwork.  While not standard usage colors could also signify elements that are incomplete or that need attention by filtering a color onto them (such as red).  Need to isolate an element?  Make all columns except the one you are working on mostly (or entirely) transparent.  Etc. Etc.

In the animation attached everything was drawn in black but each of the three levels  was given a different tint.