the TAB 3.2 Student User Guide

Transcription

1 the TAB 3.2 Student User Guide

2 Digital Video S.p.A. All rights reserved. Intuitive vector handling technique using adaptive dynamic control points and adaptive fill feature are Patent protected. The TAB, Toonz Animation Board, is a trademark of Digital Video S.p.A. Adobe, Flash, and Macromedia are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the U.S. and/or other countries. QuickTime and the QuickTime logo are trademarks used under license. The QuickTime logo is registered in the U.S. and other countries. All other product names mentioned in this guide may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies and are hereby acknowledged. This document is protected under copyright law. The contents of this document may not be copied or duplicated in any form, in whole or in part, without the express written permission of Digital Video S.p.A. This document is supplied as a guide for the TAB Student product. Reasonable care has been taken in preparing the information it contains. However, this document may contain omissions, technical inaccuracies, or typographical errors. Digital Video S.p.A. do not accept responsibility of any kind for customers losses due to the use of this document. Printed in Italy. Rev 3.2.2

3 Contents Introduction System Requirements... 1 Windows... 1 Macintosh... 1 Suggested for Better Drawing Functions... 1 Installation... 1 Licensing... 2 Interface Overview Using Rooms... 3 Interface Panes... 4 Current Scene... 4 Export... 4 File Browser... 4 Level Strip... 5 Palette... 5 Style Editor... 5 Toolbar... 5 Tool Options Bar... 6 Viewer... 6 Xsheet... 6 Creating and Editing Drawings Drawing in the TAB... 9 Using the Work Area Using Guides Drawing Tools Drawing with the Brush Tool Drawing with the Geometric Tool Adding Text Using the Eraser Transforming Vectors Editing Vector Control Points Changing the Bend of Vectors Using Other Modifier Tools Joining and Splitting Vectors Using the Selection Tools Contents I

4 Managing Palettes and Styles Using the Level Palette...23 Arranging Palette Styles...23 Editing Styles...24 Plain Colors...25 Textures...25 Custom Styles...26 Special Styles...27 Settings...27 Changing the Type of Style...28 Painting Drawings Painting Tools...29 Closing Gaps in a Drawing Outline...30 Creating an Animation Level Using the Level Strip...31 Editing Level Frames...32 Animation Techniques...34 Modelling a Drawing...34 Using the In-betweener...35 Rotoscoping...36 Cloning Levels...37 Using Onion Skin...38 Saving Levels...39 Creating a Scene Setting Scene Properties...41 Working with Xsheet Columns...41 Exposing Levels...44 Working with Xsheet Cells...44 Using the Smart Fill Handle...46 Using the Level Strip...47 Animating Columns...47 Creating a Movement along a Motion Path...51 Linking Columns...53 Creating a Soundtrack...54 Lip Synching...55 II the TAB 3.2 Student

5 Saving, Loading and Exporting Using the File Browser Executing Tasks in the File Browser Using the Flipbook Saving and Loading Scenes Saving Scenes Loading Scenes Saving and Loading Animation Levels Saving Animation Levels Loading Animation Levels Exporting Animations Exporting Animations with Alpha Channel Exporting QuickTime MOV or Microsoft AVI Files Exporting 3GP Mobile Video Files Exporting Flash SWF Animations Exporting SCR Screen Savers Printing Frame Images Keyboard Shortcuts Predefined Keyboard Shortcuts Contents III

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7 Introduction System Requirements Windows Intel Pentium 4 processor, or higher Microsoft Windows XP or Windows Vista 512MB of RAM 50 MB of available hard-disk space 1024x768 or higher monitor resolution To get the best from your hardware, make sure that your graphics board supports Open GL. A good support for Open GL is usually provided by graphics boards that are optimized for video games. Macintosh PowerPC G4 or G5, or Intel-based Macintosh Mac OS X 10.4 or later 512MB of RAM 80MB of available hard-disk space 1024x768 or higher monitor resolution Suggested for Better Drawing Functions Graphic tablet (cost effective solution) or display digitizer (professional solution) Installation During the installation two new folders will be created, one for the software, by default named the TAB 3.2 Student, and another for additional files the TAB needs to run, named the TAB 3.2 Student stuff. The TAB 3.2 Student stuff folder cannot be moved or renamed after the installation, otherwise the TAB Student will not run. If the folder is accidentally deleted, you have to re-install the software. Note: During the installation you are prompted to install QuickTime and the Flash Player to add more capabilities to the TAB Student. If Introduction 1

8 QuickTime or the Flash player are already installed on your computer, you do not need to install it again. To install the TAB Student on Windows XP and Windows Vista: Browse the CD-ROM for the Win\Win_Setup folder and run the setup.exe file. To install the TAB Student on Mac computers: Browse the CD-ROM for the Mac folder and run the TAB 3.2 Student Installer. Licensing When you install the TAB a temporary license will start from the day of installation. The permanent license has to be activated, and will be valid only for the computer you requested the license for. Once activated, the license file named license.dat can be retrieved in the TAB 3.2 Student stuff\config folder. Make a backup copy of your license file, as it may be useful if you need to re-install the TAB. To activate your permanent license: Click the Activate button in the startup screen and follow on-line instructions. 2 the TAB 3.2 Student

9 Interface Overview Using Rooms The TAB Student interface is organized in rooms, each room is a different collection of windows which are laid out at specific positions on the screen. Available rooms are listed on the far right of the menu bar. Three rooms by default are distributed with the software: a drawing room, an animation room, and a browser room. Each of them displays always the content of the current scene. To change room: Clicking the related tab on the far right of the menu bar. Interface Overview 3

10 Rooms can be modified by setting different sizes to different panes, and adding or removing panes. Most of the panes can be maximized to fill the full interface, and can be added as floating windows by using the Windows menu. To resize a pane in the room: Click any vertical or horizontal separator and drag it to the new position. Note: Some panes like the toolbar and the level strip have some fixed size, therefore they cannot be resized. To open a pane as a floating window: Select in the Windows menu the pane you want to open. To resize a floating window: Click and drag the border or corner of a window. To close a floating window or a dialog: Click the close button at the right of the title bar. To maximize, or minimize a maximized pane: Double-click its title bar. Note: Some panes like the toolbar and the level strip have some fixed size, therefore they cannot be maximized. Interface Panes Below there is a list of the panes available in the TAB Student interface. Current Scene From this pane you can save and load the scene, and set its properties. It contains a small preview of the scene you are currently working on, and information about the camera size and the frame rate. See Setting Scene Properties on page 41 and Saving, Loading and Exporting on page 57 for details. Export The export pane allows the generation of QuickTime, Avi and mobile video clips, Adobe Flash animations and screen savers (Windows only). See Exporting Animations on page 65 for details. File Browser The file browser allows you to load and save scenes and levels, and import images, clips and sounds. On the left there is a file tree with some main folders containing material stored on your computer: My Computer, My Documents, History, Library and Work. You can open folders and sub-folders in order 4 the TAB 3.2 Student

11 to retrieve files. On the right files contained in the folder selected in the file tree are displayed. See Saving, Loading and Exporting on page 57 for details. Level Strip The level strip displays the sequence of drawings belonging to the level currently selected in the xsheet. It helps you to edit the sequence of drawings and to see all the drawings of the current level, even if those drawings are not used in the xsheet. See Using the Level Strip on page 31 for details. Palette The palette displays all the styles defined for the current animation level. See Using the Level Palette on page 23 for details. Style Editor The style editor allows you to modify palette styles. You can choose the type of style among plain color, texture, custom and special. For special and custom you can also decide some settings. Each type has a separate page where you can edit or choose the style you prefer. See Editing Styles on page 24 for details. Toolbar The toolbar contains tools to draw, select and edit drawings, and to animate columns. All the tools are active in the viewer pane. Edit: allows you to edit the size and position of the column selected in the xsheet. See Animating Columns on page 47 for details. Selection: allows you to select vectors in order to transform them. See Using the Selection Tools on page 20 for details. Brush: allows you to draw a vector using the current style. In the tool options bar you can control the size and the quality of the vector. See Drawing Tools on page 12 for details. Geometric: allows you to draw geometric shapes. In the tool options bar you can set the shape and the thickness of the vector. See Drawing Tools on page 12 for details. Type: allows you to type text by setting font and size. See Adding Text on page 14 for details. Interface Overview 5

12 Fill: fills an area defined by vectors with the current style. See Painting Tools on page 29 for details. Eraser: lets you partially delete one or several vectors. In the tool options bar you can control its size. See Drawing Tools on page 12 for details. Tape: lets you join two open ends of one or two vectors. See Joining and Splitting Vectors on page 19 for details. Control Point Editor: lets you modify the vector shape by editing its control points. See Editing Vector Control Points on page 15 for details. Pinch: lets you modify the vector shape by clicking and dragging wherever on the vector. See Changing the Bend of Vectors on page 17 for details. Pump: allows you to locally modify the vector thickness by clicking on the section you want to affect and dragging. See Using Other Modifier Tools on page 18 for details. Iron: lets you remove creases from vectors by moving the cursor on the vector you want to flatten. See Using Other Modifier Tools on page 18 for details. Cutter: lets you split the vectors in two sections when clicking on it. See Joining and Splitting Vectors on page 19 for details. Zoom: allows you to zoom in and zoom out the work area. After you click you can drag upwards to zoom in the work area, or drag downwards to zoom out. Hand: allows you to pan over the work area. Tool Options Bar The tool options bar displays settings for the current tool, if it has any. For example it lets you set the thickness of the vector you can draw with the Brush tool ( ). Viewer The viewer is the work area where you can draw images and see at the same time the result of your compositing. It is endless and you can scroll, zoom in and zoom out the way you prefer. See Using the Work Area on page 10 for details. Xsheet The xsheet allows you to manage the scene content. It is organized in columns, and columns are divided into cells, representing the content of 6 the TAB 3.2 Student

13 that column in that particular frame. In the columns you can load animation levels, clips, images and a soundtrack. Each column has its own header containing information about its content. The column on the far left displays the frame number, with a cursor placed on the current frame. The headers area and the frame column are always visible, even when scrolling the editor area; in this way it's easier to understand how the scene is built. Frames are composited reading images from left to right in each cell row. See Working with Xsheet Columns on page 41 for details. Interface Overview 7

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15 Creating and Editing Drawings Drawing in the TAB Drawings can be created in the TAB Student by using a drawing tool, for instance the Brush tool ( ), in the work area. The drawing will be automatically placed in the currently selected xsheet cell, or in the current column at the current frame, and automatically named with the first available letter of the alphabet (by default the first drawings is named A, the second B, etc.). The drawing is considered as the first frame of an animation level: if the level strip is visible, you can see the drawing placed in the first frame of the strip as well. New drawings can be added to the animation level in order to create an animated sequence (see Creating an Animation Level on page 31 for details), or they can be the first frame of new animation levels. To modify a drawing, for example filling areas with a style or copying a part of it, you have first to select it in the xsheet or in the level strip. When selected in the xsheet, the work area displays the whole scene content at the current frame, when selected in the level strip, the work area displays the selected frame of the current animation level only, to let you work more easily on it. It is also possible to select a drawing displayed in the work area, by right-clicking it and choosing the related command from the menu that opens. To create the first drawing of a new animation level: 1. Select an empty cell in the xsheet, or a column that is empty at the current frame. 2. Select a drawing tool. 3. Use the tool in the work area. Creating and Editing Drawings 9

16 To add a drawing to the animation level: 1. Select the cell below the one where a drawing is exposed, either in the xsheet or in the level strip. 2. Start drawing: automatically a new frame will be added to the animation level. To modify a drawing: 1. Select it by doing one of the following: Select the xsheet cell where the drawing is exposed. Right-click the drawing in the work area and choose Select Column X, where X is the name of the column where the drawing is exposed. 2. Use drawing or modifiers tools to modify the drawing. Using the Work Area In the work area, or viewer, you can use the tools available in the toolbar to draw, paint, edit and model your drawings. The work area is endless and you can scroll, zoom in and zoom out. In the title bar you can find information about what is currently displayed and selected and the zoom percentage. At the bottom of the work area another set of buttons and information are available. The frame bar and the playback buttons let you set the current frame and move through animation frames. The set frame rate is visualized, and in case the playback is activated, the actual frame rate is displayed on its left (see Setting Scene Properties on page 41 for details). The Set Key button ( ), and the related Previous and Next Key buttons are available for setting and moving through key frames when the Edit tool ( ) is used to animate objects (see Animating Columns on page 47 for details). To navigate the work area: Do one of the following: Use the Zoom tool ( ): to zoom in, click and drag up; to zoom out, click and drag down. The point where you click is the center of the zooming action. Use the zoom shortcut keys (by default + and - keys) to zoom in and zoom out at specific steps (e.g. 50%, 100%, 200%, etc.). Use the mouse wheel to zoom in and zoom out. 10 the TAB 3.2 Student

17 Middle-click and drag or use the Hand tool ( ) to scroll in any direction. Use the reset view shortcut (by default the 0 key) or right-click in the viewer and select Reset View from the menu that opens, to display the viewer at its actual size, centered on the absolute center. Right-click and choose Fit Camera to Window to automatically zoom the viewer so that it fits the camera box. Windows only - to enter/exit the work area full screen mode: Right-click the work area and choose Full Screen Mode/Exit Full Screen Mode from the menu that opens. To play the scene content back: Do one of the following: Use the play button. Drag the frame bar cursor. To set the current frame: Do one of the following: Use the VCR buttons. Drag the frame bar cursor. Type in the frame bar field the number of the frame you want to view. To set the playback frame rate: Use the frame rate slider. Using Guides Guides can be added to help you aligning objects, or composing the elements of the scene for a particular frame. Added guides are indicated in the rulers by markers that control their position. To add a guide: Click in the ruler: a click on the horizontal ruler will create a vertical guide, a click on the vertical ruler will create an horizontal guide. To move a guide: Drag its marker in the ruler. To delete a guide: Drag its marker outwards the viewer, in the opposite direction of the guide itself. Creating and Editing Drawings 11

18 Drawing Tools You can draw using the Brush ( ) and Geometric tools. For both tools you can set the thickness of the line you are going to draw: values range from 0 to 30. With the Brush tool ( ), you can take full advantage of the pressure sensitivity if you are using a pressure sensitive tablet. The more you press on the tablet, the thicker the line you draw. With the Geometric tool ( ), the thickness is constantly applied to the whole shape you draw. In both cases thickness can be changed and calibrated after the vector is drawn by using modifier tools (see Transforming Vectors on page 15 for details). When the thickness is set to 0 (zero), lines will have the smallest thickness possible, that is preserved also if the drawing is rescaled, or if you zoom in or zoom out. Note: vectors with thickness equal to 0 (zero) are not visible when animation is exported. See Exporting Animations on page 65 for details. Drawing with the Brush Tool The Brush tool ( ) allows you to draw freehand lines with the current style. When using a pressure sensitive tablet, varying the pressure of the pen on the tablet will allow you to create expressive variable-thickness lines that will make your images richer. Besides the movement of your hand holding a pen will allow more immediate and natural results, as if you were really drawing on paper. In the tool options bar you can set the following: Thickness Min and Max set the size of the brush; the size will vary between the two values if you're using a pressure sensitive tablet. If the two values are the same, your lines will have a constant thickness. When using a mouse to draw, the maximum thickness value will be used. Accuracy sets how detailed the generated line is compared to what you draw on the tablet: a high value will generate line that preserves completely the movement you perform on the tablet (even a trembling hand); a low value will simplify the line. 12 the TAB 3.2 Student

19 Break Sharp Angles automatically breaks the drawn vector into sections if very sharp angles are drawn: in this way drawn shapes may result simpler and easier to fill. Pressure Sensibility detects, in case you are using a graphic tablet, the pressure of the pen on the tablet allowing the creation of variable-thickness lines. Drawing with the Geometric Tool The Geometric tool ( ) allows you to draw rectangles, circles, ellipses, regular polygons, polylines and arcs. In the tool options bar you can set the following: Thickness sets the size of the brush used to draw the geometric shapes. The shape can be chosen in the option menu. In case you want to draw a polygon, the Polygon Sides lets you set the number of sides. While rectangles and ellipses are defined by a (bounding) box, circles and polygons are defined by a center and radius; polylines can be used to create open or close shapes by defining a series of lines; arcs let you set the end points of a curve, and then the bend. To draw a rectangle or an ellipse: Click to define the upper left corner, drag, and release to define the bottom right corner. If you press the Shift key while dragging, the shape will be regular, i.e. a square or a circle; if you press the Alt key, shapes will be drawn starting from their center. To draw a circle: Click to define the center, drag and release to define the radius. To draw a polygon: 1. Set the number of sides in the Polygon Sides field. 2. Click to define the center, drag and release to define the radius of a circle bounding the polygon. To draw a line: 1. Click to define the first point. 2. Click again to define the end point of the line. If you press the Shift key, you will draw a vertical, horizontal or 45 line. To draw a polyline: 1. Click to define the first point. 2. Click again to define the end point of a line. If you press the Shift key, you will draw a vertical, horizontal or 45 line. Creating and Editing Drawings 13

20 3. Do one of the following: Click again to define the end point of another line connected to the end point of the previous line. Double click to define last point of an open shape. Click again on the first point you defined to draw a close shape. To draw an arc: 1. Click to define the first end point. 2. Click to define the second endpoint. 3. Drag to set the bend, and click to draw the arc. Adding Text Text can be added by using the Type Tool ( ). In the tool options bar you can set the following: The Font to be used, taken from a list based on the Operating System default fonts folder. The Style for the chosen font. The font Size, that can be chosen among a set of options. Note: Written text can be resized by using the Selection tool ( ) (see Transforming Vectors on page 15 for details). The Vertical Orientation option lets you place the text vertically, one letter under another, instead of horizontally. The current palette style is applied to the text you type. The style can be changed while typing text, thus you can have characters having different styles in the same text editing session (see Editing Styles on page 24 for details). Note: As soon as the text is committed, it is converted in vectors outlining the text. To add text: 4. Select the Type tool ( ) and click in the working area where you want to start writing. 14 the TAB 3.2 Student

21 5. Choose options for the size, font and orientation. These options can be changed as long as you are in text editing mode. 6. Change the current style in the palette if you want to use several styles in the same text editing session. 7. Click inside the text editing area to change the text insertion point. 8. Click outside the text editing area, or select a different tool to commit the text. Using the Eraser If you need to partially erase lines, you can use the Eraser tool ( ). To modify the action range of the tool, represented by a circle, you can change the tool size in the tool options bar. Transforming Vectors Once the drawing is complete, you can transform it by using the set of modifier and selection tools, affecting vectors defining vectors. This allows you for example to better calibrate the bend of certain vectors, or to flip or scale the whole drawing. All these transformations can be also achieved on already painted drawings, because the fill styles used to paint will automatically follow the shape of the areas you modify, working like liquid color flooding an area defined by an outline. Editing Vector Control Points If you want to modify a vector by editing its vector control points, you can use the Control Point Editor tool ( ). Control points have handles whose length and direction define the bend of the vector. With this tool you can select a vector and modify the control point handles, and move, add or delete control points. Control point handles may be linked, that is to say they share the same direction, or not, creating a cusp in the vector; they can also be collapsed in the control point in order to turn it in a corner point. In case only one handle is collapsed, the point will be corner on one side and Creating and Editing Drawings 15

22 smooth on the other. When a section of the vector is defined by two corner points, it will be a straight line. Click to select a vector and edit its control points; Ctrl-click (PC) or Cmd-click (Mac) to unlink control point handles; click the selected vector to add a control point. To select a vector: Click it. To move the control point handles: Click and drag the handle end. To unlink the control point handles: Ctrl-click (PC) or Cmd-click (Mac) the handle end and drag. To link the control point handles: Ctrl-click (PC) or Cmd-click (Mac) the handle end and drag: the other handle snaps to the direction of the one you are dragging. To add a control point: 1. Move along the vector to where you want to add a control point: the arrow cursor displays a + sign. 2. Click the vector. To select control points: Do one of the following: Click a control point to select it. Shift-click a control point to add it to the selection. Click and drag to select all the control points that are included in the selection area. To move the selection: Do one of the following: Click any selected control point and drag. Use the Cursor keys to move the selection one pixel right, left, up or down. 16 the TAB 3.2 Student

23 To delete the selection: Choose Edit > Delete. To link or unlink the handles of a corner point: Ctrl-click (PC) or Cmd-click (Mac) the control point handle and drag. To turn a control point to a corner point: Do one of the following: Move the handle ends to the control point, in order to collapse them. Select the control point, right-click it and choose Set Linear Control Point from the menu that opens. To retrieve handles from a corner point: Select the control point, right-click it and choose Set Non-linear Control Point from the menu that opens. Changing the Bend of Vectors If you need to modify a bend of a vector in a more intuitive way, you can use the Pinch tool ( ). You can use it anywhere you want on the vector in order to modify the bend in any direction. When the tool is selected, a segment of the center line of the closest vector is highlighted: the segment shows the length of the vector that will be affected by the pinching. The length of the segment depends on the corner points that the tool automatically detects along the vector according to the Corner value. It can also be manually set by activating the Manual option thus using the Size value to set the affected length. When the manual mode is activated a handle is displayed along the highlighted vector to control interactively the length of the segment that will be affected by the tool. The handle has a double circle and a square at its ends, that allows you to do the following: the double circle lets you move the handle along the segment; the square lets you increase the length of the segment affected by the tool if you click and drag right, decrease it if you click and drag left. In both automatic and manual modes different types of editing can be performed when clicking and moving the cursor: Click and drag to change the bend of the highlighted segment. Shift-click and drag to edit the highlighted segment by adding a cusp. Ctrl-click (PC) or Cmd-click (Mac) and drag to edit the highlighted segment by adding a corner. Creating and Editing Drawings 17

24 To modify the bend of a vector: 1. Change the length of the segment affected by the tool by setting the Corner value in the tool options bar. 2. Click, Shift-click, Ctrl-click (PC) or Cmd-click (Mac) and drag to modify the bend of the highlighted segment. Click and drag to change the bend; Shift-click to add a cusp; Ctrl-click (PC) or Cmd-click (Mac) to add a corner. To modify the bend of a vector in manual mode: 1. Activate the Manual option in the tool option bar. 2. Change the length of the segment affected by the tool by doing one of the following: Set the Size value in the tool options bar. Click and drag the small square at one end of the handle displayed along the highlighted vector. 3. Click, Shift-click, Ctrl-click (PC) or Cmd-click (Mac) and drag to modify the bend of the highlighted segment. To eliminate a corner point from a segment: 1. Click and drag the point until the smooth segment is formed again. 2. Click and drag to correct the bend of the newly smoothed segment. Using Other Modifier Tools If you want to modify the thickness of a vector, you can use the Pump tool ( ). You can use it anywhere you want on the vector to increase or decrease the thickness locally. When the tool is selected, a segment of the closest vector is highlighted: the segment shows the length of the vector that will be affected by the tool. To modify this length you can change the Size value in the tool options bar. Note: It is possible to modify the thickness of a vector, or a vector selection by using the Selection tool ( ) (see Using the Selection Tools on page 20 for details). 18 the TAB 3.2 Student

25 If you want to smooth a vector, you can use the Iron tool ( ). When used again and again on a vector, it increasingly flatten the bends of the vector. When the tool is selected, the cursor snaps to the closest vector to indicate where you are going to operate. To modify the thickness of a vector: 1. Select the Pump tool ( ). 2. Set the Size value in the tool options bar. 3. Click the point of the vector where you want to modify the thickness and drag up to increase the thickness, or down to decrease the thickness. To smooth a vector: 1. Select the Iron tool ( ). 2. Click and drag along the vector you want to smooth. By dragging over and over you increasingly flatten the vector. Joining and Splitting Vectors Sometimes you may need to fix some gap along an outline, or to join the ends of two contiguous different vectors, in order to handle them as a single vector, for instance for modifying their bend, or thickness, as a whole. The Tape tool ( ) allows you to perform this operation, by joining two open ends of one or two different vectors. You can also use the Smooth option to create a joining with no corners. When the tool is used, the pointer snaps to the closest detected open end in order to make the operation easier. Note: If the vectors you are going to join have different styles, the style of this first vector you select will be assigned to the second one after the joining. When you need to do the contrary, that is splitting a vector in two sections, you can use the Cutter tool ( ). When the tool is used the pointer snaps to the closest vector indicating, with a small highlighted segment, the point where you are going to split the vector. To join two open ends of one or two vectors: 1. Select the Tape tool ( ), and set whether the joining has to be smooth or not. 2. Click an open end and drag to the second open end. To split a vector: 1. Select the Cutter tool ( ). Creating and Editing Drawings 19

26 2. Click the point along the vector where you want to split it. Using the Selection Tools You can use the Selection tool ( ) to select and transform, move, rotate and scale drawing vectors. The selection is displayed with a bounding box with handles that allows you to perform the following transformations: The circle at the top right corner when clicked and dragged rotates the selection. The square at the bottom left corner when clicked and dragged scales the selection. The squares at the center of the top and right sides, when clicked and dragged scale the selection respectively vertically and horizontally. The crosses at the center of the bottom and right sides when clicked flip the selection respectively vertically and horizontally. The double arrow-head at the bottom right corner when clicked and dragged up increases the lines thickness, when clicked and dragged down decreases it. Clicking and dragging the inside of the selection moves the selection; if you press the Shift key while dragging, the movement will be constrained on the horizontal or vertical direction. The Cursor keys can be used as well to move the selection one pixel right, left, up or down; if they are used while pressing the Shift key, the movement size will be ten pixels. Note: As you roll over the handles, the cursor changes shape to indicate you the operations you may perform. Selections can also be cut, copied, pasted and deleted by using the relevant command in the Edit menu. Cut, or copy, and paste also works from one drawing to another, or to a new one. This allows you to copy or move a section of a drawing to another drawing, or split a drawing into several drawings. When a drawing, or a section of a drawing, is pasted to another one, the colors of the pasted drawing are added to the palette of the target one, unless the same colors are already available in the palette. Note: The selection can also be used to change the style of selected vectors by choosing it in the palette, or by creating a new style (see Using the Level Palette on page 23 for details). 20 the TAB 3.2 Student

27 To select and transform vectors in a vector drawings: 1. Select the vectors by doing one of the following: Click a vector to select it. Shift-click to add or remove a vector to the current selection. Click and drag right to define a box and select all the vectors that are completely included in the box; click and drag left to select all the vectors that are partially included in the box. 2. Operate the handles available along the bounding box to make geometric transformations. To paste a selection in another drawing: 1. Make your selection in the current drawing. 2. Copy/cut it. 3. Select the other drawing in the level strip or in the xsheet. 4. Paste the copied/cut selection. To paste a selection in a new drawing: 1. Make a selection in the current drawing. 2. Copy/cut it. 3. Select an empty frame in the level strip or an empty cell in the xsheet. 4. Paste the copied/cut vectors. To merge several drawings into one drawing: 1. Select the vectors you want to merge and copy/cut them. 2. Select the drawing you want to paste the selection to. 3. Paste the copied/cut vectors. To split a drawing in several drawings: 1. Select the vectors you want to use to create a new drawing and copy/cut them. 2. Select an empty cell in the xsheet. 3. Paste the copied/cut, vectors: automatically a new drawing will be created. Creating and Editing Drawings 21

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29 Managing Palettes and Styles Using the Level Palette Each animation level comes with its palette; styles defined in the palette can be used to draw and paint lines and areas. Styles can be modified with the style editor. All editing is automatically assigned to the style selected in the palette. Palette styles are interactively linked to vectors and filled areas. This means that if you edit a style of the palette, automatically all the vectors and filled areas using that style will be automatically updated. This allows you to change or calibrate colors also after the drawings have been done, without correcting the style vector by vector or area by area. All the palettes contains the No Style item, that allows you to remove any style from lines and filled areas. The default palette contains only the plain black color. Note: All the editing performed in palettes and styles is not saved until you save the related level, or the scene (see Saving Animation Levels on page 63 for details). Arranging Palette Styles Palette styles can be added, named and reordered. They can be copied and pasted from one position to another, or from a palette to another. Note: In case styles used for painting drawings are cut, lines and areas painted with them will be displayed in red; in case they are deleted, you will be prompted whether to delete the styles only and show the lines and areas painted with them in red, or to delete the lines and areas painted with them as well. To select a style: Click it in the palette. To add a new style: Click the New Style button ( ) at the bottom of the palette. Managing Palettes and Styles 23

30 To perform a multiple styles selection: Do one of the following: Shift-click to extend the selection. Ctrl-click (PC) or Cmd-click (Mac) to add a style to, or remove it from the selection. To edit palette styles with the Edit menu commands: 1. Select the styles you want to edit. 2. Do any of the following: Use the Copy command to keep in memory selected styles for further operations. Use the Cut command to eliminate selected styles from the palette and keep them in memory for further operations. Use the Paste command to paste styles kept in memory in the palette after the currently selected style. Cut styles will be added preserving their indexes; copied styles will be added using new indexes. Use the Paste Into command to paste styles kept in memory in the styles selected in the palette, overwriting their content. If the selection contains less styles than those kept in memory, styles in excess will be ignored; if the selection contains more styles than those kept in memory, styles in excess will be left as they are. Use the Delete command to delete selected styles. Note: All the Edit menu commands are also available in the menu that opens when right-clicking the selection. To move selected styles: Ctrl-click (PC) or Cmd-click (Mac) and drag the selection to the new position; the insertion point is marked while you drag. Editing Styles Palette styles can be modified with the style editor. Styles can be chosen among plain color, texture, custom and special. For special and custom styles you can also decide some settings. Only the first style in the palette, labelled No Style, cannot be edited: it allows you to remove any style from lines and filled areas. To open the style editor as a floating window: Do one of the following: Choose Windows > Style Editor. Double-click the style you want to edit in the palette. 24 the TAB 3.2 Student

31 To return to the old style cancelling the editing: Click the style swatch in the very bottom right corner of the style editor. Plain Colors Plain colors can be defined either by Red, Green and Blue or Hue, Saturation and Value values. They can be used both for drawing lines and for filling areas. You can also set the color opacity with the Alpha slider: the lower the value, the more transparent the color. You can check the opacity of the color with the checkerboard pattern visible beneath the color, whose visibility is proportional to the color transparency. To edit a plain color you can use either the sliders or the color spectrum with its related vertical slider. To set a color, click a position on the sliders or in the spectrum; to adjust values you can use the arrowhead buttons available at each slider ends. By checking a color value next to its label, you can change the way colors are represented in the color spectrum and in the vertical slider. If the current style is a special one, the color you edit is the color used by the special. If the special uses several colors, you can select the color to edit in the row of thumbnails available below the color spectrum. (see Special Styles on page 27 for details). Textures Textures can be used both for drawing lines and filling areas. They can be selected from a list available in the texture page, where your own textures can be added as well. Vector texture mapping, that is the way the texture is applied to vectors, is performed using vector parametric coordinates: this means that the texture follows the vector s shape and thickness. Area texture mapping uses the standard mapping: the texture image is tiled to cover the areas painted with the style. Managing Palettes and Styles 25

32 To add a new texture: 1. Create the image you want to use as texture with the following characteristics: The number of pixels of the width and height of the image has to be equal to 2 to the power of any number (i.e. 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, etc.); if not, texture images will be stretched. The file has to be saved in any of the following format: BMP, JPG, NOL, PNG, RGB, SGI, TGA and TIF. 2. Save the texture file in the TAB 3.2 Student stuff\library\textures folder. Custom Styles A custom style repeats an image or an animation level, created with the TAB or third party software, along the vectors of an animation level. Custom style cannot be used to paint areas. In the custom page you can select the image or the animation level you want to use as a style. You can add to the list your own animation levels as well: both TAB animation levels (PLI) and full-color images or sequences of full-color images (BMP, JPG, NOL, PIC, PICT, PCT, PNG, RGB, SGI, TGA, TIF and TIFF) are supported. Note: PLI levels are rasterized according to the vector length and thickness, thus appearing jagged when zoomed in. Anyway they will remain vector-based if the output format is Flash SWF (see Exporting Animations on page 65 for details). The images are repeated changing their placement and size according to the vector shape and thickness. If the animation levels contains different drawings, they are repeated cyclically along the vector length. Parameters such as the distance between subsequent images along the vector and their rotation can be defined in the Settings page (see Settings on page 27 for details). To add a new custom style: 1.Create an image or an animation level with the TAB, or with third-party software. 2. Save it in the folder the TAB 3.2 Student stuff\library\custom styles. 26 the TAB 3.2 Student

33 Special Styles Special styles use a number of mathematical functions to create effects that can be used either for vectors or for filling areas. They can be selected from a list available in the special styles page, where styles suitable for vectors have a thumbnail representing a small line; styles suitable for filling have a thumbnail representing a corner of an area. Special styles can simulate for instance a frieze, leaves, or a pencil vector, or allow you to fill areas with special effects such as polka dots. Special styles can be customized by defining the parameters available in the settings page. This allows you to have many similar styles, each with a different configuration of settings. Colors used by specials can be modified by using the plain color page available in the style editor. The first item available in the list allows you to remove the special in order to return to the plain color style. To change colors used by a special style: 1. Move to the plain color page in the style editor. 2. Edit the color using the spectrum and sliders. 3. If the special uses several colors, select the color to edit in the row of swatches available below the color spectrum. Settings The settings page is meaningful only when the style is a custom or a special. When the style is a custom, the settings page contains two sliders: the Distance sets the space between two subsequent images of the animation level used as custom; the Rotation sets the angle of all the images. When the style is a special, the settings page contains one or several sliders that allow you to calibrate the predefined style for your needs. You can add the same custom or special style as many times as you want, each time defining different settings for it. Managing Palettes and Styles 27

34 Changing the Type of Style When you select a plain color, a texture, a custom or a special in the style editor, you automatically assign it to the current style, thus changing the type of style. The only exception is when you want to change from a special style to a plain color, because when the current style is a special one, the plain color page is for setting its colors. In this case you have first to remove the special style by using the first swatch available in the special style swatch list, and then move to the plain color page. Note that when you change from a style suitable for both lines and areas to a style suitable only for lines, areas painted with that style will become invisible, and vice versa. For example if you change a style from plain color to custom, all areas painted with that plain color will become invisible. If you modify the style so that it is suitable again for lines and areas, the invisible parts will become visible again. To change type of style from plain color to any other: Choose an item in the texture, special or custom style page. To change the type of style to plain color: Choose the plain color page and start moving a slider or the selector in the color spectrum. To change the type of style from special to plain color: 1. In the special styles page select the first style in the list to assign no special style to current color. 2. Choose the plain color page and start moving a slider or the selector in the color spectrum. 28 the TAB 3.2 Student

35 Painting Drawings Painting Tools Painting operations can be performed by using the Fill tool ( ) and the styles stored in the palette. The Fill tool ( ) allows you to paint a drawing area, or a drawing outline by clicking it, according to the set Mode in the tool option bar. Note: All the painting work is not saved until you save the related level, or the scene (see Saving Animation Levels on page 63 for details). Areas can be filled when their outline is well-defined, that is to say no gaps occur along it. The outline can be defined by a single vector with overlapping or joined ends, or by different vectors. Drawing outline can be painted with the Fill tool ( ) as well, even if it will affect only a single continuos vector. A vector can be also painted by selecting it first, then selecting the style you want in the animation level palette. Note: Some styles may not be suitable for filling areas, such as the custom styles or some of the special styles. If you select one of this style in the palette, and you use it to fill an area, no operation will be performed. To fill an area: 1. Select the Fill tool ( ), set the mode to Areas, and select a style in the palette. 2. Click in the area you want to fill. To paint a vector: Do one of the following: Select the Fill tool ( ), set the fill mode to Lines, select a style in the palette and click the vector you want to paint. Select the vectors you want to paint with the Selection tool ( ), then select a style in the palette (see Using the Selection Tools on page 20 for details). Painting Drawings 29

36 Closing Gaps in a Drawing Outline If the area outline is not perfectly defined, you will not be able to fill it. The gap can be closed by adding a line with the Brush ( ) or Geometric tool ( ) (see Drawing Tools on page 12 for details), or by using the Tape tool ( ). The Tape tool ( ) allows you to join two open ends of one or two different vectors. You can also use the Smooth option to create a joining with no corners (see Joining and Splitting Vectors on page 19 for details). To close an outline gap: 1. Select the Tape tool ( ), and set whether the joining has to be smooth or not. 2. Click an open end of a vector and drag to the second open end. 30 the TAB 3.2 Student

37 Creating an Animation Level Using the Level Strip Once you have created one drawing you can start adding other drawings in order to define an animation level and create animations. An animation level can be managed in the level strip. When a level is selected, each frame of the strip contains a level drawing, even those not currently exposed in the xsheet, according to the level numbering order. When a frame in the strip is selected, the related drawing is displayed in the work area, replacing any previous displayed content, to let you work on it more easily. Note: When the current tool is the Edit tool ( ), the current animation level is not displayed in the level strip. When one or more frames are selected in the level strip you can perform standard cut, copy, paste, delete and insert operations. New drawings can be added, and any sequence can be renumbered. From the level strip drawings can be also exposed in the xsheet. When you change the order of the drawings in the level strip, or when a drawing is cut, deleted or inserted, and drawings are exposed in the scene, the xsheet will continue to contain a reference to that particular frame of the animation level, whatever its content is. When the xsheet contains a reference to a drawing that is eliminated in the level strip, the level name and number turn red, to warn you that there is no drawing available for that cell anymore. To edit an animation level in the level strip: Do one of the following: Select in the xsheet a cell containing any drawing of the animation level you want to edit. Right-click the level icon in the scene cast and choose Display in Level Strip from the menu that opens. To add a drawing to an animation level: 1. Select a level. Creating an Animation Level 31

38 2. Click in a blank frame of the level strip to select it. You can draw in any blank frame you want: the frame will shift at the end of the sequence preserving its number and ignoring in-between blank frames. 3. Use the tools to draw in the work area. The drawing will be automatically placed in the level strip frame you selected. To select drawings in the level strip: Do one of the following: Click a drawing to select it. Click and drag to select a series of drawings. Shift-click a frame to extend your selection up to that frame. Ctrl-click (PC) or Cmd-click (Mac) the frames to add them to, or remove them from the selection. Use the Edit > Select All command to select all the level drawings. Use the Edit > Invert Selection command to invert the current selection of level drawings. Note: The Select All and Invert Selection commands are also available in the menu that opens when right-clicking in the level strip. To scroll the level strip: Do one of the following: Middle-click and drag to scroll up or down. Use the mouse wheel to scroll up or down. Use the scrolling bars to scroll only within the actual level extent. Use the Cursor Up and Cursor Down keys to move one frame up or down. Use the Page Up and Page Down keys to scroll the visible frames up or down. Use the Home and End keys to scroll up to the beginning or the end of the level strip content. To exit the level strip editing mode: Click a cell in the xsheet, or select a frame in the xsheet frame column. Editing Level Frames The level content can be edited one frame at a time, for example for retouching some artwork or copy a part of a drawing to a different frame, or several frames at the same time, for example to rearrange the drawing sequence. 32 the TAB 3.2 Student

39 To edit a drawing of an animation level: 1. Select the frame in the level strip containing the drawing you want to modify. 2. Use the tools to edit the drawing in the work area. To edit animation level drawings with the Edit menu commands: 1. Select the frames you want to edit. 2. Do any of the following: Use the Copy command to keep in memory selected drawings for further operations. Use the Cut command to eliminate selected drawings from the animation level and keep them in memory for further operations. The frames elimination causes a gap in the level numbering order. Use the Paste command to paste drawings kept in memory in the animation level, starting from the selected insertion frame. The operation shifts down following frames, and automatically renumber them. If before the insertion frame there is a numbering gap, the pasted frames will fill the gap before starting to shift and renumbering following frames. Use the Paste Into command to paste drawings kept in memory in the frames selected in the level strip, overwriting their content. If the selection contains less frames than those kept in memory, frames in excess will be ignored; if the selection contains more frames than those kept in memory, frames in excess will be left as they are. Use the Delete command to delete selected drawings. Use the Insert command to insert white frames before the selection; inserted frames will be as many as the selected ones. The operation shifts down following frames, and automatically renumber them. Note: All the Edit menu commands are also available in the menu that opens when right-clicking in the level strip. To edit animation level drawings with the Cells menu commands: 1. Select the frames you want to edit. 2. Do any of the following: Use the Reverse command to invert the order of selected drawings. Use the Swing command to append selected drawings at the end of the selection in a reversed order. The last drawing of the selection will not be repeated. Creating an Animation Level 33

40 Use the Step 2, Step 3 or Step 4 command to repeat selected drawings in order to have a step 2, step 3 or step 4 animation. Use the Duplicate Drawing command to make a copy of the first drawing of the selection in the following frame. If the following frame already contains a drawing, the duplicated drawing will be inserted by shifting the other down. Note: All the Cells menu commands are also available in the menu that opens when right-clicking in the level strip. Animation Techniques Besides drawing frame by frame, one image at the time, until you achieve the animation you want, some other techniques are easier to achieve thanks to the TAB features. Whatever the technique is, you can control your work and how smooth the animation is by using the onion skin, that allows you to view more than one image in the viewer at the same time as reference. Modelling a Drawing Instead of animating a level by starting every time from a blank frame, you can duplicate a drawing and make subsequent modifications. You can do it even if the drawings are painted, because the styles used to paint will automatically follow the shape of the areas you modify (see Transforming Vectors on page 15 for details). The sequence of the animation level drawings can be easily controlled in the level strip. You can use both the Edit > Duplicate Drawing command and the standard Copy and Paste commands to make a copy of a drawing that you can later modify to create slight movements. When you use the Duplicate Drawing command, the selected drawing is duplicated in the following frame. If the following frame already contains a drawing, it is shifted down in order to insert the duplicated drawing in the sequence. When you use the Copy and Paste commands, you can also decide the frame of the level strip where you want to paste the drawing. Once finished, you can make a copy of the modified drawing, and modify it in its turn. You can go on duplicating and modifying drawings until you complete the animation level. To create an animation level by modelling drawings: 1. In the xsheet, select a drawing of the animation level you want to edit. 34 the TAB 3.2 Student

41 2. In the level strip, select the drawing you want to duplicate. 3. Copy the selected drawing in the following frame by doing one of the following: Choose Cells > Duplicate Drawing. Choose Edit > Copy, then select the following frame and choose Paste. 4. Select the new drawing in the level strip. 5. Use modifier tools to modify the drawing. 6. Go on duplicating and modifying drawings until you complete the animation level. Using the In-betweener Another animation technique is the use of the in-betweener in the level strip, that creates in-between drawings once you have selected a starting drawing and an ending one. When more than two frames are selected in the level strip, a vertical strip is displayed on the right of the pane. By clicking on it all frames between the first and the last selected frame will be overwritten by images interpolating the first and the last image. The interpolated drawings are created by taking into account the number of the vectors, and the vectors direction. This means that the result will depend on the way drawings were made. For example if the first image is a single shape drawn clockwise, and the last is another shape, you will get different results depending on the way it was drawn, clockwise or counterclockwise. Duplicate a drawing; modify it; insert blank frames; select the frame range, then click the in-between button. To obtain the best results with complex drawings, copy the drawing you want to interpolate from, and paste it in another frame of the level strip. Creating an Animation Level 35

42 Modify the pasted drawing without adding and deleting vectors, but only distorting and moving existing vectors (see Transforming Vectors on page 15 for details). Select the whole range and then perform the interpolation. If you want the interpolation to last more or less frames, you can insert frames, or cut them, and use the in-betweener again. To create in-between drawings: 1. Select the level where you want to perform interpolation. 2. In the level strip select the frame range from the drawing you want to interpolate from, to the one you want to interpolate to. If you want the interpolation to last more frames, make room for more drawings with the Edit > Insert command. 3. Click the vertical strip displayed on the right of the frame range selection. To optimize the in-betweening process: 1. Create and paint the drawing you want to interpolate from. 2. Do one of the following: Copy and paste it in another frame of the level strip, considering the number of in-between drawings you want to achieve. Duplicate it and insert as many empty frames as the number of in-between drawings you want to achieve. 3. Modify the pasted, or duplicated, drawing using the modifier tools, to create the final drawing of the interpolation. 4. Select the frame range from the drawing you want to interpolate from, to the one you want to interpolate to. 5. Click the vertical strip displayed on the right of the frame range selection. Rotoscoping Rotoscoping consists of tracing drawings taking a live clip as reference. As you can import clips and frame sequences in a scene, you can simply load them, and create an animation level by drawing in the work area, 36 the TAB 3.2 Student

43 while the frames of the clips are visible underneath. See Using the File Browser on page 57 for details. The way to obtain best result is not trying to reproduce with fidelity the clip, but to use its frames just as a reference to better understand the movement or the transformation of the clip s subject. In this way you can take advantages, for example, of a natural movement represented in the clip, without renouncing to an expressive drawing style. To perform rotoscoping: 1. Load a QuickTime or Avi clip, or a sequence of frames, in the xsheet (see Loading Animation Levels on page 64 for details). The clip will be placed in a column of the xsheet. 2. In the xsheet select a cell in a column on the right of the column containing the clip you loaded. The image of the clip placed at the same frame of the cell you selected will be visible in the work area while you are drawing. 3. Use tools to trace the first drawing in the work area. 4. Move to next frames, and trace next drawings. Cloning Levels Sometimes it may be useful to create a clone of a level in order to edit it without affecting the original one. For example you may want to create a Creating an Animation Level 37

44 new animation level starting from the drawings of another level, in order to have two sequences similar but not identical. The Clone command allows you to create a copy of the selected cells, preserving the numbering order but assigning a new name to the level. The name will be the first available letter of the alphabet. The cloned level will contain only drawings exposed in selected cells, even if the original level is made of more drawings; they will be automatically exposed in the column on the right of the selection, shifting the following columns. The new level will be saved as soon as you save it with the save command, or you save the scene. The cell selection can also spread on several columns: in this case the same number of new columns will be inserted to make room for the cloning result. If more than level is exposed in the cell selection, the same number of new levels will be created. To clone levels: 1. Select the cells you want to clone. 2. Do one of the following: Choose Cells > Clone. Right-click in the selection and choose Clone from the menu that opens. Using Onion Skin If you want to view more than one level drawing at the same time in the viewer as reference when you create drawings or to check the animation, you can activate the onion skin mode. The onion skin is available both in the xsheet and in the level strip according to where the cursor showing the current frame is displayed, as the onion skin can be activated starting from the cursor and managed in the frame number column. When a frame of the level strip is selected, the onion skin refers to the current level only, according to your selection, referring to the sequence of the full animation level as it was created. When a cell of the xsheet is selected, the onion skin refers to the current level according to how the drawing sequence is edited in the scene, including movements and transformations performed thanks to the 38 the TAB 3.2 Student

45 object animation (see Animating Columns on page 47 for details), while the rest of the scene related to the current frame will be visible as is. To activate or deactivate frames in onion skin mode: Do one of the following: In the xsheet, click the squared markers appearing in ghost mode on the left of the frame column. Click and drag automatically activates or deactivates a series of frames. In the level strip, click in the white area on the top left of the strip frames. Click and drag automatically activates or deactivates a series of frames. Saving Levels All the editing performed in the level strip is not saved until you save the level. You can also automatically save all the editing done on any level of the xsheet by saving the scene (see Saving Scenes on page 61 for details). Note: An asterisk after the level name in the level strip title bar denotes that there are unsaved changes for the current level. To save the current level: Choose File > Save Level. Creating an Animation Level 39

46 To save the current level with a different name in a different location: 1. Choose File > Save Level As. 2. In the browser that opens select the folder where you want to save the level. 3. Assign a name to the level and click the Save button. Note: The Save Level As command creates a copy of the level with a different file name and location, but does not change the name and location of the level exposed in the xsheet. 40 the TAB 3.2 Student

47 Creating a Scene Setting Scene Properties Before starting to work on a scene, the scene properties concerning the size of the camera and the frame rate of the animation should be set in the current scene pane. The camera size is expressed in pixels; default values are 640 pixel wide and 480 pixels high.these values represent the size your animation will be when exporting the animation (see Exporting Animations on page 65 for details). The frame rate value represents the number of frames to be played back per second; its default value is 25. Note: Changing the frame rate affects the length in frames of the soundtrack loaded in the scene (see Creating a Soundtrack on page 54 for details). Working with Xsheet Columns When levels are exposed in the xsheet, they are placed in columns. The column stacking order sets which drawings and images are placed on top, or behind, other images. Its direction is from left to right, that is to say what is on the left is behind what is on the right. In columns you can load animation levels, clips, images and a soundtrack. The xsheet is divided into sections by horizontal markers; at each marker the name of the level exposed in the xsheet is displayed. Column cells may have different colors according to the type of the exposed level. The TAB animation levels are displayed in light green; full color images, sequences and clips are displayed in light blue. The column header contains information about the column content. From the top you can see: Creating a Scene 41

48 A number representing the stacking order. A visibility toggle ( ) allowing you to hide or display the column content in the work area; when activated an eye icon is visible in the toggle. Note: If the column content is hidden, it will not be included in the exported scene. See Exporting Animations on page 65 for details. A lock toggle ( ) allowing you to prevent any editing in the column; when activated a padlock icon is visible in the toggle. An area where the name of the column is displayed, that by default is the name of the first exposed level. The area color indicates the type of level exposed in the column. A preview icon of the first drawing or image exposed in the column. An area for defining movements along a motion path (see Creating a Movement along a Motion Path on page 51 for details). An area for linking columns (see Linking Columns on page 53 for details). The column on the far left displays the frame number, with the cursor indicating the current frame. The cursor can be used to set the current frame. The xsheet can be scrolled to examine its content, while the header area and the frame column are always visible; in this way it's easier to understand how the scene is built. To scroll the xsheet: Do one of the following: Middle-click and drag to scroll in any direction. Use the mouse wheel to scroll up or down. Use the scrolling bars to scroll only within the actual xsheet extent. Use the Cursor Up and Cursor Down keys to move one frame up or down. Use the Page Up and Page Down keys to scroll the visible frames up or down. Use the Home and End keys to scroll up to the beginning or the end of the xsheet content. To name a column: Double-click the column name in the header and type a new name. 42 the TAB 3.2 Student

49 To select columns: Do one of the following: Click the column header to select a column. Click and drag in the column icon to select contiguous columns. Ctrl-click (PC) or Cmd-click (Mac) to add a column to your selection. Ctrl-click (PC) or Cmd-click (Mac) to remove a selected column from the selection. Shift-click to extend the selection. To move a column selection: Click any area displaying the name of column in the header, and drag it to the new position. To edit a column selection: 1. Select the columns you want to edit. 2. Do one of the following: Use the Copy command to keep in memory the selection for further operations. Use the Cut command to eliminate the selection from the scene and keep it in memory for further operations. The column elimination causes following columns to shift left. Use the Paste command to paste the selection kept in memory starting from the selected column. The command causes following columns to shift right. Use the Delete command to delete the selection. Use the Insert command to insert empty columns before the selection; inserted columns will be as many as the selected ones. Note: All these commands are also available in the menu that opens when right-clicking the column header. To show or hide a column content in the work area: Click the visibility toggle ( ) on the upper right corner of the column header. If you right-click the toggle you can select commands from a menu that opens that let you affect several columns at the same time. To lock or unlock a column content: Click the lock toggle ( ) on the upper right corner of the column header (button on the right). If you right-click the toggle you can select commands from a menu that opens that let you lock or unlock several columns at the same time. Creating a Scene 43

50 Exposing Levels To create a full animation you have to organize drawings, animation levels and other elements such as images and clips, in the xsheet, by exposing them in the columns the editor is made of. You may think of the column cells of the xsheet as references to drawings of a particular animation level. You may empty some cells, repeat some of them or change their order without affecting the real drawings, because you re operating on references. When a scene contains several cells referring to a drawing of an animation level, they all refer to the same drawing. This implies that when you modify a drawing of an animation level, all the cells in the xsheet referring to that drawing will consequently change their content. Note: When the scene contains a reference to a drawing that is eliminated in the level strip, the label in the cell with the drawing name and number turns red, to warn you that there s no drawing available for that cell anymore. Working with Xsheet Cells The xsheet allows you to control the timing of the animation by repeating, swinging, cycling drawings, without adding new drawings to the animation level. This allows you to control less elements in the scene, but mostly to have smaller file size, especially when exporting the scene as a Flash animation (see Flash output Optimization on page 68 for details). For example if you need a character blinking after ten frames, you don t have to create an animation level made of eleven drawings (where drawing 11 has the character s eyes shut). You can simply create an animation level made of two drawings, one with the character s eyes open, the other with the eyes shut, and place this drawings properly in the xsheet, by repeating ten times drawing 1 (eyes open), and then placing drawing 2 (eyes shut). Note: Movements and transformations, such as scaling, can be performed animating columns. See Animating Columns on page 47 for details. When you select a cell, you can work on the drawing exposed in it by using tools in the work area. When one or several cells are selected you can perform standard cut, copy, paste, delete and insert operations in the xsheet. In this case you 44 the TAB 3.2 Student

51 are not modifying the animation level frames, but simply changing the way it is exposed in the xsheet. To modify a drawing of an animation level: 1. Select the cell in the xsheet where the drawing is exposed. 2. Use the tools to edit it in the work area. To select several cells: Do one of the following: Click and drag to select a series of cells. Shift-click a cell to extend your selection up to that cell. Click on the dark vertical strip available on the left of the cells, to select the whole sequence of drawings belonging to the same animation level. To edit cells with the Edit menu commands: You can do the following: Use the Copy command to keep in memory the selection for further operations. Use the Cut command to eliminate the selection from the xsheet and keep it in memory for further operations. The cell elimination causes following cells to shift up. Use the Paste command to paste the selection kept in memory in the xsheet starting from the selected insertion cell. The command causes following cells to shift down. Note: If you copy some vectors with the Selection tool ( ), the paste command will create a new animation level whose first drawing contains the selected vector. Use the Delete command to empty the selected cells from any reference. Use the Insert command to insert blank cells before the selection; inserted cells will be as many as the selected ones. Note: All the Edit menu commands are also available in the menu that opens when right-clicking the xsheet cells. To edit cells with the Cells menu commands: You can do the following: Use the Reverse command to invert the order of the selected cells. Creating a Scene 45

52 Use the Swing command to append the selected cells at the end of the selection in a reversed order. The last cell of the selection will not be repeated. Use the Random command to rearrange the selected cells in a random order. The order changes every time you use the command. Use the Step 2, Step 3 or Step 4 command to repeat the selected cells in order to have a step 2, step 3, or step 4 animation. Use the Clone command to create a new level using the selected cells (see Cloning Levels on page 37 for details). Note: All the Cells menu commands are also available in the menu that opens when right-clicking in the xsheet. To move a cell selection: Click the dark vertical strip available on the left of the cells, and drag them to move them to a new position. Note: When it is not possible to release the selection, a red outline is displayed instead of the selection. Using the Smart Fill Handle The Fill Handle allows you to edit cells directly from within the xsheet. It is the small tab appearing at the bottom of the cell selection. By dragging this handle you can repeat a cell or a group of cell, you can add cells, or you can delete the last cells of a sequence. The behavior of the handle is smart: this means that the way cells are repeated, added, or deleted depends on the selection content. Note: Editing cells with the Fill Handle causes the shifting up or down of cells placed below the selection. To edit cell content with the Fill Handle: Do one of the following: If you want to repeat a cell content for some frames, select the cell and drag the fill handle down. If you want to lengthen a progressive sequence, select the cells where the sequence is exposed, and drag the fill handle down: sequence will be lengthen according to the progressive numbering. For example if the sequence is 1, 3, 5, the added images will be 7, 9, 11, etc. This works for any step the sequence may have. If you want a random sequence to be repeated, select the sequence and drag the fill handle down: the sequence will be lengthened 46 the TAB 3.2 Student

53 according to the sequence numbering. For example if the sequence is 3, 6, 4, 1, the added images will be 3, 6, 4, 1, 3, 6, etc. If you want a progressive sequence to be repeated, first copy the sequence first drawing at the end of the sequence, then select all and drag down the fill handle. For example if the sequence is 1, 2, 3, 4, copy the drawing 1 at the end of the sequence (the result will be 1, 2, 3, 4, 1), and the added drawings will be 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, etc. If you want to delete some cells, select a region so that the cells you want to delete are in the last rows, and drag the fill handle up. Using the Level Strip When an animation level is displayed in the level strip, you can select the specific drawings you want to expose in the xsheet. This feature may run useful especially if the level strip displays drawings not exposed in the xsheet, for example drawings you just added to the level. To display an animation level in the level strip: Select in the xsheet any cell where a drawing of the animation level you want to edit is exposed. To select drawings in the level strip: Do one of the following: Click to select a drawing. Ctrl-click (PC) or Cmd-click (Mac) to add a drawing to or remove it from the selection. Shift-click to extend the selection. To expose the selection: Do one of the following: Copy and paste the selection in the xsheet in the cell you want. Drag and drop the selection to the xsheet cell where you want to start exposing it. Right-click in the level strip selection and choose Expose in Xsheet from the menu that opens. Drawings will be exposed at the beginning of the first empty column. Animating Columns You can edit, move, rotate, scale and shear every column, affecting all the drawings exposed in the column cells. When you select the Edit tool ( ), a handle is displayed in the viewer: it allows you to control interactively the position and size of the currently Creating a Scene 47

54 selected column. The handle is made of an inner double circle with three arms that allows you to perform the following transformations: The circle end when clicked and dragged rotates the object; The double-square end when clicked and dragged on the outer square scales the object uniformly on the vertical and horizontal; when clicked and dragged on the inner square scales the object according to the constraint set in the option bar; if no constraint is set and the Shift key is pressed while dragging, the scaling will be uniform. The parallelogram end when clicked and dragged shears the object; if the Shift key is pressed while dragging, the shearing will be constrained on the horizontal or vertical direction. The double circle at the center when clicked and dragged change the object center. Note: The object center can be moved, but cannot change its position during the animation: once it is set, or modified, it is retained during all the animation. Clicking and dragging anywhere but the handle moves the object; if the Shift key is pressed while dragging, the movement will be constrained on the horizontal or vertical direction. Note: As you roll over the handles, the cursor changes shape to indicate you the operations you may perform. Available options are the following: Maintain sets the constraint when scaling operations are performed: if it is set to A/R the object will maintain its proportions, if it is set to Mass the object will maintain its overall size even when changing proportions. As soon as you move or edit the object by operating on the handle, a key position will be automatically generated at the current frame and a key icon is displayed on the right of the column cell to which it refers. If you want to create a key without operating on the handle, in order to leave the column position and size as they are, you can use the Set Key button ( ) available at the bottom of the viewer. Keys can be moved within the column they refer to, and selected in order to be copied/cut and pasted from one cell to another. 48 the TAB 3.2 Student

55 You can also cycle previously created keys, in order to repeat automatically all the previously defined keys for the whole length of the scene, with no need to copy and paste keys from cells to cells. Note: The column content movement can be checked by activating the onion skin mode, as it will display the position of drawings exposed in the current column at different frames (see Using Onion Skin on page 38 for details). To select the object to edit: Do one of the following: Select a column in the xsheet. Click a drawing in the work area to select the related column. To animate a column: 1. Select the column you want to edit. 2. Choose the Edit tool ( ). 3. Set the frame where you want to define the key by doing one of the following: Move the current frame cursor in the xsheet. Use the frame bar or the playback buttons at the bottom of the work area. Select the related cell in the column. 4. Do one of the following: Operate on the handle to move, scale, rotate or shear the object, automatically generating a key. Click the Set Key button ( ), or right-click the cell and choose Set Key from the menu that opens, to create a key leaving the column position and size as they are. Note: When a key is defined for the current object at the current frame, the Set Key button ( ) turns from grey to green. 5. Select a different cell or a different frame, and go on defining key positions. To modify a key: 1. Select the cell the key refers to. 2. Use the Edit tool ( ) to modify position and size. To select keys: Do one of the following: Creating a Scene 49

56 Click the key icon to select it. Shift-click to extend the selection within a column. Ctrl-click (PC) or Cmd-click (Mac) to add to, or remove a key to the selection. Right-click a key icon and choose the related command from the menu that opens to perform specific selections, such as all keys in the row, all previous ones, all following ones, etc. To move a key selection: Click any of the selected key and drag the selection to the new position. Dragging is allowed only vertically. To edit a key selection: Do one of the following: Use the Copy command to keep the selection in memory for further operations. Use the Cut command to eliminate the selection from the scene and keep it in memory for further operations. Use the Paste command to paste the selection kept in memory starting from the selected cell. Use the Delete command to delete the selection. Note: All these commands are also available in the menu that opens when right-clicking the key icon. To set the speed of the movement or transformation: Do one of the following: Right-click in the area between two subsequent keys and choose Set Constant Speed from the menu that opens to set a constant speed. Right-click in the area between two subsequent keys and choose Set Acceleration from the menu that opens to set a continuous acceleration. Right-click in the area between two subsequent keys and choose Set Deceleration from the menu that opens to set a continuous deceleration. To activate/deactivate the cycling of previously created keys: Click the tab with a circular arrow ( ) visible after the last key of a series.the cells affected by the cycled movement are marked on the right by a vertical zigzagged line. To remove a key position: 1. Select the key you want to remove. 2. Click the Set Key button ( ): it turns from green to grey. 50 the TAB 3.2 Student

57 To navigate frames where key positions are defined: Use the Next ( ) and Previous Key buttons ( ) available at the side of the Set Key button. Creating a Movement along a Motion Path Column content can be also moved along a motion path. You can choose among two different movements along the path: one without changing the object orientation, and the other with an automatic orientation set according to the motion path direction. When the motion path icon in the column header is selected, the path can be defined with drawing tools and edited in the work area, where it is displayed as a dashed red vector, as if it was a vector. As soon as a path is defined for a column, the first drawing of the column will be automatically placed at the beginning of the path. When a path is assigned to a column, you will only be able to move it along the path. A motion path can also be created by copying and pasting a drawing vector, and a drawing vector can be created by copying and pasting a motion path. To define a motion path for a column: 1. Click the double-arrow button available in the column header and choose one of the following: The icon with a vertical box on a path, to set a movement without changing the object orientation. The icon with a rotated box on a path, to set a movement with an automatic orientation set according to the motion path direction. 2. Select a drawing tool and in the work area draw the motion path you want the selected column to follow. The path is represented with a dashed red line. To move a column along a path: 1. Select the column you want to move. Creating a Scene 51

58 2. Select the Edit tool ( ). 3. Operate on the handle by moving it along the path. When setting a position a key will be automatically generated at the current frame. To edit or distort the motion path: 1. Select the icon in the column header representing the motion path option: the icon will be highlighted. 2. Use modifiers tool to edit or deform the motion path represented by a dashed red line. 3. Exit the motion path editing mode by clicking on an xsheet cell. To draw a new motion path: 1. Select the icon in the column header representing the motion path option: the icon will be highlighted. 2. Use a drawing tool to draw the new path that will replace the previous one. 3. Exit the motion path editing mode by clicking on an xsheet cell. To use a drawing vector as a motion path: 1. Select the vector you want to use as a motion path with the Selection tool ( ). 2. Copy/cut it. 3. Select the motion path you want to paste to in the stage. 4. Click in the work area and paste the copied/cut vector that automatically becomes a motion path. To use a motion path as a vector: 1. Select the motion path in the stage. 2. Select the motion path with the Selection tool ( ) in the work area. 3. Copy/cut it. 4. Select the drawing where you want to paste the new vector. 5. Paste the copied/cut motion path that automatically becomes a vector. To remove a motion path: Click on the double-arrow button available in the column header and choose the icon with a red cross on a path. 52 the TAB 3.2 Student

59 Linking Columns Columns can be linked in order to create related movements, that is to say a movement which depends on the movement of another column (parent column). This allows you to define complex hierarchy of movements where, for example, a column moves according to its own movement and the movement of the parent column to which it is linked. In this case the movement of the linked column will be a sum of the two movements. Of course the parent column can be linked in its turn to another moving parent column, thus creating an elaborate chain of movements. Links can be performed by operating in the bottom cell of the column header. In the same cell you can check if a column is linked to another: in the linked column you will see on the left a chain icon with a number indicating the parent column number; in the parent column you will see on the right a chain icon indicating that one or several columns are linked to it. Linked columns will follow any kind of movement the parent column has, even the movement along a motion path. Size transformation will be considered as well. By defining master and linked columns you can also create cutout animation, where each column is a section of the character, and all sections are linked each other in specific joints, like simulating a real skeleton. For example you can have a hand linked to an arm which is linked to a trunk: when you move the trunk, you will move both arm and hand as well, and when you move the arm, you will move the hand as well. Creating a Scene 53

60 To link a column to another: Click the small chain icon available on the left of the bottom cell of the column header, and drag to the column you want to be a master. The chain icon will be displayed more clearly and the number of the master column will appear near to it. To unlink a column: Click the chain icon available on the left of the bottom cell of the linked column header. To create a cutout animation: 1. Place each section, that can be a drawing or an animated level, of your character in a different column. 2. Link each section to the other by linking the related columns. For example link the hand to the arm, the arm to the trunk, etc. 3. Create the joints by selecting the Edit tool ( ), and by placing the center of rotation of each section column on the place where the section has to be joined to the other. For example place the center of rotation of the hand column on the wrist, the center of rotation of the arm column on the shoulder, etc. In this way when you move the hand, you will move it around the wrist; when you move the arm, you will move it around the shoulder, etc. Creating a Soundtrack An audio file can be loaded in order to create a soundtrack for the scene; supported file formats are uncompressed WAV and AIFF at 8 and 16 bit. To load an audio file you can use the browser room (see Loading Animation Levels on page 64 for details). Once loaded the audio file is exposed in an xsheet column as a series of sound waves; the number of frames it occupies depends on the length of the audio file and the frame rate set for the current scene. For example an audio file 3 seconds long, imported in a scene whose frame rate is 12, will occupy 36 frames; if imported in a scene whose frame rate is 24 will occupy 72 frames (see Setting Scene Properties on page 41 for details). Its header contains a loudspeaker icon that lets you play the content back, and a vertical slider to set its volume; the render toggle ( ) is replaced by a note toggle ( ) (see Working with Xsheet Columns on page 41 for details). When a scene is exported in a file format supporting audio, for example QuickTime MOV, the soundtrack is used as the soundtrack of the movie, preserving the volume you set for it; if the note toggle ( ) of the column 54 the TAB 3.2 Student

61 is off, the content will not be included in the exported animation (see Exporting Animations on page 65 for details). When the scene is saved, the loaded audio files will be saved as well and stored in the folder where all the scene drawings are saved. Only one audio file can be loaded in a scene. As soon as a new audio file is loaded, it will replace the previously loaded one. Note: The soundtrack cannot be played back when playing back the animation in the TAB. To play the content of the audio column back: Click the loudspeaker icon available in the header of the column. Click it again to interrupt the playing. To set the volume of the audio column: Use the vertical slider available in the header of the column. To examine the audio column: Do one of the following: Select the audio column and scrub it by dragging the frame cursor up or down. Click and drag on the dashed vertical strip available on the right of the audio column cells: the selected section will be automatically played back. Lip Synching When you need to synchronize the movement of a character s lips with the sound of his speech, you can take advantage of the possibility to examine the audio tracks loaded in the scene. Once you have created different mouth images, you can analyze the soundtrack to find where to place specific mouth drawings. Audio files breakdown can be done by looking at the sound wave in the scene column, for example to spot where each word starts; by scrubbing the audio file with the current frame cursor; and by listening to specific audio files sections. When mouth images are placed in the proper place, you can check the sync by scrubbing or selecting again the audio file section you are Creating a Scene 55

62 interested in, because while listening to the selected audio section, the viewer will display the related animation frames. This technique can be used in any case you need the sound to be perfectly synchronized with the action, for example a character playing an instrument, or a scene based on the rhythm of a music. To scrub the audio column: Do one of the following: Select the audio column and scrub it by dragging the frame cursor up or down. Click and drag on the dashed vertical strip available on the right of the audio column cells: the selected section will be automatically played back. 56 the TAB 3.2 Student

63 Saving, Loading and Exporting All loading, saving and exporting operations can be performed in the browser room, where the file browser, a flipbook, the current scene and export panes are available. Using the File Browser The file browser consist of two sections: on the left there is a file tree where you can open and select folders, and on the right the content of the selected folder is displayed. The file tree shows four main items: My Computer contains files and folders located in your computer. My Documents contains files and folders located in the OS My Documents folder. Saving, Loading and Exporting 57

64 Library contains by default folders for the custom styles, scenes, levels and sounds, each of them containing sample files; you can add your favorite folders by using the New Folder button ( ). History contains recently saved scenes, organized in folders, one for each of the last seven days the TAB was used. Work contains files and folders located in the TAB 3.2 Student stuff\ projects folder, and can be used to store scenes and levels you are working on. You can open folders and sub-folders in order to retrieve files that are displayed in the area on the right. The current location path is displayed at the top of the browser; existing folders can be renamed and new folders can be created. Files can be displayed with related icons, or in a list displaying additional details that can be also used to sort files. The folder containing the files used in a TAB scene are displayed with a blue label in the file tree (see Loading Animation Levels on page 64 for details). Note: The TAB file browser displays only relevant files, that is to say files that can be loaded in the TAB. To check the full content of the current folder you can use the Show Folder Content command (see below). The TAB scenes can be spotted because they have a have a different preview (topped by a black and white striped band). To resize the browser sections: Do any of the following: Click and drag the separator to resize sections. Click and drag the separator toward the window border to hide a section. Click and drag the separator collapsed to the window border toward the window center to display again the hidden section. To select a folder: Click the name of the folder in the file tree: its content will be displayed in the right area of the file browser. To open a folder: Click the + icon available on the right of the folder name: if available sub-folders will be displayed. To close the folder, click again the + icon. To create a new folder: 1. Select the folder you want to create the new folder in. 58 the TAB 3.2 Student

65 2. Click the New Folder button ( ) at the bottom of the browser. To move one folder up in the file tree: Click the Folder Up button ( ) at the bottom of the browser. To select a file in the right area of the file browser. Click the preview icon. To delete files and folders: 1. Select the files, or folder, you want to delete. 2. Choose Edit > Delete. Note: Only empty folders can be deleted. To recover deleted files and folders: Look for them in the recycle bin of your operating system. To view detailed file information: Right-click the level whose info you want to view and choose Info from the menu that opens; if the file is an animation level or a sequence of images, use the slider at the bottom of the box to change frame and see the related information. To view the full content of the current folder: Right-click in the right area of the browser and choose Show Folder Content from the menu that opens: the full folder content is displayed in a default OS window. Executing Tasks in the File Browser Some tasks concerning files can be executed directly in the file browser. Files can be duplicated directly in the browser; the duplicated files will be renamed by appending an underscore followed by a progressive numbering. Full-color images can also be premultiplied. Images which have a meaningful alpha channel come in two types: premultiplied or not. A non-premultiplied image can be recognized when it is loaded in the TAB because its edge, where there is a complete transparence on one side and opacity on the other, is not smooth, but displays an opaque halo. With the premultiply operation it is possible to transform the image alpha-channel so that it is correctly read by the TAB. Note: When scene files are duplicated, the levels used in the scene are not. To duplicate a file: Right-click the level you want to duplicate and choose Duplicate from the menu that opens. Saving, Loading and Exporting 59

66 To premultiply a full-color image: Right-click the file you want to premultiply and choose Premultiply from the menu that opens. Using the Flipbook The flipbook is basically an image viewer where animation level, images, and clips can be displayed. In the TAB it is used to display the scene content in the viewer, to display the exported animations, and to view files and levels from the browser. The flipbook title bar displays the information about the content on the left, and the zoom percentage on the right. At the bottom a set of buttons and information are available: The framerate slider sets the number of frames per second to be displayed during playback. The playback buttons can be used to play the flipbook content back and set the current frame. In an opened flipbook it is possible to load a new content both replacing the previous one, or appending the new content to it. To open a flipbook: Choose Window > Flipbook. To load some content in a flipbook: Do one of the following: Right-click in the flipbook and choose Load Images from the menu that opens, then use the browser to retrieve the file you want to load. Drag and drop the file you want to load from the TAB file browser to the flipbook. To append some content to the flipbook content: Right-click in the flipbook and choose Append Images from the menu that opens, then use the browser to retrieve the file you want to append to the current content. To navigate the flipbook content: Do one of the following: Use the zoom shortcut keys (by default + and - keys) to zoom in and zoom out at specific steps (e.g. 50%, 100%, 200%, etc.). Use the mouse wheel to zoom in and zoom out. Use the reset view shortcut (by default the 0 key) to display the flipbook content at its actual size, centered on the image center. 60 the TAB 3.2 Student

67 Middle-click and drag to scroll in any direction. To fit the size of the flipbook window to its content: Double-click the flipbook title bar. Windows only - to enter/exit the flipbook full screen mode: Right-click the flipbook and choose Full Screen Mode/Exit Full Screen Mode from the menu that opens. To play the flipbook content back: Do one of the following: Use the play button. Drag the frame bar cursor. To set the current frame: Do one of the following: Use the playback buttons. Drag the frame bar cursor. Type in the frame bar field the number of the frame you want to view. Saving and Loading Scenes Scene files can be saved and loaded as TAB files using the related menu commands, or the TAB file browser with the current scene pane. Saving Scenes When working on a new scene the default name (untitled) followed by a progressive number is assigned to the scene until you save it with a different name. When a scene is saved, all its content (levels, images, clips and audio files) and animation levels are automatically saved. Scene are saved with the TAB extension, while the animation levels you created with the TAB with the PLI extension. The scene content is saved together with the TAB file in a folder with the same name of the scene; for example the scene forest.tab will have a folder named forest_files containing all the files used in the scene. Note: The folder containing the files used in a TAB scene are displayed with a blue label in the file tree. To save scenes you can use both the file browser with the current scene panes, and the File > Save Scene As command. The browser room allows you to drag and drop files you want to save from the current scene pane to the file browser pane. Saving, Loading and Exporting 61

68 The Save Scene As command opens a standard floating file browser, similar to the file browser pane. When you use the Save Scene As command, all the material used in the scenes will be duplicated in a folder related to the new scene and the new location. The Save Scene command is also available to save changes made on the current scene. Note: If you select the Save Scene command when your current scene has not been saved yet, the Save Scene As browser opens to let you choose a name and a location for the scene file. Note: An asterisk after the scene name in the viewer and xsheet title bars denotes that there are unsaved changes for the current scene. To work on a new scene: Choose File > New Scene. To save a scene using the TAB standard browser: 1. In the file browser pane select the folder where you want to save the scene. 2. Do one of the following: Drag the scene icon available in the current scene pane to the right area of the file browser. Right-click the scene icon in the current scene pane and choose Save Scene from the menu that opens. To save the current scene with a different name in a different location: 1. Choose File > Save Scene As. 2. In the browser that opens select the folder where you want to save the scene. 3. Assign a name to the scene and click the Save button. To name a scene: Double-click on the name below the scene icon available in the current scene pane, and type in a new name. To save modification made in the current scene: Do one of the following: Choose File > Save Scene. Right-click the scene icon in the current scene pane and choose Save Scene from the menu that opens. 62 the TAB 3.2 Student

69 Loading Scenes To load the TAB scenes (TAB files) you can use both the file browser with the current scene panes, and the File > Load Scene command. The browser room allows you to drag and drop files you want to load from the file browser pane to the current scene pane. The Load Scene command opens a standard floating file browser, similar to the file browser pane; even if it displays files contained in the selected folder, it allows you to open scenes only. To load a scene from the TAB standard browser: Do one of the following: Drag the preview icon of the scene you want to load from the file browser to the current scene pane. Right-click the scene icon in the file browser and choose Load Scene from the menu that opens. To load a scene from the Load Scene browser: 1. Choose File > Load Scene. 2. In the browser that opens select the folder where the scene you want to load is. 3. In the file browser area select the scene you want to load and click the Load button. Note: Scenes can also be loaded by dragging and dropping them from the Windows Explorer or Mac OS Finder to the current scene pane. Saving and Loading Animation Levels Saving Animation Levels All the editing performed in a TAB animation level drawings and sequence are automatically saved when the scene is saved (see Saving Scenes on page 61 for details). It is possible anyway to save the editing of the current level only, or to save it with a different name in a different location, by using the related commands. Animation levels you created with the TAB are saved with the PLI extension. Note: An asterisk after the level name in the level strip title bar denotes that there are unsaved changes for the current level. Saving, Loading and Exporting 63

70 To save the current level: Choose File > Save Level. To save the current level with a different name in a different location: 1. Choose File > Save Level As. 2. In the browser that opens select the folder where you want to save the level. 3. Assign a name to the level and click the Save button. Note: The Save Level As command creates a copy of the level with a different file name and location, but does not change the name and location of the level exposed in the xsheet. Loading Animation Levels As part of the scene you can load animation levels (PLI), full-color images or sequences of full-color images (BMP, JPG, NOL, PIC, PICT, PCT, PNG, RGB, SGI, TGA, TIF and TIFF), clips (AVI and MOV), vector images and animation (SWF), and audio files (AIFF and WAV). Images or clips with alpha channel information once imported will retain their transparency information. Sequences of full color images can be recognized by the TAB file browsers as a single animation level if they are named with a progressive four-digits number written between the file name and the file extension, e.g. animation.0001.tif, animation.0002.tif, etc. They are displayed in the file browser with a double dot before the file extension, e.g. animation..tif. If you want to load a level, an image, or a soundtrack you have used in another scene, you can retrieve it directly from the folder with the same name of the scene, located where the scene file is (see Saving Scenes on page 61 for details). Note: The TAB browser displays only relevant files, that is to say files that can be loaded in the TAB. To check the full content of the current folder you can use the Show Folder Contents command (see below). When files are loaded, they are copied in a folder with the same name of the scene, located where the scene file is located; for example the scene forest.tab will have a folder named forest_files containing all the files used in the scene. Note: If the level you load has the same name of a file already used in the scene, it will be renamed by appending an underscore followed by a progressive numbering. 64 the TAB 3.2 Student

71 To load levels from the Load Level browser: 1. Select the xsheet cell where you want to start exposing the level. Note: If there is not enough room to expose the loaded level in the insertion point, the level will be exposed in a new empty column. 2. Do one of the following: Choose File > Load Level. Right-click in the xsheet cell and choose Load Level from the menu that opens. 3. Select the level you want to load. 4. Click the Load button. To load levels from the TAB standard browser: 1. Select the levels you want to load. 2. Do one of the following: Drag and drop the selection to the xsheet cell where you want to start exposing it. In case of a multiple level selection, each level will be placed in a different column. Note: If there is not enough room to expose the loaded level in the insertion point, the level will be exposed in a new empty column. Right-click the selection and choose Load from the menu that opens. Note: Files can also be loaded by dragging and dropping them from the Windows Explorer or Mac OS Finder to the xsheet or work area. To make a multiple selection in the file browser: Do one of the following: Click to select a file. Ctrl-click (PC) or Cmd-click (Mac) to add to or remove a file from the selection. Shift-click to extend the selection. Exporting Animations A scene animation can be exported as a clip in the formats QuickTime (MOV), and mobile video (3GP), as a Adobe Flash animation (SWF) and, for Windows only, as Avi (AVI) or screen saver (SCR). The frame size of the exported clip, animation or frames, will be the camera size set for the scene (see Setting Scene Properties on page 41 for details). Saving, Loading and Exporting 65

72 In the exported animation all the files you used to composite the scene will be included, apart from those loaded in columns where the visibility toggle is off (see Working with Xsheet Columns on page 41 for details). When the export format is QuickTime MOV, Microsoft AVI, 3GP mobile video, Flash SWF or SCR screen saver, the audio file loaded in the scene will be composed to create the soundtrack of the exported animation. The volume you set will be preserved (see Creating a Soundtrack on page 54 for details). Note: All vectors whose thickness is 0 are not visible in the exported animation. In the option menu you can select the format of the exported file, while the Settings button allows you to set properties (e.g. compression and quality) for the selected format. After you click the Export button and the exported file is generated, its preview icon is available at the bottom of the export pane, named as the scene you exported. You can rename it, if you want, and save it to the folder you want. Note: The exported file is not automatically saved after being generated; it has to be saved manually (see below). As soon as the exporting is over, the animation is automatically displayed in a flipbook where it can be checked by using the flipbook tools (see Using the Flipbook on page 60 for details). To export the current scene: 1. In the export pane select the format of the exported file, and its settings. 2. Do one of the following: Click the Export button. Choose File > Export. To rename an exported animation: 1. Double-click on the name below the preview icon available at the bottom of the export pane. 2. Type in a new name. To save an exported animation: Drag the exported animation preview icon from the export pane to the file browser pane. 66 the TAB 3.2 Student

73 Exporting Animations with Alpha Channel Animation can be exported including the alpha channel information. This may be useful when clips or animation made with the TAB have to be imported in other software for some compositing or editing sessions. The alpha channel will be computed only when the output format is QuickTime MOV files with a codec supporting alpha channel (e.g. TIFF codec). Exporting QuickTime MOV or Microsoft AVI Files When the QuickTime or Avi format is selected, the Settings button opens a dialog that lets you set the compression and quality for the exported file. Options depend on the Codecs (compression engines) available on your computer. Refer to the QuickTime documentation for details. Exporting 3GP Mobile Video Files If you need to create an animation to be played on mobiles and wireless devices, you can choose the 3GP format. The 3GP format is available only if QuickTime version 6.5 or later is installed on your computer. Exporting Flash SWF Animations When the Flash format is selected, the Settings button opens a dialog that lets you select options for the SWF file. Options are the following: Curve Quality: allows you to set the quality of the lines drawn in the TAB. The higher the quality, the larger the size of the file produced. Low sets a constant thickness for all the lines, even those drawn with a very strong thickness variation; the constant thickness is assigned to each vector according to the medium thickness of the vector itself. Medium sets a constant thickness for most of the lines, but those with a very strong thickness variation are preserved. High preserves the original thickness variation for all the vectors. File Compression: allows you to produce file with smaller size. The files produced with this option are compatible only with a Flash player from version 6.0 on. Looping: sets if the animation has to be played back continuously once viewed. Autoplay: sets if the animation has to start automatically once viewed. Saving, Loading and Exporting 67

74 Insert Preloader: allows you to define a loading image to be displayed while the animation is being loaded, for example from a Web page. The typical preloader is the text Loading. When exporting the scene, the first frame of the scene will be used as preloader. When the animation is loaded, the first frame will not be visible anymore, even if the animation is looping. URL: lets you enter an URL address and transform the animation into a button linked to that address, for example an Internet Web site. JPEG Quality: controls the quality and file compression of full-color images contained in your scene. The higher the quality, the larger the size of your exported animation. If no full-color image is used in the scene, this setting has no effect. Flash output Limitations The following limitations apply to the scene exported as Flash animations: Some special styles among those you can use for filling shapes, are not supported in the Flash output: they are exported as area filled with a plain color, usually one of the color defined for the style. To some others some limitations may apply. Test the export before using extensively a special style in a scene that has to be exported to Flash. Textured vectors are not exported: they are exported as lines colored with a flat color based on the texture style. Flash output Optimization Apart from the curve quality you can set in the format settings, the following advice may help you to control the size of the exported file: The more complex the vectors, the larger the file. For this reason you may use the Iron tool ( ) to partially flatten vectors, in order to simplify them (see Using Other Modifier Tools on page 18 for details). When a shape, defined by a vector and filled with a style is exported to Flash, two vector shapes will be generated, one for the vector, and another for the fill. This means that if you have a red circle with a red fill, two shapes will be generated (even if only a simple filled red circle would be enough) thus doubling the size of the exported file. If you want some area to be defined only by its fill style, you can draw the shape with drawing tools whose thickness is set to 0, or you can apply to 68 the TAB 3.2 Student