Hey folks, Paul here, and I’m excited to move forward with OpenToonz Tutorials!

I remember how lost I felt when I first launched OpenToonz, so I want to teach it in a way that’s easy to digest. Here are the initial topics I have in mind:

1. Installing & Finding Files
2. The Launch Menu
3. Initial Interface & Navigation
4. Levels & Drawings
5. Saving & File Location
6. Timing with the X Sheet
7. Adding a Background
8a. Exporting on Windows
8b. Exporting on Mac
9. Making a GIF!

And beyond that first wave, there’s more to explore! Read on for more potential topics…

More OpenToonz “how-to”s:

• Coloring
• Editing Brush Strokes
  
• Customizing the Interface
• Working with Cells and Columns
• Projects & File Management (so exciting)
  

More animation craft:

• Disney’s 12 Principles
• Bouncing Ball Demo
• Pendulum Demo
• Walk Cycle Demo

Sound fun? I hope to get started soon! If you have any thoughts or requests, please let me know :)

- Paul

THUNDER THURSDAY #83: Book Requests, and a Tutorial Question!

Hey folks, Paul here for THUNDER THURSDAY! Today marks one month since the book came out–I’ve been thrilled with the journey so far, and I’d love to keep the momentum going!

If you’re into it, check out thundercluck.com/book and any of the following:

• IndieBound!
  
• Amazon!
  
• Barnes & Noble!
• Goodreads!

Now, about tutorials!

While I enjoyed compiling the TUTOR TUESDAY PDFs, I know it’s been a hot minute since we had new tutorial content to share. Meg (@rawranansi), our tutorial mastermind, has been super busy with work! So I wanted to ask:

Would you be interested in animation tutorials for OpenToonz?

OpenToonz is an open source (which means ethically free!) 2D animation software, and I’ve been learning it myself since I started using it for the book trailer this past summer.

It’s a powerful program, though the interface definitely takes some getting used-to. I’d love to share what I’ve learned, especially since the program’s available for all!

If you’re interested, let me know. Comments and reblogs are much appreciated! Thanks,

Paul

a very quick tutorial on how i do blinking animations! this is written assuming you have some understanding of photoshop (specifically, i’m using CS5). this has all been learned thru trial and error, and by no means am i an expert. 

^ q^)9 still, maybe it’ll help somebody!

stringbing:

Overshoots and Mini Anticipations lecture from my Complete Introduction to 2D animation package.

https://gumroad.com/l/Introto2DComplete

or you can buy each chapters, or my other tutorials:
https://gumroad.com/stringbing

Here’s a new intro I made for our vlog channel, “Thanks, Maria!” I had a lot of fun making it!

And here’s the process video of how I made it, if you’re interested! :D

12 Principles of Animation

(0:10) 1. Squash and Stretch

(2:07) 2. Anticipation

(4:14) 3. Staging

(6:33) 4. Straight Ahead/Pose to Pose

(9:14) 5. Follow Through & Overlapping Action

(11:17) 6. Slow In & Slow Out

(12:57) 7. Arcs

(14:38) 8. Secondary Action

(16:11) 9. Timing

(18:22) 10. Exaggeration

(19:55) 11. Solid Drawing

(21:38) 12. Appeal

Had my first live stream while animating the other day. Hope it’s helpful and hope to see some of you in the next one!

Here is a step by step progression of my animation process behind the Armenian Dance I recently finished.

Here’s a 5 step breakdown to my Conor Mcgregor walk cycle