Harmony 20 Advanced User Guide
Uploaded by
Thuy Trang NguyenHarmony 20 Advanced User Guide
Uploaded by
Thuy Trang NguyenToon Boom
Harmony 20 Advanced
User Guide
TOON BOOM ANIMATION INC. +1 514 278 8666
4200 St.Laurent Blvd, Suite 1020 [email protected]
Montreal, Quebec, Canada toonboom.com
H2W 2R2
Harmony 20 Advanced User Guide
Legal Notices
Toon Boom Animation Inc.
4200 Saint-Laurent, Suite 1020
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
H2W 2R2
Tel: +1 514 278 8666
Fax: +1 514 278 2666
toonboom.com
Disclaimer
The content of this document is the property of Toon Boom Animation Inc. and is copyrighted. Any
reproduction in whole or in part is strictly prohibited.
The content of this document is covered by a specific limited warranty and exclusions and limit of liability under
the applicable License Agreement as supplemented by the special terms and conditions for Adobe®Flash ® File
Format (SWF). For details, refer to the License Agreement and to those special terms and conditions.
Trademarks
Toon Boom® is a registered trademark. Harmony™ and the Toon Boom logo are trademarks of Toon Boom
Animation Inc. All other trademarks of the property of their respective owners.
Publication Date
10-27-2020
Copyright © 2020 Toon Boom Animation Inc., a Corus Entertainment Inc. company. All rights reserved.
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Table of Contents 3
Introduction 33
Chapter 1: Project Creation 35
About Harmony Stand Alone 36
Starting Harmony in Stand Alone Mode 37
About the Welcome Screen 38
About Harmony Stand Alone Scenes 39
Creating Scenes in Harmony Stand Alone 40
Creating Custom Resolutions in Harmony Stand Alone 42
Opening Scenes in Harmony Stand Alone 44
Setting the Scene Length in Harmony Stand Alone 46
About Scene Settings in Harmony Stand Alone 47
About Saving in Harmony Stand Alone 48
Saving Scenes in Harmony Stand Alone 49
Saving Scenes as Copies in Harmony Stand Alone 50
Saving Scenes as New Versions in Harmony Stand Alone 51
Enabling Auto-Save in Harmony Stand Alone 52
About the File Structure in Harmony Stand Alone 53
About Harmony Server 55
About the Database Structure in Harmony Server 56
About the Database File Structure in Harmony Server 58
About Scene Creation in Harmony Server 59
Starting Harmony in Server Mode 60
Connecting to the Database in Harmony Server 61
About Scenes in Harmony Server 62
Opening a Scene in Harmony Server 63
About Scene Settings in Harmony Server 66
Setting the Scene Length in Harmony Server 67
About Saving and Scene Versions in Harmony Server 68
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Harmony 20 Advanced User Guide
Saving a Scene in Harmony Server 69
Saving a New Scene Version in Harmony Server 71
Deleting Scene Versions in Harmony Server 73
Merging Scene Versions in Harmony Server 75
Advanced Saving in Harmony Server 77
Enabling Auto-Save 78
About the Scene File Structure in Harmony Server 79
About Global Lock in Harmony Server 80
Acquiring Rights to Loaded Scenes in Harmony Server 82
About Drawing Lock in Harmony Server 83
Locking & Unlocking Drawings in Harmony Server 84
Verifying a Scene's Integrity 85
Chapter 2: User Interface 87
Changing the Theme Colours 88
Changing the User Interface Language 89
About Menus 91
About Toolbars 94
Adding and Removing Toolbars 96
Moving Toolbars 101
Customizing Toolbars 105
Enabling the Flat Toolbar 108
About Views 109
Adding Views 110
Closing Views 113
Showing and Hiding Views 114
Moving Views 115
Resizing Views 116
About Preferences 117
About Keyboard Shortcuts 118
About Workspaces 119
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Table of Contents
Loading Workspaces 120
Creating Workspaces 121
Renaming Workspaces 123
Saving Workspaces 124
Deleting Workspaces 125
Showing and Hiding Workspaces 126
Reordering Workspaces 127
Restoring the Default Workspace 128
About Interface Navigation 129
About Documentation 134
Accessing the Documentation 135
Using the Integrated Help 136
Chapter 3: Layers and Columns 139
Layer and Column Types 140
Adding Layers and Columns 143
Adding Layers in the Timeline View 144
Adding Columns from the Xsheet View 145
Using the Advanced Add Column Dialog Box 146
Deleting Layers and Columns 149
Renaming Layers and Columns 151
Reordering Layers and Columns 153
Enabling and Disabling Layers 154
Enabling or Disabling Solo Mode on a Layer 155
Locking and Unlocking Layers 157
Navigating Layers and Columns 161
About Clone and Duplicate Layers 163
About Clone Layers 164
Cloning Layers 165
About Duplicate Layers 166
Duplicating Layers 167
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Harmony 20 Advanced User Guide
About Sync Layers 168
Syncing Two Layers 169
Syncing Multiple Layers 171
Creating Synced Layers 173
Selecting All Synced Layers 174
Unsyncing Layers 175
Editing Synced Layers 176
About Groups 177
Grouping Layers 178
Ungrouping Layers 179
About Annotation Columns 180
Adding Annotation Columns 181
Drawing in Annotation Columns 182
Typing in Annotation Columns 183
Erasing in Annotation Columns 184
Modifying Annotation Column Pen Options 185
Showing and Hiding Annotation Column Tick Marks 186
Importing Annotation Files 188
Setting Properties for Many Layers 189
Displaying Layer and Column Properties 192
About Layer and Column Display 195
Expanding and Collapsing Layers and Columns 196
Showing and Hiding Layers and Columns 198
Showing and Hiding Columns 199
Showing Hidden Columns 200
Showing All Columns 201
Showing and Hiding Column Types 202
Customizing the Column Appearance 204
Displaying Xsheet Thumbnails 206
Changing Layer and Column Colours 207
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Table of Contents
Using the Element Manager 209
Chapter 4: Timing 211
About Scene Length 212
Setting the Scene Length 213
Inserting Frames in a Scene 214
Removing Frames from a Scene 217
About Exposure 219
About Creating Exposure 220
Typing Exposures 221
Setting the Exposure Hold 223
Toggling Between Inserting and Overwriting Exposure 224
Filling a Selection with a Specific Exposure 225
Creating an Exposure Sequence 227
Creating an Exposure Cycle 230
Filling a Selection with Random Exposure 231
Inserting Blank Cells 233
Filling Empty Cells 235
Toggling Extending Previous Drawing Exposure 236
About Adjusting Exposure 238
Increasing Exposures 239
Decreasing Exposures 240
Extending Single Exposures 242
Setting the Exposure 244
Deleting Exposures 246
Moving Cells 247
Enabling or Disabling Overwriting Exposures and Keyframes During Drag and Drop 251
About Rippling and Overwriting the Exposure in the Timeline View 252
Changing Exposure and Rippling Drawings in the Timeline View 253
Changing Exposure and Overwriting Drawings in the Timeline View 255
About Drawings 257
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Harmony 20 Advanced User Guide
Creating Empty Drawings 258
Renaming Drawings 259
Deleting Drawings 261
Duplicating a Drawing 262
Copying and Pasting Drawings 263
Pasting Reversed 266
Pasting Cycles 268
Modifying Paste Presets 270
Merging Drawings 272
Merging Selected Drawings 273
Merging All Drawings 275
About Frame Markers 277
Adding Frame Markers 278
Moving Frame Markers 279
Copying, Cutting and Pasting Frame Markers 280
Removing Frame Markers 282
About Scene Markers 283
Quickly Creating Scene Markers at the Current Frame 284
Creating a Scene Marker 285
Moving Scene Markers 287
Editing Scene Markers 288
Deleting Scene Markers 290
Setting Tempo Markers 291
Printing the Xsheet 292
Chapter 5: Drawing 295
About Drawing Tools 296
About the Brush Tool 299
Drawing with the Brush Tool 300
Creating a Solid Brush 304
Creating a Textured Brush 308
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Table of Contents
Configuring a Textured Brush Tip 309
Adding a Brush Tip 313
Renaming Brush Tips 315
Deleting Brush Tips 316
Exporting Brush Tips 317
Importing Brush Tips 319
Changing the Brush Tip Display 321
Configuring Smoothing for a Textured Brush 322
Configuring Antialiasing and Transparency for a Textured Brush 323
Configuring a Textured Brush with a Dual Tip 325
Configuring a Brush with a Paper Texture 328
Adding a Paper Texture 331
Renaming a Paper Texture 333
Deleting Paper Textures 335
Exporting Paper Textures 337
Importing Paper Textures 339
Changing the Paper Texture Display 341
Setting the Textured Brush Resolution 343
About Brush Presets 346
Creating a Brush Preset 347
Creating a Stamp 348
Selecting a Brush Preset 350
Updating a Brush Preset 351
Renaming a Brush Preset 352
Deleting a Brush Preset 353
Exporting Brush Presets 354
Importing Brush Presets 355
Changing the Brush Preset Display 356
Adjusting Texture Opacity 357
About the Pencil Tool 358
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Harmony 20 Advanced User Guide
Drawing with the Pencil Tool 360
Creating a Pencil 362
About Pencil Line Textures 365
Drawing with Pencil Textures 366
Applying Texture to a Pencil Line 368
Editing a Pencil Line's Texture 371
Picking a Pencil Texture from Artwork 373
Disabling Pencil Line Textures 374
Pencil Texture Palettes 376
Creating a Pencil Texture Palette 377
Adding a Pencil Line Texture 380
Renaming Pencil Line Textures 384
Deleting Pencil Line Textures 387
Replacing a Pencil Texture 390
Setting the Default Pencil Texture Palette 392
Recovering the Default Pencil Texture Palette 394
Converting a Colour Palette to a Pencil Texture Palette 395
About Pencil Presets 396
Creating Pencil Presets 397
Creating Pencil Thickness Presets 398
Selecting a Pencil Preset 399
Applying a Pencil Preset 400
Renaming Pencil Presets 401
Deleting Pencil Presets 402
Exporting Pencil Presets 403
Importing Pencil Presets 404
Changing the Pencil Preset Display 406
About Shape Tools 407
Creating Lines, Rectangles and Ellipses with the Shape Drawing Tools 408
Drawing Curved Lines with the Line Tool 410
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Table of Contents
Creating Vector Shapes with the Polyline Tool 413
About the Stamp Tool 414
Creating a Stamp 416
Creating a Multi-Drawing Stamp 418
Configuring a Stamp 421
Updating a Stamp 427
Drawing with the Stamp Tool 429
Renaming Stamps 431
Deleting Stamps 432
Exporting Stamps 433
Importing Stamps 434
Changing The Way Stamps Are Displayed 435
Stamp Tool Modes 436
About the Stroke Tool 437
Creating Invisible Lines with the Stroke Tool 438
About the Eraser Tool 440
Erasing 441
Creating a Solid Eraser 442
Creating a Textured Eraser 446
About Eraser Presets 448
Creating an Eraser Preset 449
Selecting an Eraser Preset 450
Updating a Brush Preset 451
Renaming an Eraser Preset 452
Deleting a Brush Preset 453
Exporting Eraser Presets 454
Importing Eraser Presets 455
Changing the Brush Preset Display 456
Erasing Synced Drawings 457
About the Select Tool 458
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Harmony 20 Advanced User Guide
Selecting, Repositioning and Transforming Artwork 459
Selecting Artwork in Several Drawings 462
Selecting Artwork in Several Layers 464
Inverting a Selection 468
Repositioning the Selection Pivot 469
Arranging and Reordering Drawing Strokes 470
Grouping Drawing Strokes 471
Selecting Artwork by Colour or Texture 472
About the Repositioning All Drawings Tool 473
Repositioning All Drawings in a Layer 474
Repositioning All Drawings in Synced Layers 476
About the Cutter Tool 478
Cutting Artwork 479
Cutting Artwork in Several Drawings 481
Cutting Artwork in Multiple Layers 483
About the Contour Editor Tool 487
Reshaping a Shape, Pencil Line or Stroke with the Contour Editor Tool 488
About the Centerline Editor 492
Reshaping Brush Strokes Using the Centerline Editor 494
About the Pencil Editor Tool 498
Tweaking the Thickness of Pencil Lines with the Pencil Editor Tool 499
Editing a Pencil Line Texture with the Pencil Editor Tool 502
About the Smooth Editor Tool 504
Smoothing Artwork Using the Smooth Editor 505
About the Perspective Tool 506
Deforming a Drawing with the Perspective Tool 507
About the Envelope Tool 508
Warping a Drawing with the Envelope Tool 509
About the Text Tool 512
Adding Text to Drawings 513
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Table of Contents
Breaking Text Into Letters or Vector Shapes 515
About Tool Presets 516
Displaying the Tool Preset Toolbar 517
Creating Tool Presets 518
Selecting Tool Presets 520
Deleting Tool Presets 521
Updating Tool Presets 522
Exporting Tool Presets 523
Importing Tool Presets 524
About the Tool Colour Swatches 525
Unlinking the Tool Colour Swatches 526
Linking the Tool Colour Swatches 528
Using Independent Bitmap Colour Swatches 529
About Drawing Space Management 530
About the Zoom Tool 531
About the Hand Tool 532
About the Rotate View Tool 533
About Mirror View 535
Displaying the Current Drawing on Top 537
About the Grid 538
Displaying the Grid 539
Modifying the Grid 540
Changing Pencil Line Opacity Display 541
About OpenGL Antialiasing 543
Setting the Full Scene Antialiasing Preference 544
About Pen Stabilization 545
Using Drawing Tool Stabilization 547
About Pen Pressure Curve Customization 549
Customizing the Pen Pressure Curve 550
About Drawing Guides 553
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Harmony 20 Advanced User Guide
Adding Drawing Guides 560
Selecting the Active Drawing Guide 562
Renaming Drawing Guides 564
Editing Drawing Guides 566
Adjusting a Ruler Drawing Guide 567
Adjusting a Square Grid Drawing Guide 569
Adjusting an Isometric Perspective Drawing Guide 571
Adjusting a 1-Point Perspective Drawing Guide 574
Adjusting a 2-Points Perspective Drawing Guide 576
Adjusting a 3-Points Perspective (Bird's-Eye View) Drawing Guide 578
Adjusting a 3-Points Perspective (Worm's Eye View) Drawing Guide 580
Adjusting a 3-Points Perspective (Horizontal Pan) Drawing Guide 582
Adjusting the 3-Points Perspective (Vertical Pan) Drawing Guide 584
Adjusting a 4-Points Continuous Perspective Drawing Guide 586
Adjusting a 4-Points Perspective (Vertical Pan) Drawing Guide 588
Adjusting a 5-Points Perspective (Fisheye) Drawing Guide 591
Locking Guides to Prevent Editing Them 593
Drawing with Drawing Guides 594
Locking Drawing Strokes to a Specific Axis 597
Drawing Freehand Perspective with Drawing Guides 598
Viewing Drawing Guide Reference Lines 599
Minimizing Guide Cursor Axes Display 600
Erasing Using Drawing Guides 601
Enabling and Disabling Drawing Guides 602
Reordering Drawing Guide Lists 603
Cutting and Pasting Drawing Guides 604
Copying & Pasting Drawing Guides 605
Exporting and Importing Drawing Guides 606
Deleting Drawing Guides 607
About Drawing Optimization 608
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Table of Contents
Flattening Drawings 610
Smoothing Drawings 611
Creating Contour Strokes 612
Removing Contour Strokes 613
Removing Extra Strokes 614
Optimizing Drawings 615
Cropping Brush Textures 616
Reducing the Drawing Texture Resolution 617
About Strokes Conversion 618
Converting Brush Strokes to Pencil Lines 619
Converting Pencil Lines to Brush Strokes 620
Converting Strokes to Pencil Lines 621
About Vector and Bitmap Layers 622
Adding Bitmap Layers 624
Setting the Bitmap Resolution 625
Using Colours with Bitmap Layers 629
Painting with Gradients or Textures on Bitmap Layers 630
Manipulating Bitmap Artwork 631
Changing Art Modes 632
Vectorizing Bitmap Artwork 634
Setting the Default Art Mode for New Layers 636
Chapter 6: Painting and Colours 637
About Colour Swatches 639
Locking and Unlocking the Colour List 640
Adding a Colour Swatch 641
Adding a Gradient Colour Swatch 645
Adding a Texture Colour Swatch 647
Copying and Pasting Colours 649
Deleting a Colour Swatch 651
Modifying a Texture Colour Swatch 653
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Harmony 20 Advanced User Guide
Replacing Colours and Textures in Drawings 654
Protecting Colours 656
Changing the Colour Display Mode 657
About Palettes 658
About Advanced Palette Management 660
Enabling the Advanced Palette Lists Mode 661
About Scene and Element Palette Lists 662
About Palette Storage Locations 663
About Exporting Palettes 665
About Backing Up and Recovering Palettes 666
About the Palette List 667
Showing and Hiding the Palette List 670
Locking and Unlocking the Palette List 671
Displaying Colour and Pencil Texture Palettes 672
Creating a Palette 673
Linking a Colour Palette 676
Importing a Colour Palette 678
Consolidating Used Colours Into a Single Palette 680
Renaming a Palette 683
Removing a Palette 684
Duplicating a Palette 686
Cloning a Palette 689
Tinting a Palette's Colour Swatches 693
Reordering Palettes in the Palette List 695
Palette Operations 696
Opening the Palette Operations Dialog Box 697
Cloning a Palette in the Palette Operations Dialog Box 698
Renaming a Palette in the Palette Operations Dialog Box 700
Deleting a Palette in the Palette Operations Dialog Box 702
About Painting 703
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Table of Contents
About Colour Models 704
Loading Colour Models 705
Clearing Colour Models 709
Flipping Between Models 710
Copying Colour Models 711
About Dirt Cleanup 713
Removing Dirt 714
Removing Dirt Outside the Selection 715
Removing the Art Inside the Selection 716
Removing Hair 717
Painting Drawings 718
Painting Several Drawings Simultaneously 721
Painting Several Layers Simultaneously 723
Repainting 726
Repainting a Selection 728
Repainting Outside a Selection 730
Unpainting a Selection 732
Unpainting Outside a Selection 733
Selecting Strokes with the Current Colour 734
Creating Break Triangles 735
Closing Gaps 737
Picking a Colour with the Colour Eyedropper Tool 738
Inking Lines 739
Verifying Painted Zones 741
About the Edit Gradient and Texture Tool 744
Using the Edit Gradient and Texture Tool 745
Storing the Gradient and Texture Settings 747
Pasting a Stored Gradient or Texture 748
Editing Pencil Line Textures with the Edit Gradient/Texture Tool 749
About Colour Space Management 752
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Harmony 20 Advanced User Guide
Setting the Colour Space of an Element Layer 756
Setting the Working Colour Space for a Scene 759
Setting the Display Colour Space 761
Setting the Colour Space for Rendered Movies and Frames 765
Customizing Available Colour Spaces 767
Chapter 7: Paperless Animation 769
Creating a Rough Animation 770
Creating the Tie Down Animation 776
Cleaning Animation 781
Paperless Animation Tools 784
Displaying Drawing Thumbnails in the Timeline View 785
About Marked Drawings 788
Marking Key, Breakdown and In-Between Drawings 789
Creating Custom Drawing Markers 794
About Onion Skin 798
Enabling the Onion Skin 799
Selecting Drawings to Display in Onion Skin 801
Selecting Drawings to Include in Onion Skin by Frames or by Drawings 805
Displaying Only Key Drawings, Breakdowns or In-Betweens in Onion Skin 807
About Displaying the Onion Skin in the Other Layers 810
Displaying the Onion Skin for Other Layers in the Camera View 811
Displaying the Onion Skin for Other Layers in the Drawing View 813
About Advanced Onion Skin 816
Enabling Advanced Onion Skin 817
Selecting Drawings to Display in Advanced Onion Skin 819
Adjusting the Opacity of Drawings in Advanced Onion Skin 822
About the Drawing Desk 827
Adding Drawings to the Drawing Desk 828
Modifying Thumbnails in the Drawing Desk 830
About Shift and Trace 831
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Table of Contents
About the Shift and Trace Tool 832
Enabling the Shift and Trace Tool 833
Shifting Drawings with the Shift and Trace Tool 834
Tracing Drawings with the Shift and Trace Tool 842
Adding Cross Hairs with the Shift and Trace Tool 844
Removing Cross Hairs with the Shift and Trace Tool 846
Disabling and Clearing Shift and Trace Transformations 847
About Shift and Trace with the Drawing Desk 850
Enabling Shift and Trace in the Drawing Desk 851
Shifting Drawings with the Drawing Desk 852
Tracing Drawings with the Drawing Desk 856
Linking Drawings in the Drawing Desk 858
Enabling Onion Skin in the Drawing Desk 860
About Art Layers 861
Enabling Overlay and Underlay Art Layers 865
Switching Between Art Layers 866
Creating Colour Art from Line Art 867
Generating a Matte 869
Flipping Animation 871
Previewing and Playing Drawings 873
Previewing Animation with Mini Playback 874
Chapter 8: Scene Staging 877
About Layer Position 878
Disabling Animation Keyframe Creation When Transforming Elements 879
Selecting Layers 880
Setting Bounding Box Styles 882
Centering on Selections 883
About the Transform Tool 884
Repositioning Temporary Pivots with the Transform Tool 886
Panning with the Transform Tool 887
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Harmony 20 Advanced User Guide
Rotating with the Transform Tool 889
Scaling with the Transform Tool 891
Skewing with the Transform Tool 893
Flipping with the Transform Tool 895
About Advanced Animation Tools 896
Repositioning Permanent Pivots 897
Using the Translate Tool 899
Using the Rotate Tool 900
Using the Scale Tool 901
Using the Skew Tool 902
About the Layer Properties View 903
Displaying the Layer Properties View 905
Positioning Elements with the Layer Properties View 906
About Auto-Apply 908
Setting the Auto-Apply Option 909
Resetting Transformations 910
About Multiplane 912
Setting Up Multiplanes 915
About Alignment Guides 917
Adding Alignment Guides 918
Moving Alignment Guides 919
Snapping to Alignment Guides 920
Locking and Unlocking Alignment Guides 921
Hiding and Displaying Alignment Guides 922
Clearing Alignment Guides 923
About Displays 924
Changing Displays 925
Chapter 9: Digital Animation 927
About Pegs 928
Adding Pegs 930
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Table of Contents
Enabling Peg Selection Mode 932
About Drawing Layers 933
Disabling Layer Animation 935
About Layer Parameters 936
Displaying Layer Parameters 938
Setting Layer Parameters 939
Enabling Constant Z 940
About Keyframes 941
About Keyframe Creation 942
Creating Keyframes in the Timeline View 943
Creating Keyframes in the Function View 945
Creating Keyframes in the Xsheet View 947
Automatically Creating Animation Keyframes When Transforming Elements 949
Deleting Keyframes 950
Animating with Keyframes 951
Animating, Repositioning or Transforming an Element Over Several Frames 954
Changing Keyframe Values 959
Switching Between Motion and Stop-Motion Keyframes 961
Jumping to Keyframes 964
About Controls 965
Displaying Controls 967
Adding Control Points 968
Toggling Point Types 969
Adjusting Tension, Bias, and Continuity 970
Converting Angled and Curved Corners 971
Offsetting Trajectories 972
About Functions 974
Creating Functions 977
Sharing Functions 979
About Copying Motions 981
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Harmony 20 Advanced User Guide
Using Timeline Paste Modes 982
Using Paste Special 984
Cycling Animations 985
Pasting Reverse Motions 986
About Velocity 987
Displaying Velocity Curves 988
Adjusting Bezier Curve Velocity 990
Creating Stepped Velocity 991
Adjusting Velocity in the Timeline View 996
Setting Ease on Multiple Parameters 997
About Animation Resources 1000
Chapter 10: Morphing Animation 1001
About Source and Destination Drawings 1002
About Morphing Rules 1003
About the Closest Similar Shape Rule 1004
About the Pencil Line to Pencil Line Rule 1005
About the Fill Shape to Fill Shape Rule 1007
About the Same Colour Swatch Rule 1008
About the Vanishing and Appearing Rule 1009
About the Colour Art and Line Art Rule 1010
Creating Morphing 1011
Deleting Morphing 1014
About Morphing Velocity and Timing 1015
Adjusting the Morphing Velocity 1016
Adjusting the Morphing Timing 1017
About Morphing Hints 1018
About Hint Types 1020
About Contour Hints 1021
About Zone Hints 1022
About Pencil Hints 1023
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Table of Contents
About Vanishing Point Hints 1024
About Appearing Point Hints 1025
Adding and Deleting Morphing Hints 1026
Copying Hint Points 1029
About Morphing Layers 1032
Creating Morphing with Morphing Layers 1035
About Morphing Key Drawings 1039
Inserting Morphing Key Drawings 1040
About Transparency Morphs 1041
Morphing Transparencies 1042
About Morphing Quality 1044
Setting the Morphing Quality Level 1045
Converting Morphing Inbetweens to Drawings 1046
Chapter 11: Importing & Scanning 1047
About Importing Bitmap Images 1048
Importing Bitmap Images As Original Bitmap 1049
Adjusting the Bitmap Image Display Quality 1054
Importing Bitmap Images As Toon BoomBitmap 1055
Vectorizing Images on Import 1059
About Importing a Multi-Layer PSD 1062
Importing Multi-layer PSD Files 1064
About Importing Vector Files 1068
Importing Adobe Illustrator (.ai) files and Portable Document Files (.pdf) 1069
Importing Flash Movies (.swf) 1071
Distributing SWFs to Layers 1074
About FLA Import 1075
Installing the Export to Harmony Option 1077
Exporting FLA Files 1086
Displaying the Import Flash Scene Icon 1088
Importing FLA Files 1091
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Harmony 20 Advanced User Guide
Flash Export and Import Guidelines 1093
Importing QuickTime Movies 1096
About Scanning 1097
Scanning Images 1098
Vectorizing Scanned Drawings 1100
About Custom Vectorization Parameters 1103
Creating Vectorization Styles 1104
Configuring the VectOptions.conf File 1106
Overwriting Using Scanned Drawings 1109
Importing PSD Layouts 1111
About Displays 1115
Changing Displays 1116
Chapter 12: Camera Set-up and Animation 1117
Adding a Camera 1119
Selecting the Active Camera 1120
Positioning the Camera Frame 1121
Resetting the Camera Position 1124
Animating the Camera 1125
Animating the Line Thickness on Camera Move 1129
Chapter 13: Character Rigging 1131
About Rig Types 1132
About Simple Rigs 1133
About Drawing Hierarchy Rigs 1134
About Peg Hierarchy Rigs 1136
About Scene Setup for Rigging 1137
About Models 1138
About Size Relation 1140
Setting Preferences for Rigging 1142
About Naming Conventions 1144
Naming Drawing Layers 1145
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Table of Contents
Naming Drawings Substitutions 1148
About Character Breakdown 1150
Tracing the Model 1153
About Cutting the Character into Pieces 1157
Breaking Down the Main Parts 1158
Breaking Down Secondary Parts 1161
Breaking Down Other Views 1165
Completing Parts and Articulations 1168
Distributing to Layers 1171
About Articulations 1172
Creating Classical Articulations 1173
About Ordering Layers 1175
Ordering Layers in the Timeline View 1176
About Z Nudging 1177
Nudging Layers 1178
About Pivots 1179
About Permanent Pivots 1180
Setting Permanent Pivots 1181
Setting Multiple Permanent Pivots 1182
About Drawing Pivots 1183
Setting Multiple Drawing Pivots 1184
About Symbol Pivot 1186
Setting Symbol Pivots 1187
Adding Pegs 1189
Disabling the Animation on Drawing Layers 1191
Creating Hierarchies 1194
Adding the Master Peg 1196
Invert-Cutting 1198
Grouping Rigs 1201
Creating Keyframes 1203
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Harmony 20 Advanced User Guide
About Pose Copier 1204
Adding the Pose Copier Script to the Scripting Toolbar 1205
About Guide Layers 1206
Creating a Pose Copier Template 1208
Pasting Poses Using the Pose Copier 1209
Chapter 14: Cut-out Animation 1211
About Animating with the Transform Tool 1212
Animating with the Transform Tool 1214
Resetting Transformations 1215
About Hierarchy Navigation 1217
Navigating Layers 1218
Selecting Parent and Children 1219
Centering on Selections 1221
About Keyframes 1222
Creating Motion Keyframes 1223
Creating Stop-motion Keyframes 1225
About Swapping Drawings 1227
Swapping Drawings in the Drawing Substitutions View 1231
Swapping Drawings in the Library View 1234
Swapping Drawings in the Timeline View 1237
About Swapping Multiple Drawings 1238
About Key Exposures 1239
Adding Key Exposures 1241
Removing Key Exposures 1242
Removing Duplicate Key Exposures 1243
Copying & Pasting Key Exposures 1244
About Eases 1247
Setting the Ease for Animation Keyframes 1248
Applying Ease Presets to Animations 1253
About Using Onion Skin in Cut-out Animation 1257
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Table of Contents
Using the Outline Mode 1263
Flipping Through Poses 1267
Flipping Parts 1268
Animating Lip-Sync 1269
Ordering in Z-Depth 1274
Creating Cycles 1276
About Timeline View Modes 1280
Tagging Layers 1282
Hiding and Showing Specific Layer Types in the Timeline View 1283
Chapter 15: Deformations 1285
About Deformation Types 1286
About Bone Deformations 1287
About Game Bone Deformations 1288
About Creating Deformations 1289
About Selecting Elements for Deformation 1290
Creating a Split Deformation Chain 1291
About the Envelope Creator 1
Editing the Resting Positions for Bone and Game Bone Deformations 2
Selecting Region of Influence Types 6
Setting Up Elliptic Regions of Influence 7
Setting Up Shaped Regions of Influence 10
Converting Elliptic Regions of Influence into Shapes 12
About Rigging Drawings to Deformations 13
Rigging a Drawing to a Deformation Point with the Kinematic Output Node 15
Displaying Selected Deformation Controls 17
Hiding Deformation Controls 18
About Deformation Animation 19
Animating Bone and Game Bone Deformers 20
Resetting a Deformer to its Resting Position 24
Disabling Deformations in the Camera View Preview 26
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Harmony 20 Advanced User Guide
Transferring Curve Positions of Legacy Deformations 27
Converting Legacy Deformation Chains 29
Chapter 17: Effects 32
Adding Effects Layers 34
Connecting Effects 35
Adding a Matte Drawing to an Effect 36
Configuring an Effect 39
Animating an Effect 42
About Effects Preview 52
Previewing Effects in Render Mode 53
Playing Back Effects 54
Changing the Preview Resolution 55
About Masking and Cutting Parts of Elements in your Scenes 56
Using the Matte Port of a Drawing Layer 57
Using the Cutter Node 60
About Opacity and Transparency 63
Setting the Layer Opacity 64
Overriding Colours and Textures 66
Overriding a Colour 67
Adjusting Colour Levels 68
Examples of Effect Usage 79
Adding a Highlight to a Drawing 80
Adding a Shadow to a Drawing 82
Creating a Drop Shadow 84
Chapter 18: Sound 88
About the Sound Editor 89
Sound Layer 90
Importing Sound 91
Playing Sound 93
Changing the Sound Display 95
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Table of Contents
Sound Scrubbing 97
About Analog Sound Scrubbing 98
Editing Sound 100
Cropping Sound 102
Trimming Sound 105
Looping Sound 106
Mixing the Sound Volume 107
Setting the Playback Range 109
Adding an Empty Sound Layer 110
About Lip-sync 112
Generating a Lip-sync Detection 114
Mapping the Lip-Sync Detection 117
Modifying the Lip-sync Detection 119
Manual Lip-syncing 121
Chapter 19: Rendering & Exporting 124
Exporting Image Sequences 125
Exporting a Movie File 127
Configuring Movie Settings for QuickTime Movies on Windows 132
Configuring Movie Settings for QuickTime Movies on macOS 136
Configuring Movie Settings for QuickTime Movies on GNU/Linux 138
Configuring Movie Settings for Windows Media Video 141
Exporting an Animated GIF 143
Exporting Flash (SWF) Movies 146
Exporting OpenGL Frames 148
Batch Rendering 153
Chapter 20: Library & Templates 158
About Structure 160
Creating Libraries 161
Opening Libraries 162
Closing Libraries 163
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Creating Folders 164
Deleting Folders 165
Renaming Folders 166
Refreshing Libraries 167
Generating Thumbnails 168
Deleting Thumbnails 169
Searching in Libraries 170
About Templates 171
Creating Templates 172
Deleting Templates 174
Editing Templates 175
Importing Templates 176
Opening Templates as Folders 179
About Symbols 180
Creating Symbols 181
Creating a Symbol from a Drawing 183
Creating Empty Symbols 185
Deleting Symbols 186
Editing Symbols 187
Importing Symbols 189
Expanding Symbols 190
Converting Symbols to Templates 191
Importing Files in the Library 193
Using Paste Special 194
Chapter 21: Gaming in Harmony 196
About Game Asset Creation 200
Game Rigging Guidelines 201
Game Deformation Guidelines 203
About Game Bone Deformations 204
Game Cutter Guidelines 205
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Table of Contents
Creating Metadata Notes 206
Game Animation Tips 208
Animating Multiple Sequences 209
Workflow 1: Separate Scenes 210
Workflow 2: Separating Using Scene Markers 211
Using the Harmony Game Previewer 212
About Exporting to Unity 214
Clearing Scripts 215
Setting Anchors and Props 216
Exporting Sprite Sheets 218
Exporting to Easel JS 220
About Working in Unity 222
About the Sample Unity Project 223
About the Unity Interface 224
Importing Harmony Files into Unity 226
About Game Objects 227
Using Empty Game Objects 228
Using Plane Game Objects 231
Attaching Props to Anchors in Unity 233
Placing Locators in Unity 235
Setting Up Collisions in Unity 237
About Working with Audio in Unity 238
Troubleshooting 240
Chapter 26: Scripting Guide 244
Creating Scripts 246
Editing a Script Packaged with Harmony 250
Checking Script Syntax 252
Testing a Script 253
Debugging Scripts 255
Using the Scripting Sandbox 257
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Importing Scripts 258
Deleting Scripts 260
Restoring a Harmony Script 261
Using an External Script Editor 262
Storing Scripts in a Custom Directory 264
Adding Scripts as Toolbar Buttons 269
32
Introduction
Introduction
The Harmony core functionality are explained in this User guide. All the steps required to create and complete
a project are covered in the following chapters with concept descriptions and detailed step-by-step
procedures focused on the task at hand.
Detailed parameter descriptions for all buttons, commands, and functions are covered in the Reference guide
and Preference guide. Some of them are explained here where necessary to the understanding of a given
concept or procedure.
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Harmony 20 Advanced User Guide
34
Chapter 1: Project Creation
Chapter 1: Project Creation
Once Harmony Advanced is installed, you are ready to start the application and animate! In this chapter, you
will learn about starting the application, as well as creating, opening and saving scenes
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Harmony 20 Advanced User Guide
About Harmony Stand Alone
Harmony Stand Alone allows you to create, open, save and manage scenes on your computer's file system.
Unlike Harmony Server, Harmony Stand Alone does not have a database system. Each scene you create is an
independent project, and you must organize your scenes yourself.
If you have a Harmony Server license, you can still choose to run Harmony in Stand Alone mode if you like.
However, if you have a Harmony Stand Alone license, you can only run Harmony in Stand Alone mode.
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Chapter 1: Project Creation
Starting Harmony in Stand Alone Mode
T-HFND-001-002
You can run Harmony Advanced from your operating system's desktop.
WARNING
On macOS, Harmony and its other applications will not run on the first time unless you right-click
on the application, then select Open. You will be prompted to confirm a security exception, which
will require administrative privileges.
How to start Harmony Stand Alone
1. Depending on your operating system, do one of the following:
l Windows: Do one of the following:
l On the desktop, double-click Harmony Advanced
l Open the Start menu and, in the list of programs, select Harmony 20 Advanced >
Harmony Advanced.
l macOS: In Finder, proceed to Applications > Toon Boom Harmony 20 Advanced and
double-click Harmony Advanced.
l GNU/Linux: In the GNOME top menu, select Applications > Harmony 20 Advanced >
Harmony Advanced.
The Harmony Advanced application launches and displays a splash screen. After the splash screen:
l If you have a Harmony Stand Alone license, the Welcome Screen will appear
l If you have a Harmony Server license, the Log-In Screen will appear. You can proceed from
the Log-In Screen to the Welcome Screen by selecting Work Offline and clicking on the OK
button.
Once you are at the Welcome Screen, see About the Welcome Screen on page 38.
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Harmony 20 Advanced User Guide
About the Welcome Screen
T-HFND-001-003
As soon as you launch Harmony, you are greeted with the Welcome screen, from which you can:
l Create scenes
l Choose your new scene's resolution
l Manage your scene resolution presets
l Quickly open recently opened scenes
l Browse for and open a scene you already created.
l Watch Harmony video tutorials on the web.
l Access the support web page.
NOTE
If you are using Harmony Server, you must use the Control Center application to create your
scenes before you can open them in Harmony. Harmony Server scenes cannot be created directly
in Harmony.
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Chapter 1: Project Creation
About Harmony Stand Alone Scenes
When working in production, it is important to keep your work organized. It is important to create a naming
convention chart and establish a file storage structure before starting the project. It is not only extremely
important that everyone follows the criteria laid out in the naming convention chart and the file storage
structure, but also that they understand the organization and where to find the files.
A well thought-out and logical naming convention will help keep your production structured and allow it to run
smoothly by preventing the loss of files due to chaotic organization.
In this section, you will learn how to create, open, organize, and name the different components in your
animation project.
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Harmony 20 Advanced User Guide
Creating Scenes in Harmony Stand Alone
T-HFND-001-005
All scenes created via Harmony Stand Alone are independent and local to the computer. You can create or
open a scene using the Welcome screen or the File menu.
If you are using Harmony Server, you must use the Control Center application to create your scenes before
you can open them in Harmony. Harmony Server scenes cannot be created directly in Harmony.
How to create a scene from the Welcome screen
1. In the Name field, type the scene’s name.
NOTE
The scene name should not exceed 23 characters and cannot contain special
characters, such as *&^%!.
2. To decide in which directory the scene will be created, click the Browse button next to the Location
field.
3. From the Camera Size menu, select a scene resolution.
4. Click on Create Scene.
A new scene is created. The main application window will appear with your new scene opened in it.
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Chapter 1: Project Creation
How to create a new scene from the File menu
1. Do one of the following:
l From the top menu, select File > New.
l In the File toolbar, click the New button.
l Press Ctrl + N (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + N (macOS).
The New Scene dialog box opens.
2. In the Project Name field, type the scene's name.
3. Select a scene directory by clicking the Browse button.
NOTE
The scene name cannot exceed 23 characters and cannot contain special characters, such as
*&^%!.
4. In the Resolution window, select the scene’s resolution and click Create.
A new scene is created.
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Harmony 20 Advanced User Guide
Creating Custom Resolutions in Harmony Stand Alone
T-HFND-001-006
You can create your own custom resolution presets for your projects.
How to create a custom resolution
1. Create a new scene from the Welcome screen or from the File menu in Harmony.
2. Set the scene resolution by doing one of the following:
l Select a scene resolution from the Camera sizes drop-down menu.
l Set a custom resolution by changing the values in the Width and Height fields. This
preset will not be saved.
NOTE
The different editions of Harmony support the following maximum render
resolutions:
l Harmony Essentials: 2K (2048x1556)
l Harmony Advanced: 4K (4096x3112)
l Harmony Premium: Unlimited
l Add a new resolution to the list by clicking the Add button. You can delete a
custom resolution from the Resolution list by selecting it, and clicking the Delete
button.
3. In the New Resolution dialog box, fill in the following fields and click Create.
l Resolution Name: Name your new resolution.
l Resolution: Set the width and height of the scene, in pixels.
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Chapter 1: Project Creation
l Field of View: Select how the angle of the field of view should be determined.
l Horizontal Fit: The angle of the field of view is adjusted to the width of the
scene.
l Vertical Fit: The angle of the field of view is adjusted to the height of the scene.
l Custom Fov: Set the angle of the field of view to a custom value.
l Frame Rate: The amount of frames to play each second. You can select one of the
preset frame rates in the Preset drop-down, or type in a custom frame rate in the
Frames per second field.
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Harmony 20 Advanced User Guide
Opening Scenes in Harmony Stand Alone
T-HFND-001-007
You can open scenes from the Welcome Screen and the File menu. You can also open your recent scenes.
How to open a scene from the Welcome screen
1. In the Recent Scenes section, click Open.
The Open Scene browser opens.
2. Browse and select an .xstage file.
3. Click Open.
How to open a scene from the File menu
1. Do one of the following:
l From the top menu, select File > Open.
l In the File toolbar, click the Browse button.
l Press Ctrl + O (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + O (macOS).
The Open Scene browser opens.
2. Browse and select the desired .xstagefile.
3. Click Open.
How to open a recent scene from the Welcome screen
1. In the Open a Scene section, select a scene from the list.
How to open a recent scene from the File menu
1. From the top menu, select File > Open Recent.
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Chapter 1: Project Creation
2. Select a scene from the displayed list.
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Harmony 20 Advanced User Guide
Setting the Scene Length in Harmony Stand Alone
T-HFND-001-009
Once you have opened your scene, you can set its length.
How to set the scene length
1. Select Scene > Scene Length.
The Set Scene Length dialog box opens.
2. In the Number of Frames field, enter the number of frames needed.
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Chapter 1: Project Creation
About Scene Settings in Harmony Stand Alone
T-HFND-001-010
When you created your scene, you set up the resolution and the alignment. However, if you want to change
these settings later, you can do it using the Scene Settings dialog box. The different Scene Settings options are
separated into four tabs.
NOTE
Refer to the Scene Setting dialog box in the Reference guide to learn more about the individual
parameters of the Scene Settings dialog box.
How to access the Scene Settings dialog box
1. In the top menu, select Scene > Scene Settings.
The Scene Settings dialog box opens.
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Harmony 20 Advanced User Guide
About Saving in Harmony Stand Alone
It is important to regularly save your scene. As you make changes to a scene, an asterisk (*) appears in the title
bar beside the scene name to indicate that the scene contains unsaved changes.
To save the current state of a scene as another scene, you can use the Save As command. The Save As window
prompts you to give a new name and choose a different location to this scene before saving it. This will create a
complete scene directory for the new scene. The Save As command is not available in Harmony Server.
It is quite frequent, when working on a scene, to try out different timings, effects, camera motions or
parameters to see which one will work best. Harmony allows you to save several versions of the same scene.
You can also automatically save your work by enabling Auto-Save.
IMPORTANT
When a scene has several versions, the drawings and palettes are the same between all the
different scene versions. You can modify the timing, effects, parameters and camera motions in a
specific scene version, but if you make change to a drawing or a palette, the change will affect all
scene versions.
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Chapter 1: Project Creation
Saving Scenes in Harmony Stand Alone
T-HFND-001-011
You can save your scene, save a new copy or save a new version. Don't forget that saving a new version uses
the same drawings in all versions.
How to save a scene
1. Do one of the following
l In the top menu, select File > Save.
l Press Ctrl + S (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + S (macOS).
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Harmony 20 Advanced User Guide
Saving Scenes as Copies in Harmony Stand Alone
Saving a copy of your scene allows you to choose a new file name and location for your scene.
How to save a scene as a copy
1. Select File > Save As.
2. In the Save As dialog box, browse to the location of the new archive and give the copy of the scene
a new name. The name cannot exceed 23 characters.
3. Click Save.
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Chapter 1: Project Creation
Saving Scenes as New Versions in Harmony Stand Alone
Saving a new version of your scene allows you to save your scene at it's current location, under a new file name.
How to save a new version of a scene
1. Select File > Save As New Version.
The Save Version dialog box opens.
2. In the Save Version dialog box, type the new version name.
3. Click OK.
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Harmony 20 Advanced User Guide
Enabling Auto-Save in Harmony Stand Alone
T-ANIMPA-001-001
You can allow the software to automatically save your scene, as well as decide on the interval of time between
auto-saves.
How to auto-save a scene
1. Do one of the following:
l Windows/Linux: Select Edit > Preferences.
l macOS: Select Harmony Advanced > Preferences.
l Press Ctrl + U (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + U (macOS).
2. Select the General tab.
3. In the Save section, set the Auto-Save parameters:
l Interval (minutes): The frequency at which auto-save happens.
l Inactivity Interval (seconds): When Auto-save is about to take place, it verifies if you
are drawing or doing anything in the application. Auto-save will not happen until you
have stopped using the application for this amount of seconds.
l Ask Before Saving: Before performing an auto-save, you are prompted with a
message to confirm if you want to save or not.
l Enabled: This enables the Auto-save feature. If you do not want the system to
automatically save your work, uncheck this option. Auto-save is off by default.
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Chapter 1: Project Creation
About the File Structure in Harmony Stand Alone
T-HFND-001-008
A Harmony project is composed of several files. The drawings and colour palettes are not embedded in the
project. They are separate linked files. Therefore, if you want to archive or share a project, you require all the
files contained in the folder structure.
Here is an example of the file structure contained in a scene. As you work and use more features, different
folders may appear in your structure.
The Harmony scene folder contains the following folders:
Folder Contents
Contains the images and thumbnails created while drawing in an Annotation
annotation
column in the Xsheet view.
audio Contains all imported audio files.
Contains all the drawing files. The drawings are organized by folders named like
elements
the layers they are associated with.
If the scene was exported from a Harmony Server database, this directory will
environments contain the palettes and templates that were stored in the scene's environment.
Otherwise, it is empty.
Contains the final frames after a render if you are using the default settings of the
frames
Write node in the Node view.
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Harmony 20 Advanced User Guide
If the scene was exported from a Harmony Server database, this directory will
jobs contain the palettes and templates that were stored in the scene's job. Otherwise,
it is empty.
palette-library Contains scene palettes and scene palette list files.
This folder is used when a user links external images to a scene and wants to
timings
store a backup copy in case the link breaks.
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Chapter 1: Project Creation
About Harmony Server
Harmony can be used in database mode (online) via the server connection (Harmony Server) or as a standalone
application (offline).
Several animators can work simultaneously on the same project while the asset library provides users with easy
access to up-to-date media assets. Harmony is scalable; more than 100 staging clients can share animation just
as easily as a few can.
Harmony Server is the link between the client machines and the server. It lets you work on the different
projects stored in the central Harmony database.
At the heart of the Harmony solution is the server, which centralizes all the production assets in a repository.
The server is compatible with Windows, GNU/Linux or macOS. To learn more, refer to the Control Center
Guide.
If you have a Harmony Server license, when you start Harmony, you can opt to either work offline in the
application as a standalone software, or connect to the database to work on projects via the database.
When working with Harmony Server, the scenes and their data are stored directly on the server. No data is
saved or stored on the client machine. The client machines access the database and load the scenes and
drawings directly from the server. Each time the user saves his scene, the data is updated directly on the
server. There are no upload or download operations (check-in, check-out) done between the server and the
clients.
NOTE
If you have a standalone license, you will not have access to the database. You will automatically
start the application in standalone mode.
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Harmony 20 Advanced User Guide
About the Database Structure in Harmony Server
Harmony Server has a client-server configuration linked through a network. Although the user is working on a
client machine, all of the data is saved on the server.
You can compare the Harmony Server structure to a filing cabinet. Every element is structured and follows a
strictly organized hierarchy.
The following production structure hierarchy is used:
l Environment: Production, project, feature film, series—see Environment Structure on page 56
l Job: Episode and sequence from each environment
l Scene: Scene from each job
l Element: Layers and columns from each scene
l Drawing: Drawings from each element
If you imagine the environment as a filing cabinet containing all the folders and information, then the following
structure is used:
l The job is a drawer in the filing cabinet containing all the folders related to the drawer’s topic.
l The scenes are the folders contained in that drawer
l The elements are the papers contained in the folder
l The drawings are the information contained on the paper
A Harmony Server scene can only be saved inside the structure. This maintains structural organization so
nothing is lost. By adhering to this structure, every user working in the database always knows where to find
the scenes to work on.
Environment Structure
Before you create or save any elements in your production, you should decide upon a project name. This should
reflect the content or title. Use the name to create the project’s environment, where you will store all of your
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Chapter 1: Project Creation
production elements.
For example, the environment could be called adventure_movie. An environment can be used for movies,
series, commercials, student work database, etc.
For a series, you can create an environment with the same name as the series, such as smith_family. Then
you can create a job per episode: smep_001, smep_002, and so on. Here is what the letters and numbers
represent:
l sm: The first two letters of the name smith
l ep: Episode
l 001: The number of the episode
For commercials, which are rather short, you can create an environment, such as commercials. Then you can
create one job per commercial: toothpaste, soap, car, and so on. As commercials are short and do not require
splitting into episodes or sequences, you can group them all in the same environment.
For a database of student’s work, you can create an environment and name it with the class or group name,
such as gr402a. Then you can create one job per student: smith_john, robertson_jane. And then store
the different student exercises in separate scenes under their job name.
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Harmony 20 Advanced User Guide
About the Database File Structure in Harmony Server
ForHarmony Server, the scene files as well as user and configuration files are contained within the database
structure. If you want to share or archive a project, you will need to use Control Center to export your data from
the database. If you receive a package from another user or studio, you will also need to use Control Center to
import it in your database. Refer to the Control Center User Guide to learn how.
All Harmony Server directories are located at the root of your file system by default. On Windows, this is at the
root of the C:\ drive. On macOS and GNU/Linux, this is simply referred to as the root directory, or /.
The usa_db directory contains the file structure of the database server. This is
where all the information about the database structure is stored, including the
/usa_db
hierarchy of environment, jobs and scenes, their various settings, user profiles
and the location of the scene data on the network.
The usadata directory is where all the scene data is actually stored. It is stored
in a different directory than the database structure to allow using different
machines to store the database and to store the scene data. There may be
/usadata
several usadata folders, each followed by a number. This occurs when the
server is configured to store scene data on more than one data server, to
expand its storage space.
Although the hierarchy of a database starts with environments, inside which are jobs and inside which are
scenes, the environments and jobs in a Harmony Server database are stored in separate folders in /usa_db.
Hence, while browsing /usa_db, you cannot navigate from an environment to one of its jobs. You must go
directly to the jobs directory to find its content.
Inside a job directory, you will find one folder for each scene contained in the job. This is actually a shortcut that
points to the actual scene data folder of the scene, which is located to one of the /usadata folder for the
database.
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Chapter 1: Project Creation
About Scene Creation in Harmony Server
When working in Harmony Server, you can only open and edit scenes that were already created. To create
scenes, you must use the Control Center module.
For documentation on how to use Control Center to create scenes, refer to the Control Center User Guide.
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Starting Harmony in Server Mode
T-HFND-001-002
You can run Harmony Advanced from your operating system's desktop.
WARNING
On macOS, Harmony and its other applications will not run on the first time unless you right-click
on the application, then select Open. You will be prompted to confirm a security exception, which
will require administrative privileges.
How to start Harmony
1. Depending on your operating system, do one of the following:
l Windows: Do one of the following:
l On the desktop, double-click Harmony Advanced
l Open the Start menu and, in the list of programs, select Harmony 20 Advanced >
Harmony Advanced.
l macOS: In Finder, proceed to Applications > Toon Boom Harmony 20 Advanced and
double-click Harmony Advanced.
l GNU/Linux: In the GNOME top menu, select Applications > Harmony 20 Advanced >
Harmony Advanced.
The Harmony Advanced application launches and displays a splash screen. After the splash screen,
the log-in dialog box appears—see Connecting to the Database in Harmony Server on page 61.
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Chapter 1: Project Creation
Connecting to the Database in Harmony Server
Before you can work in Harmony via Harmony Server, you must be connected to the Harmony database.
How to connect to the Harmony database
1. Start Harmony —see Starting Harmony in Server Mode.
2. In the log-in dialog, select the Connect to Database option.
3. In the User Name field, type in your Harmony username.
NOTE
This username should be provided to you by your project lead or system administrator.
4. Click on OK.
The Database Selector dialog box opens, displaying the environments available in Harmony
database.
You can now navigate to a scene and open it—see Opening a Scene in Harmony Server.
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Harmony 20 Advanced User Guide
About Scenes in Harmony Server
In Harmony Server, you must use Control Center to create scenes. Then, you can open your scenes in Harmony
and configure them, set them up, create several versions and manage those versions.
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Chapter 1: Project Creation
Opening a Scene in Harmony Server
Once you are connected to the database in Harmony, you can open a scene in the database.
How to open a scene in Harmony Server
1. Connect to the database—see Connecting to the Database in Harmony Server on page 61.
The Database Selector appears when you log-in.
2. In the Environments column, select the scene's environment (project, movie, season).
3. In the Jobs column, select the scene's job (episode, sequence).
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Harmony 20 Advanced User Guide
4. In the Scenes column, select the scene.
5. Get the permissions needed for this session by selecting one or several of the following options:
l Get rights to modify the scene: Allows you to modify the selected version of the scene as
well as to manage and overwrite other versions. Other users will not be able to open a
different version of the scene until you close the scene..
l Get rights to modify the scene version: Allows you to modify the currently selected scene
version only. Unless the Get rights to modify the scene option is also checked, you will not be
able to change other versions of the scene. This allows other users to modify different
versions of the scene while you are working on the selected version.
l Get rights to modify the scene assets: Automatically gets the rights to modify all of the
scene's assets, locking other users from making changes to them until you close the scene.
This means that you will have the rights to modify all the scene's versions, drawings,
palettes, its palette list, but not its library folder. If this option is unchecked, drawings and
palettes will be locked unless you unlock them manually. This can allow another user to work
on the scene's drawings and palettes in Paint while you are working on the scene's timing or
staging in Harmony.
6. If this is a heavy scene, check the Cache scene assets locally option. If this option is checked
Harmony will download drawings to your computer before opening the scene and load the
drawings from your computer instead of from the network. Harmony will upload the updated
drawings back to the network when you save, so you do not have to worry about uploading them
manually.
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Chapter 1: Project Creation
NOTE
If this option is checked, it may take a while to download all of the scene's assets when
opening a particularly heavy scene.
7. Choose the version you want to open from the Version menu.
NOTE
The Saved By and Saved Date fields display the user who last saved the selected scene
and the date of the last save.
8. Click on Open.
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Harmony 20 Advanced User Guide
About Scene Settings in Harmony Server
When you create a scene in Harmony Server, its settings such as the scene resolution and framerate are set to
default values. You can change your scene's resolution, framerate, alignment and other settings using the
Scene Settings dialog.
NOTE
Refer to the Scene Setting dialog box in the Reference guide to learn more about the individual
parameters of the Scene Settings dialog box.
How to access the Scene Settings dialog box
1. In the top menu, select Scene > Scene Settings.
The Scene Settings dialog box opens.
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Setting the Scene Length in Harmony Server
How to set the scene length
1. Select Scene > Scene Length.
The Set Scene Length dialog box opens.
2. In the Number of Frames field, enter the number of frames needed.
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About Saving and Scene Versions in Harmony Server
When you use Harmony Server and work in a scene on the database, there are many choices and options
available when you save your work. Specifically, the Advanced Save dialog lets you do the following:
l Save the scene as the current version.
l Save different versions representing different stages of the production of your scene.
l Save different versions representing different scene setups.
l Choose specific assets that you want to save, such as drawings or palettes.
When you open the scene from the database and select the version you want to edit, you can save the changes
you made in the current version or create a new version. The simplest way to save your work is to update the
current version.
You can delete any unnecessary versions using the Versions window.
When working with multiple versions, you may want to merge some of the changes from one version into
another. You may have created a version with some suggestions that you submitted to the director while
continuing to work on the official version. If the director has approved some of the changes, you can go ahead
and import them into the official version.
You might want to save some specific aspects of your scene or save a new version. The Advance Save feature
allows you to do this. Once you have chosen the components to save, you will conclude the procedure by
following the instructions in the section. All the specific components that are selected throughout the different
tabs of the Advanced Save dialog box will be saved.
You can also automatically save your work by enabling Auto-Save.
IMPORTANT
When a scene has several versions, the drawings and palettes are the same between all the
different scene versions. You can modify the timing, effects, parameters and camera motions in a
specific scene version, but if you make change to a drawing or a palette, the change will affect all
scene versions.
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Saving a Scene in Harmony Server
The first time you save a scene in Harmony Server, you will be prompted to create a first scene version. Once
the scene has at least one scene version, you can instantly save to that version every time you make changes to
your scene.
How to save the first version of a scene in Harmony Server
1. Make sure you have the necessary rights to save the current scene version. If you do not, you can
acquire the rights by selecting File > Rights to Modify Scene Version or Rights to Modify Scene in
the top menu.
2. Do one of the following:
l In the top menu, select File > Save.
l In the File toolbar, click on the Save button.
l Press Ctrl + S (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + S (macOS).
When saving the scene for the first time, the Save dialog box opens, prompting you to name the
version.
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3. In the This Version field, enter a relevant name for the current version.
4. In the Description field, if you want, you can enter a short description of the current version.
5. Click on Save.
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Saving a New Scene Version in Harmony Server
You can save different versions of your scene and add descriptions to each version to keep track of the changes
made to a scene over time
How to save a new version of the scene in Harmony Server
1. Make sure that you have the necessary rights to save the current scene version. If you do not, you
can acquire the rights by selecting File > Rights to Modify Scene Version or Rights to Modify
Scene from the top menu.
2. From the top menu, select File > Advanced Save.
The Advanced Save dialog appears.
3. Make sure the Save option is checked.
4. Select the New Version option.
5. In the New Version field, enter a relevant name for the new version of your scene.
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6. In the Description field, if you want, you can enter a short description of the current version.
7. If you want the new version to be marked as the current scene version, make sure the Mark as
Current option is checked. This will make the version you are creating the default version of the
scene, when opening it.
8. Click on Save.
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Deleting Scene Versions in Harmony Server
View a list of the different versions of your scene, along with their corresponding description. Use this
information to delete various versions.
How to delete versions
1. Make sure you have the necessary rights. If you do not, select File > Rights to Modify Scene.
2. Select File > Manage Versions.
The Versions window opens.
3. In the Existing Versions list, select the scene version you want to delete. When a version is selected,
information about it appears in the Description area.
4. Click Delete.
The Confirm Delete Versions dialog box opens, warning you that the operation cannot be undone.
5. Click one of the following:
l Yes: Only if you are absolutely certain that the version can be deleted.
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l No: To cancel the operation and keep the version.
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Merging Scene Versions in Harmony Server
If you have two different versions of a scene that need to be brought together, you can merge them.
How to merge scene versions
1. From the top menu, select Edit > Open Merge Editor.
The Choose Scene Versions for Merge window opens.
2. In the Select Version to Merge Changes From list, select the scene version from which you want to
merge the changes from in your current open version.
In the Use Another Version for Reference section, you can select a different scene version to merge
the changes into, rather than your current version.
3. Click Load.
The Merge Editor opens.
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4. From the right column, select the layers you want to merge the changes from into the reference
version.
5. In the Select Element Range section, set the Start Frame and End Frame fields to indicate from what
frame to what frame you want to take the changes from.
6. Click Merge Selected to complete the operation.
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Advanced Saving in Harmony Server
Use the Advanced Save dialog box to save specific drawings, palettes and palette lists as a version of your
scene.
How to use the Advanced Save dialog box
1. Make sure that you have the necessary rights to save the current scene version. If you do not, you
can acquire the rights by selecting File > Rights to Modify Scene Version or Rights to Modify
Scene from the top menu.
2. From the top menu, select File > Advanced Save.
The Advanced Save dialog appears.
For information on the parameters in the Advanced Save Dialog Box, refer to the Advanced Save
Dialog Box topic of the Reference guide.
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Enabling Auto-Save
You can allow the software to automatically save your scene, as well as decide on the interval of time between
auto-saves.
How to auto-save a scene
1. Do one of the following:
l Windows/Linux: Select Edit > Preferences.
l macOS: Select Harmony Advanced > Preferences.
l Press Ctrl + U (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + U (macOS).
2. Select the General tab.
3. In the Save section, set the Auto-Save parameters:
l Interval (minutes): The frequency at which auto-save happens.
l Inactivity Interval (seconds): When Auto-save is about to take place, it verifies if you
are drawing or doing anything in the application. Auto-save will not happen until you
have stopped using the application for this amount of seconds.
l Ask Before Saving: Before performing an auto-save, you are prompted with a
message to confirm if you want to save or not.
l Enabled: This enables the Auto-save feature. If you do not want the system to
automatically save your work, uncheck this option. Auto-save is off by default.
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About the Scene File Structure in Harmony Server
A Harmony project is composed of several files. The drawings and colour palettes are not embedded in the
project. They are separate linked files. Therefore, if you want to archive or share a project, you require all the
files contained in the folder structure.
Here is an example of the file structure contained in a scene. As you work and use more features, different
folders may appear in your structure.
The Harmony scene folder contains the following folders:
Folder Contents
Contains the images and thumbnails created while drawing in an Annotation
annotation
column in the Xsheet view.
audio Contains all imported audio files.
This is no longer used for new projects. It remains for projects created with older
database
versions of the software.
Contains all the drawing files. The drawings are organized by folders named like
elements
the layers they are associated with.
Contains the final frames after a render if you are using the default settings of the
frames
Write node in the Node view.
palette-library Contains scene palettes and scene palette list files.
stage Contains one .stage file for each version of the scene.
This folder is used when a user links external images to a scene and wants to
timings
store a backup copy in case the link breaks.
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About Global Lock in Harmony Server
Harmony Server has a lock system, referred to as Global Lock, for the different scenes and scene assets.
Because all the data on the server can be accessed directly and modified from any client machine by default,
the scenes are locked. You must obtain the rights to modify scenes in order to save your work on the server.
Only one user at a time can modify a scene. Once a scene is opened on a client machine, other users can only
open the scene in read-only mode. They will not be able to save any modifications.
If you work in standalone mode, you automatically have the rights to modify all drawings and palettes.
Global Lock offers three levels which are available from the Database Selector when you log in to Harmony.
From there, you can select a scene and obtain the rights to modify it by selecting the desired lock option.
A Harmony project can be locked at various levels. Its timing, drawings, version and palettes can be locked.
Locking means that you have the rights to modify a scene or its assets. Other users cannot modify locked items.
If someone tries to open a locked scene, it will be displayed as read-only.
Here are the different lock possibilities:
Lock Description
Controls the Xsheet timing, layers, nodes but not the drawing, palettes, palette-
Scene or Version Lock
lists or templates.
Drawing Lock Only one user can edit and save a locked drawing.
Palette Lock Only one user can edit and save a locked palette.
Palette-list Lock Only one user can edit and save a locked palette-list.
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Library Folder lock Only one user can edit and save into that folder in the Library.
There are several different ways to obtain the rights to modify the scenes. It can be done when the user loads a
scene from Harmony, inside the application once the scene is loaded, or when an environment, job or scene is
created using the Control Center module.
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Acquiring Rights to Loaded Scenes in Harmony Server
If you opened a scene in read-only mode, but realize that you need to modify it, you can easily acquire the
necessary rights without closing and reloading the scene.
Note that it is not possible to acquire the rights to modify the scene assets once the scene is loaded. This
process is done during the initial loading of the scene. To learn more about enabling the rights to modify while
creating environments, jobs and scenes, refer to the Control Center Guide.
How to set the scene's rights after the scene is loaded
1. In the top menu, select File and one of the following:
l Rights to Modify Scene: Allows you to modify the selected version of the scene as well
as to manage and overwrite other versions. Other users will not be able to open a
different version of the scene until you close the scene.
l Rights to Modify Scene Version: Allows you to modify the currently selected scene
version only. Unless the Get rights to modify the scene option is also checked, you
will not be able to change other versions of the scene. This allows other users to
modify different versions of the scene while you are working on the selected
version.
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About Drawing Lock in Harmony Server
The drawings are stored on the server database providing access to them from every client machine. They are
locked to avoid different users from modifying the same drawings simultaneously. Only one person at a time
can get the rights to modify them. The drawing rights are independent from the scene rights because in a
production rush, two users may need to work on the same scene to finish painting the drawings faster. One
user will get the rights for one set of drawings, and the second user the rights to another set of drawings. This
prevents work from being duplicated.
When enabled, the Edit Drawings mode gives you the right to modify drawings, as well as create new
drawings by drawing directly on an empty cell. This mode is enabled by default when you open a scene version
with the rights enabled.
NOTE
If you open the scene with full rights from the Welcome screen or Control Center, the Edit Drawing
mode is not available.
When you disable the Edit Drawing Mode, you can use the Get Rights to Modify Drawings option on a
selection of specific drawings. This is useful when, for example, many users are working on the same scene
during the ink and paint process and they want to split the drawings to paint between them.
Also, once you got the rights to modify drawings, you can release these rights if necessary.
If your system crashes and the drawings remain locked, you can force the release of the rights. You must use
this option carefully as data loss may occur if the scene is currently open and being edited by another person.
Verify that no one else is using the scene prior to forcing the release of the drawing rights.
Since the drawings are stored on the server, you might at times need to refresh the drawings that are
displayed in your scene.
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Locking & Unlocking Drawings in Harmony Server
You can acquire and release the rights to modify drawings when working with Harmony Server.
How to enable the Edit Drawing Mode
l From the top menu, select Edit > Edit Drawing Mode.
How to get the rights on a selection of drawings
1. Make sure that the Edit Drawing Mode is disabled.
2. In the Xsheet view, select the drawings you want to edit.
3. Select Edit > Get Rights to Modify Drawings or press Alt + L.
How to release the rights on a selection of drawings
1. In the Xsheet view, select the drawings you want to release.
2. Select Edit > Release Rights to Modify Drawings or press Alt + Shift + L.
How to force the release of the rights of locked drawings
1. In the Xsheet view, select the drawings you want to release.
2. Select Edit > Force Release Rights to Modify Drawings.
A Warning dialog box opens.
l Click Yes if you want to continue to force the release.
l Click No if you want to cancel the force release.
How to read changed drawings
l Select File > Read Changed Drawings.
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Verifying a Scene's Integrity
The Check Files commandVerifies the integrity of the drawing and palette files in your project. Use the Check
Files dialog box to verify that the data is consistent, correct, and accessible.
How to open the Check Files dialog box
1. From the top menu, select > Check Files.
2. Click Check Colours to open the Check Colours dialog box.
The Check Colours dialog box checks the palette integrity and displays the colour recovery data.
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Chapter 2: User Interface
T-HFND-003-001
Knowing how to manage the Toon Boom Harmony Advanced interface helps you to work efficiently and
organize your workspace conveniently. There are a series of views and toolbars you can use as you perform
different operations. Usually, each person has a specific way of working in the interface and prefer particular
views and toolbars. In this chapter, you will learn about the main elements of the interface and how to manage
them.
NOTE
To learn more about each view's properties, see the Reference guide.
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Changing the Theme Colours
The Harmony interface is set to a dark theme by default. You have the option of switching to a light theme.
How to change the interface theme
1. In the top menu, select Edit > Preferences (Windows/Linux) or Harmony Advanced > Preferences
(macOS) .
The Preferences dialog box opens.
2. In the General tab, in the Options section, uncheck the Use Dark StyleSheet (Requires Relaunch)
check box.
3. Click OK.
4. Close and relaunch Harmony.
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Changing the User Interface Language
Harmony is available in English, Spanish, Japanese, and Chinese.
By default, Harmony will automatically launch in your operating system language if it is one of the supported
languages. Otherwise, it will launch in English.
There are two ways of controlling the language in which Harmony launches:
l By changing the Language preference in the Preferences dialog.
l By launching Harmony from a command line, with the -lang parameter followed by a two-letters
language code.
How to change the user interface language for Harmony
1. In the top menu, select Edit > Preferences (Windows/Linux) or Harmony Advanced > Preferences
(macOS) .
The Preferences dialog box opens.
1. In the General tab, in the Language section, open the Language (Requires Relaunch) drop-down
and select the desired user interface language.
2. Click OK.
3. Close and relaunch Harmony.
How to start Harmony in a specific user interface language from the command line
1. Open a Command Prompt or Terminal window.
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2. Type in the following command, including the quotation marks, but don't press Enter/Return yet.
l Windows: "C:\Program Files (x86)\Toon Boom Animation\Toon Boom
Harmony 20 Advanced\win64\bin\HarmonyAdvanced.exe"
l macOS: "/Applications/Toon Boom Harmony 20 Advanced/Harmony
Advanced.app/Contents/MacOS/Harmony Advanced"
l GNU/Linux: /usr/local/ToonBoomAnimation/harmonyAdvanced_20/lnx86_
64/bin/HarmonyAdvanced
3. Type a space, then type the following parameter depending on which language you want to launch
Harmony in:
l English: -lang en
l Chinese: -lang zh
l Japanese: -lang ja
l Spanish: -lang es
4. Press Enter/Return.
Harmony will launch in the specified language.
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About Menus
T-HFND-003-002
Harmony contains three types of menus from which you can access many commands and options:
Top Menu
The top menu contains most of the commands. Depending on the view you're working in and the element,
some commands are available and others are not. The top menu is always located at the very top of the
interface.
The top menu contains the following categories:
l File
l Edit
l View
l Play
l Insert
l Scene
l Drawing
l Animation
l Windows
l Help
On macOS, there is also a Harmony Advanced category that contains the following commands:
l Preferences
l About
l Quit
View Menu
A view menu contains commands specifically related to that view.
To access a view menu, click the Menu button in the top-left corner of a view.
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A view menu is available in the following views:
l Camera
l Colour
l Drawing
l Function
l Library
l Model
l Perspective
l Script Editor
l Side
l Timeline
l Top
l Xsheet
Quick Access Menu
A quick access menu lets you open a list of the commands you will use most often.
To access this menu, right-click anywhere in a view.
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About Toolbars
T-HFND-003-003
The Harmony user interface contains various toolbars, such as the Tools toolbar and the Edit toolbar, to give
you quick access to various menu commands.
NOTE
Throughout this section, there may be slight differences between your interface and the
illustrations in this guide. This is because the images are taken from Harmony Premium.
Toolbars are separated in two main categories:
l Workspace toolbars are toolbars that have a general purpose. For example, the File, Edit, Workspace,
Advanced Animation and Deformation toolbars at the top, as well as the Tools toolbar on the left, are
workspace toolbars. Those toolbars can be placed at the top, bottom, left or right edge of the application
window. They can also be placed at the edge of specific views if preferred.
l View toolbars are toolbars that are useful for a specific view. For example, the Camera view has a Camera
toolbar at its top. View toolbars can only be displayed inside their respective view. They can be placed at
the top, bottom, left or right edge of their view.
You can display or hide toolbars using the Windows > Toolbars menu. This menu contains all the workspace
toolbars, as well as the view toolbar for all the views that are currently displayed in your workspace.
For example, in the default workspace, you have the Camera and the Drawing views in the same area, and you
can switch between either view by clicking on the Camera or Drawing tab. If the Camera view is the one being
displayed, then the Camera toolbar will be in the list. If the Drawing view is displayed, then the Drawing
toolbar will be in the list instead.
Workspace toolbars can be added to either the general workspace or the inside of a view. For example, you can
add the Edit toolbar to the top of the area occupied by the Camera view instead of the top of the application
window, where it is by default. In the default workspace, the Tool Presets and Art Layer toolbars are placed in
the area where the Camera and Drawing views are, even though they’re actually workspace toolbars.
When a workspace toolbar is added to a view, and several views are placed where this view is, then all those
views will have this toolbar inside of them. For example, if you add the Edit toolbar to the Camera view, it will
also be available in the Drawing view, as both these views share the same space. However, the Camera toolbar
will not be available in the Drawing view as it is specific to the Camera view.
Some toolbars have buttons that are hidden by default to avoid cluttering. You can customize which buttons
are displayed in these toolbars, and in which order they’re displayed—see Customizing Toolbars.
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TIP
Many toolbar buttons have a keyboard shortcut associated to them. You can check which keyboard
shortcut is associated to a button by leaving your mouse cursor over the button for a second. If the
button has a keyboard shortcut, it will be indicated in the tooltip that appears.
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Adding and Removing Toolbars
T-HFND-003-004
You can add toolbars to certain areas of your workspace. The way it works is as follows:
l A workspace toolbar can be added to any edge of the application window, or to the edge of a view in
your workspace.
l A view-specific toolbar can be added to the edge of its respective view only.
NOTE
When a workspace toolbar is added inside a view, and this view shares its area with other views—
like the Camera and Drawing views do by default—the toolbar will remain visible even if you switch
to a different view in this area. For example, if you added the Alignment Guides toolbar to the
Camera view, this toolbar would also be visible in the Drawing view.
How to add or remove a workspace toolbar to the general workspace
1. Do one of the following:
l In the top menu, select Windows > Toolbars and in the sub-menu, select the toolbar you
want to add.
l Right-click on any toolbar that is at the top or side of the workspace, or in the empty space
next to these toolbars, and select the toolbar you want to add in the contextual menu.
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NOTE
In the list of toolbars in the top menu and in the contextual menu of the workspace, the
toolbars listed above the separator are workspace toolbars, and the ones below the
separator are view toolbars.
How to add a view toolbar to a view
1. Do one of the following:
l Click on the tab of the view for which you want to add a toolbar to set the focus on it. Then, in
the top menu, select Windows > Toolbars and select the toolbar you want to add.
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NOTE
In the list of toolbars in the top menu and in the contextual menu of the
workspace, the toolbars listed above the separator are workspace toolbars, and
the ones below the separator are view toolbars.
l In the top area of the view to which you want to add a toolbar, to the left of its tab, right-click
and select the toolbar you want to add in the contextual menu.
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NOTE
In the list of toolbars in the contextual menu of a view, the toolbars listed above
the separator are workspace toolbars, and the ones below the separator are view
toolbars.
How to add or remove a workspace toolbar to a view
1. In the top area of the view to which you want to add a toolbar, left of its tab, right-click and select
the toolbar you want to add in the contextual menu. You can also-right-click on a toolbar inside this
view, if there is any.
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NOTES
l If the workspace toolbar was present somewhere else in your workspace, it will be
removed from its previous position and moved to the view where you just added it.
l In the list of toolbars in the contextual menu of a view, the toolbars listed above the
separator are workspace toolbars, and the ones below the separator are view
toolbars.
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Moving Toolbars
T-HFND-003-005, T-HFND-003-006
You can move toolbars around using drag & drop. This can be used to:
l Reorder toolbars within the same toolbar area.
l Move a toolbar from one edge of the application window or view in which it is located to another edge.
l Hide part of a toolbar with another toolbar.
Which you do depends on the gesture with which you drag the toolbar:
l If you drag the toolbar horizontally you are “sliding” the toolbar. This allows you to move the toolbar over
another toolbar in the same row. When two toolbars share the same space, the toolbar on the right
appears over the toolbar on the left, and the left toolbar’s rightmost buttons are hidden in a pop-up
menu.
Likewise, you can do this with a vertical toolbar by sliding it vertically, in which case the toolbar at the
bottom appears over the toolbar at the top.
l If you drag the toolbar vertically, you “pop” it out of its row. When a toolbar is popped out, you can
reorder toolbars and move the toolbar to another row or to a different edge of the user interface.
Likewise, you can do this with a vertical toolbar, such as the Tools toolbar at the left of the workspace, by
moving it horizontally.
NOTE
You cannot move a toolbar from the edge of the application window to the inside of a view, or vice
versa. If you want to do that, you must add the toolbar where you want it to be located, and it will
automatically be removed from the area where it is currently located. For example, if you want to
move the Edit toolbar from the top of the workspace to the Camera view, all you have to do is add it
to the Camera view—see Adding and Removing Toolbars.
How to move a toolbar around
1. Click and hold the handle at the left of the toolbar you want to move.
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2. Do one of the following:
l If the toolbar is horizontal, move it up or down to make it pop out of its row.
l If the toolbar is vertical, move it left or right to make it pop out of its column.
3. Do one of the following:
l To reorder toolbars, drag the toolbar where you want it to be located and drop it.
The toolbar will move to its new position. Toolbars to the right (or to the bottom, if the toolbar
is vertical) will be offset to make space for it.
l To move the toolbar to a new row or to a new column, simply move the toolbar where the
new row or column should be created. For example, to create a new row of toolbars at the top
of the user interface, move it just below the existing toolbars at the top of the user interface.
A new row or column will appear, highlighted in cyan.
When you drop the toolbar, the new row will be created and the toolbar will be placed at the
left end of the row.
Likewise, to create a new column at the left of the user interface, move the toolbar just right
of the existing toolbars at the left of the user interface.
l To move the toolbar to another edge of the user interface, drag it all the way to that edge of
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the user interface.
How to move a toolbar over another toolbar
1. Make sure both toolbars are in the same row or column. If they are not, move both toolbars to the
same row or column using the method previously described.
l If the toolbars are horizontal, click and hold the handle at the left of the rightmost toolbar.
Then, without going outside of the toolbar’s row, slide the toolbar towards the left.
l If the toolbars are vertical, click and hold the handle at the top of the bottom toolbar. Then,
without going outside of the toolbar’s column, slide the toolbar up.
As you slide the toolbar over the other toolbar, the other toolbar’s buttons become hidden and a
pop-up menu button appear.
2. To separate the toolbars again, simply slide the same toolbar in the opposite direction.
3. To expand a toolbar that is overlapped by another toolbar, click on the expand button at the right of
the overlapped toolbar.
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Customizing Toolbars
T-HFND-003-007
Some toolbars have buttons that are hidden by default to prevent clutter. You can customize which buttons are
displayed in these toolbars, as well as the order in which the buttons are displayed.
How to customize a toolbar
1. Right-click on the toolbar that you want to customize.
2. In the context menu, select Customize.
The Toolbar Manager dialog appears.
NOTES
l If the Customize option is greyed out, this toolbar cannot be customized.
l The Tools toolbar can only be customized in Flat Tools Toolbar mode—see Enabling
the Flat Toolbar.
3. To add a new toolbar button, select the button you want to add from the Available Tools list, then
click on the Add the selected tool into the toolbar button.
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The button will be removed from the Available Tools list and added to the Toolbar list.
4. To remove a button from the toolbar, select it in the Toolbar list, then click on the Remove the
selected tool from the toolbar button.
The button will be removed from the Toolbar list and added to the Available Tools list.
5. To reorder the buttons in the toolbar, select a button in the Toolbar list, then use the Move the tool
up and Move the tool down buttons to change the button’s order. The order of the tools in the
toolbar from left to right is the same as the order of the buttons in the Toolbar list from top to
bottom.
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6. Click OK when you are done customizing the toolbar.
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Enabling the Flat Toolbar
By default, the Tools toolbar hides some of its tools inside pop-up menus. For example, to select the Cutter
tool, you must double-click or long-click the Select tool button, and select Cutter in the pop-up menu.
However, it is possible to make the Tools toolbar display each tool as a separate button by enabling the Flat
Tools Toolbar preference. This makes the selection of tools quicker.
How to make every tool in the Tools toolbar display in buttons rather than pop-up
menus
1. Do one of the following to open the Preferences dialog:
l Windows or GNU/Linux:
l In the top menu, select Edit > Preferences.
l Press Ctrl + U.
l macOS:
l In the top menu, select Harmony Advanced > Preferences.
l Press ⌘ + U.
2. Select the General tab.
3. In the Options section, check the Flat Tool Toolbar option.
4. Click OK.
5. Close and relaunch Harmony.
NOTE
In Flat Tools Toolbar mode, some tools are hidden from the Tools toolbar by default. To
customize which tools are displayed in the Tools toolbar, and the order in which they are
displayed, right-click on the Tools toolbar and select Customize.
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About Views
T-HFND-003-008
The Harmony interface is composed of different views, each one designed for a specific purpose. You can modify
the location of the views by adding a new view as a tab or as a window. You can also swap the location of a
view.
When a view is active, a red rectangle appears around the view. Keyboard shortcuts and top menu options are
associated with the active view. If a menu option is greyed out, it means it does not apply to the layer, drawing
or other type of selection or the option does not apply to the active view.
Workspace modifications are automatically saved when you exit the application, unless you disable the
Automatically Save Workspace option in the Preferences dialog box.
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Adding Views
T-HFND-003-009
You can easily add views through the top menu or each view.
How to add a view to your workspace as a tab
1. In the top-right corner of an existing view, click the Add View button
2. Select the desired view from the list.
The view appears as a new tab, in the section of your workspace where you added it.
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NOTE
Some views, such as the Camera, Perspective, Library and Model views, can be opened in
multiple instances. For example, this can be useful if you want to have two instances of the
Camera views open, each focused on different areas of your scene, to quickly switch between
working on these two areas.
How to add a view to your workspace as a window
1. Open the Windows menu.
2. In the Windows menu, select the view you wish to add.
The view will appear as a new window over Harmony's main application window.
How to dock a view window to your workspace
1. Click and drag the floating view by its tab and do one of the following:
l Drop the window over another tab to add it to that set of tabs.
l Drop the window above, below or beside an existing view. When you get close to the
edge of a view, a cyan rectangle appears, indicating where the view will be docked.
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NOTE
The view in which you are currently working will have a red square surrounding it, marking is as
your active view.
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Closing Views
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You can close one or multiple views by using their closing button.
How to close a view
1. Click the Close View button.
If there are several tabs in the same view, press Shift and click the Close View button to close all
tabs at the same time.
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Showing and Hiding Views
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You can temporarily show and hide views using the collapsing buttons.
How to temporarily hide a view
1. On the edge of the window you want to hide, click the Collapse/Expand button.
The view is compressed and only the Collapse/Expand button is visible.
2. Click the Collapse/Expand button again to redisplay the view.
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Moving Views
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You can move views by dragging their name tab to a new location.
How to move views
1. Select the view's tab and drag it onto one of the view’s separators, top area or onto another view’s
tab.
2. When a blue rectangle outline appears showing an available location for the view, release the tab to
drop the view into position. One of three things will happen:
l The view becomes a tabbed view.
l The view becomes a floating window.
l The view becomes a new docked view.
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Resizing Views
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You can resize a view by sliding its edges.
How to resize a view
1. Place the pointer on the edge of the view to resize.
2. When you see the Resizing icon, drag the side of the view to the desired size.
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About Preferences
An important feature of Toon Boom Harmony Advanced is the Preferences dialog box. From here you can
customize the behaviour of various user interface elements, as well as drawing and animation tools, and enable
or disable advanced features.
NOTE
For a list of all the preferences as well as their functionality, refer to the Preferences guide.
How to open the Preferences dialog box
1. Do one of the following:
l Windows or GNU/Linux:
l In the top menu, select Edit > Preferences.
l Press Ctrl + U.
l macOS:
l In the top menu, select Harmony Advanced > Preferences.
l Press ⌘ + U.
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About Keyboard Shortcuts
Harmony uses keyboard shortcuts to allow you to quickly use commands you are familiar with without having to
browse through menus and toolbars. Learning the keyboard shortcuts for the commands you use the most
often can be a great way to increase your productivity with Harmony.
Using the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog, you can: check which keyboard shortcuts are assigned to which
commands, you can customize existing keyboard shortcuts, and you can assign keyboard shortcuts to
commands that don't have any.
NOTE
For more information on how to configure keyboard shortcuts as well as a list of commands and
their default keyboard shortcuts, refer to the Keyboard Shortcuts guide.
How to open the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box
1. Do one of the following:
l Windows or GNU/Linux: In the top menu, select Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts.
l macOS: In the top menu, select Harmony Advanced > Keyboard Shortcuts.
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About Workspaces
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The Harmony interface is composed of several views. You can customize your workspace to suit your working
style, save it as a new workspace, and load it from the Workspace toolbar.
The first time you open Harmony, the default workspace is loaded. Other workspaces are available such as the
Hand-Drawn Animation and Compositing workspaces. These display different views and toolbars. You can
access these workspaces, and any others you create, from the Windows menu and the Workspace toolbar.
By default, when you modify the look of a workspace, it is automatically saved. If you prefer to keep your
workspaces as they are and only save the modifications when you really want to, you must disable the
Automatically Save Workspace option.
The Workspace Manager allows you to modify, create, delete, rename and reorder you workspaces. You can
save your workspace as a new version to avoid over-writing the current one. If you do not want to modify the
current workspace, use the Workspace Manager to create another one and then modify that one.
Your customized preferences are stored in the following location and you can save them to either share with
someone else, copy to a second computer or simply back them up.
When working with Harmony Stand Alone, your custom workspaces are stored in:
l Windows: C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Toon Boom Animation\Toon Boom
Harmony Advanced\2000-layouts-xml
l macOS: /Users/[username]/Library/Preferences/Toon Boom Animation/Toon Boom
Harmony Advanced/2000-layouts-xml
l GNU/Linux: /home/[username]/Toon Boom Animation/Toon Boom Harmony
Advanced/2000-layouts-xml
When working with Harmony Server, you workspaces are stored in:
/USA_DB/users/Harmony Advanced/2000-layouts-xml
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Loading Workspaces
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You can load an existing workspace from the drop-down menu.
How to load a workspace
1. Do one of the following:
l Select Windows > Workspace > Workspace.
l Select a workspace from the Workspace toolbar.
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Creating Workspaces
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You can create new workspaces through the Workspace Manager dialog box.
How to create a new workspace
1. Do one of the following:
l In the Workspace toolbar, click the button.
l From the top menu, select Windows > Workspace > Workspace Manager.
2. In the Available Workspaces list, select an existing workspace.
3. At the bottom of the Available Workspaces list, click the Add button to add a workspace.
4. Select the new workspace that was created. Click Rename and give it a new name.
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5. Select the new workspace and click the Right Arrow button to move it to the Workspace
toolbar.
6. Click OK.
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Renaming Workspaces
You can rename a workspace through the Workspace Manager dialog box.
How to rename a workspace
1. Do one of the following:
l In the Workspace toolbar, click the button.
l From the top menu, select Windows > Workspace > Workspace Manager.
2. Choose the workspace to be renamed from the list.
3. Double-click on the workspace to be renamed or click the Rename button. This allows you to edit
the name.
4. Type in the new name of the workspace.
5. Press the Enter/Return key to validate the name.
6. Click OK.
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Saving Workspaces
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You can either save your workspaces automatically or manually.
How to save your workspace as a new version
1. From the top menu, select Windows > Workspace > Save Workspace As.
The Save Workspace As dialog box opens.
2. Type in a workspace name and click OK.
How to disable the Automatically Save Workspace preference
1. From the top menu, select Edit > Preferences (Windows/Linux) or Harmony Advanced >
Preferences (macOS) to open the Preferences dialog box.
2. Select the General tab.
3. In the Options section, deselect the Automatically Save Workspace option.
4. Click OK.
The Save Workspace button appears in the Workspace toolbar.
How to save a workspace manually
1. Do one of the following:
l In the Workspace toolbar, click the Save Workspace button.
l You can also select Windows > Workspace > Save Workspace.
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Deleting Workspaces
You can delete a workspace through the Workspace Manager dialog box.
How to delete a workspace
1. Do one of the following:
l In the Workspace toolbar, click the button.
l From the top menu, select Windows > Workspace > Workspace Manager.
2. In the Workspace Manager, select the workspace to be deleted and click the Left Arrow button
to move it to the Available Workspaces list.
3. Select the workspace from the Available Workspaces list, then click the Delete button to delete
the workspace.
4. Click OK.
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Showing and Hiding Workspaces
You can show and hide workspaces from your drop-down list through the Workspace Manager dialog box.
How to show a workspace
1. Do one of the following:
l In the Workspace toolbar, click the button.
l From the top menu, select Windows > Workspace > Workspace Manager.
2. In the Available Workspaces list, select the workspace to be displayed and click the Right Arrow
button to move it to the Workspace toolbar.
3. Click OK.
How to hide a workspace
1. Do one of the following:
l In the Workspace toolbar, click the button.
l From the top menu, select Windows > Workspace > Workspace Manager.
2. In the Workspace Manager, select the workspace to be hidden and click the Left Arrow button
to move it to the Available Workspaces list.
3. Click OK.
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Reordering Workspaces
You can reorder workspaces in your drop-down list through the Workspace Manager dialog box.
How to reorder workspaces
1. Do one of the following:
l In the Workspace toolbar, click the button.
l From the top menu, select Windows > Workspace > Workspace Manager.
2. In the Workspace toolbar, select the workspace to be reordered and on the Up or Down
buttons to move it up or down.
3. Click OK.
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Restoring the Default Workspace
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You can restore modified workspaces to their original layout.
How to restore the default workspaces
l Select Windows > Restore Default Workspace.
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About Interface Navigation
With the help of menu commands and keyboard shortcuts, some views let you navigate their content by
zooming in, zooming out, panning and rotating them. You can also reset the zoom level, pan and rotation angle
of these views as needed.
The navigation commands in the table below can be used in the following views, with some exceptions:
l Camera
l Drawing
l Perspective
l Timeline
l Xsheet
l Function
l Side and Top
l Model
TIP
Keyboard shortcuts can be customized. You can view, search for and change keyboard shortcuts for
Harmony in the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog. To access the Keyboard shortcuts dialog:
l Windows or GNU/Linux: In the top menu, select Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts.
l macOS: In the top menu, select Harmony Advanced > Keyboard Shortcuts.
Command Action Access Methods
View > Zoom In
Zooms in the
Zoom In Press 2
view.
Roll the mouse wheel up (except in the Timeline and Xsheet views)
View > Zoom Out
Zooms out the Press 1
Zoom Out
view.
Roll the mouse wheel down (except in the Timeline and Xsheet
views)
Roll the middle mouse button up or down.
Zooms in or out of
Zoom In or Out Hold down the Spacebar and the middle mouse button while
the view.
dragging the mouse up or down.
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Command Action Access Methods
Moves the view
Hold down the Spacebar and drag in the direction you want to pan
Pan horizontally or
the view.
vertically.
Resets the view’s View > Reset Pan
Reset Pan pan to its default
position. Press Shift + N
View > Reset View
Resets the view to
Reset View its default Press Shift + M
position.
The Reset View button at the bottom of the Camera view.
Resets the view’s View > Reset Rotation
Reset Rotation rotation to its
default position. Press Shift + X
Resets the view’s
Reset Zoom zoom to its View > Reset Zoom
default position.
Rotates the view While holding Ctrl + Alt (Windows/Linux) or Ctrl + ⌘ (macOS), click
Rotate View
left or right. and drag the rotating disc to rotate it clockwise or counterclockwise.
Rotates the view
in any direction.
While holding Ctrl + Shift (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + Shift (macOS),
3D Rotate View This is only
click and drag the stage to rotate it in any direction.
available in the
Perspective view.
Rotates the
Camera view 30
Rotate 30 CW degrees View > Rotate View CW
clockwise, like an
animation table.
Rotates the
Camera view 30
Rotate 30 CCW degrees counter- View > Rotate View CCW
clockwise, like an
animation table.
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Command Action Access Methods
Temporarily flips
the Camera or
Drawing view
horizontally, View > Mirror View
Mirror View allowing you to In the Camera or Drawing toolbar, click on the Mirror View
view and edit your button.
artwork as if it
was being
mirrored.
Instantly
multiplies the
view's Zoom
Factor by 4. For
example, if the
Toggle Quick
Camera View's Shift + Z
Close-up
Zoom Factor is at
100%, this will
make it toggle
between 400%
and 100%.
Cycles through
the following
display modes:
l Normal
Full-
Screen:
The main
application
window
becomes View > Toggle Full Screen
Toggle Full
full screen.
Screen Press Ctrl + F (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + F (macOS)
l View Full-
Screen:
The
selected
view
becomes
full screen
and all
other
views are
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Command Action Access Methods
collapsed.
l Normal:
The main
application
window is
restored to
its original
size and
collapsed
views are
expanded.
Using the Play Menu to Navigate
From the top menu, you can select any of the following commands from the Play menu to navigate around the
interface.
Command Description
Start Frame Lets you set the frame on which playback will start.
End Frame Lets you set the frame on which playback will end.
First Frame Jump to the first frame. You can also press <.
Jumps to the frame before the frame currently selected in the Timeline view. You
Previous Frame
can also press the comma (,) key.
Jumps to the frame after the currently selected frame in the Timeline view. You can
Next Frame
also press the period (.) key.
Last Frame Jumps to the last frame. You can also press >.
Opens the Go to Frame window in which you can enter the number of the frame
you want to display.
Go to Frame You can also use the Go button, which you can add to the Timeline toolbar
through the Toolbar Manager. Open the Go to Frame dialog box and enter the
frame number to jump to.
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Enable Playback Plays back your animation from the Top, Side, or Perspective views.
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About Documentation
The documentation is a way to help you find answers to your questions about how things work in Harmony.
The documentation of features and procedures exists online, but you can access it through the software.
A simple, but fast way to find a description of certain menu items and preferences is through the Integrated
Help.
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Accessing the Documentation
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The Harmony documentation can be accessed from the Help menu.
How to access the Harmony Advanced documentation
1. From the top menu, select Help > Online Help.
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Using the Integrated Help
If you are unsure about what a certain menu item is in the Top menu or the function of a specific preference in
the Preferences panel, use the Integrated Help.
If you keep the Integrated Help window open for the entire duration of your work session, then you can use the
forward and backward arrows to scroll through a history of the help information that you called up during your
session.
How to use the Integrated Help with Menu Items
1. In the top menu, go to Help > Show What's This or press F1 on Windows/Linux or ⌘ + / on macOS.
The Integrated Help window appears.
2. In the top menu, click on a menu heading to display its contents.
3. Use your mouse to hover over a menu item.
4. Press F1 on Windows/Linux or ⌘ + / on macOS.
In the Integrated Help window, a description of the menu item appears.
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How to use the Integrated Help with Preferences
1. In the top menu, go to Help > Show What's This or press F1 on Windows/Linux or ⌘ + / on macOS.
The Integrated Help window appears.
2. In the top menu, go to Edit > Preferences (Windows/Linux) or Harmony > Preferences (macOS).
The Preferences window appears.
3. In the Preferences window, use your mouse to hover over a preference.
4. Press F1 on Windows/Linux or ⌘ + / on macOS.
In the Integrated Help window, a description of the preference appears.
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How to scroll through the bank of searched items
l In the Integrated Help window, click on the forward or backward arrow buttons.
NOTE
The moment you close the Integrated Help window all searched items will be erased from the
memory bank. In order to keep an on-going record of all the search requests made, you must keep
the window open.
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Chapter 3: Layers and Columns
T-RIG-009-003
Before filling in any values or setting any timing or exposure, you need to create drawing elements. Each
drawing element is represented as a vertical column in the Xsheet view and a horizontal layer in the Timeline
view.
In Harmony, whether you work in the Timeline or Xsheet view, any modification you do to one view will be
applied to both.You can also see your layers displayed in the Node view as nodes.
When you add a drawing element to your scene, a folder is added to the scene directory. This folder is named
the same way as the drawing element and is in fact, linked to the drawing element. Its purpose is to contain all
the drawings related to this element (layer, column). For example, in cut-out animation, a character can have
many heads available. All of the head drawings will be contained in this folder, even if they are not exposed in
the Timeline or the Xsheet view.
Drawings are exposed in cells/frames and linked to the drawings saved in the layer's directory. When you
remove a drawing from a cell/frame, it is not displayed, but still exists in the directory.
When you create a drawing cycle, all of the repeated drawings are linked to the original files. This means that
when you modify, repaint, or correct a drawing named “1,” all exposures of drawing “1” are updated
simultaneously. In order to modify a drawing independently from its other exposures, you must duplicate the
drawing.
NOTE
There are different element types available, such as sound and expression. A sound element
contains sound files. Expressions, Beziers, 3D path, Quadmaps and Pegs are for motion purposes
during the compositing step. It's not necessary to create these types to create your exposure sheet.
You can add drawing elements from the Timeline view, Xsheet view, and the Scene menu.
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Layer and Column Types
A column is also known as a layer. There are several types of layers you can add in the Timeline and Xsheet
view. Each layer is indicated by an icon to help you differentiate them. Some layers are represented differently
in the Xsheet view.
Drawing Layer
The most common layer type is the drawing layer.
Any time you need to create a vector drawing or import a symbol or image, you can use a drawing layer. You
can also create bitmap artwork on a drawing layer.
NOTE
Bitmap images are contained in bitmap layers.
Bitmap Layer
If you import a bitmap images (as original bitmap) in your project, they are inserted in a Bitmap layer. If you
choose to vectorize your image when you import, the vectorized object will be placed on a Drawing layer.
When importing a bitmap image, you have the option of encapsulating the image in a symbol. If you place a
bitmap into a symbol, you will be able to mix vector drawings with it on the same layer.
Camera Layer
You can only have one Camera layer at a time in the Timeline view. By default, there is no Camera layer when
you create a scene. You need to add a Camera layer when you want to create a camera motion.
The Camera layer is not visible in the Xsheet view.
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NOTE
If you want to have several cameras with different settings, you can keep adding Camera layers in
your Timeline view (however, only one will ever be visible at a time as you can only have one camera
at a time in your timeline). To switch to a different camera, select Scene > Camera and select
another camera layer.
Effect Layer
To enhance the look of your scene, you can add effect layers and attach your drawings to them.
When you select the Effect layer in the Timeline view, the effect’s parameter columns are displayed in the
Functions section of the Xsheet view.
Colour-Card Layer
The Colour-Card layer is used to add a plain colour background to a scene. By default, your scene has no
background colour and if you render it as a QuickTime movie or image sequence, it will have a black
background.
This layer is not visible in the Xsheet view.
Group Layer
A Group layer can be used to organize the Timeline view.
You can drag and drop other layers onto a Group layer and then collapse the Group layer to hide these other
layers from view.
Peg Layer
A Peg layer is a trajectory or motion path layer that does not contain drawings. It can be attached to any
drawing layer, cut-out puppet, or other peg layers; they will all follow the trajectory you set in the Peg layer.
When you select the Peg layer in the Timeline view, the peg’s function columns are displayed in the Functions
section of the Xsheet view.
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Quadmap Layer
A Quadmap layer can be described as a deformation transformation layer that does not contain drawings. This
can be attached to any drawing layer, cut-out puppet, or even other Peg layers. They will all follow the
deformation you set in the Quadmap layer.
When you select the Quadmap layer in the Timeline view, the Quadmap’s function columns are displayed in the
Functions section of the Xsheet view.
Sound Layer
You can import sound files to add dialog and sound effects to your project. The sound layer will be added to your
Timeline and Xsheet view when you import a sound file in your scene.
In the Xsheet view, the Sound layer is a dark grey colour.
Advanced Column Types
In the Xsheet view, you can add several advanced column types to create particular animation paths. When
you create these columns, they are not linked automatically to any particular drawing layer. You can create a
motion path using these columns and then link or unlink several drawing or peg layers to it.
Advanced column types include:
• Timing
• 3D Path
• 3D Rotation
• Bezier Curve
• Ease Curve
• Expression
• Annotation
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Adding Layers and Columns
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There are different ways to add a drawing elements (layers and columns) to your project. By default, when you
create a new scene there is one Drawing column in the Xsheet view and one corresponding Drawing layer in
the Timeline view.
When you add an element, it will appear as a column in the Xsheet view, a layer in the Timeline view.
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Adding Layers in the Timeline View
T-LAY-001-007
Drawing elements are more commonly known as layers in the Timeline view. Create them using the following
procedure:
How to add a drawing element from the Timeline view
1. Do one of the following:
l In the Timeline view, click the Add Drawing Layer button.
l In the top menu, select Insert > Drawing.
l Press Ctrl + R (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + R (macOS).
The Add Drawing Layer dialog appears.
2. In the Name field, type in the name for your new layer.
2. Select whether you want the Line Art layer should be Vector or Bitmap.
3. Select whether you want the Colour Art layer should be Vector or Bitmap.
4. Do one of the following:
l Click Add to create this layer, but leave the dialog open so you can create more layers.
l Click Add and Close to create this layer and close the dialog.
A new drawing layer is added to the Timeline view.
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Adding Columns from the Xsheet View
Drawing elements in the Xsheet view are more commonly known as columns. You can add columns using the
following procedure:
How to add a drawing element from the Xsheet view
1. Do one of the following:
l In the Xsheet menu, select Columns > Add Columns.
l Click the Add Columns button.
l Press Shift + C.
The Add Column dialog box opens.
2. In the Name field, type a relevant element name.
3. In the Type field, select Drawing.
4. To complete the operation:
l Click Add and Close to add your new layers and close the dialog box.
l Click Add to add your new layers and keep the dialog box open to add column.
l Click Close to cancel the operation.
The new drawing element appears in the Timeline, Xsheet and Node views—see Layer and Column
Types on page 140.
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Using the Advanced Add Column Dialog Box
How to create a column using the advanced Add Column dialog box
You can use the advanced Add Column dialog box to make more file format and field size options available
when you insert a column.
1. From the top menu, select Edit > Preferences (Windows/Linux) or Harmony Advanced >
Preferences (macOS) and select the Advanced tab.
2. In the Advanced Options section, select the Advanced Element Mode option to access the
advanced Add Column dialog box.
3. Click OK.
4. In the Xsheet menu, select Columns > Add Column or press Shift + C.
The Add Column dialog box opens.
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5. In the Name field, type the new column’s name.
6. In the Type menu, select the Drawing type.
7. In the Element section, select one of the following:
l Create New Element: Creates an independent column with its own drawing folder.
l Use Existing Element: Uses drawings from an existing column in the new column.
Both columns will be attached to the same set of drawings, but their timing will remain
independent from one another. If you modify one of the drawings, it will be modified in
both columns. This is the same principle as the Clone column.
In the Name menu, select the column to which you want to link your new column.
8. If you selected the Create New Element option:
l Deselect the Vector option if you want your layer to contain bitmap images or enable
it if you want the layer to contain vector drawings. Most of the time, the Vector option
will be enabled.
l If you deselected the Vector option, from the Bitmap Format list, select which type of
bitmap image you want to insert in the column. Select the SCAN type if you are
planning to scan drawings using the Toon Boom Harmony Advanced Scan module.
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l If you deselected the Vector option and you chose the SCAN type, from the Scan
Type menu, select what kind of scanning you want to achieve.
l In the Field Chart field, when importing traditional animation, indicate the size of
paper on which the animation or background was drawn. If you are not using
perforated animation paper, leave the 12 field default value as is.
9. Do one of the following:
l Click OK to create the new column and close the dialog box.
l Click Apply to create the new column but keep the dialog box opened to create other
new columns.
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Deleting Layers and Columns
T-HFND-005-004
You can delete an element in the Timeline view or Xsheet view.
How to delete layers in the Timeline view
1. In the Timeline view, select the layers to delete.
NOTE
You can select several contiguous layers by holding down the Shift key, clicking on the
first layer you want to select, then on the last layer you want to select. You can also
select several layers by holding the Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ (macOS) key and
clicking on each layer you want to select.
2. Do one of the following:
l In the Timeline’s Layer toolbar, click the Delete Layers button.
l Right-click on the selection and select Delete.
The selected layers are removed from the Timeline view.
How to delete columns in the Xsheet view
1. In the Xsheet view, select the columns to be deleted by clicking on their header.
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2. Do one of the following
l Right-click on the selection and select Delete Columns.
l In the Xsheet toolbar, click the Delete Columns button.
l Press Del.
The Confirm Delete dialog box opens.
l Select the Delete Drawing Files and Element Folder option if you want to delete the
drawings and folders linked to the selected column.
3. To complete the operation:
l Click OK to delete the selected layers.
l Click Cancel to cancel the operation.
The Warning dialog box may open.
4. Do one of the following:
l Click Yes to delete all the frames from your scene.
l Click No to keep the frames in your scene.
l Select the Don’t Show This Message Again option if you do not want the dialog box
to display again in the future.
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Renaming Layers and Columns
T-LAY-001-008
Once you add layers and columns to your project, you can modify their names.
How to rename a layer in the Timeline view
1. In the Timeline view, double-click on the name of the layer to rename.
A text-input field appears over the name.
2. Type in the new name for your layer and press Enter/Return.
The layer now has the new name.
How to rename a layer in the Layer Properties editor
1. In the Timeline view, double-click anywhere on the layer except the layer name to rename.
The Layer Properties editor opens.
2. In the Name field, rename the layer.
3. Click Close.
How to rename a column
1. In the Xsheet view, double-click on a column name. Do not click on the drawing folder name that the
column is linked to (this also appears in the column header just below the column name).
The Drawing dialog box opens.
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2. In the Name field, rename the column.
3. Click OK.
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Reordering Layers and Columns
You can change the order of your elements in the Timeline view and Xsheet view. When you change the order
of your elements in one view, the other one is updated.
How to reorder layers in the Timeline view
1. In the Timeline view, select the layers to move.
2. Click and drag the selection, then do one of the following:
l Drop the selection between two layers to move it between those layers. A cyan line will
appear between the layers where the selection will be moved.
l Drop the selection onto a layer to rig the selected layers as children over that layer.
How to reorder columns in the Xsheet view
1. In the Xsheet view, click on the column’s header with the middle mouse button.
2. Drag the column to its new position.
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Enabling and Disabling Layers
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You can disable layers so that they do not appear in the rendered image or in the Camera view. This can have
many purposes:
l If you used a layer to sketch rough animation or drawings, ideas or designs, you can disable the layer
permanently once you're done using it as a reference, without deleting the layer.
l If a specific layer, such as an overlay, character or prop, is in the way of the layer you're working on, you
can disable it temporarily to de-clutter the Camera view.
Disabling a layer also hides it from the rendered image. Hence, if you want to hide a layer temporarily, you must
re-enable it before rendering your scene.
Likewise, it is also possible to disable peg layers, which makes the peg's child layers unaffected by the peg's
transformations. You can also disable effect layers to disable their effect.
How to show or hide all layers
1. In the layers toolbar, click on the Enable/Disable All button to enable or disable all layers.
How to show or hide individual layers
1. Do one of the following:
l Click the layer's Enable/Disable button to show or hide that layer.
l Press A to show selected layers or D to hide selected layers.
l Right-click on the selected layer and select Enable > Enable/Disable.
How to enable the selected layer and disable all others
1. Right click on the selected layer and select Enable > Disable All Others.
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Enabling or Disabling Solo Mode on a Layer
Solo Mode allows you to instantly and temporarily hide all layers except for the layer or layers you're currently
working on. Solo Mode can be enabled on one or several layers, and works with the following logic:
l If Solo Mode is not enabled on any layer, then all enabled layers are visible.
l If Solo Mode is enabled on a single layer, then only this layer is visible and all others are hidden.
l If Solo Mode is enabled on several layers, then only these layers are visible and all others are hidden.
While disabling a layer makes it invisible in the rendered image, enabling Solo Mode only affects the preview
image in the Camera view.
NOTES
l If Solo Mode is enabled on a disabled layer, this layer will not be visible in the Camera view.
l If a drawing layer is connected to an inverted Cutter effect, you must enable Solo Mode on both
the drawing layer and the Cutter effect for them to be visible.
How to enable or disable Solo Mode on a layer
1. In the Timeline view, click on the Solo Mode button left of each layer that you want to make
visible in the Camera view.
2. To disable Solo Mode on a layer, click on its Solo Mode button again.
If you have Solo Mode enabled on many layers and you want to quickly go back to only seeing one layer, you
can quickly disable Solo Mode on all but one layers, and enable Solo Mode on that layer.
How to enable Solo Mode on a layer and disable it on all other layers
1. While holding the Alt key, click on the Solo Mode button of the only layer that you want to make
visible in the Camera view.
If you want to quickly turn off Solo Mode for all layers it has been enabled on, you can do so by clicking on the
Toggle solo mode on or off button in the Layers toolbar of the Timeline View.
How to toggle Solo Mode off for all layers
1. In the Layers toolbar of the Timeline view, click on the Toggle solo mode on or off button to
disable Solo Mode on all layers.
2. When you want to enable Solo Mode again, you can do one of the following:
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l To instantly enable Solo Mode again on all the layers on which it was previously enabled, click
on the Toggle solo mode on or off button again.
l To only enable Solo Mode again on a single specific layer, click on the Solo Mode button
for that layer.
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Locking and Unlocking Layers
You can prevent modifications to a layer by locking in it. While a layer is locked, you cannot select it, manipulate
it, draw in it, or change its timing in the Timeline view.
Locking a layer is especially useful if you want to avoid selecting it in the Camera view. Clicking on a locked
drawing with the Transform tool in the Camera view will select whichever drawing is behind it, if there is any.
This can help ensure that backgrounds and, more importantly, foreground elements, remain in place once they
have been properly positioned.
NOTE
When a layer is locked, you can still make changes to its timing in the Xsheet view.
How to lock a layer or a selection of layers
1. In the Timeline view, select one or more layers.
2. Do one of the following:
l From the top menu, select Animation > Lock > Lock.
l Click one of the selected layer’s Lock icon.
l Press Ctrl + Alt + L (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + Alt + L (macOS).
All selected layers are locked.
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How to unlock a locked layer or a selection of locked layers
1. In the Timeline view, select one or more locked layers.
2. Do one of the following:
l From the top menu, select Animation > Lock > Unlock.
l Click a selected layer’s Lock icon.
l Press Ctrl + Shift + K (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + Shift + K (macOS).
All selected layers are unlocked.
How to lock all layers
1. Do one of the following:
l From the top menu, select Animation > Lock > Lock All.
l In the Timeline view, select all layers and click Lock icon of a selected layer.
l Press Ctrl + Shift + L (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + Shift + L (macOS).
All layers are locked.
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How to unlock all layers
1. Do one of the following:
l From the top menu, select Animation > Lock > Unlock All.
l In the Timeline view, select all layers (locked) and click Lock icon of a selected layer.
l Press Ctrl + Alt + Shift + L (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + Alt + Shift + L (macOS).
All layers are unlocked.
How to lock all other layers
1. In the Timeline view, select the layers you do not want to lock.
2. Do one of the following:
l From the top menu, select Animation > Lock > Lock All Others.
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l Press Ctrl + Alt + Shift + O (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + Alt + Shift + O (macOS).
All layers are locked except the selected ones.
How to display locked drawings as outline
1. In the Camera View bottom toolbar, enabled the Outline Locked Drawings option.
2. You can also set this option as a permanent preference. From the top menu, select Edit >
Preferences (Windows/Linux) or Harmony Advanced > Preferences (macOS).
3. In the Preferences dialog box, select the Camera tab.
4. In the Tools section, select the Show Locked Drawings As Outlines option.
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Navigating Layers and Columns
Once a cell is selected in the Timeline or Xsheet view, you can navigate between the drawings, frames, and
layers. Displays the previous drawing, next drawing, previous layer or next layer. using keyboard shortcuts that
work in the Camera, Drawing, Xsheet and Timeline views.
You can navigate through:
• Drawings
• Frames
• Columns
How to navigate through drawings, frames and columns
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select a cell.
2. Once the cell is selected, you can navigate between:
l Previous and next layers: From the top menu, select Drawing > Previous Layer and
Next Layer or press H and J.
l Previous and next drawings: From the top menu, select Drawing > Previous Drawing
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and Next Drawing or press F and G..
l Previous and next frames: From the top menu, select Play > Previous Frame and Next
Frame or press comma (,) and period (.).
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About Clone and Duplicate Layers
At times, you will need to create a large group of characters such as a crowd, school of fish or flock of birds. You
can do this by cloning or duplicating a layer. The difference between cloning and duplicating is that a clone
uses the same drawings for all layers. A duplicated layer is simply an independent copy.
If you want to maintain the ability to modify drawings and propagate the changes through all layers, you
should clone your layer. If you simply want to copy your layers and be able to modify your drawings without
affecting the original layer, use the duplicate option.
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About Clone Layers
A cloned layer is linked to the original element directory. If a drawing is modified in the original or cloned layer,
both will be updated. However, cloned layers can have different timings.
When cloning layers, you have the ability to clone the drawings and the corresponding columns (timing) or
only the drawings. If you choose to clone the drawings and timing, your node will be linked to the same element
folder, as well as the same drawing and function columns. Therefore, if you change the drawing exposure or
keyframe on one layer, all cloned layers will be updated.
You may want to create a large group of characters reusing the same animation, but want to slightly offset the
timing so they're not dancing or walking quite on the same beat. For example, if you create a walk-cycle for a
soldier and want to use it for an entire army, you may want to have 50 layers with 50 different drawing
exposures to produce a slight difference in the timing. If you copy your layers and drawings 50 times over, it will
create a heavier scene. It is better to clone the 50 layers with only their drawings without linking to the same
timing (function and exposure columns).
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Cloning Layers
You can clone layers in several ways. Cloned layers use the same drawings.
How to clone a layer
1. In the Timeline, Xsheet view, select a layer to clone. You can select multiple layers.
2. Do one of the following:
l From the Xsheet menu, select Columns > Clone Selected Columns: Drawings Only or
Columns > Clone Selected Columns: Drawings and Timing.
l From the top menu, select Edit > Clone Drawings Only or Edit > Clone Drawings and
Timing.
l From the Timeline menu, select Layers > Clone Selected Layers: Drawings Only or
Layers > Clone Selected Layers: Drawings and Timing.
l In the Timeline view, right-click on the layers and select Clone Selected Layers:
Drawings Only or Clone Selected Layers: Drawings and Timing.
The cloned layer appears.
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About Duplicate Layers
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You can duplicate a layer to have a copy of the drawings that are independent from the original ones, as well as
an independent timing (exposure). When you need the drawings to be modified independently, you will want
to duplicate the layer instead of cloning it.
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Duplicating Layers
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You can easily duplicate layers. Once duplicated, the layers are completely independent. Drawings are also
duplicated.
How to duplicate a layer
1. In the Timeline, Xsheet view, select one or more layers.
2. Do one of the following:
l In the Timeline menu, select Layers > Duplicate Selected Layers.
l In the Timeline view, right-click on the layers and select Duplicate Selected Layers.
l From the Xsheet menu, select Columns > Duplicate Selected Layers.
l From the top menu, select Edit > Duplicate.
The duplicated layer appears.
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About Sync Layers
Use the Sync Layer feature when you need drawings to be separated on different layers, but to have the same
timing, such as with the front and back of a shirt collar. The drawing exposures of synced layers not only
update automatically, but their drawing substitutions correspond as well, as long as the drawings are labeled
properly.
When using certain drawing tools, such at the Select, Cutter and Reposition All Drawings tools, you can enable
the Apply to Synced Drawings option while you work. To learn more about this option—see the Reference .
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Syncing Two Layers
The Sync Layer feature allows for drawings to be separated on different layers, but to have the same timing.
How to sync two layers
1. In the Timeline view, right-click on the drawing layer you would like to sync with another layer.
2. From the right-click menu, select Sync Layer With.
The Convert to Synced Drawing Layer dialog box opens.
3. From the drop-down list, select a parent drawing layer to sync with the currently selected layer.
4. Click OK.
In the Timeline view, when you click on either of the two synced layers, the other will display the link
icon.
In the right side of the Timeline view, the child layer will update to the parent layer's timing.
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5. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, change the drawing exposure or substitute drawings in either of the
two layers.
The other synced layer immediately updates to the same timing.
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Syncing Multiple Layers
You may want to sync more than two layers. However, once a layer is synced, the Sync Layers menu option
becomes disabled for that layer. In order to sync a layer to a layer that has already been synced, you need to
use the Sync Layers command on the yet unsynced layer.
How to sync multiple layers
1. In the Timeline view, right-click on the drawing layer you would like to sync with an already synced
pair.
2. From the right-click menu, select Sync Layers With.
The Convert to Synced Drawing Layer dialog box opens.
3. From the drop-down list, select the parent drawing layer you would like to sync with the currently
selected layer. This should be a drawing layer already synced with another drawing layer. You can
select either the parent or the child from that linked pair; they both appear in the drop-down list.
4. Click OK.
In the Timeline view, when you click on any of the synced layers, the others will display the link icon.
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In the right side of the Timeline view, the child layer will update to the parent layer's timing.
5. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, change the drawing exposure or substitute drawings in any of the
synced layers.
The other synced layers immediately update to the same timing.
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Creating Synced Layers
Create a new drawing layer to be synced immediately with an existing drawing layer.
How to create a new synced layer
1. In the Timeline view, right-click on the drawing layer you would like to sync with another layer.
2. From the right-click menu, select Add Synced Drawing Layer.
The Add Synced Drawing Layer dialog box opens.
3. In the Add Synced Drawing Layer dialog box, add a single or multiple drawing layers.
4. When you are finished, click Close.
In the Timeline view, when you click on any of the synced layers, the others will display the link icon.
In the right side of the Timeline view, the child layer will update to the parent layer's timing.
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Selecting All Synced Layers
You can select all the drawing layers that are linked to the selected drawing layer, in the Timeline view.
How to select all synced layers
1. In the Timeline view, select a layer that is synced to at least one or more layer.
2. In the view menu , select Edit > Select Synced Layers.
In the Timeline view, all the layers synced to the selected layer become highlighted.
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Unsyncing Layers
Once layers have been synced, they can just as easily be unsynced.
How to unsync layers
1. In the Timeline view, right-click on the child layer of a synced pairing.
2. From the right-click menu, select Unsync Layer.
The parent layer is unsynced and the link icons disappears.
NOTE
If this menu item is disabled, then the selected layer is either the parent layer or a layer that is
already unsynced.
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Editing Synced Layers
Since synced layers are often used to sync together two smaller parts of the same part of a rig, the artwork in
layers that are synced together is often intertwined. Hence, it can be useful to edit the artwork in two or more
layers that are synced together simultaneously.
Several of the drawing tools in the Tools toolbar have a mode specifically made for that purpose, the Apply to
Synced Drawing Layers mode, which can be enabled in the Tool Properties view. When this mode is enabled,
your drawing tool will have affect the currently selected layer as well as any layer that is synced to it.
This mode is available for the following tools: The Select tool, the Cutter tool, the Reposition All
Drawings tool, the Pencil Editor tool, the Edit Gradient/Texture tool, the Eraser tool and the
Paint tool.
How to edit synced layers
1. Make sure you are using the Camera view and not the Drawing view.
2. In the tools toolbar, select either the Select tool, the Cutter tool, the Reposition All
Drawings tool, the Pencil Editor tool, the Edit Gradient/Texture tool, the Eraser tool or
the Paint tool.
3. In the Tool Properties view, there will either be an Apply to Visible Drawing Layers button or an
Apply to Synced Drawing Layers button:
l If there is an Apply to Visible Drawing Layers button, click and hold on it and, in the pop-
up menu, select Apply to Synced Drawing Layers.
l If there is an Apply to Synced Drawing Layers button, click on it to toggle it on.
4. In the Camera view, your can start using your drawing tool. It will affect both the current layer and
its synced layers.
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About Groups
When working with complex rigs, you may want to group layers together to avoid cluttering the Timeline view
and keep your layers organized.
Groups can also be useful if you need to apply the same effect to several layers at once. For example, if
transparency is applied to each individual layer making a character rig, the seams between its body parts will
become visible. Instead, if you group all of the rig's layers together, then add a Transparency effect to the
group, Harmony will compose the layers inside the group into a single image before applying the effect.
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Grouping Layers
You can group layers to keep your Timeline view organized.
How to group layers in the Timeline view
1. In the Timeline view, select the elements you want to group.
NOTE
Any layer between the selected layers will be grouped with the selected layers.
2. Do one of the following:
l Right-click on the highlighted layers and select Group Selection.
l Press Ctrl +Shift + G (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + Shift + G (macOS).
A new Group layer is added to the Timeline view.
If you click on the Expand Group button, you will find the grouped layers rigged as children of
the group layer.
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Ungrouping Layers
If needed you can ungroup layers you have previously grouped together.
How to ungroup layers in the Timeline view
1. In the Timeline view, select the group you want to ungroup.
2. Right-click on the group and select Ungroup.
All the group's layers will be placed outside of the group, and the group will be removed.
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About Annotation Columns
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The annotation columns are useful for marking actions, corrections or other information related to your
animation that you want to draw or write. This way, you can print your Xsheet, take it back to your animation
table and work with the annotations.
Before you can draw in the Annotation column, you must first activate the Enable Drawing option to activate
the Drawing mode. Pen tablet pressure sensitivity is not supported in the annotation column.
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Adding Annotation Columns
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Add annotation columns to mark actions, corrections or other information related to your animation.
How to add an annotation column
1. Do one of the following:
l In the Xsheet menu, select Columns > Add Columns.
l In the Xsheet toolbar, click the Add Columns button.
l Press Shift + C.
The Add Column dialog box opens.
2. In the Name field, type in an appropriate name.
3. From the Type list, select Annotation and click OK.
The new column appears.
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Drawing in Annotation Columns
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In the annotation column, you can draw sketches and ideas that will be useful in producing your animation.
How to draw in the annotation column
1. Do one of the following:
‣ In the Xsheet menu, select Annotation > Enable Drawing.
‣ In the Annotation column header, click the icon in the upper-right corner to cycle through the
icons until the Brush icon is displayed.
The Drawing mode is enabled.
2. To draw in an Annotation column, simply use your mouse or pen tablet.
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Typing in Annotation Columns
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In the annotation column, you can type in your notes and relevant information that will be useful in producing
your animation.
Typing in an annotation column is independent from the Drawing mode. You can be in either mode and the
typing will work. To learn about typing values in the Xsheet view, see Typing Exposures on page 221.
How to type in an annotation column
1. Do one of the following:
l In the selected cell, press Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ (macOS).
l In the selected cell, hold down Ctrl + Shift + click (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + Shift + click
(macOS).
2. In the selected cell, type the desired text.
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Erasing in Annotation Columns
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You can erase part or all of the annotation column’s text and drawn annotations. Annotations that you type in
cannot be erased using this method.
How to erase part of a drawn annotation using Erasing mode
1. In the annotation column header, click the icon in the upper-right corner to cycle through the icons
until the Eraser icon is displayed.
2. In the column, click and drag the cursor on top of the drawn annotation to erase parts of it.
NOTE
When using a pen on a tablet, you MUST flip your pen to the eraser side for the
eraser to work.
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Modifying Annotation Column Pen Options
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You can change the pen size and colour when you draw in the annotation column.
How to modify the pen width
1. In the Xsheet menu, select Annotation > Pen Width and do one of the following:
l Select a pen width preset.
l Select Change Current to display the Pen Width dialog box. In the Pen Width field,
type the number of pixels for the pen size and click OK.
How to modify the pen colour
1. In the Xsheet menu, select Annotation > Change Pen Colour.
The Select Colour dialog box opens.
2. Choose a new colour.
3. Click OK.
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Showing and Hiding Annotation Column Tick Marks
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When working with the annotation columns, it is useful to display tick marks on odd-numbered frames.
To display the tick marks, you must run a short script.
How to display tick marks
1. From the top menu, select Windows > Script Editor.
2. From the Script Editor menu, select File > New Script.
3. Type in a name for your script and click OK.
4. In the File list, select the script you created.
5. On the right side of the view, type the following script:
function display_tick_marks()
preferences.setBool("XSHEET_ANNOTATION_FRAME_MARKER", true);
MessageLog.trace( preferences.getBool("XSHEET_ANNOTATION_FRAME_MARKER", false));
6. Click Verify.
The script is verified.
7. From the Script Editor menu, select Play/Debug > Run.
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A dialog box opens with your script selected in the Files column.
8. In the Functions column, select display_tick_marks and click OK.
Tick marks appear on odd frames in the Annotation column. If you do not see tick marks, close and
restart Harmony.
How to turn off the display of tick marks
1. Follow steps 1 to 5 of How to display tick marks and use the following script:
preferences.setBool("XSHEET_ANNOTATION_FRAME_MARKER", false);
MessageLog.trace( preferences.getBool("XSHEET_ANNOTATION_FRAME_MARKER", false));
2. Follow steps 6 to 8.
All tick marks are removed from the Annotation column.
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Importing Annotation Files
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If you scanned your paper exposure sheet’s annotations or if you need to place some pictures or drawings in the
Annotation columns, you can easily import them.
How to import annotation files
1. In the Xsheet view, select the first cell in the Annotation column where you want the imported
image to start.
2. Do one of the following:
l Right-click on the cell and select Annotation > Import File.
l From the Xsheet menu, select Annotation > Import File.
3. Browse for the bitmap image to import.
4. Click Open.
The image appears in the Annotation column.
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Setting Properties for Many Layers
When working with several nodes/layers, you may need to change certain properties for a lot of layers at once.
For example, you may want to:
l Make all your Drawing layers to use 3D Path type position functions.
l Make all your Peg layers to use Separate type position functions.
l Make all your Drawing layers to apply their embedded pivot on their parent pegs.
l Disable animation on all your Drawing layers.
l Set the mode of all your Composite layers to Pass Through.
l Disable specific art layers on several Drawing layers.
This is common for cut-out productions that need a lot of layers in their character rigs to have a specific
configuration.
The Set Properties for Many Layers dialog allows you to select several layers and to change the following
properties for all the layers in your selection:
l 3D Path or Separate mode
l Use Embedded Pivot
l Overlay On/Off
l Line Art On/Off
l Colour Art On/Off
l Underlay On/Off
l Animate Using Animation Tools
l Composite Mode
How to change properties for several layers
1. Do the following to add the Set Properties on Many Layers script to your Timeline toolbar:
a. Right-click on the Timeline toolbar and select Customize.
The Toolbar Manager dialog will appear.
b. In the Available Tools list, Scroll down to the TB_Set_properties_on_many_Layers in TB_
Set_properties_on_many_Layers.js function.
c. Click on the Add the selected tool to the toolbar button.
d. Click on the OK button.
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2. In the Timeline view, select all the layers for which you want to change properties.
3. In the Timeline toolbar, click on Set Properties on Many Layers button.
The Set Properties on Many Layers dialog appears.
4. Select the value of each property you want to change for all the selected layers:
l 3D path or Separate Mode: Whether you want the Position parameter of the selected Peg
and Drawing layers to use a 3D Path type function or a Separate function for their position
on the x, y and z axes.
l Use Embedded Pivot: Whether you want the selected Drawing layers to apply their
embedded pivot on themselves (Drawing), on their parent peg (Parent Peg) or not at all (Do
Not Use)
l Overlay: Whether to enable the Overlay layer for the selected Drawing layers.
l Line Art: Whether to enable the Line Art layer for the selected Drawing layers.
l Color Art: Whether to enable the Color Art layer for the selected Drawing layers.
l Underlay: Whether to enable the Underlay layer for the selected Drawing layers.
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l Animate Using Animation Tools: Whether to allow users to manipulate and animate the
selected Drawing layers with the animation tools. Setting this to off will make animation tools
work on the Drawing node's parent peg instead.
NOTE
This option only affects Drawing layers, and not Peg layers.
l Composite Mode: Whether the selected Composite nodes should have their mode set to As
Bitmap or to Pass Through.
NOTE
Composite nodes are only available in Harmony Premium.
For each property that you do not want to change for the selected layers, leave As Is selected.
5. Click on the OK button.
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Displaying Layer and Column Properties
Each element has its own set of properties that you can modify, including effect and peg layers.
If you want to modify an element’s properties, you can display the properties of a selected layer in the Timeline
view or selected node in the Node view. If you're working with the Xsheet, you can display its properties as
well. You can display a layer's properties as a window or as a view of its own.
The Layer Properties editor allows you to:
l Rename the layer
l Enable or disable the layer
l Lock the layer
l Change the track colour
l Activate the onion skin preview
l Adjust the positioning and animation parameters
l Adjust many other advanced parameters
The Column Properties editor allows you to:
l Rename the layer
l Enable or disable the layer
How to display a layer's properties
1. Do one of the following:
l In the Layer Properties view is not part of your workspace, from the top menu, select
Windows > Layer Properties. In the Timeline view, select a layer
l In the Timeline view, double-click on a layer.
l Press Shift + E.
The properties display—see Element/Drawing Node in the Reference guide .
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How to display a column's properties in the Xsheet view
1. In the Xsheet view, do one of the following:
l Double-click on a column header.
l Right-click on a column header and select Column Editor.
The properties for the column are displayed.
2. (Optional) To view additional properties, select Edit > Preferences from the top menu.
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3. In the Preferences dialog box, select the Advanced tab, then select the Advanced Element Mode
option.
4. In the Xsheet view, double-click on a column header.
Additional properties for the column are displayed.
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About Layer and Column Display
You can change the way a column in the Xsheet view displays. You can change the way a layer in the Timeline
view or a column in the Xsheet view displays. You can stay organized without changing the content of
elements or your animation output.
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Expanding and Collapsing Layers and Columns
To simplify the look of the Timeline or Xsheet view, you can expand and collapse some of the layers and
columns. If layers are parented to other ones, you can collapse the parent layer to hide its children.
How to collapse or expand selected layers in the Timeline view
1. In the Timeline view, select the layer(s) to collapse or expand.
2. Do one of the following:
l Right-click on the selection and select Collapse/Expand > Collapse/Expand.
l Click the Expand Children button on the parent layer.
l Click the Collapse/Expand button (you may have to customize the toolbar to
display it).
l Press Ctrl + I (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + I (macOS).
How to collapse or expand all layers in the Timeline view
1. Do one of the following:
l Right-click on the layers and select Collapse/Expand > Expand All or Collapse All.
l In the Timeline toolbar, click the Collapse All or Expand All buttons (you may
have to customize the toolbar to display them).
l Press 0 and 9.
How to collapse and expand 3D path or rotation columns in the Xsheet view
1. In the Xsheet toolbar, click the Show Column List button to display the Functions list.
2. In the Xsheet view, select the column header of the 3D path or 3D rotation column to collapse or
expand.
3. Do one of the following:
l Right-click on the column’s header and select Expand/Collapse > Collapse Selection
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or Expand Selection.
l In the Xsheet toolbar, click the Collapse Selection or Expand Selection buttons
(you may have to customize the toolbar to display it).
How to collapse or expand all 3D path and 3D rotation columns in the Xsheet view
Do one of the following:
l Right-click on any column’s header and select Expand/Collapse > Collapse All or Expand All.
l Press 0 and 9.
l In the Xsheet toolbar, click the Collapse All or Expand All buttons (you may have to
customize the toolbar to display it).
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Showing and Hiding Layers and Columns
As you work in the Drawing, Camera or Xsheet view, some layers or columns may be in the way, such as those
that were used as references. You can hide these layers to make your work area less cluttered and easier to
navigate.
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Showing and Hiding Columns
The Xsheet view has a Column List section that displays all the columns contained in the exposure sheet. It can
be used to hide individual columns.
If you need to see a column after it has been hidden, you can display it directly from the Xsheet view without
using the Column List section.
You can also hide a column type, such as Drawing or Sound. When you do this, its corresponding layer is
disabled in the Timeline view.
How to show and hide columns in the Xsheet view
1. In the Xsheet toolbar, click the Show Column List button.
2. On the right side of the Functions section, click the Expand button to display the Column List
section.
3. Do one of the following:
l In the Column List section, select the columns to display and deselect the columns to
hide.
l In the Xsheet toolbar, click the Hide Selected Column button (you may have to
customize the toolbar to display it).
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Showing Hidden Columns
In order to save visual space in the Xsheet view, columns can be hidden from view. The hidden layer's presence
is indicated by a thicker grey line between columns.
How to show hidden columns in the Xsheet view
1. In the Xsheet view, do one of the following:
l Click the thick grey line that represents a hidden column.
l Right-click on the column header and select Show Hidden Columns.
l Press Alt + Shift + H.
The Show Hidden Columns dialog box opens.
2. In the Show column, select the hidden columns you want to display in the Xsheet view.
l Click Check to select all the selected columns.
l Click Uncheck to deselect all selected columns.
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Showing All Columns
In order to save visual space in the Xsheet view, columns can be hidden from view. You can bring all the hidden
columns back into view all at once.
How to show all columns
l In the Xsheet menu, select View > Unhide All Columns.
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Showing and Hiding Column Types
You can hide specific column types from view, in order to work more easily with one aspect of your project. For
example, you could hide all the Drawing columns in the Xsheet, so that you could work more easily with your 3D
Path Columns.
How to show and hide column types using the Column List
1. In the Column List section, click the button corresponding to the column type you want to show or
hide.
Column Type Action
Show/Hide All Columns
Show/Hide Drawing Columns
Show/Hide Function Columns
Show/Hide 3D Path Columns
Show/Hide 3D Rotation Columns
Show/Hide Sound Columns
Show/Hide Annotation Columns
How to show and hide column types using the Column Types Manager
1. In the Xsheet view, select View > Column Types Manager.
The Column Types dialog box opens.
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2. Select the types of columns you want to display and disable the ones you want to hide.
Click Set As Default if you want to make these new settings the default ones used each time you start
Harmony.
Click Restore Default if you want to return the settings to their defaults.
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Customizing the Column Appearance
In Harmony, you can customize the way the column displays drawings, empty cells and the column width.
You can modify the following elements:
l Empty cells
l Row units
l Held exposure
l Column width
How to change the appearance of an empty cell
1. From the Xsheet menu, select View > Empty Cells > With an “X” or Blank.
How to modify row units
1. From the Xsheet menu, select View > Row Units > Frames or Feet.
How to modify the look of a held exposure
1. In the Xsheet menu, select View > Held Exposures > Line or Value.
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How to modify column width
1. In the Xsheet view, select a column.
2. From the Xsheet menu, select View > Set Columns Width.
The Xsheet Column Width dialog box opens.
3. In the Column Width field, enter the desired width in pixels.
4. Do one of the following:
l Click OK to validate and close the dialog box.
l Click Apply to validate the operation and keep the dialog box opened to adjust the
next column’s width.
l Click Set As Default to create all the new columns to this width.
l Click Close to cancel the operation.
5. To restore all columns to the default value, in the Xsheet menu, select View > All Columns to
Default Width.
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Displaying Xsheet Thumbnails
When there are a large number of columns in the exposure sheet, it's not easy to quickly identify a particular
column. Displaying the column thumbnails makes this easier. This option displays a small thumbnail picture of
the current frame below the column header.
NOTE
To display thumbnails in the Timeline view, see Displaying Drawing Thumbnails in the Timeline
View.
How to display the thumbnails
1. Do one of the following:
l In the Xsheet toolbar, click the Show Thumbnails button.
l In the Xsheet menu, select View > Show Thumbnails.
The thumbnails row appear appear underneath the column names.
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Changing Layer and Column Colours
To easily identify elements in the Timeline or Xsheet view, you can change the colour of layers and columns.
How to change the layer’s colour in the Timeline view
1. In the Timeline view, click the Change Track Colour button of the layer you want to modify.
2. In the Select Colour dialog box, select a new colour for your layer.
3. Click OK.
The layer’s background colour is updated. In a Drawing layer, exposed cells are the brighter,
selected colour for easy identification. The corresponding column colour is also updated in the
Xsheet.
How to reset a layer’s colour in the Timeline view
1. In the Timeline view, select the layers to reset.
2. In the Timeline toolbar, click the Default Track Colour button (you may have to customize the
toolbar to display it).
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How to change a column’s colour in the Xsheet view
1. In the Xsheet view, select one or more columns to modify.
2. Right-click on the column’s header and select Colour > Change Columns Colour.
3. In the Select Colour dialog box, select a new colour for your columns.
4. Click OK.
The column’s colour is updated. The corresponding column colour is also updated.
How to reset the column’s colour in the Xsheet view
1. In the Xsheet view, select the columns to reset.
2. Right-click on the column’s header and select Colour > Default Columns Colour.
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Using the Element Manager
The Element Manager window lets you Opens the Element Manager window where you can add, delete or
modify elements (drawing folders) in your scene. If you have drawing folders that are not linked to a column in
your scene, use the Element Manager to delete them if needed. See xref Reference > Windows > Element
Manager.
How to use the Element Manager
l From the top menu, select Scene > Element Manager.—see the Reference guide .
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Chapter 4: Timing
When you create hand-drawn animation traditionally or in a paperless environment, it's important to know
how to set and modify the timing of your drawings.
In a traditional workflow, the person in charge of the digital exposure sheet reproduces the paper exposure
sheet created by the animator. In a paperless workflow, the animator creates and manages their own exposure
sheet directly in Harmony without the need for reproduction.
If you're more of a traditional animator, you will probably work with an exposure sheet. If you're a digital
animator, you may prefer to work with a timeline to visualize your timing. Harmony offers both.
The Xsheet view displays the digital reproduction of a traditional paper exposure sheet used in hand-drawn
animation. You can set the animation sequence's exposure and name the drawings.
The Timeline view is also used to visualize timing, and represents elements and groups of elements as layers.
You can adjust timing in both views; your choice depends on which technique you're accustomed to using.
Depending on your working style, some actions may seem preferable to do in one view instead of another.
Many of the actions you perform in the Xsheet can also be accomplished in the Timeline. This chapter will often
show both techniques. You can choose which one you prefer.
In this chapter, you will learn how to work on your drawing’s exposure and length. The exposure and animation
paths for symbols are covered in separate chapters.
NOTE
The exposure sheet is not mandatory for cut-out animation. It can be useful for creating characters
and parts, but is not really needed for animation and timing. If you plan to work with cut-out
animation, you can still learn useful tips by reviewing the section on exposure sheets.
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About Scene Length
In Harmony, the length of each scene is determined by the amount of frames it contains. You can calculate the
amount of frames your scene requires based on the amount of time it should span over with the formula, in
which l is the scene's length, s is the amount of seconds your scene requires, and fps is the scene's frame rate.
l = s × fps
Likewise, a scene's length in seconds can be calculated with the reverse formula:
s = l ÷ fps
By default, scenes created in Harmony are 60 frames in length. At 24 frames per second, this makes a scene of
2½ seconds in length. You should set your scene's length based on how much time you plan for it to require
after creating your scene so you can plan your animation based on the scene's length. However, it is possible to
adjust your scene's length at any time. You can also insert or remove frames at any point in your scene.
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Setting the Scene Length
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You can set the scene length by entering its exact amount of frames or by adjusting its length using the scene
length bracket in the Timeline view.
How to set the scene's length in frames
1. Select Scene > Scene Length.
The Set Scene Length dialog box opens.
2. In the Number of Frames field, enter the number of frames needed.
How to modify the scene length in the Timeline view
1. In the ruler of the Timeline view, click and drag the red scene length bracket and move it to the left
to shorten the scene or to the right to extend the scene.
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Inserting Frames in a Scene
You can add frames to your scene before or after the currently selected frame(s). All of your scene's animation
before or after the selection will be offset by the amount of frames you added.
How to add frames at the start of a scene
1. Do one of the following:
l In the top menu, select Scene > Frames > Add Frames at Start.
l Right-click in the Xsheet view and, in the context menu, select Frames > Add Frames at
Start.
The Add Frames dialog box appears.
2. In the Number of frames to add field, enter the number of frames you want to add at the beginning
of the scene.
3. If your scene contains scene markers, check Ripple Scene Markers if you want them to be offset
along with the keyframes and drawings. If you want them to remain in place, uncheck this option.
4. Click OK.
How to add frames to the middle of a scene
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the frame where you want to insert frames.
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2. Do one of the following:
l From the top menu, select Scene > Frames > Add Frames Before Selection or Add Frames
After Selection.
l In the Xsheet view, right-click and select Frames > Add Frames Before Selection or Add
Frames After Selection.
l In the Xsheet view toolbar, click the Add Frames button to add frames after your
selection.
l Press Ctrl + G (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + G (macOS) to add frames before the selection, or Ctrl
+ H to add frames after the selection.
The Add Frames dialog box appears.
3. In the Number of Frames to Add field, enter the amount of frames to add to the scene.
4. If your scene contains scene markers, check Ripple Scene Markers if you want the scene markers
after the insertion point to be offset along with the keyframes and drawings. If you want them to
remain in place, uncheck this option.
5. If you want the drawings exposed just before the insertion point to be exposed throughout the new
frames, check Extend Drawing Exposure. If you want the new frames to be empty, uncheck this
option.
6. Click OK.
New frames are inserted before or after the selected frames, depending on which command you
selected.
How to add frames at the end of a scene
1. Do one of the following:
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l In the top menu, select Scene > Frames > Add Frames at End.
l Right-click in the Xsheet view and, in the context menu, select Frames > Add Frames at End.
The Add Frames dialog box appears.
2. In the Number of Frames to Add field, enter the number of frames to add at the end of the scene.
3. If you want the drawings exposed at the end of the scene to be exposed throughout the new
frames, check Extend Drawing Exposure. If you want the new frames to be empty, uncheck this
option.
4. Click OK.
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Removing Frames from a Scene
It is possible to remove frames from your scene. Your scene will be shortened by the amount of selected frames,
and all the animation after the removed frames will move back to close the gap.
How to remove a frame or a range of frames from your scene
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select a frame or a range of frames to remove.
2. Do one of the following:
l In the top menu, select Scene > Frame > Remove Selected Frames.
l Right-click in the Xsheet view and, in the context menu, select Frame > Remove Selected
Frames.
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TIP
If you selected frames in the Xsheet view by clicking and dragging on the frame
numbers like in the screenshot above, or if you selected frames in all the columns in the
Xsheet view, you can also press the Del key. You will be prompted to confirm whether
you want to delete the frames, or just clear the exposure in the selection. To delete the
frames, click Yes.
The Remove Frames dialog box appears.
3. If your scene contains scene markers, check Ripple Scene Markers if you want the scene markers
after the selected frames to be offset backwards along with the keyframes and drawings. If you
want them to remain in place, uncheck this option.
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About Exposure
T-HFND-006-006
In Harmony, exposure is the term used for the link between a cell, which is a single frame in a drawing layer,
and a drawing.
This concept comes from traditional animation. When drawings were finished and ready to be added to the
animation, they would be placed under a camera, and taking one snapshot of the drawing would equate to one
exposure. Hence, exposure is an important concept for planning out the drawings required for your action, as
well as the timing in which they will be displayed as your scene plays out. It is especially important when
drawings are used several times in a scene, which is a common practice to save on production time and costs, as
you can re-use a drawing by exposing it over multiple frames.
In traditional animation, it is typical to plan a scene by filling the exposure sheet with the exposure before
creating the animation. An exposure sheet is made of cells, which represent frames, spread across columns,
representing drawing layers, and the exposure is planned by filling each cell with the identification numbers for
the drawings you plan your scene's action to require. This allows animators to figure out the timing of their
scene's actions and to allocate the amount of drawings each action will require before they start drawing,
removing decision making from the animation process.
In Harmony, you can achieve this process by using the Xsheet view, which is very similar to a traditional
animation exposure sheet. You can fill each cell in your scene's drawing layers with the number of the drawings
you plan to create, at the frames at which you intend to expose them, and set the exposure of each drawing to
the amount of frames you intend them to take.
Filling a cell with a drawing identifier allows Harmony to keep track of which frames should display which
drawings. For example, if you fill cell 1 and 2 of the drawing layer A with the number 5, then start drawing in
cell 1 or 2, Harmony will create the drawing A-5, which will display in layer A when at frame 1 or 2 of your
scene. Otherwise, if you start drawing inside an empty cell, Harmony will automatically create a drawing and
assign it an available drawing number.
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About Creating Exposure
In traditional and paperless animation, it is useful to plan your scene by creating its exposure before creating
the drawings. The most basic method of creating a scene's exposure is by manually entering the name
(typically a number) of each drawing in each cell of each column in your scene using the Xsheet view. However,
Harmony has many tools allowing you to streamline the exposure filling process. If you plan to animate on twos
or threes, Harmony can automatically expose each drawing added to your exposure sheet over the preferred
amount of frames. You can also fill a range of cells with the same drawing, a number sequence, a cycle, or even
random drawing numbers.
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Typing Exposures
T-HFND-006-007
To fill in your exposure, you can type the values directly in the Xsheet view.
If you want to type an exact drawing name or value in the Timeline view, you must use the Parameters section
of the Timeline.
NOTE
You can only use alphanumeric values (0 to 9, a to z) and the underscore (_) and dash (-).
How to type a value in the Timeline view
1. In the Drawing Substitution field, double-click to edit the field and type the name of the drawing
you want to create.
2. Press Enter/Return to validate the value.
How to type a value in the Xsheet view
1. In an Xsheet column, double-click on a cell.
2. Type a value or drawing name in the cell.
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3. Press Enter/Return to move to the next cell.
4. Press Esc to exit the typing mode.
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Setting the Exposure Hold
Drawings in an animation project are often exposed for more than one frame to save on production costs. In
western animation, each drawing is usually exposed on two frames, and in Japanese animation, each drawing is
usually exposed on three frames. In both cases, exceptions can be made for quick or detailed actions that
require precise timing.
In the industry, this type of exposure is known as animation in double or triple frames, or animation on twos or
on threes.
To save time when creating your scene's exposure, you can configure the Xsheet to hold the exposure. This will
make every new exposure you type into the Xsheet exposed for the preferred amount of frames. After you
enter the exposure for a cell, the selected cell will be after this exposure's hold, allowing you to quickly fill a
column with exposure while respecting the selected hold.
How to hold an exposure
1. Do one of the following:
l In the Xsheet menu, select Exposure > Hold Exposure > Hold the desired amount of cells.
l From the top menu, select Animation > Cell > Hold Exposure > Hold the desired amount of
cells.
l Right-click on the Xsheet and select Exposure > Hold Exposure > Hold the desired amount
of cells.
2. Type a value or drawing name in the cell.
3. Type a value or drawing name in the cell.
l Press Enter/Return to move on to the next cell.
l Press Esc to quit the typing mode.
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Toggling Between Inserting and Overwriting Exposure
T-HFND-006-007
In the Xsheet view, you can fill columns using two different filling modes: Overwrite or Insert. These modes
control the filling behaviour. The Timeline view only uses the Overwrite mode.
By default, the Xsheet view is set to Overwrite mode. Adding a new value or a new value sequence overwrites
existing ones. The existing timing sequence remains in the same place and is not pushed down the column.
The Insert mode is the opposite of the Overwrite mode. When you add a new value or a new value sequence
over existing ones, the new values are inserted between the old ones. The existing timing sequence is pushed
down the column.
How to switch between the Overwrite and Insert modes
1. Do one of the following:
‣ In the bottom-right corner of the Xsheet view, click Overwrite/Insert.
‣ Press I.
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Filling a Selection with a Specific Exposure
You can fill a selection with the same drawing using the Fill Selection dialog box. You can fill a selection of a
single drawing, several drawings or even several columns.
How to fill a selection with a specific exposure
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select a cell range.
2. Do one of the following:
l From the top menu, select Animation > Cell > Fill Selection.
l In the Xsheet toolbar, click the Fill Selection button. Note that you may have to add this
button to your toolbar by right-clicking on it and selecting Customize.
l Press Ctrl + T (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + T (macOS)).
The Fill Selection dialog box opens.
3. In the Value field, type the desired value.
4. To insert a key exposure in the frame following the last cell in the selection, select the Add Key
Exposure After option. Otherwise, leave it deselected.
5. Click OK.
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Creating an Exposure Sequence
You can quickly create a sequence with a gesture by holding the Shift key while extending an exposure, or use
the Sequence Fill dialog box to create a custom sequence within your selection. While the former is faster, the
latter allows you to determine your sequence's hold and increment, to create a backward sequence or to
configure it in multiple other ways.
How to extend an exposure to create a sequence
1. In the Xsheet view, select a cell containing a number.
2. In the selected cell, click the red arrow on the cell’s right side. Make sure to see the drag down
cursor.
3. Hold down the Shift key. Make sure a plus sign (+) appears.
4. Pull down the selection box to the desired frame.
NOTE
The red selection box must be visible when releasing the cursor. If not, the action is
considered cancelled.
5. First release the Shift key, then release the mouse button.
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How to fill a selection with a sequence
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select a cell range.
2. Do one of the following:
l From the top menu, select Animation > Cell > Sequence Fill.
l In the Timeline view, right-click and select Exposure > Sequence Fill.
l In the Xsheet toolbar, click the Sequence Fill button (you may have to customize the
toolbar to display it).
l Press Ctrl + M (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + M (macOS)).
The Sequence Fill dialog box opens.
3. In the Starting Value field, type the first number in the sequence.
4. In the Increment field, type the number by which the drawing number will increase from frame to
frame. For example, an increment of 1 gives you: 1-2-3-4; an increment of 2 gives you: 1-3-5-7;
and -2 gives you this: 8-6-4-2.
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Creating an Exposure Cycle
T-HFND-006-008
Once you have entered a series of drawings and exposures, you can create cycles out of them in several ways.
This can be useful for example if you want to make or use a looping character's walking animation, referred to as
a walk cycle.
When you create cycle, each instance of each cycled drawing is linked to the same drawing file. This means
that if you change a drawing for the first instance of the cycle, it will update for every other instance of the
cycle.
NOTE
You can also copy and paste drawings and keyframes into cycles—see Pasting Cycles on page 268.
How to create a cycle
1. In the Timeline view, select the cell range to loop.
2. In the Timeline toolbar, click the Create Cycle button (you may have to customize the toolbar to
display it).
The Create Cycle dialog box opens.
3. Enter the number of cycles you want, including the current selection.
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Filling a Selection with Random Exposure
You can Lets you fill in random values over a selection. You can give a maximum and a minimum value and create
a range for Harmony to choose the random values from. The selection can be over one cell or a cell range in one
column or more or an entire column or many entire columns.
How to fill cells randomly
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select a cell range.
2. Do one of the following:
l Select Animation > Cell > Fill Cells Randomly.
l Right-click on the selection and select Exposure > Fill Cells Randomly.
l In the Xsheet view, click the Fill Cells Randomly button. Note that you may have to add
this button to your toolbar by right-clicking on it and selecting Customize.
The Fill Cells Randomly dialog box opens.
3. In the Minimum Value field, enter the lowest acceptable value.
4. In the Maximum Value field, enter the highest acceptable value.
5. In the Hold field, choose an exposure holding value.
6. If you are applying this option to a drawing column, select the Whole Numbers option to avoid
decimal points.
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7. Click OK.
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Inserting Blank Cells
You can place an empty cell between other cells.
NOTE
Inserting a blank cell never overwrites existing cells, even if the Xsheet view is set to Overwrite
mode. This is because overwriting existing cells with blank cells would replicate the behavior of
deleting exposure.
How to insert a blank cell
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the cell in which you want to insert a blank cell.
2. Do one of the following:
l In the top menu, select Animation > Cell > Insert Blank Cell.
l Right-click and select Exposure > Insert Blank Cell.
l In the Timeline or Xsheet toolbar, click the Insert Blank Cell button. Note that you may
have to add this button to your toolbar by right-clicking on it and selecting Customize.
l Press Shift + J.
A blank cell is inserted.
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Filling Empty Cells
T-LAY-002-005
You can automatically fill gaps between exposures using the Fill Empty Cells command. This will extend the
exposure of cell exposed right before the gap until the end of the gap.
How to fill empty cells
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select a cell range.
2. Do one of the following:
l Right-click and select Exposure > Fill Empty Cells.
l From the top menu, select Animation > Cell > Fill Empty Cells.
l In the Timeline toolbar, click the Fill Empty Cells button.
Each drawing in the selection is exposed in the range of empty cells that follow it.
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Toggling Extending Previous Drawing Exposure
T-HFND-006-005
With the Extend Exposure of Previous Drawing preference enabled, you can configure Harmony to
automatically extend a previous drawing's exposure when creating a new drawing, automatically filling the
gaps as you create drawings.
This preference is enabled by default. If you disable it, gaps between previous drawings and new drawing will
not be automatically filled:
How to enable or disable the Extend Exposure of Previous Drawing preference
1. Open the Preferences dialog box by doing one of the following:
l Select Edit > Preferences.
l Press Ctrl + U (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + U (macOS).
The Preferences dialog box opens.
2. Select the Exposure Sheet tab.
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3. In the Drawing Creation section, check or uncheck the Extend Exposure of Previous Drawing
option.
4. Click OK.
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About Adjusting Exposure
The exposure of drawings in a scene often needs to be adjusted as you flesh out your animation and your
scene's action starts taking form. Your scene's action may require more or less drawings than initially planned,
or some drawings may need to be exposed for longer or shorter times than expected. There are many ways to
adjust your scene's exposure, giving you the flexibility to quickly make changes and test them so you can fine-
tune your animation.
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Increasing Exposures
T-ANIMPA-006-005
Increasing the exposure Adds one more exposure to a selected cell; repeating this action adds an extra cell
each time. This is an efficient way to extend a drawing's exposure and is always set in Insert mode. Increasing
an exposure pushes the existing exposure forward.
How to increase exposure
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select a cell.
2. Do one of the following:
l Press +.
l At the bottom-right corner of the Xsheet view, set the number of cells over which the
drawing will be exposed.
l In the Xsheet toolbar, click the Increase Exposure button.
l Right-click and select Exposure > Increase Exposure.
l From the top menu, select Animation > Cell > Increase Exposure.
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Decreasing Exposures
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Decreasing the exposure removes one exposure from a selected cell and pulls any cells following it to the
beginning of selection. You can do this for one cell or a range.
How to decrease a single exposure
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select a cell.
2. Do one of the following:
l Press -.
l At the bottom-right corner of the Xsheet view, set the number of cells over which the drawing will
be exposed.
l In the Xsheet toolbar, click the Decrease Exposure button.
l Right-click and select Exposure > Decrease Exposure.
l From the top menu, select Animation > Cell > Decrease Exposure.
How to decrease a range of exposures
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select a range of cells.
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2. Do one of the following:
l From the top menu, select Animation > Cell > Clear Exposure and Pull.
l Right-click and select Exposure > Clear Exposure and Pull.
l In the Xsheet toolbar, click the Clear Exposure and Pull button.
The exposure is reduced by the selected number of cells.
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Extending Single Exposures
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Extending the exposure lets you select a cell and extend it to the desired frame.
How to extend an exposure in the Timeline view
1. In the Timeline view, select the cell you want to extend.
2. Do one of the following:
l Right-click and select Extend Exposure.
l In the Timeline View menu, select Exposure > Extend Exposure.
l Select Animation > Cell > Extend Exposure.
l Press F5.
3. In the Extend Exposure dialog box, enter the frame number to extend your cell to.
4. Indicate if you want to insert the new frames before the following exposure or overwrite it. If you
select insert, any following exposure will be moved down. If you select Overwrite, the following
exposure will be erased and replaced by the drawing being extended.
NOTE
You can also select the last cell where you want to extend your drawing to (such
as the last cell of the layer), right-click and select Extend Exposure. You will not
be prompted the dialog box.
How to extend an exposure gesturally
1. In the Xsheet view, select the red arrow in the cell’s right side. Make sure you see the drag down
cursor.
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2. Pull down the selected cell to the desired frame.
NOTE
The red selection box must be visible when releasing the cursor. If not, the action
is considered cancelled.
How to extend an exposure from the top menu
1. Select a cell and do one of the following:
l From the top menu, select Animation > Cell > Extend Exposure.
l Press F5.
The Extend Exposure dialog box opens.
2. Enter the frame number you want to extend the cell to.
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Setting the Exposure
T-HFND-006-009
You can easily increase or decrease the exposure for a selected cell range.
How to set the exposure
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the cell range on which you want to set the exposure.
2. Do one of the following:
l Select Animation > Cell > Set Exposure to > Set Exposure to 1, 2, 3, or Set Exposure.
l In the Timeline toolbar, click one of the Set Exposure buttons. Note that
you may have to add this button to your toolbar by right-clicking on it and selecting
Customize.
l In the Xsheet view, right-click and select Exposure > Set Exposure to > Set Exposure
to 1, 2, or 3, or Set Exposure.
3. If you chose the Set Exposure option, the Set Exposure dialog box opens. Enter the number of
frames you want the drawings to display and click OK.
The new timing is displayed in the Xsheet view.
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Deleting Exposures
You can delete a drawing’s exposure in several ways. When you delete a drawing’s exposure from the Timeline
or Xsheet view, you are not deleting the actual drawing file. You can always retrieve it by typing its name again
in a cell.
You can delete the exposure in a selected cell range or delete the entire exposure of a drawing exposed over
several cells. Note that you can also delete the exposure for drawings inside a collapsed group.
How to delete selected exposures
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the exposure you want to delete.
2. Do one of the following:
l Press Del.
l Right-click and select Delete.
How to clear the entire exposure of a drawing
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select a cell of a drawing exposed over several cells.
2. Do one of the following:
l From the top menu, select Animation > Cell > Clear Exposure.
l In the Timeline view, right-click and select Exposure > Clear Exposure.
l In the Xsheet toolbar, click the Clear Exposure button (you may have to customize the
toolbar to display it).
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Moving Cells
T-ANIMPA-006-007
To readjust your timing, you can drag one or more cells to a new location. You can drag a cell to any other frame
in the same column or into another column.
You can turn off the Gestural Drag mode for the Xsheet view to prevent drawings from being dragged from
one location to another. This feature does not apply to Annotation columns.
How to drag a cell to another location in the Timeline view
1. In the Timeline view, select one or more cells to move.
2. Drag the cells to the new location.
3. Drop the selection by doing one of the following:
l Drop by simply releasing the mouse or pen.
l Hold Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ (macOS) while dropping the selection to copy the
cells. The original cells will not be moved.
l Press Shift while dropping the selection to insert them between existing frames.
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How to drag a cell to another location in the Xsheet view
1. In the Xsheet view, select one or more cells.
2. In the Xsheet view, position the pointer over the small dotted area on the left side of the selected
cells.
3. Drag the selection to any other cell in the same column or in another column.
4. Do one of the following:
‣ Drop the selection to overwrite the existing cells.
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l Hold down Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ (macOS) while dropping the selection to copy
the cells. The original selection will not be moved.
l Press Shift while dropping the selection to insert it between existing frames.
How to turn off the Gestural Drag mode
1. Do one of the following:
‣ In the Xsheet view, right-click and deselect Gestural Drag Mode.
‣ From the Xsheet menu, select Edit > Gestural Drag Mode
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‣ In the Xsheet toolbar, click the Toggle Gestural Drag Mode button (you may have to customize
the toolbar to display it).
The dragging pad disappears on selected cells when the Gestural Drag mode is off.
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Enabling or Disabling Overwriting Exposures and Keyframes During
Drag and Drop
You can change the way the Timeline behaves when you drag and drop a selection of keyframes or drawings
with the Overwrite Exposure and Keyframes during Drag and Drop preference. When this preference is
enabled, dragging and dropping drawings and keyframes in the Timeline view will overwrite the drawings and
keyframes between the selection and the destination, as if the selection "wiped" everything on the way to the
destination. This behavior is more similar to the one observed when manipulating keyframes in Adobe
Animate. If disabled, dragging and dropping a selection in the timeline will simply remove the keyframes and
drawings from the source, and overwrite the destination with them, leaving anything else unaffected.
You can set this mode in two places: the Timeline toolbar and the Preferences dialog box.
How to enable or disable overwriting exposure and keyframes in the Preferences dialog
1. From the top menu, open the Edit (Windows/Linux) or Harmony Advanced (macOS) menu and
select Preferences. In the Timeline tab, check or uncheck the Overwrite Exposures and Keyframes
During Drag and Drop option, then click OK.
2. Open the Timeline tab.
3. In the Paste / Drag & Drop panel, check or uncheck the Overwrite Exposures and Keyframes
During Drag and Drop option.
4. Click OK.
How to enable or disable overwriting exposure and keyframes in the Timeline view
1. In the Timeline toolbar, click the Toggle Override Exposure and Keyframe During Drag and Drop
button. Note that you may have to add this button to your toolbar by right-clicking on it and
selecting Customize.
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About Rippling and Overwriting the Exposure in the Timeline View
T-ANIMPA-006-004
By default, you can only use your mouse to drag and drop frames in the Timeline view. However, if you zoom in
sufficiently, you are able to tweak the exposure of each drawing by clicking and dragging the junction between
two drawings.
Just like in some video editing software, when tweaking the duration of a drawing by dragging its side, you can
decide whether to ripple or overwrite subsequent frames. This is determined by whether you grab the edge of
the drawing by the left or the right side of said edge.
Although not required, this functionality is especially useful when displaying thumbnails in the Timeline view,
as you can preview the exposed drawings as you modify their exposure. As a reference, tweaking exposure in
the timeline is only possible when you zoom in on the timeline at least close enough to fully view the thumbnails
of drawings exposed on two frames. For more information, see Displaying Drawing Thumbnails in the Timeline
View on page 785.
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Changing Exposure and Rippling Drawings in the Timeline View
If you zoom in on the Timeline view, you can change the exposure of individual drawings by grabbing their
right edge with the mouse cursor. If your mouse cursor is just left of the drawing's right edge, a yellow highlight
will appear. This means dragging the drawing's edge will adjust its exposure and ripple the ensuing drawings.
How to extend a drawing's exposure and ripple ensuing drawings in the Timeline view
1. In the Timeline view, enable thumbnails display for your drawing layer by doing one of the following:
l Left of the layer's name in the Layers list, click on the Show Thumbnails icon.
l Select the drawing layer and press T.
l Left of the Layers list header, click on the Show All Thumbnails icon.
NOTE
Displaying thumbnails is not required for tweaking exposure in the Timeline view, but it
is very useful.
2. Zoom in on the Timeline view at least enough to fully display the thumbnails of drawings exposed
on twos, by doing one of the following:
l Drag the Timeline Zoom slider to the right.
l Click on the Timeline view's tab, then press 2 repeatedly.
l Move the mouse cursor in the Timeline view, then hold Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ (macOS)
and roll the mouse wheel up.
3. Move the mouse cursor just left of the right edge of the drawing of which you want to change the
exposure.
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4. Click and drag the right edge of the drawing to change its exposure.
If you move the edge to the right, the drawing's exposure is extended, and all the drawings
exposed after this drawing are moved forward.
If you move the edge to the left, the drawing's exposure is reduced, and all the drawings exposed
after this drawing are moved backward.
NOTE
You can drag the edge further left and completely remove the drawing, making subsequent
drawings overwrite it.
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Changing Exposure and Overwriting Drawings in the Timeline View
If you zoom in on the Timeline view, you can change the exposure of individual drawings by grabbing their
right edge with the mouse cursor. If your mouse cursor is just right of the drawing's right edge, a red highlight
will appear. This means dragging the drawing's edge will adjust its exposure and overwrite ensuing drawings.
How to extend a drawing's exposure and ripple ensuing drawings in the Timeline view
1. In the Timeline view, enable thumbnails display for your drawing layer by doing one of the following:
l Left of the layer's name in the Layers list, click on the Show Thumbnails icon.
l Select the drawing layer and press T.
l Left of the Layers list header, click on the Show All Thumbnails icon.
NOTE
Displaying thumbnails is not required for tweaking exposure in the Timeline view, but it
is very useful.
2. Zoom in on the Timeline view at least enough to fully display the thumbnails of drawings exposed
on twos, by doing one of the following:
l Drag the Timeline Zoom slider to the right.
l Click on the Timeline view's tab, then press 2 repeatedly.
l Move the mouse cursor in the Timeline view, then hold Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ (macOS)
and roll the mouse wheel up.
3. Move the mouse cursor just left of the right edge of the drawing of which you want to change the
exposure.
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4. Click and drag the right edge of the drawing to change its exposure.
If you move the edge to the right, the drawing's exposure is extended, and all the drawing right
after is overwritten.
If you move the edge to the left, the drawing's exposure is reduced, and all the drawing right after is
exposed over it.
NOTE
You can drag the edge further left and completely remove the drawing, making the drawing
right after overwrite it.
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About Drawings
Drawings that are created in Toon Boom Harmony Advanced are not stored in their cells. They are actual files
stored in the project’s folder. If you want to rename a drawing or delete a drawing from your project, you need
to edit the file and not the cells.
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Creating Empty Drawings
T-LAY-003-003
The Create Empty Drawing command automatically Creates a drawing in the selected cell, replacing any
drawing that may already be exposed in that cell and the following ones until it meets another drawing, key
exposure or a blank cell.
How to create an empty drawing
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the cell in which you want to create an empty drawing.
2. Do one of the following:
l In the top menu, select Drawing > Create Empty Drawing.
l In the Xsheet view menu, select Drawings > Create Empty Drawing.
l In the Xsheet view toolbar, click the Create Empty Drawing button.
l In the Timeline view toolbar, click the Create Empty Drawing button.
l Press Alt + Shift + R.
The new drawing is created in the Xsheet and Timeline view.
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Renaming Drawings
T-HFND-005-003
To rename a drawing, you need to select the drawing cell and use the Rename Drawing command.
You can also rename a series of drawings relative to their frame position, which is useful in hand-drawn
animation.
How to rename a drawing
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the drawing to rename.
2. Do one of the following:
l Right-click and select Drawings > Rename Drawing.
l In the Timeline toolbar, click the Rename Drawing button (you may have to
customize the toolbar to display it).
l Press Ctrl + D (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + D (macOS).
The Rename Drawing dialog box opens.
3. In the New Name field, type in the new drawing name.
How to rename a drawing sequence with a prefix
You can rename a drawing sequence with a prefix, which can be quite useful for cut-out puppet
breakdown and deformation animation.
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select a drawing sequence. Note that you can only select a drawing
range in one column or layer at a time.
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2. Right-click and select Drawings > Rename Drawing with Prefix.
The Rename Drawing with Prefix dialog box opens.
3. In the Prefix to Add field, type the prefix to add before the drawing name.
How to rename drawings by their frame position
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the drawing sequence to rename.
2. Select Drawing > Rename by Frame.
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Deleting Drawings
You can permanently delete a drawing file from a project's folder.
NOTE
Deleting a drawing file is an operation that cannot be undone.
How to delete a drawing
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the drawings to delete.
2. Do one of the following:
‣ From the top menu, select Drawing > Delete Selected Drawings.
‣ Right-click and select Drawings > Delete Selected Drawings.
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Duplicating a Drawing
T-LAY-003-004
If you want to modify a drawing that already exists, but keep the original drawing intact, you can duplicate the
drawing and work on the copy. When duplicating a drawing, the exposure at the selected cell is replaced with
the new drawing, up until the next key exposure.
With Toon Boom Harmony Advanced, you can create a keyframe at the same time as you duplicate your
drawing. This way, you can modify and reposition drawings without affecting the original drawing.
How to duplicate a drawing
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the drawing to duplicate.
2. Do one of the following:
l From the top menu, select Drawing > Duplicate Drawings.
l Right-click and select Drawings > Duplicate Drawings.
l In the Xsheet toolbar, click the Duplicate Drawing button.
l Press Alt + Shift + D.
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Copying and Pasting Drawings
When you copy and paste a selection in the Timeline or Xsheet view, you are not copying and pasting the
actual drawings, you are pasting the exposure. Exposure is a property; it is the length of time that a drawing is
visible over a series of frames. In Harmony, exposure is independent of keyframes. That is, keyframes are not
linked to drawings. Keyframes can be moved independently from the drawing exposure.
If you want to copy and paste selected drawings into a different layer or paste the selection in the same layer to
duplicate the drawings, you must use the Paste Special feature.
There are four different ways to paste your selected drawings with the Paste Special dialog box:
When adding exposures to a drawing layer, drawing files will not be created.
Only create drawing files when they do not exist: When adding exposures to a drawing layer,
new drawings will be created only when drawings with the same name do not already exist in
the destination.
Replace existing drawings. Create drawing files when they do not exist: Replace drawings with
the same names to update a scene with new modified drawings and preserve the animation.
Tip: If you don't want to lose the existing animation when pasting a template, such
as when placing new drawings after the animation, then delete the template's
animation. It will still have updated the drawings but not override the existing
animation.
Always create drawing files: When adding exposures to a drawing layer, new drawings will
always be created. If drawing files with the same name already exist, Harmony will create a new
name for the drawing.
If you want to perform another Paste Special operation using the same settings you used previously, you can
use the Paste Special Again command instead. You can paste your selection using the same settings as in the
most recent Paste Special operation, without opening the Paste Special dialog box.
How to paste drawings with the Paste Special command
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the drawings to copy and press Ctrl + C (Windows/Linux) or
⌘ + C (macOS).
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2. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the cell where you want your pasted selection to start.
3. Do one of the following:
l Right-click and select Paste Special.
l From the top menu, select Edit > Paste Special.
l In the Xsheet or Timeline toolbar, click the Paste Special button (you may need to
customize the toolbar to display it).
l Press Ctrl + B (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + B (macOS).
The Paste Special dialog box opens.
4. Select the Basic tab.
5. In the Drawings section, select the Always Create Drawings or Only Create Drawings When They
Do Not Exist option.
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How to paste new drawings with the previous Paste Special settings
1. Do one of the following:
l From the top menu, select Edit > Paste Special Again.
l Right-click and select Paste Special Again
l In the Timeline or Xsheet toolbar, click the Paste Special Again button (you may
have to customize the toolbar to display it).
l Press Ctrl + Shift + B (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + Shift + B (macOS).
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Pasting Reversed
Once you've copied an animated sequence, you can paste back its drawings in the reverse order.
NOTE
You can perform the same operation using the Paste Special dialog box. To open the Paste Special
dialog box, select Edit > Paste Special or press Ctrl + B (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + B (macOS).
How to paste a reversed cycle
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the cell range to paste in reverse order.
2. From the top menu, select Edit > Copy Cell from Timeline or Xsheet or press Ctrl + C
(Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + C (macOS).
3. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the cell where you want your cycles to start.
4. Do one of the following:
l From the top menu, select Edit > Paste Reverse.
l Right-click and select Paste Reverse.
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l Press Ctrl + . (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + . (macOS).
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Pasting Cycles
Once you have created a cycle from an animated sequence, you can paste it anywhere, for as many times as you
like and in any direction that you choose.
How to paste a cycle
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the cell range to loop.
2. From the top menu, select Edit > Copy Cell from Timeline or Xsheet or press Ctrl + C
(Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + C (macOS).
3. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the cell where you want your cycles to start.
4. Do one of the following:
l From the top menu, select Edit > Paste Cycle.
l Right-click and select Paste Cycle.
l Press Ctrl + / (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + / (macOS).
The Paste Cycle dialog box opens.
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5. Do one of the following:
l In the Number of Cycles field, enter the number of cycles you want to paste.
l Increase or decrease the number of cycles you want to paste.
6. In the Cycle Type menu, select the type of cycle you want to paste.
l Normal (forward): Pastes cycles as for all cycles, starting with the first cell of your
selection and ending with the last.
l Reverse: Pastes cycles in the reverse order of the original selection, starting with the
last cell of your selection and ending with the first one.
l Forward > Reverse: Pastes the first cycle in your selection as is, then the following one
in reverse order. This repeated until all cycles are pasted.
l Reverse > Forward: Pastes the first cycle in your selectionin reverse order, then the
following one as is. This repeated until all cycles are pasted.
7. Click OK.
NOTE
You can also paste cycles using the Paste Special dialog instead of the Paste Cycle dialog. The
Paste Special dialog gives you access to the same options along with many other options. To access
the Paste Special dialog, do one of the following:
l Press Ctrl + B (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + B (macOS).
l Right-click on the destination and select Paste Special.
l From the top menu, select Edit > Paste Special.
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Modifying Paste Presets
When pasting key frames and exposures, you can modify the existing presets to your liking. There are three
presets you can modify: the default presets for both key frames and exposures, key frames only and exposures
only.
How to modify paste presets
1. From the Timeline view menu, select Edit > Modify Paste Presets and one of the following options:
l All to edit the default paste preset settings.
l Key Frame to edit the preset settings for pasting key frames.
l Exposure to edit the preset settings for pasting exposures.
The Edit Paste Presets dialog box opens.
2. Refer to the following table and edit the presets as desired.
Parameter Description
Drawings
Never create drawing files: When adding exposures to a drawing layer,
drawing files will not be created.
Add/Remove
Exposure
Only create drawing files when they do not exist: When adding exposures to
a drawing layer, new drawings will be created only when drawings with the
same name do not already exist in the destination.
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Always create drawing files: When adding exposures to a drawing layer,
new drawings will always be created. If drawing files with the same name
already exist, Harmony will create a new name for the drawing.
If there are key exposures that exist on copied drawings, they are preserved
Enforce Key Exposure when pasting. No key exposures are added. This is the default behavior
when pasting.
Fill Gap with
Fills selected area in the Xsheet or Timeline view with the previous drawing.
Previous Drawing
Fill to Next Key
Fills selected area till the next key exposure.
Exposure
Keyframes
Motion: Copies the properties of the selected motion keyframe to the new
frame.
Velocity: Copies the properties of the selected velocity keyframe to the new
frame.
Rotation: Copies the properties of the selected rotation keyframe to the new
Add/Remove frame.
Keyframes
Scale: Copies the properties of the selected scale keyframe to the new frame.
Skew: Copies the properties of the selected skew keyframe to the new frame.
Force Keyframes at Function's Beginning and End: Adds a keyframe to the
beginning and end of the pasted function, reproducing the source function.
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Merging Drawings
There are two methods of merging drawings.
l You can merge selected drawings in adjacent elements. The columns and layers will be left intact, and
each new merged drawing will reside in the frames of the left-most column or lower layer.
l You can merge elements. All drawings will be merged. Unused columns and layers will be deleted, but
the original drawing files are still accessible.
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Merging Selected Drawings
You can merge drawings from adjacent layers or columns. The merged drawings will appear in the lower layer
or left-most column of the two layers or columns selected.
How to merge selected drawings
1. In the Xsheet view, select the drawings to merge.
2. Do one of the following:
‣ In the Xsheet menu, select Columns> Merge Selected Drawings.
‣ In the Timeline menu, select Layers > Merge Selected Drawings.
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3. Do one of the following:
‣ In the Xsheet menu, select Columns > Merge Selected Columns.
‣ In the Timeline menu, select Layers > Merge Selected Layers.
In the Xsheet view, the right-most column will contain the merged drawings and the remaining columns
will be left blank at the corresponding frames. In the Timeline view, the bottom timeline layer will contain
the merged drawings from all layers and the other layers will be left blank at the corresponding frames.
Drawings are not deleted and are still accessible.
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Merging All Drawings
You can merge all the drawings in two layers or columns.
How to merge all the drawings in two layers or columns
1. Do one of the following:
‣ In the Timeline view, select the layers you want to merge.
‣ In the Xsheet view, Shift-click the headers of the columns you want to merge.
‣ In the top menu, select Edit > Merge.
‣ In the Xsheet menu, select Columns > Merge Selected Columns.
‣ In the Timeline menu, select Layers > Merge Selected Layers.
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In the Xsheet view, the right-most column will contain the merged drawings and the other columns
will be deleted. In the Timeline view, the bottom timeline layer will contain the merged drawings
from all layers and the other layers will be deleted. Drawings are not deleted and are still accessible.
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About Frame Markers
Frame markers are simple colour markers that you can add in the Timeline view. They can be added to any
frame, regardless of whether or not it contains a drawing. They can help you organize your scene by marking
important frames in your scene.
Contrary to scene markers, frame markers are placed on a specific frame in a specific layer. They can only be
added to a single frame, and not to a span of frames.
Frame markers also distinguish themselves from drawing markers in that they do not mark drawings, but
frames. They can even be added to frames that do not contain any drawing. They are also only visible in the
Timeline view.
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Adding Frame Markers
You can add frame markers to any frame in your scene, either by right-clicking on a frame in the Timeline view,
or by using the Timeline view menu.
How to add a frame marker
1. In the Timeline view, select the frame you want to mark.
2. Do one of the following:
l Right-click on the frame and, in the context menu, select Mark Frame, then the colour you
want to mark the frame with.
l In the top-left corner of the Timeline view, open the View menu, and select Motion >
Mark Frame, then the colour you want to mark the frame with.
A little square will appear over the marked frame, in the colour your selected.
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Moving Frame Markers
You can move frame markers by dragging and dropping them, just like you would with drawings and
keyframes.
NOTE
If you drag and drop frames containing frame markers, they will be moved along with the frames
regardless of which paste preset is currently selected.
How to move frame markers
1. In the Timeline view, select the frame containing the frame marker you want to move.
TIP
If you want to move several frame markers simultaneously, you can select all the frame
containing the frame markers you want to move.
2. Click and drag on the selection, and drop it where you want the frame marker to be moved.
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Copying, Cutting and Pasting Frame Markers
You can copy and paste, or cut and paste frame markers just like you would with drawings and keyframes.
NOTE
If you copy and paste or cut and paste frames containing frame markers, the frame markers will be
affected regardless of which paste preset is currently selected.
How to copy and paste frame markers
1. In the Timeline view, select the frame containing the frame marker you want to copy.
TIP
If you want to copy several frame markers simultaneously, you can select all the frame
containing the frame markers you want to copy.
2. Do one of the following:
l Right-click on the selection and select Copy cells from Timeline.
l In the top menu, select Edit > Copy cells from Timeline.
l Press Ctrl + C (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + C (macOS).
l In the top-left corner of the Timeline view, open the View menu and select Edit > Copy
cells from Timeline.
3. In the Timeline view, select the frame where you want to paste the copied frame marker.
4. Do one of the following:
l Right-click on the selection and select Paste cells in Timeline.
l In the top menu, select Edit > Paste cells in Timeline.
l Press Ctrl + V (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + V (macOS).
l In the top-left corner of the Timeline view, open the View menu and select Edit > Paste
cells in Timeline.
How to cut and paste frame markers
1. In the Timeline view, select the frame containing the frame marker you want to cut and paste.
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TIP
If you want to cut several frame markers simultaneously, you can select all the frame
containing the frame markers you want to cut.
2. Do one of the following:
l Right-click on the selection and select Cut cells from Timeline.
l In the top menu, select Edit > Cut cells from Timeline.
l Press Ctrl + X (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + X (macOS).
l In the top-left corner of the Timeline view, open the View menu and select Edit > Cut cells
from Timeline.
3. In the Timeline view, select the frame where you want to paste the copied frame marker.
4. Do one of the following:
l Right-click on the selection and select Paste cells in Timeline.
l In the top menu, select Edit > Paste cells in Timeline.
l Press Ctrl + V (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + V (macOS).
l In the top-left corner of the Timeline view, open the View menu and select Edit > Paste
cells in Timeline.
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Removing Frame Markers
You can remove frame markers from the same menu from which you can add frame markers.
How to add a frame marker
1. In the Timeline view, select the frame containing the frame marker you want to remove.
TIP
If you want to remove several frame markers, select all the frames containing the frame
markers you want to remove.
2. Do one of the following:
l Right-click on the frame and, in the context menu, select Mark Frame > Remove Frame
Marker.
l In the top-left corner of the Timeline view, open the View menu, and select Motion >
Mark Frame > Remove Frame Marker.
The frame marker will be removed.
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About Scene Markers
T-ANIMPA-005-010
Scene markers are visual indicators displayed in the frame ruler at the top of the Timeline view.
You can use scene markers to highlight, sort and label parts of your scene. For example, you can indicate the
frames you want to clean up, a change in action, an impact, or where you intend to apply an effect.
Scene markers have a colour, a name, a start frame, a length and a description. Then can mark a single frame or
span over any amount of frames. If you hold the mouse cursor over a scene marker, its name, starting frame,
duration and note will be displayed in the tool tip box.
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Quickly Creating Scene Markers at the Current Frame
You can quickly mark a single frame using the Mark Current Frame command. This creates a scene marker at
the current frame, with no name, description and which does not span over several frames.
When you mark the current frame, the scene marker is created in the same color as the last scene marker you
created or edited, or in black if you haven’t created any scene marker yet. Hence, to select in which colour you
mark the current frame, you can start by creating a scene marker with a specific colour or editing an existing
scene marker with a specific colour—see Creating a Scene Marker and Editing Scene Markers.
How to mark the current frame
1. In the Timeline view, make sure the playhead is set on the frame you want to mark.
NOTE
Even if you right-click on a different frame, the scene marker will be created at the frame
on which the playhead is positioned.
2. Right-click in the timeline ruler and select Scene Markers > Mark Current Frame.
A scene marker is created at the current frame.
TIP
The colour of the new scene marker is the last colour you selected for a scene marker. If this is
the first scene marker you create, then it will be black. Hence, to quickly mark several frames
with a specific colour, simply edit your new scene marker to the colour you want, and all other
scene markers you create afterwards will have that colour by default—see Editing Scene
Markers on page 288.
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Creating a Scene Marker
T-ANIMPA-005-011
Using the Marker dialog, you can create a scene marker on a single frame or a range of frames, and give it a
name, a description and a specific colour if you want.
How to create a scene marker on a frame range
1. In the timeline view, do one of the following:
l To create a marker on a single frame, either move the timeline playhad to that frame, or select
that frame on any layer.
l To create a marker on a range of frames, select that range of frames on any layer.
2. Right-click on the timeline ruler and select Scene Markers > Create Scene Marker.
The Marker dialog appears.
3. If you want the scene marker to have a name, type it in the Name field.
4. To create the scene marker at a different frame than the one you selected, edit the starting frame
number in the Time field.
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5. To change the length in frames for this scene marker, edit the length in the Duration field.
6. Open the Colour drop-down and select a colour for the new scene marker.
7. To add a description or note to the scene marker, type it in the Note field.
8. Click OK.
In the Timeline view, the scene marker is displayed over the selected frame counters.
TIP
Move the mouse cursor over the scene marker and wait 1 second to display the scene marker’s
name, time, duration and note in a tool tip box.
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Moving Scene Markers
You can quickly offset a scene marker by clicking and dragging it. You can also select several scene markers and
offset them together.
How to move scene markerss
1. In the timeline ruler, click and drag on the scene marker you want to move.
How to move several scene markers
1. In the timeline ruler, click on the first scene marker you want to move.
2. While holding the Shift key, click on every other scene marker you want to move to add them to the
selection.
NOTE
When a scene marker is selected, its outline will turn cyan, and other scene markers will
become slightly darker.
3. Click and drag on one of the selected scene markers.
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Editing Scene Markers
You can modify the colour of a scene marker or edit the note attached to it.
How to edit a scene marker
1. In the timeline ruler, click on the scene marker to select it.
NOTE
When a scene marker is selected, its outline will turn cyan, and other scene markers will
become slightly darker.
2. Do one of the following:
l Double-click on the scene marker.
l Right-click on the timeline ruler and, in the context menu, select Scene Markers > Edit Scene
Marker.
The Marker dialog box appears.
1. To edit the scene marker’s name, type it in the Name field.
2. To change the starting frame of the scene marker, edit the value in the Time field.
3. To change the length in frames for this scene marker, edit the value in the Duration field.
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4. To change the colour of the scene marker, open the Colour drop-down and select a new colour.
5. To edit the note for the scene marker, type it in the Note field.
3. Click OK.
TIP
Move the mouse cursor over the scene marker and wait 1 second to display the scene marker’s
name, time, duration and note in a tool tip box.
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Deleting Scene Markers
You can delete unused scene markers.
How to delete scene markers
1. In the timeline ruler, click on the scene marker you want to delete.
NOTE
When a scene marker is selected, its outline will turn cyan, and other scene markers will
become slightly darker.
2. If you want to delete several scene markers, hold the Shift key and click on every other scene marker
you want to delete to add them to the selection.
3. Right-click on the timeline ruler and, in the context menu, select Scene Markers > Delete Scene
Marker.
NOTE
Do not attempt to delete scene markers by pressing the Del key, as that will delete the
currently selected element in your scene instead.
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Setting Tempo Markers
Tempo markers are used to synchronize your animation with a musical score. This lets you reproduce the FPB
(Frames Per Beat) and use the tempo signature as tempo markers. The Xsheet view lets you pace your
animation according to the tempo or beat of the soundtrack music or to any rhythmic sound, such as the ticking
of a clock or water leaking from a spout.
How to set the tempo markers
1. In the Xsheet menu, select View > Set Tempo Marker.
The Tempo Marker dialog box opens.
2. Reproduce the tempo and beat value of your music or sound for the Xsheet view marker display.
‣ Starting Frame: Enter the number of the frame where you want the tempo markers to begin.
‣ Frames/Beat: Set the frames per beat value. This will determine the frequency (in frames) in
which a beat marker will appear. Keep in mind that, by default, 24 frames represent 1 second.
‣ Beat/Bar: Set the tempo of your music or sound. This will determine the frequency (in beats) in
which a tempo marker will appear in the Xsheet view.
3. Click OK.
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Printing the Xsheet
Once you have marked all the information, corrections, and timing you want in the Xsheet view, you can print
your exposure sheet. Printing the Xsheet allows you to take it with you to your animation table or give a copy to
the animator. You can also use it to create your Xsheet skeleton directly in Harmony.
How to print your exposure sheet
1. Select File > Print > Xsheet.
The Print dialog box opens.
2. To set up your print:
l Windows: In the Select Printer section, select your printer and adjust the rest of the
printing settings.
l GNU/Linux: In the Print Destination section, select your printer and adjust the rest of
the printing settings.
l macOS: In the Printer section, select your printer and adjust the rest of the settings by
clicking on the Parameters button. You can also click PDF and select an option
from the menu if you want to save a PDF version of your exposure sheet.
NOTE
Refer to your printer user guide to learn more about its options.
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3. Do one of the following:
l Windows and macOS: Click Print.
l GNU/Linux: Click OK.
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Chapter 5: Drawing
Harmony has many powerful tools, views, and features for sketching, drawing and animating with ease. This
chapter describes the main assets needed when drawing , as well as tips on how to start and use these tools
efficiently.
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About Drawing Tools
Harmony has a wide array of drawing tools and drawing features to allow flexible design, work methods and
styles.
Here are the drawing tools available in Harmony, followed by the types of layer on which they are supported. If
you are editing a vector layer, then all of the tools are available to you. If you are drawing on a bitmap layer,
some tools are not available. When tools are not available, they are grayed out in the Tools toolbar.
Icon Tool Name Vector Layer Bitmap Layer
Select ✓ ✓
Cutter ✓ ✓
Reposition All Drawings ✓
Contour Editor ✓
Centerline Editor ✓
Pencil Editor ✓
Smooth Editor ✓
Perspective ✓
Envelope
Edit Gradient/Texture ✓
Brush ✓ ✓
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Icon Tool Name Vector Layer Bitmap Layer
Pencil ✓
Eraser ✓ ✓
Text ✓ ✓
Line ✓ ✓
Rectangle ✓ ✓
Ellipse ✓ ✓
Polyline ✓
Paint ✓ ✓
Ink ✓
Paint Unpainted ✓ ✓
Repaint ✓
Unpaint ✓ ✓
Stroke ✓
Close Gap ✓
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Icon Tool Name Vector Layer Bitmap Layer
Colour Eyedropper ✓ ✓
Pencil Texture Eyedropper ✓
Each drawing tool has a series of options to customize its behaviour and drawing style. When you select a tool,
the Tool Properties view displays the properties of the currently selected tool, where you can configure your
drawing tool's behavior and style, if applicable.
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About the Brush Tool
T-HFND-004-003
The Brush tool is pressure sensitive and lets you create a contour shape with a thick and thin line effect, as if it
was created with a paint brush.
With the Brush tool, you can draw solid vector strokes or textured bitmap strokes, depending on your brush
properties. Solid vector brush strokes are made of a vector shape filled with a solid colour, making them limited
in terms of art style, but lightweight and easy to manage. Textured brush strokes can have a bitmap brush tip,
a bitmap paper texture, and various settings such as hardness, randomness, antialiasing and transparency.
Hence, they can be used to draw in various art styles, add natural-looking details to your drawing and
reproduce the feel of a real brush stroke.
When drawing on vector layers, you can use the Select Tool, Contour Editor, Smooth Editor, Perspective and
Envelope tool to scale your brush strokes or to tweak their shape. If your strokes contain a bitmap texture,
Harmony will scale or deform the texture to fit the new shape of your brush. If your brush is scaled up or
deformed in a way that takes more volume, Harmony will automatically generate new pixels for the textures,
which might cause them to lose quality.
On vector layers, textured vector brush strokes are composed of a greyscale bitmap mask applied to their
colour. Hence, their colour can be repainted or updated as easily as with solid vector brush strokes. Changing
the colour used to paint a textured vector brush stroke from the colour palette will update the colour in textured
vector brush stroke, as it would with solid vector brush strokes, all the while preserving its texture.
You can also create dynamic brushes, which allow you to use artwork created in Harmony as if it was a brush tip
or a stamp.
NOTE
To learn more about the options of the Brush tool, see the Reference Guide.
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Drawing with the Brush Tool
T-HFND-004-003A
In the Camera or Drawing view, you can draw on any drawing layer type with the Brush tool.
How to draw with the Brush tool on a vector layer
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the cell on which you want to draw.
2. In the Tools toolbar, select the Brush tool or press Alt + B.
3. In the Tool Properties view, set the Maximum Size to the desired brush size.
NOTE
If you are drawing with a mouse, your strokes will always be at their maximum size. If you are
using a pressure-sensitive tablet, your strokes will vary in size depending on the pressure of
your pen, ranging between 25% to 100% of the maximum size.
4. In the Colour view, click a colour swatch to select a colour.
5. In the Drawing or Camera view, start drawing.
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TIPS
l You can quickly adjust the size of the selected drawing tool by pressing and holding the O
key, then clicking and dragging in the drawing space. If you are using a tablet pen, doing
this with the eraser tip of your pen will adjust the size of the Eraser tool, regardless of which
drawing tool is selected.
l If you press and hold the Shift key before or while drawing, you will draw a straight line.
l If you press and hold the Spacebar key while drawing a straight line, the angle of your line
will lock. If you are using a pressure-sensitive tablet, you can draw over your line to adjust its
thickness.
l If you press and hold the Shift and Alt keys before or while drawing, you will draw a
straight horizontal or vertical line.
l If you press and hold the Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ (macOS) key while drawing, your
drawing stroke will turn into a closed shape.
l If you press and hold Alt before drawing a stroke, and start drawing near existing artwork,
the start of your drawing stroke will connect to that artwork.
l If you press and hold Alt while drawing a stroke, and end your drawing stroke near existing
artwork, the end of that drawing stroke will connect to that artwork.
How to draw with the Brush tool on a bitmap layer
1. In the Timeline view, add a bitmap drawing layer.
2. In the Tools toolbar, select the Brush tool or press Alt + B.
3. In the Tool Properties view, set the Maximum Size to the desired brush size. If you are drawing with
a mouse, your strokes will always be at their maximum size. If you are using a pressure-sensitive
tablet, your strokes will vary in size depending on the pressure of your pen, ranging between 25%
to 100% of the maximum size by default.
4. In the Colour view, select a colour.
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5. If you would prefer using Red/Green/Blue sliders, you can switch between HSV and RGB sliders by
doing one of the following:
l Select Colour > Bitmap Colour Sliders > HSV Sliders or RGB Sliders.
l Right-click on the colour sliders and select RGB Sliders or HSV Sliders.
NOTE
Although you can use colours from your colour palette to paint on a bitmap layer, colours
used in a bitmap drawing layer are not linked to their colour swatch in the palette. This
means that, contrary to vector drawing, updating the colours in your colour palette will
not update your bitmap drawings with the new colours.
6. In the Camera or Drawing view, start drawing.
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TIPS
l You can quickly adjust the size of the selected drawing tool by pressing and holding the O
key, then clicking and dragging in the drawing space. If you are using a tablet pen, doing
this with the eraser tip of your pen will adjust the size of the Eraser tool, regardless of which
drawing tool is selected.
l If you press and hold the Shift key before or while drawing, you will draw a straight line.
l If you press and hold the Spacebar key while drawing a straight line, the angle of your line
will lock. If you are using a pressure-sensitive tablet, you can draw over your line to adjust its
thickness.
l If you press and hold the Shift and Alt keys before or while drawing, you will draw a
straight horizontal or vertical line.
l If you press and hold the Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ (macOS) key while drawing, your
drawing stroke will turn into a closed shape.
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Creating a Solid Brush
T-ANIMPA-002-001A
When drawing with the Brush tool on a vector layer, you can use either solid vector brushes or textured vector
brushes. By default, your brush will be a solid vector brush. A solid vector brush creates a vector shape and
simply fills it with the selected colour, making lightweight, simple crisp strokes.
A solid vector brush's tip can be shaped like a circle, a diamond or a square, and can be configured to have a
specific size, aspect ratio and angle. Also, solid vector brushes can be automatically smoothed by Harmony as
you draw.
If you are drawing on a bitmap layer, you can only use textured brushes. You can create a textured brush that
makes solid looking strokes, but they can not be automatically smoothed by Harmony, nor can they tweaked
with vector tools such as the Contour Editor. For more information, see About Vector and Bitmap Layers on
page 622.
How to create a solid vector brush
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Brush or Eraser tool.
2. In the Tool Properties view, click the arrow button to open the Brush/Eraser Properties dialog.
The Brush Properties dialog opens.
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1. In the Brush Type dropdown list, select Solid Vector.
2. In the brush tip list, select either Circle, Diamond or Square.
3. Use the Maximum Size slider to set the maximum size of your brush tip.
NOTE
When drawing with a mouse, your brush is always at its maximum size. When drawing
with a pressure-sensitive pen tablet, your brush's size will range between its minimum
and maximum size, depending on the amount of pressure you put on the pen when
drawing.
4. If you are using a pressure-sensitive pen tablet, use the Minimum Size slider to set the size of your
brush when using your pen with very little pressure. The minimum size is set to a percentage of your
brush tip's maximum size, which is 25% by default. If you don't want the pressure on your pen to
affect the brush size, set this parameter to 100%.
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5. If you want your brush to keep the same size relative to the camera frame when the camera zooms
in on or zooms out of the scene, check the Proportional to Camera option.
6. If you want your brush tip to have uneven dimensions, use the Roundness slider to shrink the brush
tip vertically all the while preserving its horizontal size.
7. If you want your brush tip to be at an angle, use the Angle slider to rotate your brush tip.
8. If you want your brush tip to stretch when you tilt your pen, use the Pen Tilt Sensitivity slider to set
how much the tip should stretch. The tip will stretch by the percentage you set, in the direction in
which you tilt the pen.
NOTE
This option only works if your tablet and your pen support tilt sensitivity.
9. If you want your brush tip to rotate when you rotate your pen, check the Use Pen Rotation check
box.
NOTE
This option only works if your tablet and your pen support pen rotation.
10. Click on the Smoothing tab.
11. Use the Centerline Smoothing slider to set the amount of smoothing Harmony should perform on
your stroke's direction, curves and corners. A higher setting will prevent your line from being shaky,
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but is liable to reduce your drawing precision and to round sharp corners into curves.
12. Use the Contour Smoothing slider to set the amount of smoothing Harmony should perform on
your stroke's contour. A higher setting will round sharp corners and reduce the amount of control
points for the resulting vector shape.
13. Either close or set aside the Brush Properties dialog.
14. In the Camera or Drawing view, start drawing to test your brush settings.
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Creating a Textured Brush
T-LAY-001-004
Using textured brushes, you can create an infinite range of fuzzy, textured and watercolour lines. You can use
bitmap brush tips, adjust your line's hardness and opacity, combine two tips and apply a paper texture to your
brush strokes so as to adapt the Brush tool to a variety of art styles and create natural-looking brush strokes.
When drawing on a vector layer, brushes are solid vector brushes by default. You can however create a
textured vector brush which combines both Harmony's vector and bitmap drawing capabilities. You can tweak
textured vector brush strokes using various vector editing tools such as the Contour Editor, the Smooth Editor,
the Perspective tool and the Envelope tool, and Harmony will resample the textures inside your brush strokes
with each modification.
If you are drawing on a bitmap layer, your brush is always textured. You can configure a textured brush to look
crisp and solid if desired, but brush strokes on bitmap layers cannot be tweaked or smoothed.
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Configuring a Textured Brush Tip
T-ANIMPA-002-002
The Brush tool supports two types of brush tips: Solid and Textured. Solid brush tips are plain shapes that can
be used to draw vector shapes filled with a solid color, whereas textured brush tips are bitmap images with
various shapes and opacity levels that can be used to create natural-looking brush strokes.
Solid brush tips are not customizable. The selection is limited to either a circle, diamond or square-shaped brush
tip, the proportions and angle of which can be adjusted. While Harmony also comes bundled with preset
textured brush tips, it is also possible to create and use your own textured brush tips.
How to configure a textured brush tip
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Brush tool or press Alt + B.
2. In the Tool Properties view, click the Arrow button to open the Brush Properties view.
3. If you are drawing on a vector layer, set the Brush Type to Textured Vector to enable the textured
brush options. If you are drawing on a bitmap layer, the textured brush options are always enabled.
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4. In the Brush Tip list, select the desired brush tip. If you want to create your own brush tip, see
Adding a Brush Tip on page 313.
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5. Use the Maximum Size slider to set the maximum size of your brush tip.
NOTE
When drawing with a mouse, your brush is always at its maximum size. When drawing
with a pressure-sensitive pen tablet, your brush's size will range between its minimum
and maximum size, depending on the amount of pressure you put on the pen when
drawing.
6. If you are using a pressure-sensitive pen tablet, use the Minimum Size slider to set the size of your
brush when using your pen with very little pressure. The minimum size is set to a percentage of your
brush tip's maximum size, which is 25% by default. If you don't want the pressure on your pen to
affect the brush size, set this parameter to 100%.
7. If you want your brush to keep the same size relative to the camera frame when the camera zooms
in on or zooms out of the scene, check the Proportional to Camera option.
8. If you want your brush tip to have uneven dimensions, use the Roundness slider to shrink the brush
tip vertically all the while preserving its horizontal size.
9. If you want your brush tip to be at an angle, use the Angle slider to rotate your brush tip.
10. If you want your brush tip to stretch when you tilt your pen, use the Pen Tilt Sensitivity slider to set
how much the tip should stretch. The tip will stretch by the percentage you set, in the direction in
which you tilt the pen.
NOTE
This option only works if your tablet and your pen support tilt sensitivity.
11. If you want your brush tip to rotate when you rotate your pen, check the Use Pen Rotation check
box.
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NOTE
This option only works if your tablet and your pen support pen rotation.
12. Use the Hardness slider to set how much of the outer part of your brush tip should fade to
transparency. If you set it to 100 %, the brush will be completely solid. If you set it to 0 %, the brush
will only be opaque in its center, and will gradually become transparent towards its edges.
13. Use the Spacing slider to set how much distance you must drag your brush before Harmony prints
the brush tip onto your canvas, relative to your brush's size. The default setting is 7%, which
produces a relatively realistic brush stroke-like result. If this setting is too low, your brush strokes
might feel too thick and opaque. If this setting is too high, your strokes will look like the brush tip has
been stamped repeatedly over your canvas instead of dragged on it.
14. If you want the size of your brush tip to vary each time it's printed on your canvas, set the Random
Size setting to any value above 0 %.
15. If you want the angle of your brush tip to be random each time the tip is printed on your canvas, set
the Random Angle setting to any value above 0 °.
16. If you want the spacing between each instance of the brush tip to be random, set the Random
Spacing setting to any value above 0 %.
17. If you want the spacing between each instance of the brush tip to be random, set the Random
Spacing setting to any value above 0 %.
18. In the Camera or Drawing view, start drawing to test your brush settings.
NOTE
It is also possible to use textures when drawing with the Pencil tool. Those textures follow the
angle of your pencil lines, which may create more interesting results depending on your desired
drawing style. For more information, see About Pencil Line Textures on page 365.
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Adding a Brush Tip
In the Brush or Eraser Properties dialog, you will find a set of default brush tips which are bundled with
Harmony, but you can also create your own brush tips, then export your collection or import an existing set.
To make your own brush tip, you must first create an image file containing the brush tip, either in Harmony or in
a third party software, like Adobe Photoshop, then import it into Harmony. A brush tip must be a greyscale
image. Colors in brush tips are not acknowledged by Harmony, as brush tips only use the colour you are
painting with in Harmony. Your brush tip should also not contain transparency, as Harmony determines the
brush tip's transparency based on its black, white and grey levels. Its black parts will appear 100% opaque, its
white parts will appear 100% transparent, and its grey parts will appear semitransparent.
You can import brush tips in any image format supported by Harmony. It is recommended to create brush tips
in a resolution ranging from 100 x 100 pixels to 400 x 400 pixels.
Brush tips are shared between the brush tool and the eraser tool. Like paper textures and brush presets, paper
textures are saved in your preferences. You can also export your brush tips into an .xml file, and import them
on a different workstation, allowing you to share your brush tips between the different people collaborating on
your project.
How to add a brush tip
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Brush or Eraser tool.
2. In the Tool Properties view, click the arrow button to open the Brush/Eraser Properties dialog.
3. If you are drawing on a vector layer, set the Brush Type to Textured Vector if you are using the
brush tool or the Eraser Type to Textured Eraser or Textured, Preserve Vector if you are using the
eraser tool.
4. Do one of the following:
l Click on the Paper Texture menu icon and select Add.
l Click the Add Paper Texture button.
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5. In the file browser window, navigate to the location of your texture image file and select it.
6. Click Open to import the file into the Paper Texture library.
By default, an imported texture is given the name of the image file.
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Renaming Brush Tips
You can rename your bitmap brush tips to keep your list organized.
How to rename a brush tip
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Brush or Eraser tool.
2. In the Tool Properties view, click the arrow button to open the Brush/Eraser Properties dialog.
3. If you are drawing on a vector layer, set the Brush Type to Textured Vector if you are using the
brush tool or the Eraser Type to Textured Eraser or Textured, Preserve Vector if you are using the
eraser tool.
4. Select the brush tip you wish to rename.
5. Click on the Paper Texture menu icon and select Rename.
6. In the Rename dialog box that appears, type in the new name of the brush tip.
7. Click OK.
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Deleting Brush Tips
You can delete unnecessary brush tips to keep your list organized.
How to delete a brush tip
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Brush or Eraser tool.
2. In the Tool Properties view, click the arrow button to open the Brush/Eraser Properties dialog.
3. If you are drawing on a vector layer, set the Brush Type to Textured Vector if you are using the
brush tool or the Eraser Type to Textured Eraser or Textured, Preserve Vector if you are using the
eraser tool.
4. Select the brush tip you wish to delete.
5. Do one of the following:
l Click on the Paper Texture menu icon and select Delete.
l Click the Delete button.
NOTE
You can delete any brush tip in the Paper Texture library, including the default paper textures,
except for the three solid brush tips: Circle, Diamond and Square. Also, brush tips will not get
deleted if they are used in a brush preset.
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Exporting Brush Tips
You can export brush tips to share, backup or install on a new computer.
How to export brush tips
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Brush or Eraser tool.
2. In the Tool Properties view, click the arrow button to open the Brush/Eraser Properties dialog.
3. If you are drawing on a vector layer, set the Brush Type to Textured Vector if you are using the
brush tool or the Eraser Type to Textured Eraser or Textured, Preserve Vector if you are using the
eraser tool.
4. Click on the Paper Texture menu icon and select Export.
The Export Tips and Textures dialog opens. This dialog allows you to export both your textured
brush tips and your paper textures.
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5. By default, both your brush tips and your paper textures are selected for export. If you only wish to
export your brush tips, uncheck the Select Paper Textures option.
6. Click Export.
7. In the Export Textures window that appears, browse to a location where you want save the .xml
file and give it a name.
8. Click Save.
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Importing Brush Tips
You can import Harmony brush tips you previously exported.
How to import brush tips
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Brush or Eraser tool.
2. In the Tool Properties view, click the arrow button to open the Brush/Eraser Properties dialog.
3. If you are drawing on a vector layer, set the Brush Type to Textured Vector if you are using the
brush tool or the Eraser Type to Textured Eraser or Textured, Preserve Vector if you are using the
eraser tool.
4. Click on the Paper Texture menu icon and select Import.
5. In the browser window that appears, navigate to and select the .xml file in which you exported
your brush tips.
6. Click Open.
In the Import Tips and Textures dialog box appears.
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7. If the selected .xml file also contains paper textures, they will be selected for import along with the
brush tips by default. If you wish to only import the paper textures, uncheck the Select Paper
Textures option.
8. Click Import.
The imported brush tips appear in the Brush Tips Library.
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Changing the Brush Tip Display
You can display your preset list as thumbnails or a list.
How to change the Brush Tips thumbnail display
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Brush or Eraser tool.
2. In the Tool Properties view, click the arrow button to open the Brush/Eraser Properties dialog.
3. If you are drawing on a vector layer, set the Brush Type to Textured Vector if you are using the
brush tool or the Eraser Type to Textured Eraser or Textured, Preserve Vector if you are using the
eraser tool.
1. Click on the Brush Tips menu icon .
2. Select one of the following options:
l Small Thumbnail: Displays brush tips in a grid of small thumbnails.
l Large Thumbnail: Displays brush tips in a grid of large thumbnails with their name.
The default view setting.
l List View: Displays brush tips in a list, with their name on the left and their texture on
the right of each row.
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Configuring Smoothing for a Textured Brush
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If you are drawing on a vector layer, the Brush Properties dialog will have a Smoothing tab, which allows to
configure how Harmony automatically smooths your brush strokes. If you are drawing on a bitmap layer, this
topic is not applicable, as bitmap layers do not support automatic smoothing.
How to configure a textured brush's smoothing
1. In the Brush Properties dialog, open the Smoothing tab.
2. Use the Centerline Smoothing slider to set the amount of smoothing Harmony should perform on
your stroke's direction, curves and corners. A higher setting will prevent your line from being shaky,
but is liable to reduce your drawing precision and to round sharp corners into curves.
3. Use the Contour Smoothing slider to set the amount of smoothing Harmony should perform on
your stroke's contour. A higher setting will round sharp corners and reduce the amount of control
points for the resulting vector shape.
4. In the Camera or Drawing view, start drawing to test your brush settings.
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Configuring Antialiasing and Transparency for a Textured Brush
A textured brush can be either antialiased or not antialiased. Without antialiasing, your brush strokes will only
create fully opaque artwork. With antialiasing enabled, you also have the option to set the flow and opacity of
your brush, allowing you to simulate the effect of inks and paints with various consistencies.
NOTE
If you are working on a vector layer, make sure the Brush Type option in the Tip tab is set to
Textured Vector Brush to enable the textured brush options.
How to configure a brush's antialiasing and transparency settings
1. In the Brush Properties dialog, open the Transparency tab.
2. If you want your brush to have antialiasing or transparency, enable the Antialiasing option.
NOTE
If the Antialiasing option is disabled, all Transparency settings will be disabled, and your
brush will only create fully opaque artwork.
3. Use the Maximum Flow slider to set the consistency of your brush strokes. A lower flow will make
your stroke more transparent towards the extremities and more opaque in its center, whereas a
higher flow will make your stroke consistently opaque.
4. If you are using a pressure-sensitive pen tablet, use the Minimum Flow slider to set the percentage
of the maximum flow that you want your brush to use when using your pen with very little pressure.
If you don't want the pressure on your pen to affect the flow, set this parameter to 100%.
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5. Use the Maximum Opacity slider to set the maximum opacity of your brush strokes.
6. If you are using a pressure-sensitive pen tablet, use the Minimum Opacity slider to set the
percentage of the maximum opacity that you want your brush to use when using your pen with very
little pressure. If you don't want the pressure on your pen to affect the opacity, set this parameter to
100%.
7. If you want the Flow of your brush to be randomized, set the Random Flow setting to any value over
0 %.
8. If you want the Opacity of your brush to be randomized, set the Random Opacity setting to any
value over 0 %.
9. In the Camera or Drawing view, start drawing to test your brush settings.
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Configuring a Textured Brush with a Dual Tip
Textured brushes can also have a dual tip. A dual tip is a secondary tip that can be blended into your primary
tip in various blend modes, with its own full set of tip settings.
NOTE
If you are working on a vector layer, make sure the Brush Type option in the Tip tab is set to
Textured Vector Brush to enable the textured brush options.
How to configure a brush with a dual tip
1. In the Brush Properties dialog, click on the Dual Tip tab.
2. Check the check box in the Dual Tip tab to enable the Dual Tip functionality.
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3. In the Brush Tip list, select the desired brush tip. If you want to create your own brush tip, see
Adding a Brush Tip on page 313.
4. In the Blend Mode drop-down list, select the algorithm with which you want your secondary tip to
blend into your primary tip:
l Multiply will draw the least opaque pixel of either brush tip, making more spaced out,
inconsistent strokes.
l Color Dodge will add the opacity of the pixels in both brush tips, making more opaque
strokes.
l Combine will draw the most opaque pixel of either brush tip, combining the tip shapes
without increasing their opacity.
5. Use the Maximum Size slider to set the maximum size of your brush tip.
NOTE
When drawing with a mouse, your brush is always at its maximum size. When drawing
with a pressure-sensitive pen tablet, your brush's size will range between its minimum
and maximum size, depending on the amount of pressure you put on the pen when
drawing.
6. If you are using a pressure-sensitive pen tablet, use the Minimum Size slider to set the size of your
brush when using your pen with very little pressure. The minimum size is set to a percentage of your
brush tip's maximum size, which is 25% by default. If you don't want the pressure on your pen to
affect the brush size, set this parameter to 100%.
7. If you want your brush to keep the same size relative to the camera frame when the camera zooms
in on or zooms out of the scene, check the Proportional to Camera option.
8. If you want your brush tip to have uneven dimensions, use the Roundness slider to shrink the brush
tip vertically all the while preserving its horizontal size.
9. If you want your brush tip to be at an angle, use the Angle slider to rotate your brush tip.
10. If you want your brush tip to stretch when you tilt your pen, use the Pen Tilt Sensitivity slider to set
how much the tip should stretch. The tip will stretch by the percentage you set, in the direction in
which you tilt the pen.
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NOTE
This option only works if your tablet and your pen support tilt sensitivity.
11. If you want your brush tip to rotate when you rotate your pen, check the Use Pen Rotation check
box.
NOTE
This option only works if your tablet and your pen support pen rotation.
12. Use the Hardness slider to set how much of the outer part of your brush tip should fade to
transparency. If you set it to 100 %, the brush will be completely solid. If you set it to 0 %, the brush
will only be opaque in its center, and will gradually become transparent towards its edges.
13. Use the Spacing slider to set how much distance you must drag your brush before Harmony prints
the brush tip onto your canvas, relative to your brush's size. The default setting is 7%, which
produces a relatively realistic brush stroke-like result. If this setting is too low, your brush strokes
might feel too thick and opaque. If this setting is too high, your strokes will look like the brush tip has
been stamped repeatedly over your canvas instead of dragged on it.
14. If you want the size of your brush tip to vary each time it's printed on your canvas, set the Random
Size setting to any value above 0 %.
15. If you want the angle of your brush tip to be random each time the tip is printed on your canvas, set
the Random Angle setting to any value above 0 °.
16. If you want the spacing between each instance of the brush tip to be random, set the Random
Spacing setting to any value above 0 %.
17. If you want the spacing between each instance of the brush tip to be random, set the Random
Spacing setting to any value above 0 %.
18. In the Camera or Drawing view, start drawing to test your brush settings.
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Configuring a Brush with a Paper Texture
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Paper textures are bitmap textures that you can apply to your brush strokes as you draw. They act as
transparency filters that are tiled over your brush strokes to make them look grainy, as if you were drawing on a
rough paper surface. While Harmony comes bundled with preset paper textures, it is also possible to create
and use your own paper textures.
How to configure a brush with a paper texture
1. In the Brush Properties dialog, click on the Paper Texture tab.
2. Check the check box in the Paper Texture tab to enable paper textures.
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3. In the paper texture list, select the desired paper texture. If you wish to create your own paper
texture, see Adding a Paper Texture on page 331.
4. Using the Texture Scale slider, select the scaling factor at which to scale the paper texture when
applying it to your brush strokes.
5. If you want your brush strokes to get more opaque as you drag your brush or when you draw over
them, enable the Additive option.
6. If you want the paper texture to always be aligned to the same grid regardless of where you draw
your strokes, enable the Aligned option. Otherwise, your paper textures will be positioned relative
to where you start your drawing stroke, and if you draw two strokes one over the other, their paper
textures will clash with each other.
7. In the Camera or Drawing view, start drawing to test your brush settings.
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NOTE
It is also possible to use textures when drawing with the Pencil tool. However, those textures follow
the shape of the line instead of tiling over your strokes. For more information, see About Pencil Line
Textures on page 365.
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Adding a Paper Texture
In the Brush Properties dialog, you will find a set of default paper textures which are bundled with Harmony,
but you can also create your own paper textures, then export your collection or import an existing set.
To make your own paper texture, you must first create an image file containing the texture, either in Harmony
or in a third party software, like Adobe Photoshop, then import it into Harmony. A paper texture must be a
greyscale image. Colors in paper textures are not acknowledged by Harmony, as paper textures are applied
onto the colour you are painting with in Harmony. Your texture should also not contain transparency, as
Harmony determines the texture's transparency based on its black, white and grey levels. When drawing with
a paper texture, its black parts will appear 100% opaque, its white parts will appear 100% transparents, and
its grey parts will appear semitransparent.
You can import brush tips in any image format supported by Harmony. It is recommended to create paper
textures in a resolution ranging from 100 x 100 pixels to 400 x 400 pixels.
Like brush tips and brush presets, paper textures are saved in your preferences. You can also export your paper
textures into an .xml file, and import them on a different workstation, allowing you to share your textures
between the different people collaborating on your project.
How to add a paper texture
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Brush tool or press Alt + B.
2. In the Tool Properties view, click the Arrow button to open the Brush Properties view.
3. If you are drawing on a vector layer, set the Brush Type to Textured Vector to enable the textured
brush options. If you are drawing on a bitmap layer, the textured brush options are always enabled.
4. Click on the Paper Texture tab.
5. Check the check box in the Paper Texture tab to enable paper textures.
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1. In the Brush Properties dialog, do one of the following:
l From the Paper Texture menu, select Add.
l Click the Add Paper Texture button.
2. In the browser window that appears, navigate to where you saved your texture file.
3. Click Open to import the file into the Paper Texture library.
By default, an imported texture is given the name of the image file.
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Renaming a Paper Texture
You can rename your paper textures to keep your list organized.
How to rename a paper texture
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Brush tool or press Alt + B.
2. In the Tool Properties view, click the Arrow button to open the Brush Properties view.
3. If you are drawing on a vector layer, set the Brush Type to Textured Vector to enable the textured
brush options. If you are drawing on a bitmap layer, the textured brush options are always enabled.
4. Click on the Paper Texture tab.
5. Check the check box in the Paper Texture tab to enable paper textures.
6. Select the texture you want to rename.
7. Click on the Paper Texture menu icon and select Rename.
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8. In the Rename Texture dialog box that appears, type in the new name for the texture.
9. Click OK.
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Deleting Paper Textures
You can delete unnecessary paper textures from your preset list.
How to delete a paper texture
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Brush tool or press Alt + B.
2. In the Tool Properties view, click the Arrow button to open the Brush Properties view.
3. If you are drawing on a vector layer, set the Brush Type to Textured Vector to enable the textured
brush options. If you are drawing on a bitmap layer, the textured brush options are always enabled.
4. Click on the Paper Texture tab.
5. Check the check box in the Paper Texture tab to enable paper textures.
1. Select the texture you want to delete.
2. Do one of the following:
l Click on the Paper Texture menu icon and select Delete.
l Click the Delete button.
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NOTE
You can delete any paper texture in the Paper Texture library, including the
default paper textures, as long as no brush preset is using that paper texture.
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Exporting Paper Textures
You can export paper textures into an .xml file which will contain their name and bitmap texture. This can be
useful if you wish to back up or share your paper textures.
How to export paper textures
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Brush tool or press Alt + B.
2. In the Tool Properties view, click the Arrow button to open the Brush Properties view.
3. If you are drawing on a vector layer, set the Brush Type to Textured Vector to enable the textured
brush options. If you are drawing on a bitmap layer, the textured brush options are always enabled.
4. Click on the Paper Texture tab.
5. Check the check box in the Paper Texture tab to enable paper textures.
6. Click on the Paper Texture menu icon and select Export.
The Export Tips and Textures dialog opens. This dialog allows you to export both your textured
brush tips and your paper textures.
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7. By default, both your brush tips and your paper textures are selected for export. If you only wish to
export your paper textures, uncheck the Select Brush Tips option.
8. Click on the Export button.
9. In the Export Textures dialog that appears, browse to a location where you would like to save the
.xml file, then type in the desired file name.
10. Click Save.
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Importing Paper Textures
You can import paper texture presets you previously exported from Harmony.
How to import paper textures
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Brush tool or press Alt + B.
2. In the Tool Properties view, click the Arrow button to open the Brush Properties view.
3. If you are drawing on a vector layer, set the Brush Type to Textured Vector to enable the textured
brush options. If you are drawing on a bitmap layer, the textured brush options are always enabled.
4. Click on the Paper Texture tab.
5. Check the check box in the Paper Texture tab to enable paper textures.
6. Click on the Paper Texture menu icon and select Import.
7. In the browser window that appears, navigate to and select the .xml file in which you exported
your paper textures.
8. Click Open.
In the Import Tips and Textures dialog box appears.
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9. If the selected .xml file also contains brush tips, they will be selected for import along with the
paper textures by default. If you only wish to import the paper textures, uncheck the Select Brush
Tips option.
10. Click Import.
The imported paper textures will appear in the Paper Texture Library.
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Changing the Paper Texture Display
You can change the way the paper textures are displayed in the paper textures list of the Brush Properties
dialog.
How to change the Paper Texture thumbnail display
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Brush tool or press Alt + B.
2. In the Tool Properties view, click the Arrow button to open the Brush Properties view.
3. If you are drawing on a vector layer, set the Brush Type to Textured Vector to enable the textured
brush options. If you are drawing on a bitmap layer, the textured brush options are always enabled.
4. Click on the Paper Texture tab.
5. Check the check box in the Paper Texture tab to enable paper textures.
1. Click on the Paper Texture menu icon .
2. Select one of the following options:
l Small Thumbnail: Displays paper textures in a grid of small thumbnails.
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l Large Thumbnail: Displays paper textures in a grid of large thumbnails with their
names. The default view setting.
l List View: Displays paper textures in a list, with their name on the left and their
texture on the right of each row.
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Setting the Textured Brush Resolution
An important thing to take in consideration when drawing with textured brushes is that, contrary to solid
vector brushes, textured brushes store their texture in bitmap data, which is stored in individual pixels. This
implies that, where solid vector artwork can be scaled and zoomed in without issue, textured brush strokes are
resolution dependent, and are liable to lose quality and appear pixelated if they are enlarged or zoomed in.
By default, textured brush strokes have a pixel density of 100%. At this density, when your scene is not
zoomed in and your artwork is not scaled up, each pixel in the textured brush strokes corresponds to one pixel
in the rendered image. Scaling it up or zooming in will require Harmony to render several pixels using the same
pixel from the brush stroke's texture, making the artwork lose quality.
Hence, before you start drawing using textured brushes, it is important to consider if you will need to zoom
onto or scale up your artwork, and set the pixel density accordingly. For example, if you intend to scale your
bitmap artwork up to 300%, or if you intend to zoom in from 12 fields to 4 fields, you should make sure the pixel
density for your textured brush strokes is of at least 300% before you start drawing.
You can specify the pixel density for textured brushes at the scene level or at the drawing level:
l Setting the pixel density at the scene level will make newly created drawings have the specified pixel
density, but it will not change the pixel density of existing textured artwork.
l Setting the pixel density at the drawing level will allow you to change the pixel density of existing
drawings, but will not affect the pixel density of drawings created afterward.
NOTE
If you are drawing on a bitmap layer, you must set the pixel density and canvas size for bitmap
artwork instead—see Setting the Bitmap Resolution on page 625.
How to set the pixel density for textured brush strokes for a scene
1. From the top menu, select Scene > Scene Settings.
The Scene Settings dialog box opens.
2. Select the Bitmap Resolution tab.
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3. In the Pixel Density field of the Default Texture Pixel Density for Vector Drawings section, enter
the desired percentage of pixel density. If you intend to scale or zoom in on your artwork, make sure
your pixel density is set to be at least the factor by which your artwork will scaled or zoomed on. For
example, if you intend to scale your artwork by 300%, you need to set the pixel density to at least
300%. If you intend to zoom in on your artwork from 12 fields to 6 fields, you need to set the pixel
density to at least 200%. If you intend to do both, you need to set the pixel density to at least 600%,
as the camera zoom and scaling factor will have a multiplying effect on the apparent scaling of your
artwork.
4. Click OK.
From now on, new drawings created in your scene will have the selected pixel density for textured
brush strokes.
Since changing the bitmap resolution settings for your scene will only affect newly created drawings, you may
also want to change the pixel density for existing drawings. This is possible. However, if you choose to change
the pixel density of textures in existing artwork, it will be resampled. If you increase the pixel density of existing
artwork, Harmony will have to generate extra pixels for the texture, which will cause the artwork to lose
quality. Hence, it is important to calculate and set the proper pixel density for your textured artwork before you
start drawing.
How to change the pixel density for textured brushes strokes in existing drawings
1. In the Timeline or Camera view, select the drawing for which you want to change the textured
brush stroke resolution.
2. From the top menu, select Drawing > Change Vector Drawing Brush Resolution.
The Change Vector Drawing Brush Textures Resolution dialog opens.
3. In the Pixel Density field, enter the desired percentage of pixel density. If you intend to scale or
zoom in on your artwork, make sure your pixel density is set to be at least the factor by which your
artwork will scaled or zoomed on. For example, if you intend to scale your artwork by 300%, you
need to set the pixel density to at least 300%. If you intend to zoom in on your artwork from 12
fields to 6 fields, you need to set the pixel density to at least 200%. If you intend to do both, you
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need to set the pixel density to at least 600%, as the camera zoom and scaling factor will have a
multiplying effect on the apparent scaling of your artwork.
4. If you want the specified pixel density to be applied on the existing textured brush strokes in the
drawing, check the Apply to Existing Strokes option.
5. If you want the specified pixel density to be applied to all the drawing's art layers (ie: Line Art,
Colour Art and, if enabled, Overlay Art and Underlay Art), check the Apply to All Art Layers option.
Otherwise, only the currently active art layer will be affected.
6. If you want the specified pixel density to be applied to all drawings in the active layer, check the
Apply to All Drawings option. Otherwise, only the current drawing will be affected.
7. Click OK.
From now on, new brush strokes will be in the selected drawing will be in the specified pixel
density.
NOTE
This does not change the default pixel density for the scene. New drawings will still be created
with the scene's default pixel density.
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About Brush Presets
Setting up your brush to perfectly reproduce the desired art style can require a lot of tweaking as well as trial
and error. Once you have found the correct settings for your brush, you will want to reuse it throughout your
project for consistency. You can do that by creating and using brush presets.
Harmony comes preloaded with many brush presets which you can select from the Tool Properties view. It is
also possible to create your own brush presets by configuring your brush, then saving it as a preset.
Like brush tips and paper textures, brush presets are saved in your preferences. You can also export your brush
presets into an .xml file, and import them on a different workstation, allowing you to share your brush presets
between the different people collaborating on your project.
NOTES
l Brush presets are not to be confused with brush tips and paper textures. A brush tip is one of
the properties of a brush. A brush preset contains all of the properties for a given brush.
However, both can be exported, imported and managed similarly.
l Brush presets for vector layers and for bitmap layers are separate. A brush preset created while
working on a vector layer cannot be used when working on a bitmap layer, and vice versa.
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Creating a Brush Preset
You can create your own custom brush presets by configuring your brush, then adding it as a preset.
How to create a brush preset
1. Make sure the current drawing layer is vector if you wish to create a vector brush preset, or bitmap if
you wish to create a bitmap brush preset—see About Vector and Bitmap Layers.
2. In the Tools toolbar, select the Brush tool or press Alt + B.
3. Click on the Arrow button to open the Brush Properties dialog.
4. Configure your brush to be exactly how you wish to use it in the future—see Creating a Solid Brush
or Creating a Textured Brush.
5. Do one of the following:
l From the Brush Properties dialog, click on the New Brush Preset button in the top-
right corner.
l In the Tool Properties view, click the New Brush Preset button.
l In the Tool Properties view, open the Brush Presets menu and select New Brush
Preset.
6. In the New Preset window, type a name for your new brush preset.
Your new brush preset is added to the end of the list of brush presets.
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Creating a Stamp
You can create a stamp by drawing the artwork for your stamp, then selecting it and creating a stamp preset.
How to create a stamp
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select an empty cell in a vector drawing layer.
2. In the Camera or Drawing view, draw the artwork with which you want to create a stamp.
3. Do one of the following:
l If you want to create a stamp with all the artwork in the drawing, select this drawing in the
Timeline or Xsheet view.
l If you want to create a stamp with part of the artwork in the drawing, select the Select
tool in the Tools toolbar, then select the artwork that you want to use to create a stamp—
see—Selecting, Repositioning and Transforming Artwork on page 459.
4. In the Tools toolbar, select the Stamp tool.
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5. In the Tool Properties view, click on the New Preset button.
6. In the New Preset dialog, type the desired name for your new stamp.
7. Click OK.
A stamp containing the selected artwork is added to the Presets list for the Stamp tool. You can
now draw with the Stamp tool using this stamp.
NOTE
Once your stamp has been created, you can delete the artwork you used to create it from your
project. The artwork in your stamps will be saved in your preferences.
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Selecting a Brush Preset
Harmony provides you with default brush presets available in the Tool Properties view.
How to select a brush preset
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Brush tool or press Alt + B.
2. In the Tool Properties view, select a brush preset from the Presets list.
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Updating a Brush Preset
If you want to modify the settings of an existing custom preset, you can do so by adjusting the parameters in
the Tool Properties view, then updating your preset with your brush current's parameters.
How to update a brush preset
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Brush tool or press Alt + B.
1. In the Tool Properties view, select the Brush Preset you wish to update.
2. Click on the Arrow button to open the Brush Properties view.
3. Configure your brush to be exactly how you wish to use it in the future—see Creating a Solid Brush
or Creating a Textured Brush.
4. Click on the Update Brush Preset button in the upper-right corner of the Brush Properties
dialog.
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Renaming a Brush Preset
To keep your list comprehensive and organized, you can name your custom brush presets.
How to rename a brush preset
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Brush tool or press Alt + B.
2. In the Tool Properties view, select a brush preset to rename.
3. Open the Brush Preset menu and select Rename Brush.
4. Type in a new name for the brush and click OK.
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Deleting a Brush Preset
You can keep your preset list clean by deleting unwanted custom presets.
How to delete a brush preset
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Brush tool or press Alt + B.
2. In the Tool Properties view, select the brush preset you want to delete.
3. Do one of the following:
l Click the Delete Brush button.
l Open the Brush Preset menu and select Delete Brush.
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Exporting Brush Presets
You can export brush presets into an .xml file which will contain all of your brush's settings. This can be useful
if you wish to back up or share your brush presets.
How to export pencils, brushes and erasers
1. In the Tools toolbar, select either the Brush , Pencil or Eraser tool.
2. In the Tool Properties view, open the Brush Preset menu and select Export Brushes.
The Export Brushes dialog opens. This dialog allows you to export brush presets for the Brush,
Pencil and Eraser tools.
3. By default, the presets for all your tools will be selected for export. If you only wish to export presets
for specific tools, uncheck Select/Deselect All and select the tools for which you want to export the
presets.
4. Click Export.
5. In the Export Presets dialog that appears, browse to the location where you want to save the .xml
file and enter its file name.
6. Click Save.
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Importing Brush Presets
You can import brush presets that you previously exported from Harmony.
How to import pencils, brushes and erasers
1. In the Tools toolbar, select either the Brush , Pencil or Eraser tool.
2. In the Tool Properties view, open the Brush Preset menu and select Import Brushes.
3. In the browser window that appears, navigate to and select the .xml file in which you exported
your brush presets.
4. Click Open.
The Import Brushes dialog box opens.
5. By default, the presets for any tools included in the file will be selected for import. If you only wish to
import presets for specific tools, uncheck Select/Deselect All and select the tools for which you want
to export the presets
6. Click Import.
The imported brush, eraser and pencil styles will appear in the Presets list.
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Changing the Brush Preset Display
You can display your preset list as thumbnails or a list.
How to change the way presets are previewed in the Tool Properties view
1. In the Tool Properties view, open the Brush Presets menu.
2. Select one of the following options:
l Small Thumbnail: Displays presets in a grid of small thumbnails with a preview of their
tip.
l Large Thumbnail: Displays presets in a grid of big thumbnails, with their name and a
preview of their tip.
l Stroke View: Displays presets in a list, with their name and a preview of a stroke done
with each preset.
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Adjusting Texture Opacity
An advantage of using textured vector brushes on vector layers is that you can adjust their opacity afterward.
Using the Adjust Line Texture Opacity dialog, you can adjust the opacity levels between the most opaque and
the most transparent pixels in your textures.
How to adjust the line texture opacity
1. If you are in Camera view, select the Current Drawing on Top option—see Displaying the Current
Drawing on Top on page 537.
2. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the drawing that contains the opacity you want to adjust.
3. In the Camera or Drawing view menu, select Drawing > Adjust Line Texture Opacity.
The Adjust Line Texture Opacity dialog box opens.
4. Do one of the following:
l Drag the upper slider towards the right to increase the transparency of the more
transparent pixels.
l Drag the lower slider towards the left to increase the opacity of the more opaque
pixels.
5. If you want to apply the changes to all drawings exposed on the layer, enable the Apply to All
Drawings option.
6. Click OK.
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About the Pencil Tool
T-HFND-004-004
The Pencil tool is for drawing the final images, such as character nodes, cut-out puppet and clean animation.
The pencil creates a central vector shape. Pencil lines support pressure sensitivity and texture.
The Brush and Pencil tools are used for drawing and sketching. Both tools support pressure sensitivity,
allowing you to create lines with variable thickness. The Brush tool produces contour vector lines. The Pencil
and shape tools produce central vector lines. This means that a pencil line’s control points (used to deform its
shape) are located along the length of the central spine, while the Brush line’s control points are located along
the contour.
l If you draw with the Brush tool and want to modify the thickness variation, use the Contour Editor tool.
l If you draw with the Pencil tool and want to modify the thickness variation, use the Pencil Editor tool.
l You can also convert a brush zone into a pencil line with the Brush Stroke to Pencil Line option.
If you sketch a drawing using a semitransparent colour to get a paper-like feel, you should use the Brush tool, as
it produces a more realistic and natural feel. Transparent pencil lines may not display the way you want when
they overlap:
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The pencil line is more appropriate for the final line of your clean drawings. Also, if you're drawing for digital
animation and intend to use the Auto-Patch effect to connect the parts of your character model, you should use
pencil lines for the Auto-Patch effect to work as expected.
NOTE
To learn more about the Pencil tool options, see the Reference Guide.
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Drawing with the Pencil Tool
T-HFND-004-004A
Using the Pencil tool, you can draw vector pencil lines which can be easily tweaked and reshaped as needed.
How to draw with the Pencil tool
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the cell on which you want to draw.
2. In the Tools toolbar, select the Pencil tool or press Alt + /.
3. In the Colour view, click a colour swatch to select a colour.
4. In the Drawing or Camera view, start drawing.
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TIPS
l You can quickly adjust the size of the selected drawing tool by pressing and holding the O
key, then clicking and dragging in the drawing space. If you are using a tablet pen, doing
this with the eraser tip of your pen will adjust the size of the Eraser tool, regardless of which
drawing tool is selected.
l If you press and hold the Shift key before or while drawing, you will draw a straight line.
l If you press and hold the Spacebar key while drawing a straight line, the angle of your line
will lock. If you are using a pressure-sensitive tablet, you can draw over your line to adjust its
thickness.
l If you press and hold the Shift and Alt keys before or while drawing, you will draw a
straight horizontal or vertical line.
l If you press and hold the Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ (macOS) key while drawing, your
drawing stroke will turn into a closed shape.
l If you press and hold Alt before drawing a stroke, and start drawing near existing artwork,
the start of your drawing stroke will connect to that artwork.
l If you press and hold Alt while drawing a stroke, and end your drawing stroke near existing
artwork, the end of that drawing stroke will connect to that artwork.
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Creating a Pencil
T-LAY-001-001
You can configure a pencil's size, how much Harmony should automatically smooth your pencil lines when
drawing, the shape of the tips and corners of your pencil line as well as its texture.
How to modify the pencil settings
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Pencil tool or press Alt + /.
2. In the Tool Properties view, click on the arrow button next to the stroke preview area to open the
Pencil Properties dialog.
The Pencil Properties dialog opens.
3. Use the Maximum Size slider to set the maximum size of your pencil line.
4. If you are using a pressure-sensitive pen tablet, use the Minimum Size slider to set the size of your
pencil when using your pen with very little pressure. The minimum size is set to a percentage of your
pencil's maximum size, which is 20% by default. If you don't want the pressure on your pen to affect
the pencil size, set this parameter to 100%.
5. If you want your pencil to keep the same size relative to the camera frame when the camera zooms
in on or zooms out of the scene, check the Proportional to Camera option.
6. Use the Centerline Smoothing slider to set the amount of smoothing Harmony should perform on
your pencil stroke's centreline. A higher setting will prevent your line from being shaky, but is liable
to reduce your drawing precision and to round sharp corners into curves.
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7. If you are using a pressure-sensitive tablet, use the Contour Smoothing slider to set the amount of
smoothing Harmony should perform on your pencil stroke's contour. A higher setting will smoothen
the variations in your pencil line's thickness and reduce its amount of control points, but may affect
the precision of the variations in line thickness.
NOTE
This parameter is only useful if you are drawing with a pressure-sensitive tablet, as it
only affects the control points for the thickness of your pencil line. When drawing with a
mouse, the pencil line has a uniform thickness, and hence its contour only has control
points at its extremiities.
8. Click on the Shape pop-up buttons to select whether you want the Start and End of your pencil
lines to be Round or Flat, and whether you want the points and corners where pencil lines Join to
be Round, Mitre-shaped or Beveled.
9. Click on the Texture tab.
10. If you want your pencil line to have a texture, select the desired pencil line texture from the pencil
line texture library. Otherwise, select None. For more information on pencil line textures, see About
Pencil Line Textures on page 365.
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11. Either close or set aside the Pencil Properties dialog.
12. In the Camera or Drawing view, start drawing to test your pencil settings.
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About Pencil Line Textures
Just like the Brush tool, the Pencil tool also supports textures. However, there are important differences
between the way brush textures and pencil textures work.
For one thing, a pencil line texture is applied with regard to the width and direction of the pencil lines. For
example, if you draw a spiral with a dash texture, the dashes will follow the curves of the spiral, and if you draw
a thicker line with the same texture, the dashes will be both longer and thicker.
Like colours, pencil textures are stored in special palettes in your scene. While brush textures are stored in your
artwork as bitmap data, pencil textures are stored in your artwork by linking the pencil line with its pencil
texture in the palette. This means that if you scale or tweak your pencil line, the pencil texture will be updated
based on the new line's shape and the original texture. This also means that you are able to change the pencil
texture of an existing pencil line or to apply a texture to a pencil line that does not already have one.
Pencil line textures can also be used with the Line, Rectangle, Ellipse and Polyline tools, as those tools also
draw pencil lines.
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Drawing with Pencil Textures
You can draw a textured pencil line by selecting the pencil texture, then drawing.
There are two ways to select a pencil texture. In the Colour view, you can select a pencil texture palette, then
one of its pencil texture swatches, as you would do to select a colour, or you can select a pencil texture from the
current pencil texture palette in the Pencil Properties dialog.
Your pencil texture will be combined with the selected colour to make a textured colour line.
NOTE
You can also draw with textured pencil lines with the Line, Rectangle and Ellipse tools.
How to draw with a textured pencil line using the Colour view
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Pencil tool or press Alt + /.
2. In the Colour view, select the colour with which you wish to draw.
3. In the Colour view, click on the Show Pencil Texture Palettes button to display your pencil
texture palettes.
4. In the palette list, select the pencil texture palette containing the desired pencil texture.
5. In the swatch list, select the pencil texture you want to use.
6. In the Camera or Drawing view, draw a pencil line.
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How to draw with a textured pencil line using the Pencil Properties dialog
1. In the Colour view, select the colour with which you wish to draw.
2. In the Tools toolbar, select the Pencil tool or press Alt + /.
3. In the Tool Properties view, click on the arrow button next to the stroke preview area to open the
Pencil Properties dialog.
4. In the Pencil Properties dialog, click on the Texture tab.
NOTE
The texture library in the Texture tab lists the same pencil textures as the ones in the
currently selected pencil texture palette in the Colour view.
5. In the Texture library, select a texture for the pencil.
6. In the Camera or Drawing view, draw a pencil line.
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Applying Texture to a Pencil Line
You can apply a pencil texture to an existing pencil line. You can also change a textured pencil line's texture by
following the same steps.
NOTE
You can also apply pencil line textures on artwork created with the Line, Rectangle, Ellipse and
Polyline tools.
How to apply a pencil line texture to an existing pencil line using the Colour view
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Select tool or press Alt + S.
2. In the Drawing or Camera view, select a pencil line.
3. In the Colour view, click on the Show Pencil Texture Palettes button to display your pencil
texture palettes.
4. In the palette list, select the pencil texture palette containing the desired pencil texture.
5. In the swatch list, select the pencil texture you want to apply to your pencil line.
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6. The selected pencil line now uses the selected pencil line texture.
How to apply a pencil line texture to an existing pencil line using the Tool Properties
view
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Select tool or press Alt + S.
2. In the Drawing or Camera view, select a pencil line.
3. In the Tool Properties view, scroll down to the pencil texture library panel.
NOTE
The texture library in the Tool Properties view lists the same pencil textures as the ones
in the currently selected pencil texture palette in the Colour view.
4. Select the pencil texture you wish to apply.
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5. The selected pencil line now uses the selected pencil line texture.
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Editing a Pencil Line's Texture
There are two kinds of modification you can make to a pencil line's texture. Using the Edit Gradient/Texture
tool, you can scale the texture by its length and thickness, as well as offset its starting position. Using the Pencil
Editor tool, you can change the texture's symmetry relative to the line's center.
How to scale the length or thickness of a pencil line texture.
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Edit Gradient/Texture tool or press Shift + F3.
2. Click on the pencil line you want to edit.
3. Drag one of the square-shaped handles to scale the texture's length, thickness, or both
simultaneously.
How to offset a pencil line's texture.
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Edit Gradient/Texture tool or press Shift + F3.
2. Click on the pencil line you want to edit.
3. Drag the triangle-shaped handle to offset the texture.
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How to change a pencil line's symmetry
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Pencil Editor tool or press 8.
2. Click on the pencil line you want to edit.
3. Drag one of the line's control points closer or further away from the center line to change the size of
its half of the texture.
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Picking a Pencil Texture from Artwork
Just like you can pick a colour from your artwork using the Colour Eyedropper tool, you can pick a pencil
texture from your artwork and make it the current pencil texture using the Pencil Texture Eyedropper tool.
How to pick a pencil texture from your artwork
1. In the Tools toolbar, double-click or long-click on the Colour Eyedropper button. Then, in the
pop-up menu, select Pencil Texture Eyedropper.
2. In the Camera or Drawing view, click on a pencil line that uses the pencil texture you want to select.
The pencil texture used by that line will become the active pencil texture, and pencil lines you draw
from that point will use that texture.
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Disabling Pencil Line Textures
After you selected a pencil line texture, if you wish to resume drawing solid pencil lines again, you can do so
using either the Colour view or the Pencil Properties dialog.
How to resume drawing with a solid pencil line using the Colour view
1. Click on the Show Pencil Texture Palettes button to display your pencil texture palettes.
2. Over the swatch list, click on the No Texture button.
From now on, the pencil lines you draw will not have a texture.
How to resume drawing with a solid pencil line Pencil Properties dialog
1. In the Colour view, select the colour with which you wish to draw.
2. In the Tools toolbar, select the Pencil tool or press Alt + /.
3. In the Tool Properties view, click on the arrow button next to the stroke preview area to open the
Pencil Properties dialog.
4. In the Pencil Properties dialog, click on the Texture tab.
5. In the pencil textures library, select None.
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From now on, the pencil lines you draw will not have a texture.
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Pencil Texture Palettes
Just like colours used by your drawings, pencil textures are stored in pencil texture swatches, which are stored
in pencil texture palettes. Because pencil lines drawn with pencil textures are linked to the pencil texture in
their pencil texture palette, pencil textures can be shared and updated just as easily as colours in your Harmony
project.
For example, you can create the texture palette for your character in your character model's scene, then make
scenes that include this character link to that character's pencil texture palette, as you can with their colour
palette, to make sure both their colour and line textures are the same throughout your project. For more
information, see About Advanced Palette Management on page 660.
Just as with colour palettes, you can update a swatch in a pencil texture palette with a different texture, and the
pencil lines that are drawn with this texture will update with the new texture. This means your pencil textures
can always be subjected to revisions.
When you create a new scene, your palette list will be preloaded with a default colour palette and a default
texture palette, the latter which is contains some sample pencil textures. If you wish, you can use these textures
for your project, you can build on this palette and add new textures as needed, or you can create your own
texture palette, loaded with only your custom textures, to use across your project. You can configure Harmony
to create new scenes with your own custom pencil texture palette.
NOTE
The following topics will introduce you to the basics of creating and using pencil texture palettes.
For more information on creating and managing swatches and palettes, see About Colour
Swatches on page 639 and About Palettes on page 658.
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Creating a Pencil Texture Palette
Creating a pencil texture palette allows you to manage your own pencil textures as you wish. You can create
separate pencil texture palettes for different characters, props and backgrounds as needed, and share them
among the people collaborating on your project like you would with colour palettes.
Creating a pencil texture palette is as simple as creating a colour palette. When creating a palette, you have the
option to create it as a colour or a pencil texture palette.
NOTE
If you are using Harmony Server, make sure you have the rights to modify the palette list by doing
one of the following:
l From the top menu, open the Edit menu and ensure the Edit Palette List Mode option is
checked
l Right-click on the palette list and select Get Rights to Modify Palette List.
l From the Colour view menu , select Palettes > Get Rights to Modify Palette List
How to create a pencil texture palette (Basic palette list mode)
1. In the Colour view, click on the Show Pencil Texture Palettes button to display your pencil
texture palettes.
2. Do one of the following:
l In the Colour View, click the New Palette button over the palette list.
l From the Colour view menu, select Palettes > New
The Create Palette dialog box opens.
3. In the Create Palette dialog, enter the new palette's name. Make sure your palette name contains
information to be easy to identify, such as the name of the character and information about the type
of setting for this palette, if any.
4. In the Palette Type drop-down, select Pencil Texture.
5. Click OK.
The palette appears in the drawing element’s palette list.
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How to create a pencil texture palette (Advanced palette list mode)
1. In the Colour view, click on the Show Pencil Texture Palettes button to display your pencil
texture palettes.
2. If you want to add the palette to an element's palette list, select a drawing from the element for
which you want to create a palette in the Timeline, Xsheet or Camera view.
3. Do one of the following:
l In the Colour View, click the New Palette button over the palette list.
l From the Colour view menu, select Palettes > New
The Palette Browser dialog box opens.
4. In the Palette Location panel, select the location where you want to store the palette file. If you are
using Harmony Server, you can store the palette in any environment, job, scene or element on your
database. In Harmony Stand Alone, you can store the palette in the scene, inside one of its element,
or inside its provisional job or environment. For more information, see About Palette Storage
Locations on page 663.
5. In the New Palette Name field, enter the name for the new palette. The palette list above this field
lists the palettes that already exist in the selected location. Make sure you enter a name that is not
already used by another palette.
6. In the Palette Type drop-down, select Pencil Texture.
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7. In the Palette List panel, select whether you want the palette to be added to the Scene Palette List,
or to the Element Palette List of the currently selected element. Note that in the latter case, the
palette will only be usable by the element. For more information, see About Scene and Element
Palette Lists on page 662.
8. Click OK.
The new palette appears in the palette list.
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Adding a Pencil Line Texture
You can create your own pencil textures by first creating an image file containing the texture, either in
Harmony or in a third party software, then importing it to your pencil texture palette.
A pencil texture must be created with transparency, as Harmony will only use the image's transparency
channel to determine how to apply the texture to your pencil lines. Hence, pencil textures can be in image
format that are supported by Harmony and which supports transparency: .png, .tga, .tif, .psd, .psb and
.sgi.
A pencil texture can be of any size, but the bigger the image resolution, the thicker the lines you can draw with
it without seeing pixels. The pencil texture will follow your pencil lines on their horizontal axis, like so:
NOTE
If you are using Harmony Server, make sure you have the rights to modify the selected palette by
doing one of the following:
l In the Colour view, make sure the Edit Palette Mode toggle button is pressed in.
l In the palette list of the Colour view, right-click on the selected palette and select either Get
Rights to Modify Palette or Get Rights to Modify All Palettes.
l From the Colour view menu , select Palettes > Get Rights to Modify Palette or Get Rights to
Modify All Palettes.
How to add a pencil line texture using the Colour view
1. In the Colour view, click on the Show Pencil Texture Palettes button to display your pencil
texture palettes.
2. In the palette list, select the pencil texture palette containing the desired pencil texture.
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3. Do one of the following:
l Click on the Add Texture button.
l Right-click on the swatch list and select New Texture.
l Open the Colour view menu and select Colours > New Texture.
4. In the file browser dialog, navigate to the location of your texture image file and select it.
5. Click Open.
The texture is added to your pencil texture palette.
You can start drawing with your new pencil texture.
How to add a pencil line texture using the Pencil Properties dialog
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Pencil tool or press Alt + /.
2. In the Tool Properties view, click on the arrow button next to the stroke preview area to open the
Pencil Properties dialog.
3. In the Pencil Properties dialog, click on the Texture tab.
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NOTE
The texture library in the Texture tab lists the same pencil textures as the ones in the
currently selected pencil texture palette in the Colour view.
4. Do one of the following:
l Click on the New Texture button over the pencil textures list.
l Open the Brush menu and select New Texture.
5. In the file browser dialog, navigate to the location of your texture image file and select it.
6. Click Open.
The texture is added to your pencil texture palette.
7. In the pencil texture library, select the new pencil texture.
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You can start drawing with your new pencil texture.
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Renaming Pencil Line Textures
You can rename pencil textures from the Colour view or from the Pencil Properties dialog box.
NOTE
If you are using Harmony Server, make sure you have the rights to modify the selected palette by
doing one of the following:
l In the Colour view, make sure the Edit Palette Mode toggle button is pressed in.
l In the palette list of the Colour view, right-click on the selected palette and select either Get
Rights to Modify Palette or Get Rights to Modify All Palettes.
l From the Colour view menu , select Palettes > Get Rights to Modify Palette or Get Rights to
Modify All Palettes.
How to rename a pencil line texture using the Colour view
1. In the Colour view, click on the Show Pencil Texture Palettes button to display your pencil
texture palettes.
2. In the palette list, select the pencil texture palette containing the desired pencil texture.
3. In the swatch list, double-click on the name of the texture you wish to rename.
4. Enter the texture's name, then click outside of the text input field to confirm the new name.
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How to rename a pencil line texture using the Pencil Properties dialog
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Pencil tool or press Alt + /.
2. In the Tool Properties view, click on the arrow button next to the stroke preview area to open the
Pencil Properties dialog.
3. In the Pencil Properties dialog, click on the Texture tab.
NOTE
The texture library in the Texture tab lists the same pencil textures as the ones in the
currently selected pencil texture palette in the Colour view.
4. In the pencil texture library, select the texture you wish to rename.
5. Open the Brush menu and select Rename Texture.
The Rename Texture dialog box opens.
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6. In the Name field, type in the desired name for your texture
7. Click OK.
You can start drawing with your new pencil texture.
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Deleting Pencil Line Textures
You can delete pencil texture palettes that you do not need.
NOTE
You should not delete any pencil texture that is used in your project, as pencil lines using a deleted
pencil texture will become solid pencil lines.
NOTE
If you are using Harmony Server, make sure you have the rights to modify the selected palette by
doing one of the following:
l In the Colour view, make sure the Edit Palette Mode toggle button is pressed in.
l In the palette list of the Colour view, right-click on the selected palette and select either Get
Rights to Modify Palette or Get Rights to Modify All Palettes.
l From the Colour view menu , select Palettes > Get Rights to Modify Palette or Get Rights to
Modify All Palettes.
How to rename a pencil line texture using the Colour view
1. In the Colour view, click on the Show Pencil Texture Palettes button to display your pencil
texture palettes.
2. In the palette list, select the pencil texture palette containing the desired pencil texture.
3. In the swatch list, select the pencil texture you wish to delete.
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4. Do one of the following:
l Click on the Remove Colour button.
l Right-click on the pencil texture and select Delete.
l Open the Colour view menu and select Colours > Delete.
l Press Del (Windows/Linux) or Backspace (macOS).
The selected pencil texture is removed from the pencil texture palette.
How to rename a pencil line texture using the Pencil Properties dialog
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Pencil tool or press Alt + /.
2. In the Tool Properties view, click on the arrow button next to the stroke preview area to open the
Pencil Properties dialog.
3. In the Pencil Properties dialog, click on the Texture tab.
NOTE
The texture library in the Texture tab lists the same pencil textures as the ones in the
currently selected pencil texture palette in the Colour view.
4. In the pencil texture library, select the texture you wish to delete.
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5. Do one of the following:
l Click on the Delete Texture button.
l Open the Brush menu and select Delete Texture.
The selected pencil texture is removed from the pencil texture palette.
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Replacing a Pencil Texture
Just like you can edit a colour swatch and simultaneously update all the drawings using the colour swatch with
this new colour, you can replace an existing pencil texture with a different texture, and update all pencil lines
that use this texture with the new texture.
NOTE
If you are using Harmony Server, make sure you have the rights to modify the selected palette by
doing one of the following:
l In the Colour view, make sure the Edit Palette Mode toggle button is pressed in.
l In the palette list of the Colour view, right-click on the selected palette and select either Get
Rights to Modify Palette or Get Rights to Modify All Palettes.
l From the Colour view menu , select Palettes > Get Rights to Modify Palette or Get Rights to
Modify All Palettes.
How to replace an existing pencil line texture
1. In the Colour view, click on the Show Pencil Texture Palettes button to display your pencil
texture palettes.
2. In the palette list, select the pencil texture palette containing the desired pencil texture.
3. In the swatch list, select the pencil texture that you want to replace.
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4. Do one of the following:
l Right-click on the pencil texture and select Edit Texture.
l Open the Colour view menu and select Colours > Edit Texture.
5. In the file browser dialog, navigate to the location of your new texture image file and select it.
6. Click Open.
The selected texture is replaced with the new texture file. It is also renamed based on the new
texture's file name.
Any pencil line that was drawn with the older pencil texture will now be drawn with the new pencil
texture.
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Setting the Default Pencil Texture Palette
You can make a pencil texture palette into the default texture palette which is added to every new scene you
create. This will be saved in your user preferences.
How to add a texture to your preferences
1. In the Colour view, click on the Show Pencil Texture Palettes button to display your pencil
texture palettes.
2. In the palette list, select the pencil texture palette containing the desired pencil texture.
3. In the Tools toolbar, select the Pencil tool or press Alt + /.
4. In the Tool Properties view, click on the arrow button next to the stroke preview area to open the
Pencil Properties dialog.
5. In the Pencil Properties dialog, click on the Texture tab.
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NOTE
The texture library in the Texture tab lists the same pencil textures as the ones in the
currently selected pencil texture palette in the Colour view.
6. Do one of the following:
l Click on the Use as Default Texture Palette button.
l Open the Brush menu and select Use as Default Texture Palette.
From now on, new scenes created in Harmony will have the selected pencil texture palette as their
default pencil texture palette.
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Recovering the Default Pencil Texture Palette
If you have made modifications on the default pencil texture palette in your scene that you wish to undo, you
can easily re-import the default pencil texture palette back into your scene as a new pencil texture palette.
How to recover the default pencil texture palette into your scene
1. Click on the Show Pencil Texture Palettes button to display your pencil texture palettes.
2. In the Tools toolbar, select the Pencil tool or press Alt + /.
3. In the Tool Properties view, click on the arrow button next to the stroke preview area to open the
Pencil Properties dialog.
4. In the Pencil Properties dialog, click on the Texture tab.
NOTE
The texture library in the Texture tab lists the same pencil textures as the ones in the
currently selected pencil texture palette in the Colour view.
5. Click on the Reload Default Texture Palette button.
A copy of the default pencil texture palette is added to the scene's pencil texture palette list.
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Converting a Colour Palette to a Pencil Texture Palette
As of Harmony 15, each palette is set to either be a colour palette, or a texture palette, and both palette types
are kept in separate lists. However, in Harmony 14 and prior versions, pencil texture palettes were just regular
palettes, which you had to temporarily set at your pencil texture palette in order to use it for pencil line textures.
Because of this, if you open a scene created in Harmony 14 or prior, and which contains pencil texture palettes,
Harmony 15 will not be able to tell which palettes are colour palettes and which ones are pencil texture
palettes. Hence, you must manually move your pencil texture palettes to the pencil texture palette list before
you can use them for pencil line textures.
The only exception to this is if a scene created in a prior version of Harmony has a pencil texture palette named
penstyle_opacity. Because this was the default name for pencil texture palettes in older versions of
Harmony, Harmony 15 will automatically convert those palettes to pencil texture palettes.
NOTE
Converting a colour palette to a pencil texture palette is permanent. You cannot convert a pencil
texture palette to a colour palette. However, you will be prompted to confirm before making the
conversion, and the conversion can be undone with the Undo command.
NOTE
If you are using Harmony Server, make sure you have the rights to modify the selected palette by
doing one of the following:
l In the Colour view, make sure the Edit Palette Mode toggle button is pressed in.
l In the palette list of the Colour view, right-click on the selected palette and select either Get
Rights to Modify Palette or Get Rights to Modify All Palettes.
l From the Colour view menu , select Palettes > Get Rights to Modify Palette or Get Rights to
Modify All Palettes.
How to convert a colour palette to a pencil texture palette
1. In the palette list of the Colour view, select the palette you want to convert to a pencil texture
palette.
2. Do one of the following:
l Right-click on the palette and select Change to Pencil Texture.
l Open the Colour view menu and select Palettes > Change to Pencil Texture.
The palette will be moved from the colour palette list to the pencil texture palette list. To see
it, click on the Show Pencil Texture Palettes button or the Show All Palettes button.
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About Pencil Presets
Setting up your pencil to perfectly reproduce the desired art style can require a lot of tweaking as well as trial
and error. Once you have found the correct settings for your pencil, you will want to reuse it throughout your
project for consistency. You can do that by creating and using pencil presets.
Harmony comes preloaded with a few pencil presets which you can select from the Tool Properties view. It is
also possible to create your own pencil presets by configuring your pencil, then saving it as a preset.
Pencil presets are saved in your preferences. You can also export your brush presets into an .xml file, and
import them on a different workstation, allowing you to share your brush presets between the different people
collaborating on your project.
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Creating Pencil Presets
T-LAY-002-002
You can create your own custom pencil presets.
Regular pencil presets allow you to set the size and smoothing of the line or shape. As you draw, the thickness
of the line varies according the amount of pressure you apply with a pen and tablet.
NOTE
To learn more about the Pencil tool options, see the Reference guide .
How to create a pencil preset
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Pencil , Line , Ellipse , or Rectangle tool.
2. In the Tool Properties view, click on the arrow button next to the stroke preview area to open the
Pencil Properties dialog.
3. Configure your brush to be exactly how you wish to use it in the future—see Creating a Pencil on
page 362.
4. In the Tool Properties view, click the New Brush button.
The New Preset dialog box opens.
5. Type in a name for your new pencil thickness stencil and click OK.
6. Start drawing in the Drawing or Camera view.
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Creating Pencil Thickness Presets
T-LAY-002-003
Thickness stencils that are indicated with this icon are also set with specific properties, but disregards the
pressure of your pen and tablet. The line thickness varies. You can access thickness stencils from the list of
presets on the Tool Properties view or create your own.
How to create a pencil thickness stencil
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Select tool.
2. In the Camera view, select the pencil line or shape from which you want to take the style.
3. In the Tool Properties view, click the New Thickness Stencil button.
A new thickness stencil is added to the end of the list in the Presets menu.
4. In the Presets menu, select a new thickness stencil and click on a line or shape in the Drawing or
Camera view to apply the thickness stencil you created.
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Selecting a Pencil Preset
T-ANIMPA-010-001
A pencil preset is a pencil with specific properties. You can work with regular pencil presets and thickness
stencils.
How to select a pencil preset
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Pencil , Line , Ellipse , or Rectangle tool.
2. In the Tool Properties view, use the Presets menu to select a pencil preset.
3. In the Drawing or Camera view, draw your pencil line or shape.
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Applying a Pencil Preset
T-ANIMPA-010-004
You can apply a pencil preset on already drawn pencil lines using the Select tool.
How to apply a thickness stencil to a pencil line or shape
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Select tool.
2. In the Drawing or Camera view, select the pencil line or shape on which you want to apply a style.
3. In the Tool Properties view, select the style you want to apply from the Presets list.
The style you selected is applied to your selection.
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Renaming Pencil Presets
You can rename your pencil presets to keep your list organized.
How to rename a pencil preset
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Pencil , Line , Ellipse , or Rectangle tool.
2. In the Presets menu, select the thickness stencil or preset you want to rename.
3. From the Brush menu , select Rename Brush.
The Rename Preset dialog box opens.
4. In the Name field, type in the new name.
5. Click OK.
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Deleting Pencil Presets
You can delete unnecessary presets from your list.
How to delete a thickness stencil or pencil preset
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Pencil tool.
2. In the Presets menu, select the thickness stencil or preset to delete.
3. Click the Delete Preset button.
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Exporting Pencil Presets
T-ANIMPA-010-005
You can export your pencil presets to either backup, share or install on a different computer.
How to export pencils, brushes and erasers
1. In the Tools toolbar, select either the Brush , Pencil or Eraser tool.
2. In the Tool Properties view, open the Brush Preset menu and select Export Brushes.
The Export Brushes dialog opens. This dialog allows you to export brush presets for the Brush,
Pencil and Eraser tools.
3. By default, the presets for all your tools will be selected for export. If you only wish to export presets
for specific tools, uncheck Select/Deselect All and select the tools for which you want to export the
presets.
4. Click Export.
5. In the Export Presets dialog that appears, browse to the location where you want to save the .xml
file and enter its file name.
6. Click Save.
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Importing Pencil Presets
T-ANIMPA-010-006
You can import Harmony pencil presets that you previously exported.
How to import pencils, brushes and erasers
1. In the Tools toolbar, select either the Brush , Pencil or Eraser tool.
2. In the Tool Properties view, open the Brush Preset menu and select Import Brushes.
3. In the browser window that appears, navigate to and select the .xml file in which you exported
your brush presets.
4. Click Open.
The Import Brushes dialog box opens.
5. By default, the presets for any tools included in the file will be selected for import. If you only wish to
import presets for specific tools, uncheck Select/Deselect All and select the tools for which you want
to export the presets
6. Click Import.
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The imported brush, eraser and pencil styles will appear in the Presets list.
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Changing the Pencil Preset Display
You can display your preset list as thumbnails or a list.
How to change the way presets are previewed in the Tool Properties view
1. In the Tool Properties view, open the Brush Presets menu.
2. Select one of the following options:
l Small Thumbnail: Displays presets in a grid of small thumbnails with a preview of their
tip.
l Large Thumbnail: Displays presets in a grid of big thumbnails, with their name and a
preview of their tip.
l Stroke View: Displays presets in a list, with their name and a preview of a stroke done
with each preset.
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About Shape Tools
T-HFND-004-006
In Harmony, you can use the shape tools to draw circles, lines and rectangles. You can also easily reshape a
square or circle into a much more complex drawing—see About the Contour Editor Tool on page 487 and
About the Pencil Editor Tool on page 498.
The available shape tools are:
l Line tool
l Rectangle tool
l Ellipse tool
l Polyline tool
NOTES
l The shape tools use the same pencil presets as the Pencil tool. To learn how to create, delete,
rename, import and export presets, see About the Pencil Tool on page 358.
l To learn more about the shape tool parameters, see the Reference guide .
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Creating Lines, Rectangles and Ellipses with the Shape Drawing Tools
T-HFND-004-006A
You can use the Line, Rectangle, or Ellipse tool to draw shape without having to trace them. You can also use
these tools to draw perfect circles and squares.
How to draw with the Line tool
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the cell on which you want to draw.
2. In the Tools toolbar, select the Line tool.
3. In the Camera view, click and hold where you want the line to start, then move the mouse cursor
where you want the line to end.
l If you want to snap the angle of your line to the nearest 15° angle, hold the Shift key.
l If you want to snap the end of your line to the nearest shape, hold the Alt key.
l If you want to draw a curved line, hold Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ (macOS). The line will end
where your mouse cursor currently is, and moving the mouse cursor will pull the line's curve
towards it.
TIP
You can use the Contour Editor tool to tweak the shape of your line—see About the
Contour Editor Tool on page 487.
How to draw with the Rectangle or Ellipse tool
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the cell on which you want to draw.
2. In the Tools toolbar, select the Rectangle or Ellipse tool.
3. To automatically fill the shape, in the Tool Properties view, enable the Auto Fill option.
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4. In the Camera view, click and hold where you want one of the corners of your shape to be, then
move the mouse cursor where you want the opposing corner of the shape to be.
TIPS
l To draw a perfect square or circle (with equal width and height), hold the Shift key.
You can also enable the Draw Square or Draw Circle option in the Tool
Properties view.
l To draw the rectangle or ellipse from its centre instead of its corner, hold the Alt key.
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Drawing Curved Lines with the Line Tool
The Line tool allows you to draw curved lines very quickly by drawing a straight line, then defining its curve
right after.
There are three ways to do this:
l In Straight Line Mode, the default mode of the Line tool, you can press and hold the Ctrl
(Windows/Linux) or ⌘ (macOS) key while drawing a line to define a simple curve for it.
l In Curved Line Mode, after drawing a line, you are prompted to move the mouse cursor or tablet pen and
click once to define the line’s curve.
l In S Curve Line Mode, after drawing a line, you are prompted to click once to position the line’s first
Bezier handle, and then once more to position its second Bezier handle.
NOTE
You can also define the curve of an existing line using the Contour Editor tool—see About the
Contour Editor Tool on page 487.
How to draw a curved line in Straight Line Mode
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Line tool.
2. In the Tool Properties view, click Straight Line Mode.
3. In the Camera or Drawing view, click and drag to draw a line, but don’t release the mouse button or
tablet pen.
4. While holding the mouse button or tablet pen down, press and hold the Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or ⌘
(macOS) key.
5. Move the mouse or pen in the general direction of the desired curve.
6. When the curve looks as intended, release the mouse button or pen to preserve it.
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How to draw a curved line in Curve Line Mode
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Line tool.
2. In the Tool Properties view, click Curve Line Mode.
3. In the Camera or Drawing view, click and drag to draw a line, then release the mouse button or
tablet pen.
4. Move the mouse or pen in the general direction of the desired curve.
5. When the curve looks as intended, click to preserve it.
How to draw a curved line in S Curve Line Mode
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Line tool.
2. In the Tool Properties view, click Curve Line Mode.
3. In the Camera or Drawing view, click and drag to draw a line, then release the mouse button or
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tablet pen.
4. Move the mouse cursor or pen where you want the curve’s first Bezier handle (from the start of the
line) to be positioned, then click.
5. Move the mouse cursor or pen where you want the curve’s second Bezier handle (from the end of
the line) to be positioned, then click.
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Creating Vector Shapes with the Polyline Tool
You can use the Polyline tool to draw complex segmented lines or curved lines by creating each point
constituting the line.
How to draw with the Polyline tool
1. In the Timeline view, select the cell on which you want to draw.
2. In the Tools toolbar, select the Polyline tool or press Alt + _.
3. In the Camera or Drawing view, do one of the following:
l Click to create a point with no Bezier handles.
l Click and drag to create a point and its Bezier handles in the same stroke.
TIP
While dragging to create a Bezier handle, you can:
l Hold the Alt key to only change the angle of the outer handle, and leave the inner
handle at its current angle.
l Hold the Shift key to lock the angle of the handle at every 15 degrees.
4. Click or click and drag somewhere else to create the second point in your line. A line will be drawn
between the first point and the second point.
5. Repeat the previous step until your line is complete.
6. While holding Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ (macOS), click anywhere in the drawing space to release
the Polyline tool from the line you've been building. You can then start building a new line.
7. If you want to make adjustments to the line you created, you can use the Contour Editor tool—
see Reshaping a Shape, Pencil Line or Stroke with the Contour Editor Tool on page 488.
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About the Stamp Tool
The Stamp tool allows you to create stamps out of drawings in your projects, then stamp those drawings over
your artwork. You can click on your artwork to apply your stamp once, or draw a stroke with the Stamp tool, as
you would with the Brush or Pencil tool, to apply the stamp repeatedly along the stroke.
A stamp can contain one or several drawings. When a stamp is made of multiple drawings, it will cycle through
each one of its drawings each time it is stamped onto your artwork. Hence, when you draw a stroke with a
multi-drawing stamp, you will see the stamp tool cycle through the sequence of drawings as you draw the
stroke. The way the drawings in a multi-drawing stamp are cycled through can even be customized. Among
other settings, you can make it cycle backward, stamp random drawings or even stamp only a specific drawing
in the sequence.
Other than being able to easily re-use drawings, The Stamp tool can be used to streamline drawing if you need
to draw something that requires a lot of repetitive detail, such as starry skies, grass, weather conditions or
particle-type effects. For example, a stamp made of a few different drawings of a blade of grass can be used to
draw a grass line by drawing a few strokes of that stamp over the same horizontal line. The ability to
randomize the size, angle and distance of the stamping can give the result of using this procedure a more
natural look.
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NOTES
l To learn more about the Stamp tool properties, see the Reference Guide
l The Stamp tool replaces the Dynamic Brush option of the Brush tool in Harmony 15.0 and
earlier.
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Creating a Stamp
You can create a stamp by drawing the artwork for your stamp, then selecting it and creating a stamp preset.
How to create a stamp
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select an empty cell in a vector drawing layer.
2. In the Camera or Drawing view, draw the artwork with which you want to create a stamp.
3. Do one of the following:
l If you want to create a stamp with all the artwork in the drawing, select this drawing in the
Timeline or Xsheet view.
l If you want to create a stamp with part of the artwork in the drawing, select the Select
tool in the Tools toolbar, then select the artwork that you want to use to create a stamp—
see—Selecting, Repositioning and Transforming Artwork on page 459.
4. In the Tools toolbar, select the Stamp tool.
5. In the Tool Properties view, click on the New Preset button.
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6. In the New Preset dialog, type the desired name for your new stamp.
7. Click OK.
A stamp containing the selected artwork is added to the Presets list for the Stamp tool. You can
now draw with the Stamp tool using this stamp.
NOTE
Once your stamp has been created, you can delete the artwork you used to create it from your
project. The artwork in your stamps will be saved in your preferences.
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Creating a Multi-Drawing Stamp
You can create a stamp containing a series of drawings. All you need to do is create each drawing you want to
add to your stamp in a separate drawing cell, then create a stamp with those drawings selected. The resulting
stamp will cycle through each one of those drawings as you use it.
In order to create a stamp using multiple drawings, your drawings must either be in a single contiguous
horizontal or vertical sequence.
How to create a multi-drawing stamp
1. In the Timeline view, select an empty cell.
2. In the Camera or Drawing view, create the first drawing you want to have in the drawing sequence
of your stamp.
3. In the Timeline view, select the cell right after the current cell.
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4. In the Camera or Drawing view, create the second drawing you want to have in the drawing
sequence of your stamp.
5. Repeat these previous steps until you have all the drawings you want to have in your stamp, in one
continuous sequence of drawings, in the same layer.
NOTE
You can also create a stamp using drawings in a sequence of layers, provided that those
drawings are all in the same frame and that those layers are adjacent to each other. The
drawings in the stamp will be ordered from top to bottom.
6. In the Timeline view, select all the cells containing the drawings you want to add to your stamp.
TIPS
l You can click and drag over a sequence of drawing cells to select them.
l You can also select multiple cells by clicking on the first cell you want to select,
holding shift, then clicking on the last cell you want to select.
7. In the Tools toolbar, select the Stamp tool.
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8. In the Tool Properties view, click on New Preset.
The New Preset dialog appears.
9. In the New Preset dialog, type the desired name for your new stamp.
10. Click OK.
A multi-drawing stamp containing the artwork in all the selected layers is added to the Presets list.
NOTE
Once your stamp has been created, you can delete the artwork you used to create it from your
project. The artwork in your stamps will be saved in your preferences.
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Configuring a Stamp
When drawing a stroke with the stamp tool, the way the stamp is applied in terms of size, angle, spacing can
be customized.
How to configure the size, pressure sensitivity, roundness, angle and spacing of a
stamp
1. In the Presets list of the Tool Properties view, select the stamp that you want to configure.
2. In the Tool Properties view, just right of the stroke preview area, click on the Show Extended
Properties button.
The Stamp Properties dialog opens.
3. If you want to adjust the size of the stamp, change the Maximum Scale setting until you obtain the
desired size.
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NOTE
The Scale of a stamp is relative to the original size of the drawing used to create the
stamp. At 100% scale, the stamp added to your artwork will be the same size as its
original drawing.
4. If you're using a pressure-sensitive pen tablet and want the size of the stamp to depend on the
amount of pressure you put on your pen, reduce the Minimum Scale setting.
5. If you would like to flip the stamp horizontally, click on the two-ended horizontal arrow over the
stamp thumbnail. If you would like to flip the stamp vertically, click on the two-ended vertical arrow
left of the stamp thumbnails.
6. If your stamp is round or square, and you would like it to appear flat or squished, reduce the
Roundness parameter. This will scale down the stamp vertically.
7. If you want your stamp to be added to your artwork at an angle, change the Angle parameter. This
setting rotates the stamp counterclockwise, on a 360 degrees scale.
8. If you want to change the amount of space between each stamp when you draw a stroke with the
Stamp tool, adjust the Spacing parameter.
9. If you want the current settings to be saved to your stamp preset, click on the Update Brush Preset
button at the top-right corner of the Stamp Properties dialog.
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NOTE
You can use the Stamp tool with the currently selected settings without updating your
preset.
You can randomize the size, angle and spacing of the stamp. This will make the Stamp tool apply a randomly
picked value to these parameters every time it applies a stamp to your artwork.
How to randomize the size, angle and spacing of a stamp
1. In the Presets list of the Tool Properties view, select the stamp that you want to configure.
2. In the Tool Properties view, just right of the stroke preview area, click on the Show Extended
Properties button.
The Stamp Properties dialog opens.
3. If you want the size of the stamp to be randomized every time the stamp is added to your artwork,
decrease the Minimum Scale setting, then increase the Random Size setting.
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NOTE
The Random Size setting makes the size of each stamp vary randomly between its
Minimum Scale and Maximum Scale. The higher the Random Size is, the closer to its
Minimum Scale the random size can be.
4. If you want the angle of your stamp to be randomized every time the stamp is added to your
artwork, increase the Random Angle setting.
5. If you want the spacing of your stamp to be randomized every time the stamp is added to your
artwork, increase the Random Spacing setting.
6. If you want the current settings to be saved to your stamp preset, click on the Update Brush Preset
button at the top-right corner of the Stamp Properties dialog.
NOTE
You can use the Stamp tool with the currently selected settings without updating your
preset.
You can make a multi-drawing stamp cycle through its sequence of drawings in several different ways. You can
also randomize the cycle, or disable it so that it only stamps the drawing of your choice.
How to change the way a multi-drawing stamp cycles through its drawings
1. In the Presets list of the Tool Properties view, select the stamp that you want to configure.
2. In the Tool Properties view, just right of the stroke preview area, click on the Show Extended
Properties button.
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The Stamp Properties dialog opens.
1. In the Cycle drop-down, select the desired cycling method:
l Forward: Starts by applying the first drawing in the sequence, then the next one, and so on
until it reaches the last drawing in the sequence, then cycles back to the first one.
l Reverse: Starts by applying the last drawing in the sequence, then the previous one, and so
on until it reaches the first drawing in the sequence, then cycles back to the last one.
l Forward->Reverse: Starts by cycling forward through the sequence until it reaches the last
drawing, then cycles backward to the first drawing, and so on.
l Reverse->Forward: Starts by cycling backward through the sequence until it reaches the
first drawing, then cycles back to the last drawing, and so on.
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l Random: Applies a random drawing in the sequence each time the stamp is applied.
l Hold: Applies a single one of the drawings in the sequence over and over again.
2. If you selected the Hold option, select which one of the stamps in the sequence you wish to stamp
onto your artwork by changing the Stamp setting in the Tool Properties view. For example, if you
only want to stamp the second drawing in the sequence, set the Stamp setting to 2.
3. If you want the cycle to restart at the beginning of each one of your drawing strokes, enable the
Reset Cycle for Each Stroke option.
4. If you want the current settings to be saved to your stamp preset, click on the Update Brush Preset
button at the top-right corner of the Stamp Properties dialog.
NOTE
You can use the Stamp tool with the currently selected settings without updating your
preset.
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Updating a Stamp
A stamp in your Presets list does not only contain its drawings, but also its properties. If you have made any
changes to the properties of your stamp, and wish for those properties to be set automatically whenever you
use that stamp, you can update the stamp. This will save the current properties of the stamp into its preset.
Once that is done, the current properties of the stamp will be loaded the next time you select it from the
Presets list, even after you close and reopen the project.
NOTE
You cannot update the drawings in a stamp. You can only update its parameters. If you need to use
different drawings for your stamp, you must create a new stamp—see Creating a Stamp on page
416 and Creating a Multi-Drawing Stamp on page 418.
How to update a stamp
1. In the Presets list of the Tool Properties view, select the stamp that you want to configure.
2. In the Tool Properties view, just right of the stroke preview area, click on the Show Extended
Properties button.
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The Stamp Properties dialog opens.
3. In the Stamp Properties dialog, adjust the settings of your stamp as desired—see Configuring a
Stamp on page 421.
4. In the top-right corner of the Stamp Properties dialog, click on the Update Preset button.
The selected stamp properties will be loaded whenever you select this stamp, even after you close
and reopen your project.
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Drawing with the Stamp Tool
Once you have created a stamp, you can start drawing with it. You can either stamp it into your artwork once at
a time, or draw strokes with the tool, making it apply the stamp repeatedly onto your artwork along your
strokes.
How to draw with the Stamp tool
1. In the Layer panel of the Stage or Camera view or the Layers view, select the layer on which you
want to apply the stamp.
2. In the Tools toolbar, select the Stamp tool.
3. In the Tool Properties view, select a stamp from the Presets list—see Creating a Stamp on page 416
and Creating a Multi-Drawing Stamp on page 418.
4. Move the mouse cursor over the Stage or Camera view. You will see the stamp under your mouse
cursor as it will be applied into your artwork. If you want to adjust the size in which it will be applied,
adjust the Maximum Scale setting in the Tool Properties view.
5. By default, your stamp will be applied at an even size, angle and distance. Also, if your stamp is a
multi-drawing stamp, it will cycle through its drawings in their original order. If you want your stamp
to be applied with different parameters, see Configuring a Stamp.
6. In the Camera or Drawing view, do one of the following:
l To apply the stamp once, simply click where you want to apply it.
l To draw a stroke along which the stamp is applied multiple times, simply draw a stroke with
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the tool as you would with the Brush or Pencil tool.
TIPS
l If your stamp has multiple drawings in it, you can select which drawings to stamp by using
the Stamp slider in the Tool Properties view. You can also cycle through the stamp's
drawings by pressing the Left Arrow and Right Arrow keys.
l You can quickly adjust the size of the selected drawing tool by pressing and holding the O
key, then clicking and dragging in the drawing space. If you are using a tablet pen, doing
this with the eraser tip of your pen will adjust the size of the Eraser tool, regardless of which
drawing tool is selected.
l If you press and hold the Shift key before or while drawing, you will draw a straight line.
l If you press and hold the Spacebar key while drawing a straight line, the angle of your line
will lock. If you are using a pressure-sensitive tablet, you can draw over your line to adjust its
thickness.
l If you press and hold the Shift and Alt keys before or while drawing, you will draw a
straight horizontal or vertical line.
l If you press and hold the Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ (macOS) key while drawing, your
drawing stroke will turn into a closed shape.
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Renaming Stamps
You can rename stamps you have created to make them easier to identify in the Presets list.
How to rename a stamp.
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Stamp tool.
2. In the Presets list of the Tool Properties view, select the stamp you want to rename.
3. Open the Brush Presets menu, then select Rename Brush.
4. In the Rename Brush dialog, enter the new name for your stamp.
5. Click OK.
The stamp's new name updates in the Presets list.
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Deleting Stamps
You can delete stamps you no longer need from the Presets list.
How to delete a stamp.
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Stamp tool.
2. In the Presets list of the Tool Properties view, select the stamp you want to delete.
3. Click on the Delete Brush button just above the Presets list.
The stamp is removed from the Presets list.
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Exporting Stamps
You can export stamps you have created to keep a backup of them, or to import them for use in another project.
How to export stamps
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Stamp tool.
2. In the Tool Properties view, open the Brush Preset menu and select Export Brushes.
The Export Brushes dialog opens. This dialog allows you to export brush presets for the Brush,
Pencil, Eraser and Stamp tools.
3. By default, the presets for all your tools will be selected for export. If you only wish to export your
stamps, uncheck Select/Deselect All, then check Stamp.
4. Click on Export.
A save dialog appears.
5. Browse to the location where you want to save the .xml file that will contain your presets.
6. Enter the desired file name for your presets file.
7. Click on Save.
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Importing Stamps
You can import stamps you have exported from another project into your current project, allowing you to reuse
them between projects or to restore backups of your stamps.
How to import stamps
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Stamp tool.
2. In the Tool Properties view, open the Brush Preset menu and select Import Brushes.
An Open File dialog appears.
3. In the browser window that appears, navigate to and select the .xml file in which you exported
your stamps
4. Click Open.
The Import Brushes dialog box opens.
5. By default, the presets for any tools included in the file will be selected for import. If you only wish to
import the stamps from this file, uncheck Select/Deselect All and check Stamps.
6. Click on Import.
The imported stamps will be added to the Presets list in the Tool Properties view.
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Changing The Way Stamps Are Displayed
By default, your stamps are listed in the Tool Properties dialog as strokes. You can also preview them as big
thumbnails if you want to be able to pick them without scrolling, or as small thumbnails if you have a lot.
How to change the way presets are previewed in the Tool Properties view
1. In the Tool Properties view, open the Brush Presets menu.
2. Select one of the following options:
l Small Thumbnail: Displays presets in a grid of small thumbnails with a preview of their
tip.
l Large Thumbnail: Displays presets in a grid of big thumbnails, with their name and a
preview of their tip.
l Stroke View: Displays presets in a list, with their name and a preview of a stroke done
with each preset.
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Stamp Tool Modes
When you select the Stamp tool, its properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view.
Draw Behind Mode
When enabled, your drawing strokes will be added underneath the existing artwork instead of over it.
NOTE
Your stroke will appear over your artwork as you draw it, until you release the mouse cursor or
tablet pen.
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About the Stroke Tool
T-HFND-004-013
There are two different ways to draw invisible lines, using the Pencil tool or Stroke tool.
Using the Pencil tool, you can draw as strokes only, meaning that the line will be invisible. This can be useful for
drawing tones and highlights directly on the character.
The Stroke tool draws invisible lines only. You cannot add thickness to the line. Unlike the Close Gap tool that
creates a short, straight line between two points, the stroke line will stay exactly where you draw it. This tool
can be useful for closing a zone in a particular way or creating some hard shadows or highlight areas.
Sometimes, it may be difficult to see strokes, especially if your colours are similar to the blue stroke colour. In
Harmony, you can display the strokes in washed-out colours so the invisible lines stand out.
NOTE
To learn more about the Stroke tool parameters, see the Reference guide .
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Creating Invisible Lines with the Stroke Tool
T-HFND-004-013A
You can draw invisible lines with the Stroke tool. These lines can be used to delimit or close off colour areas
when you colour drawing with the Paint tool.
How to draw invisible lines with the Stroke tool
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the cell on which you want to draw.
2. Make sure strokes are visible in your drawing space by doing one of the following:
l In the top menu, select View > Show > Show Strokes
l Press K.
3. Select the Stroke tool by doing one of the following:
l In the Tools toolbar, double-click on Paint. In its drop-down menu, select the Stroke tool
l Press Alt + V.
4. In the Camera or Drawing view, start drawing.
TIPS
l If you press and hold the Shift key before or while you are drawing, your stroke will
be a straight line until you stop drawing or release the Shift key.
l If you press and hold the Shift and the Alt keys before drawing, your stroke will be a
straight line in an angle that is a multiple of 15 degrees.
l If you press and hold the Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ (macOS) key while drawing,
your stroke will be a closed shape.
l If you press and hold Alt before drawing a stroke, and you start your stroke near
another stroke, the start of your stroke will connect to the other stroke. Likewise, if
you press and hold the Alt key and end your stroke near another stroke, the end of
the stroke will connect to that stroke.
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NOTE
If the Show Strokes option is not enabled, the following message will appear after you
draw a stroke. To remedy this, refer to step 2.
Authors
Marie-Eve Chartrand
Christopher Diaz
chrisdiazart.com
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About the Eraser Tool
T-HFND-004-010
Using the Eraser tool, you can erase portions of your drawing by drawing strokes over it.
Just like the Brush tool, the Eraser tool is pressure-sensitive, allowing you to erase with more precision if you are
using a pen tablet.
It is a good idea to create and save erasers with precise sizes and parameters in order to save time when
drawing and designing. Harmony provides you with a variety of default eraser styles and allows you to create
and save your own eraser presets.
Just like the Brush tool, you can use the Eraser tool on both vector and bitmap layers, and you can configure an
eraser to have a solid or textured tip, to have automatic smoothing, a dual tip and a paper texture.
NOTE
To learn more about each individual parameter of the Eraser tool, see the Reference Guide.
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Erasing
T-HFND-004-010A
Using the Eraser tool, you can erase portions of your drawing by drawing strokes over it.
How to erase with the Eraser tool
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the cell that contains objects you want to erase.
2. In the Tools toolbar, select the Eraser tool or press Alt + E.
3. In the Presets list of the Tool Properties view, select a brush preset to use.
NOTE
To learn how to create an Eraser preset, see Creating a Solid Eraser on page 442 and
Creating a Textured Eraser on page 446.
4. Set the Maximum Size to the desired Eraser size.
NOTE
If you are drawing with a mouse, your strokes will always be at their maximum size. If
you are using a pressure-sensitive tablet, your strokes will vary in size depending on the
pressure of your pen, ranging between 25% to 100% of the maximum size.
5. In the Camera or Drawinga view, start erasing.
TIPS
l You can quickly adjust the size of the selected drawing tool by pressing and holding the O
key, then clicking and dragging in the drawing space. If you are using a tablet pen, doing
this with the eraser tip of your pen will adjust the size of the Eraser tool, regardless of which
drawing tool is selected.
l If you press and hold the Shift key before or while drawing, you will draw a straight line.
l If you press and hold the Spacebar key while drawing a straight line, the angle of your line
will lock. If you are using a pressure-sensitive tablet, you can draw over your line to adjust its
thickness.
l If you press and hold the Shift and Alt keys before or while drawing, you will draw a
straight horizontal or vertical line.
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Creating a Solid Eraser
When using the Eraser tool on a vector layer, you can use either solid vector erasers or textured vector erasers.
By default, your eraser will be a solid vector eraser. A solid vector eraser cuts out the shape of its stroke from
your vector artwork.
A solid vector eraser's tip can be shaped like a circle, a diamond or a square, and can be configured to have a
specific size, aspect ratio and angle. Also, solid vector erasers can be automatically smoothed by Harmony as
you draw.
If you are erasing on a bitmap layer, you can only use textured erasers, although you can configured a textured
eraser to appear solid.
How to create a solid vector eraser
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Eraser tool or press Alt + B.
2. In the Tool Properties view, click the arrow button to open the Eraser Properties view.
The Eraser Properties dialog opens.
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3. In the Eraser Type dropdown list, select Solid Vector.
4. In the brush tip list, select either Circle, Diamond or Square.
5. Use the Maximum Size slider to set the maximum size of your eraser tip, in pixels.
NOTE
When drawing with a mouse, your eraser is always at its maximum size. When drawing
with a pressure-sensitive pen tablet, your eraser's size will range between its minimum
and maximum size, depending on the amount of pressure you put on the pen when
drawing.
6. If you are using a pressure-sensitive pen tablet, use the Minimum Size slider to set the percentage
of your eraser tip's maximum size your eraser should be when you use your pen with very little
pressure. If you don't want the pressure on your pen to affect the eraser size, set this parameter to
100%.
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7. If you want your eraser tip to have uneven dimensions, use the Roundness slider to shrink the
eraser tip vertically all the while preserving its horizontal size.
8. If you want your eraser tip to be at an angle, use the Angle slider to rotate your brush tip.
9. If you want your eraser tip to stretch when you tilt your pen, use the Pen Tilt Sensitivity slider to set
how much the tip should stretch. The tip will stretch by the percentage you set, in the direction in
which you tilt the pen.
NOTE
This option only works if your tablet and your pen support tilt sensitivity.
10. If you want your eraser ip to rotate when you rotate your pen, check the Use Pen Rotation check
box.
NOTE
This option only works if your tablet and your pen support pen rotation.
11. Click on the Smoothing tab.
12. Use the Centerline Smoothing slider to set the amount of smoothing Harmony should perform on
your stroke's direction, curves and corners. A higher setting will prevent your line from being shaky,
but is liable to reduce your drawing precision and to round sharp corners into curves.
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13. Use the Contour Smoothing slider to set the amount of smoothing Harmony should perform on
your stroke's contour. A higher setting will round sharp corners and reduce the amount of control
points for the resulting vector shape.
14. Either close or set aside the Eraser Properties dialog.
15. In the Camera or Drawing view, start erasing to test your eraser settings.
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Creating a Textured Eraser
A textured eraser can have the same settings as a textured brush: It can have a bitmap tip of any shape, can be
hard or soft, semi-transparent, combine two tips and be applied with a paper texture effect.
When working on a bitmap layer, the eraser tool is always textured, whereas when working on vector layers,
erasers are solid vector by default. A solid vector eraser merely cuts out the shape of the eraser stroke from the
vector artwork, whereas a textured vector eraser makes the artwork's bitmap texture more opaque or fully
invisible, depending on its intensity, then cuts out some of the vector artwork that the eraser made fully
invisible.
A textured eraser works like a reverse textured brush: It makes the pixels in a brush stroke's texture more—or
completely—transparent, depending on the eraser's intensity. This effect can only be obtained by using a
textured eraser on a textured brush stroke. If you use a textured eraser on solid vector shapes or on pencil lines,
the eraser will act like a solid vector eraser, that is, it will merely cut out the shape of the stroke from the
artwork. This is because solid vector shapes and pencil lines don't have a bitmap texture, and therefore the
textured eraser cannot work on the opacity of their individual pixels. Hence, when working on vector layers, it
is better to use a textured eraser only if all your artwork is composed of textured brush strokes, or it might wield
strange-looking results.
This outlines one of the advantages of working with bitmap layers. On bitmap layers, your brushes and erasers
always work as textured brushes and erasers.
Another issue you might encounter when erasing textured vector artwork is that textured vector brush strokes
are not flattened together, whereas on bitmap layers, your artwork is always flattened. This implies that if you
use a semi-transparent eraser on textured vector artwork, and the artwork has overlapping strokes, all the
strokes you erase will become semi-transparent, the resulting image will be a composite of the overlapping
strokes. On a bitmap layer, this would simply result in a single layer of semi-transparent artwork.
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There are two different types of textured vector erasers: Textured and Textured, Preserve Vector. A simple
textured eraser will do two things: First, it will make textured brush strokes more or completely transparent
where you erased, and second, it will cut out from the brush stroke's vector shape where it made its texture
completely transparent. In contrast, a Textured, Preserve Vector-type eraser will only make the texture brush
strokes more or fully transparent, but will leave its vector shape intact.
Creating a textured eraser works exactly like creating a textured brush. Therefore, you can follow the steps in
the Creating a Textured Brush section to learn how to create a textured eraser.
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About Eraser Presets
Once you have found the correct settings for your eraser, you might want to reuse it throughout your project for
consistency. You can do that by creating and using eraser presets.
Harmony comes preloaded with a few eraser presets which you can select from the Tool Properties view. It is
also possible to create your own eraser presets by configuring your eraser then saving it as a preset.
Like eraser tips and paper textures, eraser presets are saved in your preferences. You can also export your
eraser presets into an .xml file, and import them on a different workstation, allowing you to share your eraser
presets between the different people collaborating on your project.
NOTES
l Eraser presets are not to be confused with eraser tips and paper textures. Eraser tips and paper
textures are one of the many properties of an eraser, whereas an eraser preset contains all the
properties of a brush.
l Eraser presets for vector layers and for bitmap layers are separate. An eraser preset created
while working on a vector layer cannot be used when working on a bitmap layer, and vice versa.
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Creating an Eraser Preset
You can create your own custom eraser preset by configuring your eraser, then adding it as a preset.
How to create an eraser preset
1. Make sure the current drawing layer is vector if you wish to create a vector eraser preset, or bitmap
if you wish to create a bitmap eraser preset—see About Vector and Bitmap Layers .
2. In the Tools toolbar, select the Eraser tool or press Alt + E.
3. Click on the Arrow button to open the Eraser Properties dialog.
4. In the Eraser Properties dialog, configure your eraser—see Creating a Solid Eraser and Creating a
Textured Eraser.
5. Do one of the following:
l From the Eraser Properties dialog, click on the New Brush Preset button in the top-
right corner.
l In the Tool Properties view, click the New Brush Preset button.
l In the Tool Properties view, open the Brush Presets menu and select New Brush
Preset.
6. In the New Preset window, type a name for your new eraser preset.
Your new eraser preset is added to the end of the list of eraser presets.
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Selecting an Eraser Preset
Harmony provides you with default eraser presets available in the Tool Properties view.
How to select a brush preset
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Eraser tool or press Alt + E.
2. In the Tool Properties view, select an eraser preset from the Presets list.
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Updating a Brush Preset
If you want to modify the settings of an existing custom preset, you can do so by adjusting the parameters in
the Tool Properties view, then updating your preset with your brush current's parameters.
How to update a brush preset
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Brush tool or press Alt + B.
1. In the Tool Properties view, select the Brush Preset you wish to update.
2. Click on the Arrow button to open the Brush Properties view.
3. Configure your brush to be exactly how you wish to use it in the future—see Creating a Solid Brush
or Creating a Textured Brush.
4. Click on the Update Brush Preset button in the upper-right corner of the Brush Properties
dialog.
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Renaming an Eraser Preset
To keep your list comprehensive and organized, you can name your custom brush presets.
How to rename a brush preset
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Eraser tool or press Alt + E.
2. In the Tool Properties view, select an eraser preset to rename.
3. Open the Brush Preset menu and select Rename Brush.
4. Type in a new name for the brush and click OK.
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Deleting a Brush Preset
You can keep your preset list clean by deleting unwanted custom presets.
How to delete a brush preset
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Eraser tool or press Alt + E.
2. In the Tool Properties view, select the eraser preset you want to delete.
3. Do one of the following:
l Click the Delete Brush button.
l Open the Brush Preset menu and select Delete Brush.
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Exporting Eraser Presets
You can export eraser presets into an .xml file which will contain all of your eraser's settings. This can be useful
if you wish to back up or share your eraser presets.
How to export pencils, brushes and erasers
1. In the Tools toolbar, select either the Brush , Pencil or Eraser tool.
2. In the Tool Properties view, open the Brush Preset menu and select Export Brushes.
The Export Brushes dialog opens. This dialog allows you to export brush presets for the Brush,
Pencil and Eraser tools.
3. By default, the presets for all your tools will be selected for export. If you only wish to export presets
for specific tools, uncheck Select/Deselect All and select the tools for which you want to export the
presets.
4. Click Export.
5. In the Export Presets dialog that appears, browse to the location where you want to save the .xml
file and enter its file name.
6. Click Save.
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Importing Eraser Presets
You can import eraser presets that you previously exported from Harmony.
How to import pencils, brushes and erasers
1. In the Tools toolbar, select either the Brush , Pencil or Eraser tool.
2. In the Tool Properties view, open the Brush Preset menu and select Import Brushes.
3. In the browser window that appears, navigate to and select the .xml file in which you exported
your brush presets.
4. Click Open.
The Import Brushes dialog box opens.
5. By default, the presets for any tools included in the file will be selected for import. If you only wish to
import presets for specific tools, uncheck Select/Deselect All and select the tools for which you want
to export the presets
6. Click Import.
The imported brush, eraser and pencil styles will appear in the Presets list.
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Changing the Brush Preset Display
You can display your preset list as thumbnails or a list.
How to change the way presets are previewed in the Tool Properties view
1. In the Tool Properties view, open the Brush Presets menu.
2. Select one of the following options:
l Small Thumbnail: Displays presets in a grid of small thumbnails with a preview of their
tip.
l Large Thumbnail: Displays presets in a grid of big thumbnails, with their name and a
preview of their tip.
l Stroke View: Displays presets in a list, with their name and a preview of a stroke done
with each preset.
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Erasing Synced Drawings
Normally in the Camera view, the only drawings and lines that can be erased are those on the selected layer.
The Apply to Synced Drawing Layers option allows for the inclusion of drawings on layers synced to the
selected drawing layer.
Layers are synced when drawings need to be separated on different layers, but need to have the same timing.
How to erase synced drawings
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Erase tool.
2. In the Timeline view, select a synced drawing layer. When you click on a synced layer, the other
layers that it is synced with will display the link icon.
3. In the Tool Properties panel, enable the Apply to Synced Drawing Layers option.
4. In the Camera view, start to erase.
Notice that only the selected drawing and its corresponding synced drawings have been erased.
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About the Select Tool
T-HFND-004-005
The Select tool allows you to select drawing strokes and drawing objects. When selected, you can use the
Select tool to scale, translate, rotate, resize, flip and delete them.
NOTES
l The Select tool can only be used to select, reposition and transform whole drawing strokes. If
you need to cut out part of your artwork to reposition or transform it, you must use the Cutter
tool—see About the Cutter Tool.
l To learn more about the Select tool options, see the Reference Guide .
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Selecting, Repositioning and Transforming Artwork
T-HFND-004-005A
Using the Select tool, you can select drawing strokes and groups, then reposition, rotate, scale and skew them.
NOTE
The select tool can only select whole drawing strokes. If you need to cut out part of your artwork,
use the Cutter tool instead—see About the Cutter Tool on page 478.
How to select artwork
1. In the Timeline view, select the cell on which you want to select drawing objects.
2. In the Tools toolbar, select the Select tool or press Alt + S.
3. In the Camera or Drawing view, select the artwork you want to edit by doing one of the following:
l Click on a drawing stroke to select it.
l Draw a lasso around drawing strokes to select them simultaneously.
TIPS
l To add more drawing strokes to the selection, press and hold the Shift key and
either click or draw a lasso around the strokes you want to select.
l By default, you can only select artwork in the currently selected layer. You can select
artwork from any visible layer by holding the Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ (macOS)
key.
l If you prefer drawing a rectangle rather than a lasso to select artwork, click on the
Lasso button in the Tool Properties view and select Marquee.
l You can select all the drawing strokes in the drawing by select Edit > Select All from
the top menu or by press ing Ctrl + A (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + A (macOS).
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4. Do one of the following to edit your selection:
l To reposition the selected artwork, click on it and drag where you want to position it.
NOTE
You can also nudge your selection using the arrow keys, and fast-nudge your
selection by holding Shift and pressing the arrow keys.
l To rotate the selected artwork, click and grab just outside one of the handles at the corners of
the control box and rotate it.
l To scale the selected artwork, click and drag on one of the control points at the corners or the
middle of the edges of the control box.
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TIP
While scaling artwork, you can preserve its proportions by pressing and holding
the Shift key.
l To skew, drag sideways or up and down the sides or top and bottom segments, between the
control points.
l To delete, press Del (Windows/Linux) or Backspace (macOS).
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Selecting Artwork in Several Drawings
You can use the Select tool to select and manipulate artwork in several drawings in the same layer at the same
time. There are two approaches to doing this, both of which are options available in the Tool Properties view:
l Apply to All Frames: When you draw a lasso or marquee in the Camera or Drawing views, it will
select strokes in that area in all of the exposed drawings in the current layer.
l Apply to Onion Skin Range: When you draw a lasso or marquee in the Camera or Drawing views, it
will select strokes in that area in all of the drawings currently displayed in the Onion Skin. This method
allows you to select and manipulate artwork in a specific range of drawings, and allows you to see the
artwork you selected in the Camera or Drawing view.
How to select artwork in a specific range of drawings
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select a drawing somewhere in the middle of the range of drawings
you want to edit.
2. In the Tools toolbar, click on the Onion Skin button to enable Onion Skin.
3. Adjust the range of the Onion Skin so that it covers every drawing you want to edit:
l In the Timeline view, click and drag on the red onion skin marker to make it include the
previous drawings you want to display in the onion skin, then click and drag on the green
onion skin marker to make it include the next drawings you want to display in the onion skin.
l Use the buttons in the toolbar above the drawing space to adjust how many previous and
next drawings are included in the Onion Skin:
l To increase the amount of previous drawings to display, click on the Add Previous
Drawing button in the Camera/Drawing view toolbar.
l To decrease the amount of previous drawings to display, click on the Remove
Previous Drawing button in the Camera/Drawing view toolbar.
l To increase the amount of next drawings to display, click on the Add Next
Drawing button in the Camera/Drawing view toolbar.
l To decrease the amount of next drawings to display, click on the Remove Next
Drawing button in the Camera/Drawing view toolbar.
The drawings included in the Onion Skin range will appear in red and green in the Camera or
Drawing view.
4. In the Tools toolbar, select the Select tool.
5. In the Tool Properties view, click and hold on the Apply to All Frames button and, in the pop-up
menu, select Apply to Onion Skin Range.
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NOTE
If this button is already set to Apply to Onion Skin Range, simply click on it to toggle
it on.
6. In the Camera or Drawing view, draw a lasso or marquee around the artwork you want to select.
Strokes in the current drawing and in the drawings displayed in the Onion Skin that fit inside the
lasso or marquee you drew will be selected.
How to select artwork in all exposed drawings in a layer
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select any of the drawings in the layer that you want to edit.
2. In the Tools toolbar, select the Select tool.
3. In the Tool Properties view, click on the Apply to All Frames button to enable the Apply to All
Frames mode.
NOTE
If this button is currently set to Apply to Onion Skin Range mode, click and hold on
the button to open its pop-up menu and select Apply to All Frames.
4. In the Camera or Drawing view, draw a lasso or marquee around the artwork you want to select.
Strokes in the current drawing as well as in all other drawings exposed in the current layer that fit
inside the lasso or marquee you drew will be selected.
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Selecting Artwork in Several Layers
You can use the Select tool to select artwork in several layers simultaneously. There are three ways to do this:
l By selection: If you select several layers in the Timeline or Xsheet view, you will be able to select and
manipulate artwork in all of the selected layers.
l Apply to All Visible Layers mode: By enabling this mode, you will be able to select artwork in all of
the layers that are visible in the Camera view simultaneously.
l Apply to Synced Drawing Layers mode: By enabling this mode, you will be able to select artwork in
the current layer as well as in any layer that is synced to that layer simultaneously.
NOTE
You can only select artwork in several layers simultaneously in the Camera view.
How to select artwork in several specific layers simultaneously
1. Do one of the following:
l In the Timeline view, move the red Timeline playhead to the frame where all the drawings
you want to edit are exposed.
l In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select one of the drawings you want to edit.
2. In the Tools toolbar, select the Select tool.
3. In the Tool Properties view, make sure the Apply to All Visible Layers or Apply to Synced
Drawing Layers button is toggled off.
4. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select all the layers you want to edit simultaneously.
TIPS
l To select multiple layers, press and hold the Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ (macOS)
key, then click on each layer you want to select.
l In the Timeline or Xsheet view, you can select a contiguous series of layers by clicking
on the first layer you want to select, then, while holding Shift, clicking on the last
layer you want to select. Every layer in-between will also be selected.
NOTE
If Light Table is enabled, the selected layers will appear fully opaque. This indicates
that the currently selected tool can work on all selected layers simultaneously.
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At this point, you can select artwork in all of the selected layers.
5. In the Camera view, do one of the following:
l Draw a lasso or marquee around all the drawing strokes that you want to select.
l While holding Shift, click on each drawing stroke that you want to select.
How to select artwork in all visible layers simultaneously
1. Do one of the following:
l In the Timeline view, move the red Timeline playhead to the frame where all the drawings
you want to edit are exposed.
l In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select one of the drawings you want to edit.
2. In the Tools toolbar, select the Select tool.
3. In the Tool Properties view, click on the Apply to All Visible Layers button to toggle it on.
NOTES
l If this button is currently set to Apply to Synced Drawing Layers mode, click and
hold on the button to open its pop-up menu and select Apply to All Visible
Layers.
l If Light Table is enabled, all the visible layers will appear fully opaque. This
indicates that the currently selected tool can work on all visible layers
simultaneously.
TIP
You can also select artwork from all visible layers by holding the Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or
⌘ (macOS) key while using the Select tool.
4. In the Camera view, do one of the following:
l Draw a lasso or marquee around all the drawing strokes that you want to select.
l While holding Shift, click on each drawing stroke that you want to select.
How to select artwork in a layer and all of its synced layers simultaneously
1. In the Timeline view, select a drawing in one of the synced layers that you want to edit.
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NOTE
When you select a synced layer, that layer and the other layers that are synced with it
display a Link icon.
2. In the Tools toolbar, select the Select tool.
3. In the Tool Properties view, click and hold on the Apply to All Visible Layers button to open its
pop-up menu, then select Apply to Synced Drawing Layers.
NOTES
l If this button is already set to Apply to Synced Drawing Layers mode, simply click
on it to toggle it on.
l If Light Table is enabled, the currently selected layer and all of its synced layers
will appear fully opaque. This indicates that the currently selected tool can work on
all of these layers simultaneously.
At this point, you can select artwork in the selected layer and all of its synced layers.
4. In the Camera view, do one of the following:
l Draw a lasso or marquee around all the drawing strokes that you want to select.
l While holding Shift, click on each drawing stroke that you want to select.
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Inverting a Selection
You can invert your selection to select everything else in your drawing that was not previously selected.
How to invert a selection
1. From the top menu, select Edit > Invert Selection or press Ctrl + Shift + I (Windows/Linux) or Shift +
⌘ + I (macOS).
You can also find the Invert Selection option in the Camera or Drawing View menu by selecting Edit
> Invert Selection.
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Repositioning the Selection Pivot
You can temporarily reposition the selection's pivot position to rotate, scale, or skew from a different point.
How to temporarily reposition the pivot point
1. In the Camera or Drawing view, select the drawing object you want to transform.
The pivot point appears in the middle of your selection.
2. Click the pivot point and drag it to a new position.
This becomes the new position of the pivot point for the current transformation and will remain
there until you make a new selection.
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Arranging and Reordering Drawing Strokes
The different Arrange options let you reorder drawing objects and strokes inside a single layer in the Drawing
or Camera view.
How to arrange drawing strokes
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Select tool.
2. In the Camera or Drawing view, select the strokes to be reordered.
3. Do one of the following:
l From the top menu, select Drawing > Arrange > Bring to Front—Moves the selected
art to the front (on top). Press Ctrl + Shift + PgUp (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + Shift +
PgUp (macOS).
l From the top menu, select Drawing > Arrange > Bring Forward—Moves the selected
art one level forward (closer to the front). Press Ctrl + PgUp (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ +
PgUp (macOS).
l From the top menu, select Drawing > Arrange > Send Backward—Moves the selected
art one level lower (behind). Press Ctrl + PgDown (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + PgDown
(macOS).
l From the top menu, select Drawing > Arrange > Send to Back—Moves the selected
art behind everything (bottom / back). Press Ctrl + Shift + PgDown (Windows/Linux)
or ⌘ + Shift + PgDown (macOS).
4. In the Drawing View and Camera View toolbars, you can also add the following buttons—see
Customizing Toolbars on page 105.
l Bring to Front button
l Bring Forward button
l Send Backward button
l Send to Back button
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Grouping Drawing Strokes
Use the grouping options to group and ungroup selected drawing objects and strokes. This can help in the
selection, repositioning, re-scaling and other transformations to be applied to multiple objects of a drawing.
Grouping does not flatten your objects. You can ungroup your selection at any time. You can also group groups.
How to group strokes
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Select tool.
2. In the Camera or Drawing view, select the strokes to be grouped.
3. Do one of the following:
l From the top menu, select Edit > Group > Group.
l From the Camera or Drawing view menu, select Edit > Group > Group.
l Press Ctrl + G (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + G (macOS).
How to ungroup strokes
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Select tool.
2. In the Camera or Drawing view, select the groups to be ungrouped.
3. Do one of the following:
l From the top menu, select Edit > Group > Ungroup.
l From the Camera or Drawing view menu, select Edit > Group > Ungroup.
l Press Ctrl + Shift + G (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + Shift + G (macOS).
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Selecting Artwork by Colour or Texture
You can select all the shapes in your artwork that are painted with a specific colour or texture. You can also
select all the pencil lines that use a specific pencil texture.
How to select all the artwork painted with the same colour as your selection
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Select tool.
2. In the Tool Properties view, toggle on Select by Colour.
3. In the Camera or Drawing view, click on a shape filled with the colour you want to select.
All the shapes in the drawing that are painted with the same colour as the shape you clicked on will
be selected.
How to select all the artwork filled with a specific colour or texture
1. In the Colour view, click Show Colour Palettes.
2. In the upper list, select the palette containing the colour or texture you want to select
3. In the lower list, select the colour or texture you want to select.
4. In the top-left corner of the Camera or Drawing view, open the view menu and select Edit >
Select Strokes with Current Colour.
How to select all the pencil lines using a specific pencil texture
1. In the Colour view, select Show Pencil Texture Palettes.
2. In the upper list, select the palette containing the pencil texture you want to select.
3. In the lower list, select the pencil texture you want to select.
4. In the top-left corner of the Camera or Drawing view, open the view menu and select Edit >
Select Strokes with Current Pencil Texture.
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About the Repositioning All Drawings Tool
T-ANIMPA-010-008
The Reposition All Drawings tool is used to reposition, scale, rotate or skew all drawing strokes on every
drawing included in a layer.
If your hand-drawn animation requires to be repositioned in the grid, as soon as your select the Reposition All
Drawings tool, all the strokes in all the drawings exposed on the current layer are selected. You can use the
controls the same was as the Select tool—see About the Select Tool on page 458.
You can use the Drawing Desk feature to select specific drawings and avoid repositioning all the drawings—
see About the Drawing Desk on page 827.
NOTE
To learn more about the Reposition All Drawings tool options, see the Reference guide .
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Repositioning All Drawings in a Layer
T-ANIMPA-010-009
Use the Reposition All Drawings tool to reposition all the drawing strokes on all drawings exposed in the
current layer.
How to reposition all drawings
1. From the Tools toolbar, select the Reposition All Drawings tool. This also automatically selects
every stroke in your drawing in the Drawing and Camera view.
2. Do any of the following:
l To reposition, click and drag your selection to a new area.
l To rotate, rotate the selection box handle.
l To scale, pull or push on the top, side, bottom or corner control points. Hold down Shift
to maintain the selection’s ratio.
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l To skew, drag the sides or top and bottom segments, between the control points.
3. When you release your cursor, every drawing in the drawing layer you repositioned, scaled, rotated
or skewed will follow the same transformation.
4. You can also adjust the position by modifying the settings and using the operation buttons in the
Tool Properties view.
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Repositioning All Drawings in Synced Layers
Normally in the Camera view, the only drawings that can be repositioned are those from the selected layer. The
Apply to Synced Drawing Layers option allows for the inclusion of drawings on layers synced to the selected
drawing layer.
Layers are synced when drawings need to be separated on different layers, but need to have the same timing.
How to reposition all synced drawings
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Reposition All Drawings tool.
2. In the Timeline view, select a synced drawing layer. When you click on a synced layer, the other
layers that it is synced with will display the link icon.
3. In the Tool Properties panel, enable the Apply to Synced Drawing Layers option—see the
Reference guide .
4. In the Camera view, click and drag the drawings highlighted by a bounding box to a new location.
Notice that only drawings from the selected layer and its corresponding synced drawings have
been selected.
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5. Delete, move, scale, skew or rotate the cut selection.
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About the Cutter Tool
T-HFND-004-007
The Cutter tool lets you cut out part of a drawing so that you can transform it, copy it or delete it. You can use it
to scale or reposition the portion of a flattened or bitmap drawing. You can also use it to trim strokes using a
single gesture.
NOTE
To learn more about the Cutter tool options, see the Reference guide .
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Cutting Artwork
T-HFND-004-007A
Use the Cutter tool to trim and cut your artwork.
How to cut drawings
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Cutter tool or press Alt + T.
2. In the Camera or Drawing view, draw a lasso around the artwork you want to cut away.
The artwork inside the lasso you drew will be cut from the rest of the artwork and will be selected.
TIPS
l You can add another part of your artwork to the selection by holding Shift and
drawing another lasso.
l By default, the Cutter tool will only work on the current layer. You can cut artwork
from all visible layers by holding the Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ (macOS) key.
3. Once you've cut out artwork, you can manipulate it like with the Select tool. For example:
l To move the selected artwork, click and drag it.
l To delete the selected area, press Del.
l To scale, rotate or skew the selection, use the controls around the selection's bounding box.
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Cutting Artwork in Several Drawings
You can use the Cutter tool to cut out and manipulate artwork in several drawings in the same layer at the same
time. There are two approaches to doing this, both of which are options available in the Tool Properties view:
l Apply to All Frames: When you draw a lasso or marquee in the Camera or Drawing views, it will cut
out artwork in that area in all of the exposed drawings in the current layer.
l Apply to Onion Skin Range: When you draw a lasso or marquee in the Camera or Drawing views, it
will cut out artwork in that area in all of the drawings currently displayed in the Onion Skin. This method
allows you to cut out and manipulate artwork in a specific range of drawings, and allows you to see the
artwork you cut out in the Camera or Drawing view.
How to select artwork in a specific range of drawings
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select a drawing somewhere in the middle of the range of drawings
you want to edit.
2. In the Tools toolbar, click on the Onion Skin button to enable Onion Skin.
3. Adjust the range of the Onion Skin so that it covers every drawing you want to edit:
l In the Timeline view, click and drag on the red onion skin marker to make it include the
previous drawings you want to display in the onion skin, then click and drag on the green
onion skin marker to make it include the next drawings you want to display in the onion skin.
l Use the buttons in the toolbar above the drawing space to adjust how many previous and
next drawings are included in the Onion Skin:
l To increase the amount of previous drawings to display, click on the Add Previous
Drawing button in the Camera/Drawing view toolbar.
l To decrease the amount of previous drawings to display, click on the Remove
Previous Drawing button in the Camera/Drawing view toolbar.
l To increase the amount of next drawings to display, click on the Add Next
Drawing button in the Camera/Drawing view toolbar.
l To decrease the amount of next drawings to display, click on the Remove Next
Drawing button in the Camera/Drawing view toolbar.
The drawings included in the Onion Skin range will appear in red and green in the Camera or
Drawing view.
4. In the Tools toolbar, select the Cutter tool.
5. In the Tool Properties view, click and hold on the Apply to All Frames button and, in the pop-up
menu, select Apply to Onion Skin Range.
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NOTE
If this button is already set to Apply to Onion Skin Range, simply click on it to toggle
it on.
6. In the Camera or Drawing view, draw a lasso or marquee around the artwork you want to select.
The artwork in the current drawing and in the drawings displayed in the Onion Skin will be cut out
by the lasso or marquee you drew and will become selected.
How to select artwork in all exposed drawings in a layer
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select any of the drawings in the layer that you want to edit.
2. In the Tools toolbar, select the Cutter tool.
3. In the Tool Properties view, click on the Apply to All Frames button to enable the Apply to All
Frames mode.
NOTE
If this button is currently set to Apply to Onion Skin Range mode, click and hold on
the button to open its pop-up menu and select Apply to All Frames.
4. In the Camera or Drawing view, draw a lasso or marquee around the artwork you want to select.
The artwork in all the drawings in the current layer will be cut out by the lasso or marquee you drew
and will become selected.
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Cutting Artwork in Multiple Layers
You can use the Cutter tool to cut out artwork in several layers simultaneously. There are three ways to do this:
l By selection: If you select several layers in the Timeline or Xsheet view, you will be able to cut out and
manipulate artwork in all of the selected layers.
l Apply to All Visible Layers mode: By enabling this mode, you will be able to cut out artwork in all of
the layers that are visible in the Camera view simultaneously.
l Apply to Synced Drawing Layers mode: By enabling this mode, you will be able to cut out artwork in
the current layer as well as in any layer that is synced to that layer simultaneously.
NOTE
You can only cut artwork in several layers simultaneously in the Camera view.
How to cut out artwork in several specific layers simultaneously
1. Do one of the following:
l In the Timeline view, move the red Timeline playhead to the frame where all the drawings
you want to edit are exposed.
l In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select one of the drawings you want to edit.
2. In the Tools toolbar, select the Cutter tool.
3. In the Tool Properties view, make sure the Apply to All Visible Layers or Apply to Synced
Drawing Layers button is toggled off.
4. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select all the layers you want to edit simultaneously.
TIPS
l To select multiple layers, press and hold the Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ (macOS)
key, then click on each layer you want to select.
l In the Timeline or Xsheet view, you can select a contiguous series of layers by clicking
on the first layer you want to select, then, while holding Shift, clicking on the last
layer you want to select. Every layer in-between will also be selected.
NOTE
If Light Table is enabled, the selected layers will appear fully opaque. This indicates
that the currently selected tool can work on all selected layers simultaneously.
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At this point, you can cut artwork in all of the selected layers.
5. In the Camera view, draw a lasso or marquee around the artwork that you want to cut out. Note that
only artwork in the selected layers will be cut out and selected.
How to select artwork in all visible layers simultaneously
1. Do one of the following:
l In the Timeline view, move the red Timeline playhead to the frame where all the drawings
you want to edit are exposed.
l In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select one of the drawings you want to edit.
2. In the Tools toolbar, select the Cutter tool.
3. In the Tool Properties view, click on the Apply to All Visible Layers button to toggle it on.
NOTES
l If this button is currently set to Apply to Synced Drawing Layers mode, click and
hold on the button to open its pop-up menu and select Apply to All Visible
Layers.
l If Light Table is enabled, all the visible layers will appear fully opaque. This
indicates that the currently selected tool can work on all visible layers
simultaneously.
TIP
You can also cut artwork from all visible layers by holding the Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or
⌘ (macOS) key while using the Cutter tool.
4. In the Camera view, draw a lasso or marquee around the artwork that you want to cut out.
How to select artwork in a layer and all of its synced layers simultaneously
1. In the Timeline view, select a drawing in one of the synced layers that you want to edit.
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NOTE
When you select a synced layer, that layer and the other layers that are synced with it
display a Link icon.
2. In the Tools toolbar, select the Cutter tool.
3. In the Tool Properties view, click and hold on the Apply to All Visible Layers button to open its
pop-up menu, then select Apply to Synced Drawing Layers.
NOTES
l If this button is already set to Apply to Synced Drawing Layers mode, simply click
on it to toggle it on.
l If Light Table is enabled, the currently selected layer and all of its synced layers
will appear fully opaque. This indicates that the currently selected tool can work on
all of these layers simultaneously.
At this point, you can cut artwork in the selected layer and all of its synced layers.
4. In the Camera view, draw a lasso or marquee around the artwork that you want to cut out. Note that
only the artwork in the synced layers will be cut out and selected.
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About the Contour Editor Tool
T-HFND-004-008
The Contour Editor lets you reshape vector shapes, brush strokes and lines in your drawings.
Artwork in Harmony is made of vector shapes. Vector shapes are defined by points, the lines joining the points
together (contours) and the curve vectors, represented by Bezier handles, which make the curve of said lines.
The Contour Editor tool allows you to select a contour or point, and change the position of points, add and
remove points from the shape, rotate, lengthen and shorten curve handles to influence the curve of contours
between those points, or drag contours between points to change their curve directly.
Since pencil lines are defined by a single line with a line width, you can use the Contour Editor to easily modify
the shape of pencil lines. In contrast, brush strokes are full vector shapes, so the Contour Editor can be used to
modify their shape.
The Contour Editor can be used to tweak vector artwork in all sorts of ways. It can be used to perfect a pencil
line, correct shapes, or create complex shapes out of a basic ellipse or rectangle.
NOTE
To learn more about the Contour Editor tool options, see the Reference Guide.
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Reshaping a Shape, Pencil Line or Stroke with the Contour Editor Tool
T-HFND-004-008A
You can use the Contour Editor tool to tweak the contours of vector shapes and brush strokes in your drawings,
as well as reshape pencil lines and strokes.
How to reshape drawings
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Contour Editor tool or press Alt + Q.
2. In the Drawing or Camera view, click the shape, contour or pencil line you want to edit near the area
you wish to change.
The shape or line's control points appear.
3. Click on one of the points to select it.
The point's Bezier handles appears, as well as Bezier handles for the surrounding points.
TIP
You can select several points by drawing a lasso around the points, or by holding Shift
while clicking on points to add them to your selection. You can use the Contour Editor to
scale and rotate a selection of multiple points by enabling the Show Contour Editor
Control option in the Tool Properties view.
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4. Do one of the following:
l To move a point or a selection of multiple points, click and drag it.
l To change the curve on both sides of a point, drag one of its Bezier handles.
l To change the curve on only one side of a point, press and hold the Alt key, then drag one of
its Bezier handles.
l To deform the contour, drag a part of the contour between two points.
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l To deform the curve between two points, hold the Shift key and drag the contour between
two points.
l To remove a point's Bezier handles and make the lines it is connected to straight, press and
hold the Alt key and click on the point.
l Straight lines have no Bezier handles at their points by default. To create Bezier handles for
these points and make their lines curved, pres and hold the Alt key, then click and hold the
point and drag the mouse cursor away from it. A new Bezier handle will follow your mouse
cursor until you release the mouse button.
l To add a control point, press Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ (macOS) and click on the contour
where you want the new point to be created.
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l To remove a control point, select the control point and press Del (Windows/Linux) or
Backspace (macOS).
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About the Centerline Editor
T-HFND-004-009B
The Centerline Editor allows you to tweak and reshape a brush stroke by manipulating its centre line rather
than its contour (you can manipulate its contour using the Contour Editor tool). This gives a flexibility similar to
manipulating a pencil line with the Contour Editor tool.
Keep in mind that brush strokes are vector shapes with a fill. As such, the Centerline Editor must do guess work
to figure out the centreline of your brush strokes, and apply deformations on its shape as you tweak its control
points. The Centerline Editor will not be able to make a accurate centreline out of brush strokes that merge
together, that look scrambled or that otherwise do not have a clear direction.
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NOTE
If you use the Centerline Editor on a textured brush stroke, it will deform the texture to make it fit
the new shape of the stroke.
NOTE
If you use the Centerline Editor to deform a closed brush stroke with a fill inside it, the fill will not be
reshaped to fit the new shape of the brush stroke.
NOTE
To learn more about the Centerline Editor tool options, see the Reference Guide.
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Reshaping Brush Strokes Using the Centerline Editor
T-HFND-004-009C
You can use the Centerline Editor tool to reshape brush strokes from their centreline rather than their contour,
like you would reshape pencil lines using the Contour Editor.
How to reshape brush strokes
1. In the Tools toolbar, double-click on the Contour Editor button and select the Centerline Editor
tool, or press Alt + W.
2. In the Drawing or Camera view, click the contour or pencil line you want to edit near the area you
wish to change.
The Centerline Editor creates a centreline manipulator based on the outline's shape, with control
points.
3. In the Tool Properties view, use the Centerline Smoothness slider to adjust the amount of control
points on the centreline as needed:
l If you find that the generated centreline has too many control points to be easily
manipulated, reduce the Centerline Smoothness parameter.
l If you need more control points to make precise manipulations, increase the Centerline
Smoothness parameter.
4. Click on one of the points to select it.
The point's Bezier handles appears, as well as Bezier handles for the surrounding points.
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TIP
You can select several points by drawing a lasso around the points, or by holding Shift
while clicking on points to add them to your selection. You can use the Contour Editor to
scale and rotate a selection of multiple points by enabling the Show Centerline Editor
Control option in the Tool Properties view.
5. Do one of the following:
l To move a point or a selection of multiple points, click and drag it.
l To change the curve on both sides of a point, drag one of its Bezier handles.
l To change the curve on only one side of a point, press and hold the Alt key, then drag one of
its Bezier handles.
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l To deform the contour, drag a part of the contour between two points.
l To deform the curve between two points, hold the Shift key and drag the contour between
two points.
l To remove a point's Bezier handles and make the lines it is connected to straight, press and
hold the Alt key and click on the point.
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l Straight lines have no Bezier handles at their points by default. To create Bezier handles for
these points and make their lines curved, pres and hold the Alt key, then click and hold the
point and drag the mouse cursor away from it. A new Bezier handle will follow your mouse
cursor until you release the mouse button.
l To add a control point, press Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ (macOS) and click on the contour
where you want the new point to be created.
l To delete the control point, select it and press Del.
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About the Pencil Editor Tool
T-HFND-004-009
A pencil line is a central vector shape. Control points are located along the central spine allowing you to adjust
the stroke curve and position. Using the Pencil Editor tool, you can adjust the thick and thin areas of pencil
lines. Using the Contour Editor tool, you can reposition the spine of the stroke.
NOTE
To learn more about the Pencil Editor tool options, see the Reference guide .
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Tweaking the Thickness of Pencil Lines with the Pencil Editor Tool
T-HFND-004-009A
You can use the Pencil Editor tool to reshape the pencil line thickness.
How to reshape pencil lines
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Pencil Editor tool.
2. In the Camera or Drawing view, select a pencil line and click to reshape it.
3. Select one or several points by clicking them or circling around.
4. Press Del to delete a selected point.
5. Press Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ (macOS) and click the central spine to add a set of points to adjust
the contour.
6. To modify the shape, you can:
l Move the selected points to a new area. If you select matching points on each side of
the line, holding the Shift key will move them both. This way you can thicken or thin a
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line from both sides at the same time.
l Pull on the Bezier handle to move both points’ handles as one.
l Hold down Alt and pull on one of the Bezier handles. It moves the handle
independently from the other one.
l Pull directly on the line between two points. No selection is necessary. Holding down
the Shift key will limit the contour modification to the curve between the two first
points.
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l If an anchor point has no visible Bezier handle, hold down Alt to display them.
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Editing a Pencil Line Texture with the Pencil Editor Tool
When working with textured pencil lines, the Pencil Editor will deform the textures starting from the centre
lines.
How to use Pencil Editor tool to edit the texture or gradient on a pencil line
1. Do one of the following:
l In the Tools toolbar, select the Pencil Editor tool.
2. Click on the pencil line to be modified to bring up its contour envelope.
3. Select one of the contour points around the envelope and move its position to change the size of the
tiled texture or gradient. You can also pull directly on the lines of the contour envelope or play with
the Bezier handles of any given point in order to continue to modify the envelope form.
Expanding the width of the envelope parallel to the pencil line’s central vector will cause the tiled
texture to be stretched. Conversely, reducing the envelope’s width will cause the tiled texture to
look squashed.
Reducing the contour’s width perpendicular to the pencil line’s central vector will reduce the
number of tiles, while expanding it will increase the number of tiled images.
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About the Smooth Editor Tool
T-ANIMPA-010-010
When drawing in a digital application, it is not like drawing on a sheet of paper. Sometimes the lines you draw
may look as if they were drawn with an unsteady hand. When this occurs, you may need to correct the look of
your lines.
Harmony has a very powerful tool you can use to optimize contours and reduce the number of points on the
lines, the Smooth Editor tool.
NOTE
To learn more about the Smooth Editor tool options, see the Reference guide .
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Smoothing Artwork Using the Smooth Editor
T-ANIMPA-010-011
You can use the Smooth Editor to smooth out specific areas of your drawing strokes.
How to optimize lines with the Smooth Editor tool
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Smooth Editor tool or select Drawing > Tools > Smooth Editor.
2. In the Camera or Drawing view, place your pointer over the lines to smooth. You may need to pass
over the same line several times to remove more points and make the line smoother. Note that by
default, the Smooth Editor tool colour is yellow, it was changed to orange for screen grab clarity—
see the Reference guide to learn about the various settings available.
TIPS
l You can quickly adjust the size of the selected drawing tool by pressing and holding the O
key, then clicking and dragging in the drawing space. If you are using a tablet pen, doing
this with the eraser tip of your pen will adjust the size of the Eraser tool, regardless of which
drawing tool is selected.
l If you press and hold the Shift key before or while drawing, you will draw a straight line.
l If you press and hold the Spacebar key while drawing a straight line, the angle of your line
will lock. If you are using a pressure-sensitive tablet, you can draw over your line to adjust its
thickness.
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About the Perspective Tool
The Perspective tool lets you deform a drawing selection and alter its perspective. You can use the corner and
edge anchor points to warp the shape.
NOTE
If you use the Perspective tool on a textured brush stroke, it is will deform its texture to fit the new
shape of the brush stroke. Keep in mind that this will resample the texture, which is liable to make it
lose quality.
NOTES
To learn more about the Perspective tool options, see the Reference guide .
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Deforming a Drawing with the Perspective Tool
Use the Perspective tool to distort a drawing's bounding box and simulate a perspective effect.
How to deform a drawing with the Perspective tool
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Perspective tool from the Contour Editor drop-down menu or
press Alt + 0.
2. In the Camera or Drawing view, select the artwork you want to deform by doing one of the
following:
l Click on a drawing stroke to select it.
l Draw a lasso around drawing strokes to select them simultaneously.
TIPS
l To add more drawing strokes to the selection, press and hold the Shift key and
either click or draw a lasso around the strokes you want to select.
l By default, you can only select artwork in the currently selected layer. You can select
artwork from any visible layer by holding the Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ (macOS)
key.
l If you prefer drawing a rectangle rather than a lasso to select artwork, click on the
Lasso button in the Tool Properties view and select Marquee.
l You can select all the drawing strokes in the drawing by select Edit > Select All from
the top menu or by press ing Ctrl + A (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + A (macOS).
3. Click and drag the different anchor points to deform the shape.
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About the Envelope Tool
The Envelope tool lets you deform and warp part of a drawing using a grid envelope and Bezier handles. You
can warp images to make them look like they are reflected in water or in a deformable mirror.
NOTE
If you use the Envelope tool on a textured brush stroke, it is will deform its texture to fit the new
shape of the brush stroke. Keep in mind that this will resample the texture, which is liable to make it
lose quality.
NOTE
To learn more about the Envelope tool options, see the Reference guide .
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Warping a Drawing with the Envelope Tool
You can warp your drawings using the Envelope tool.
How to warp a drawing with the Envelope tool
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Envelope tool from the Contour Editor drop-down menu.
2. In the Timeline view, select a drawing to deform.
3. In the Camera or Drawing view, select the artwork you want to deform by doing one of the
following:
l Click on a drawing stroke to select it.
l Draw a lasso around drawing strokes to select them simultaneously.
TIPS
l To add more drawing strokes to the selection, press and hold the Shift key and
either click or draw a lasso around the strokes you want to select.
l By default, you can only select artwork in the currently selected layer. You can select
artwork from any visible layer by holding the Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ (macOS)
key.
l If you prefer drawing a rectangle rather than a lasso to select artwork, click on the
Lasso button in the Tool Properties view and select Marquee.
l You can select all the drawing strokes in the drawing by select Edit > Select All from
the top menu or by press ing Ctrl + A (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + A (macOS).
A rectangle appears around the selected artwork. Bezier handles stem from each corner of the
rectangle, which can be manipulated to make the sides of the rectangle into curves.
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4. Click and drag the different anchor points and handles to deform the image.
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TIPS
l In the Tool Properties view, you can enable the Show Advanced Controls option to
control the warp points inside the control box.
l You can also divide the control box into several sections by increasing the value in the
Width and Height fields of the Tool Properties view.
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About the Text Tool
With the Text tool, you can add text in your project using various fonts and texts attributes.
Text objects are drawing objects in the same was as brush strokes and drawing groups are, so they can be
manipulated with the select tool. After you have written and formatted your text, you can break the string
apart to convert the letters into drawing objects that can than be individually modified with tools such as
Select, Perspective, Contour Editor, Smooth Editor.
NOTE
To learn more about the Text tool options, see the Reference guide .
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Adding Text to Drawings
You can use the Text tool to add text to your drawings.
How to add text to drawings
1. Do one of the following:
l In the Tools toolbar, select the Text tool.
l From the top menu, select Drawing > Tools > Text.
l Press Alt + 9.
2. In the Timeline view, select the cell containing the drawing on which you want to add text.
3. In the Drawing or Camera view, click on the location you want the text to begin.
4. You can use the Tool Properties view to select the font, font size and format of the text you will
type—see the Reference guide .
5. Type in the desired text.
6. Click outside the text box to exit the typing mode.
If you want to create another text object, click outside the currently active text box. You can always
return to edit the text by selecting the Text tool and clicking in the text.
7. You can resize the text box by selecting your text box with the Text tool and moving the anchor
point right or left. Using the Select tool will distort and scale your text itself rather than changing
the width and height of your text box.
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Breaking Text Into Letters or Vector Shapes
Text contained in a text field is treated as a single drawing object. You can easily separate the text so each
character becomes an individual drawing object that you can select and modify independently.
How to break a text object
1. In the Tools toolbar, click the Select tool or press Alt + S.
2. In the Drawing or Camera view, select the text object you want to break.
3. From the top menu, select Drawing > Convert > Break ApartText Layers.
l From the Drawing or Camera view menu, select Drawing > Convert > Break
ApartText Layers.
Each character is surrounded by a bounding box that you can modify; they remain text objects that
you can edit.
4. If you want to convert your independent letter to a complete vector object that you can deform, use
the Select tool to select the letters to convert.
5. From the top menu, select Drawing > Convert > Break Apart Text Layers to break the selection into
a regular drawing object, with no more text attributes.
l From the Drawing or Camera view menu, select Drawing > Convert > Break Apart
Text Layers to break the selection into a regular drawing object, with no more text
attributes.
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About Tool Presets
T-ANIMPA-002-008
Tool presets let you save a variety of settings and are very efficient for accessing the tools you use most often.
That way, the tool is already set with the desired properties, such as colour, line thickness, whether to enable
Draw Behind or Auto Flatten mode, and so on. You can create presets for these tools and many more: Brush,
Pencil, Eraser, Rectangle, Ellipse, and Line.
The difference between a tool preset and a brush preset is that when you save a tool preset, you have the
option of saving the colour and assigning a shortcut, which you cannot do with brush presets.
The Tool Presets toolbar lets you create new tool presets and manage them.
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Displaying the Tool Preset Toolbar
Use the Tool Preset toolbar to create, manage and select your custom tool presets. You can display the toolbar
in the Drawing and Camera views as well as the top area.
How to display the Tool Presets toolbar
1. Do one of the following:
l From the top menu, select Windows > Toolbars > Tool Presets.
l Right-click an empty area below the top menu and select Tool Presets.
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Creating Tool Presets
T-ANIMPA-002-009
You can create your custom tool presets to quickly access brushes and pencils settings and colours you use
frequently.
How to create a tool preset
1. In the Tools toolbar, select a tool, for example the Brush tool.
2. Use the Tool Properties view to customize the tool.
3. To set a specific colour for your preset, in the Colour view, select the colour swatch to link to the tool.
NOTE
When using a tool preset in a scene that is not using the assigned colour swatch,
a colour recovery dialog box appears prompting you to add the colour to the
scene.
4. In the Tool Presets toolbar, click the New Tool Preset button.
5. In the New Preset dialog box, in the Name field, type a name for your new preset.
6. From the icon list, select an icon to quickly identify your preset or upload your own by clicking the
File button.
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7. (Optional) From the Shortcut menu, set a keyboard shortcut to quickly access your preset. By
default, the shortcuts are unassigned. To assign a keyboard shortcut, select Edit > Preferences >
Shortcuts > Tool Presets (Windows/Linux) or Harmony Advanced > Preferences > Shortcuts >
Tool Presets (macOS).
8. When you select an option, it will take effect when you use the tool preset. If an option is deselected,
then using a tool preset will not override your current settings.
l Colour: Saves the current colour into the tool preset.
9. Click OK.
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Selecting Tool Presets
You can select tool presets in the Tool Presets toolbar.
How to select a tool preset
l In the Tool Presets toolbar, click the tool preset icon you assigned when creating the preset.
Note that when using this preset in a new scene not using the assigned colour swatch, a colour
recovery dialog box appears prompting you to add the colour to the scene.
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Deleting Tool Presets
You can delete unnecessary tool presets to keep your list organized.
How to delete a tool preset
1. In the Tool Presets toolbar, click the Manage Tool Presets button.
2. From the list of tool presets on the left, select a preset to delete and click the Trash icon.
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Updating Tool Presets
T-ANIMPA-002-010
You can update existing tool presets through the Manage Tool Presets dialog box.
How to update a tool preset
1. In the Tool Properties view, update the tool settings.
2. In the Tool Presets toolbar, click the Manage Tool Presets button.
3. In the Manage Tool Presets dialog box, select the tool preset from the list.
4. Update the additional parameters such as the icon, Colour, Layer and Draw Behind options.
5. Click Update.
6. Click OK.
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Exporting Tool Presets
You can export tool presets for backup, sharing, or installing on a different computer.
How to export a tool preset
1. In the Tool Presets toolbar, click the Manage Tool Presets button.
The Manage Tool Presets dialog box opens.
2. Click Export.
3. In the Export Brush Presets window that opens, click Export.
4. Select a folder and click Select Folder.
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Importing Tool Presets
You can import Harmony tool presets you previously exported.
How to import a tool preset
1. In the Tool Presets toolbar, click the Manage Tool Presets button.
The Manage Tool Presets dialog box opens.
2. Click Import.
3. In the Select Folder window that opens, locate and select the preset(s) to import and click Select
Folder.
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About the Tool Colour Swatches
T-ANIMPA-010-018
While drawing and painting, you can let Harmony retain the last colour you selected for each one of the
following tool types:
l Brush
l Paint
l Pencil, Ellipse, Line, Rectangle, Polyline
The Colour view has three swatches where you can set a colour for the Brush , Paint, and Pencil tools.
You can also link or unlink the colour swatch used between vector and bitmap layers.
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Unlinking the Tool Colour Swatches
T-ANIMPA-010-019
You can unlink the tool colour swatches and use separated colours for the Brush, Paint, and pencil line tools.
If you prefer to have Harmony use the same colour swatches regardless of the selected tool, you can link the
three swatches together.
How to unlink the tool colour swatches
1. In the Colour view, if the storage swatches are linked, click the Link button to unlink them.
2. Click on the Brush storage swatch.
3. In the Colour list, select the desired colour.
4. Click the Pencil storage swatch.
5. In the Colour list, select a colour.
6. Click the Paint storage swatch.
7. In the Colour list, select a colour.
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Linking the Tool Colour Swatches
You can link the tool colour swatches so all the tools use the same colour swatch.
How to link the storage swatches
1. In the Tools toolbar, select one of the following tools:
l Brush
l Paint
l Pencil
l Polyline
l Line
l Ellipse
l Rectangle
2. In the Colour view, if the storage swatches are unlinked, click the Link button to link them.
Each time you select a new colour for your current tool, all the storage swatches are updated.
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Using Independent Bitmap Colour Swatches
When working in the Colour view, by default the current colour is active for both vector and bitmap layers. You
can however, use different reference colours for each layer.
Although you can use colours from your colour palette to paint on a bitmap layer, colours used in a bitmap
drawing layer are not linked to their colour swatch in the palette. This means that, contrary to vector drawing,
updating the colours in your colour palette will not update your bitmap drawings with the new colours.
How to use independent colours
l From the Colour view menu, select Colours > Independent Bitmap Colour.
Whichever colour you choose as the reference color is retained for that layer type.
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About Drawing Space Management
When you are drawing in the Camera or Drawing view, you can zoom, pan and rotate the view to make it
easier to determine where to place objects, determine the scale of objects, and when zooming out, get an
overall view of the panel and its contents. You can also use the grid to help you determine the size and
placement of objects as you draw.
If you like drawing in the Camera view, but don't want overlays to cover the drawing you're working on, you
can enable the Current Drawing on Top option.
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About the Zoom Tool
The Zoom tool in the Tools toolbar lets you zoom in and zoom out of the Camera or Drawing view.
NOTE
To learn more about the Zoom tool options, see the Reference guide .
How to use the Zoom tool
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Zoom tool available in the Hand tool drop-down menu.
2. Click in the Camera or Drawing view.
3. In the Tools Properties view, do the following:
l Enable the Zoom In mode to zoom in mode when you click in the Camera or
Drawing view. When you're in Zoom In mode, hold as you click to zoom out.
l Enable the Zoom Out mode to zoom out when you click in the Camera or Drawing
view.
l Click on the Zoom In button to immediately zoom in. You can also press 2.
l Click on the Zoom Out button to immediately zoom out. You can also press 1.
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About the Hand Tool
You can use the Hand tool to pan through the Drawing or Camera view. When you are zoomed in your
workspace, you may need to pan to a different area of your image. You can do so with the Hand tool or the
Spacebar keyboard shortcut.
The Hand tool has no options in the Tool Properties view.
How to use the Hand tool
1. Do one of the following:
l In the Tools toolbar, select the Hand tool, click in the Drawing or Camera view and
drag.
l You can also Hold down the Spacebar, click in the Drawing or Camera view and move
your mouse in the direction you want to pan the view.
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About the Rotate View Tool
T-LAY-001-005
The Rotate View tool lets you rotate the Drawing or Camera view, the same way as you would do with a real
animation disc for increased flexibility. This tool can also be used in the Perspective view.
The Rotate View tool has no options in the Tool Properties view.
How to use the Rotate View tool
1. Do one of the following:
l From the top menu, select Drawing > Tools > Rotate View.
l In the Tools toolbar, select the Rotate View tool in the Hand tool menu.
l In the Drawing or Camera view, right-click and select Drawing Tools > Rotate View.
l Hold down Ctrl + Alt (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + Alt (macOS).
The rotation disc appears.
2. In the Drawing or Camera view, click and drag to rotate the space.
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3. Release the keyboard shortcut or switch to a new drawing tool.
4. Reset the view rotation using View > Reset Rotation or press Shift + X to reset the rotation.
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About Mirror View
T-H16NEW-001-001
A recurring challenge for artists is to draw characters and objects with their elements properly aligned and
with respect to their proportions and shapes. While drawing, the eye tends to get used to the imperfections in
the shapes and proportions in your artwork, making it hard to spot and correct them. A common trick to avoid
this pitfall is to flip your artwork horizontally. This allows you to look at your artwork as if you were looking at it
for the first time, making all the mistakes in shapes, positioning and proportion obvious to your eye.
Using the Mirror View command, you can temporarily flip the drawing space horizontally, whether in the
Camera or Drawing view. This will allow you to see your artwork and your animation as if your whole stage was
flipped, and you can even use the drawing and animation tools on the flipped artwork. Once you are done, you
can disable Mirror View to instantly undo it and resume working with your artwork in its original orientation.
NOTE
Just like panning, rotating and zooming in or out of the Camera and Drawing views, Mirror view is
strictly a temporary visual effect. It does not affect the rendered image nor does it have any
permanent effect on your artwork, your layers or your scene's layout.
How to temporarily flip the Camera or Drawing view horizontally
1. Click anywhere on the Camera or Drawing view to set the focus on the view you're drawing in.
TIP
You can click on a view's tab to set the focus on it without clicking on anything inside it.
2. Do one of the following:
l In the Camera or Drawing toolbar, click on the Mirror View button.
l In the top menu, open the View menu and select Mirror View.
Everything in the Camera or Drawing view will now appear flipped horizontally. A small overlay
with the text Mirror View appears in the top-left corner of the drawing space to help you remember
that you are working in Mirror View.
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TIP
You can add a button to enable and disable Mirror View to your Camera or Drawing view
toolbar. To customize a toolbar's buttons, right-click on the toolbar and select Customize.
How to unflip the Camera or Drawing view
1. Click anywhere on the Camera or Drawing view to set the focus on the view you're using to draw.
TIP
You can click on a view's tab to set the focus on it without clicking on anything inside it.
2. In the top menu, open the View menu and select Mirror View.
Everything in the Camera or Drawing view will be unflipped. The "Mirror View" overlay will
disappear.
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Displaying the Current Drawing on Top
T-ANIMPA-010-020
In the Camera view, when you draw on a layer, the artwork is displayed in the correct order. For example, if the
layer on which you are drawing is located behind an object on another layer, the lines you draw will be hidden
behind that object.
You can display a selected drawing on top of everything while you draw. Then, each time you select a drawing
tool, the drawing is displayed in front of everything in the Camera view. The Timeline view ordering remain
unchanged.
How to display the drawing on top
1. Do one of the following:
l From the top menu, select View > Show > Current Drawing on Top.
l In the Camera bottom toolbar, click the Current Drawing on Top button.
NOTE
The Current Drawing on Top status is retained when you exit Harmony. When
you restart the application, the last status will be used.
2. In the Tools toolbar, select a drawing tool. You only need to enable this option once, it is not
necessary to do it each time you select a drawing tool.
3. In the Camera view, start drawing.
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About the Grid
Harmony is equipped with a traditional animation grid. You can use it as a reference while drawing to fit a given
layout field chart, align elements, or simply see the center of your drawing. You can draw beyond the grid
boundaries as it is only a visual reference.
In the Camera view, the Grid is visible when you select a drawing tool.
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Displaying the Grid
You can display the grid and it will be visible in the Drawing view. It will be visible in the Camera view when
you select a drawing tool.
Use the Show Grid option to display a grid in the Drawing or Camera views.
How to display the grid
1. Do one of the following:
l In the Drawing View toolbar, press the Show Grid button.
l In the Camera View toolbar, press the Show Grid button.
l Select View > Grid > Show Grid.
l Press Ctrl + ' (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + ' (macOS).
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Modifying the Grid
You can modify the look of the grid to be either square, 12-field, 16-field, outline, and so on.
How to modify the grid display
1. Select View > Grid > Show Grid to display the grid.
2. To modify the grid, select one of the following:
l View > Grid > Grid Outline Only—Displays the outline of the grid only.
l View > Grid > Square—Displays a standard square grid.
l View > Grid > 12 Field Grid—Displays a 12-field size grid.
l View > Grid > 16 Field Grid—Displays a 16-field size grid.
l View > Grid > Underlay—Displays the grid under the drawing elements.
l View > Grid > Overlay—Displays the grid over the drawing elements.
3. In the Drawing View and Camera View toolbars, you can also add the following buttons—see
Customizing Toolbars on page 105.
l Grid Outline Only button
l Square button
l 12 Field Grid button
l 16 Field Grid button
l Underlay button
l Overlay button
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Changing Pencil Line Opacity Display
The pencil, ellipsis, rectangle and line tools create pencil lines. Pencil lines are defined by a central vector line to
which Harmony adds thickness.
Pencil lines tend to obscure the actual edges of the shape they are around. Sometimes, knowing the actual
edge of shapes surrounded by pencil lines can be useful. To work around this problem, it is possible to
temporarily adjust the opacity of pencil lines in the Camera view.
NOTES
l This will only affect the way your pencil lines are displayed in the OpenGL preview of the
Camera view. The rendered image will not be affected.
l Outlines created with the Brush tool are not pencil lines. They are fully defined vector shapes.
Hence, this feature will not work on brush strokes.
How to adjust the opacity of pencil lines in the preview image
1. In either the Drawing view or Camera view toolbar, click on the Top Light icon. The Pencil Lines
Opacity feature can also be accessed through the Preferences panel.
The Onion Skin and Light Table Transparency dialog opens.
2. In the Onion Skin and Light Table Transparency dialog box, use the Pencil Lines Opacity slider to
globally increase or decrease the opacity of central vector lines. Sliding the slider all the way to the
right equals 100% opacity. Sliding the slider all the way to the left equals 0% opacity.
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3. Click OK.
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About OpenGL Antialiasing
T-ANIMPA-010-016
Everything you draw in Harmony is vector-based, unless you purposely elected to draw as bitmap. When you
draw in the Drawing or Camera view, notice that your lines may appear jagged. This is caused by the fast real-
time display called OpenGL. If you prefer to see smooth lines as you draw, you can enable the antialiasing
preference.
Full scene antialiasing is generated by your computer’s graphics card. This antialiasing will not only antialias
your drawings, but all your different views in the interface. Full scene antialiasing is an option you can turn on or
off; by default, it is disabled.
There is no need to modify your graphic card settings.
NOTE
Full Scene Antialiasing parameters are only valid while you work in your scene. The scene will be
rendered to 100% of its resolution regardless of your preference settings or graphic card panel.
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Setting the Full Scene Antialiasing Preference
T-ANIMPA-010-017
You can enable the Full Scene Antialiasing preference to smooth out the OpenGL artwork.
NOTE
You must restart Harmony after you change the parameters.
How to customize the full scene antialiasing parameters
1. Do one of the following:
l Select Edit > Preferences (Windows/Linux) or Harmony Advanced > Preferences
(macOS).
l Press Ctrl + U (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + U (macOS).
The Preferences dialog box opens.
2. In the OpenGL tab, select the Enable option in the Full Scene Antialiasing section.
3. Number or samples: Enter the number of samples you want to be used for the antialiasing process.
The number of samples is basically equivalent to the amount of times a pixel will be enlarged to
calculate the antialiasing. This technique is called supersampling. The higher the number of samples,
the better the antialiasing quality will be, but the heavier it will be on performance.
4. Restart Harmony.
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About Pen Stabilization
By default, when drawing with freehand drawing tools such as the brush, pencil or eraser tools, Harmony
smoothens each drawing stroke you create right after creating it. It does this by generating the vector shape of
your drawing stroke, then simplifying its structure of points and curves, to remove what appears to be jittering.
However, this can cause your precisely executed strokes to lose in precision and quality.
When drawing with minutia and precision, you can use Harmony's pen stabilizer instead. The pen stabilizer
allows you to easily draw curved lines with precision without having to apply smoothing to them after you have
drawn them.
Harmony's pen stabilizer works by letting you draw a stroke of a certain length without generating artwork
right away. Once your stroke reaches this length, Harmony starts generating an actual drawing stroke that
trails behind your mouse cursor or tablet pen. It determines the direction the drawing stroke takes using one of
the two following methods, depending on which one you select:
l Average: Harmony calculates the average direction of all of your mouse or pen gestures between the
end of the actual drawing stroke and the current position of your mouse cursor or pen tip, and extends
the stroke in this average direction, effectively evening out jitter and rounding sharp turns.
l Pulled String: When you start drawing a stroke, Harmony positions the drawing tool where your stroke
starts. As you move the mouse or tablet pen, the drawing tool remains in that position, but a "string"
appears, linking your drawing tool to your mouse cursor or pen tip.
This string has a certain maximum length. Once that length is reached, the string pulls the drawing tool
in the direction of your mouse cursor or tablet pen.
NOTE
The distance between your mouse cursor or tablet pen and the stroke can be adjusted. For
the purpose of demonstration, these images were done using the largest supported
distance.
Both methods allow you to cancel out the jittering and the small mistakes in your drawing strokes as you make
them, rather than afterwards. But the two methods feel different:
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l The Average method takes into account all your drawing gestures. Therefore, if you jitter a lot while
drawing, your strokes may jitter a little. It is also tricky to create sharp corners with this method.
However, this method tends to create very consistently smooth drawing curves. Also, since it actually
follows the gesture of your mouse or tablet pen, you might find that this method feels more natural than
the Pulled String method.
l The Pulled String method gives you more precise control, and can be used to make sharp corners with
the right technique, but may be harder to learn and to master. Your drawing tool does not follow your
drawing strokes, it just gets pulled in the direction of your mouse cursor or tablet pen, which means the
way your drawing gestures translate into drawing strokes is different than what you're used to.
You may need to do some trial and error to determine which method fits your drawing style the best. You can
also customize the distance by which your drawing stroke trails behind your mouse cursor or tablet pen. A
shorter distance will feel more natural, but a longer distance will stabilize your drawing strokes more.
The Pen Stabilizer works with the Brush, Pencil, Stamp and Stroke tools. Optionally, it can also
work with the Eraser tool.
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Using Drawing Tool Stabilization
You can enable and configure pen stabilization using the Pen Settings toolbar. You may have to do some trial
and error to find the settings that work for you and to get used to drawing with the stabilizer.
NOTE
For more information on the Pen Settings toolbar,refer to the Reference Guide.
How to configure drawing tool stabilization
1. Add the Pen Settings toolbar to your workspace by doing one of the following:
l In the top menu, select Windows > Toolbars > Pen Settings.
l Right-click on any existing toolbar and, in the context menu, select Pen Settings.
2. In the drop-down to the left of the toolbar, select one of the following Pen Stabilizer modes:
l Average: Harmony calculates the average direction of all of your mouse or pen gestures
between the end of the actual drawing stroke and the current position of your mouse cursor
or pen tip, and extends the stroke in this average direction, effectively evening out jitter and
rounding sharp turns.
l Pulled String: When you start drawing a stroke, Harmony positions the drawing tool where
your stroke starts. As you move the mouse or tablet pen, the drawing tool remains in that
position, but a "string" appears, linking your drawing tool to your mouse cursor or pen tip.
This string has a certain maximum length. Once that length is reached, the string pulls the
drawing tool in the direction of your mouse cursor or tablet pen.
3. In the field just right of the drop-down, select the stabilizer distance you want to use. You can enter
a number between 0 and 100. You can also click and drag on the left-right button right of the text
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field to adjust its value.
NOTES
l This sets the distance by which your drawing tool trails behind your mouse cursor or
tablet pen. The higher the distance, the more stabilized your drawing motions will
be, but the harder it will be to draw sharp corners and precise shapes.
l For casual drawing, it is recommended to try values ranging between 5 and 20 at
first. Higher values are more useful for drawing with a lot of minutia.
4. Click on the Stabilizer Settings button and:
l If you selected the Average method and you want your drawing strokes to catch up with your
tablet pen when you hold the pen tip against your tablet without moving it, make sure the
Catch Up option is checked. Otherwise, uncheck it.
NOTE
Stabilization makes your drawing stroke trail behind as you move your mouse
cursor or tablet pen tip. This option makes your stroke catch up to your tablet pen
when you hold it against the tablet without moving. This option only works when
drawing with a tablet pen.
l If you selected the Pulled String method and you want the virtual string between your mouse
cursor or pen tip and your drawing tool to display, make sure the Show String option is
checked. Otherwise, uncheck it.
l If you want to use the pen stabilizer with the Eraser tool, make sure the Eraser option is
checked. Otherwise, uncheck it.
5. Try to draw in the Camera or Drawing view to test how your settings work out, and make
adjustments as needed until you have the configuration that works best for you.
6. When you want to disable pen stabilization, open the stabilization drop-down in the Pen Settings
toolbar and select Stabilizer Off.
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About Pen Pressure Curve Customization
When you use a pressure-sensitive tablet with the Brush, Eraser, Pencil and Stamp tools, Harmony takes the
amount of pressure you put on your tablet pen in account as you draw. It uses this information to determine the
thickness of your drawing stroke. For example, while using the Brush tool, the harder you press on you tablet
pen, the bigger your brush strokes will be, and vice versa.
To determine the thickness of your drawing strokes, it uses your drawing tool's Minimum Size and Maximum
Size parameters, which can be set in the Tool Properties view. The thickness of your drawing stroke is always
going to vary between those two parameters, based on how much pressure you put on your tablet pen.
By default, the size of your drawing strokes is directly proportional to the amount of pressure you put on your
pen. It is calculated using this simple formula:
This means that if you apply 25% of the pressure your tablet pen can detect, the thickness of your drawing
strokes will be 25% of the way between your tool's minimum size and its maximum size. Likewise, if you apply
75% of the pressure your tablet pen can detect, the thickness of your drawing stroke will be 75% of the way
between your tool's minimum size and its maximum size.
Harmony allows you to customize the way it processes the pressure you put on your tablet pen into the
thickness of your drawing strokes. You can do this by tweaking the pressure curve in the Pen Pressure Feel
dialog.
Depending on how you hold and use your tablet pen, this may allow you to have better control over the
thickness of your drawing strokes. For example, if you tend to put a lot of pressure on your pen, you may want
Harmony to let you draw thinner lines unless you apply even more pressure than you usually do. Likewise, if you
tend to put very little pressure on your pen, you may want Harmony to generate thicker lines unless you apply
even less pressure than you usually do.
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Customizing the Pen Pressure Curve
You can make adjustments to the curve used by Harmony to process the pressure from your tablet pen via the
Pen Pressure Feel dialog, which can be accessed from the Pen Settings toolbar.
NOTE
For more information on the Pen Pressure Feel dialog,refer to the Reference Guide.
How to customize the curve by which tablet pen pressure is applied to the size of your
drawing tool
1. Add the Pen Settings toolbar to your workspace by doing one of the following:
l In the top menu, select Windows > Toolbars > Pen Settings.
l Right-click on any existing toolbar and, in the context menu, select Pen Settings.
2. In the Pen Settings toolbar, click on the Pen Pressure Feel button.
The Pen Pressure Feel dialog appears.
3. In the Tools toolbar, select either the Brush or the Pencil tool.
NOTE
The pressure curve affects all tools that supports pressure-sensitivity, such as the
Brush tool, the Pencil tool, the Eraser tool and the Stamp tool. However, you
should use the Brush or Pencil tool to test out your pressure settings.
4. Make sure that the minimum size of your drawing tool is low enough and that its maximum size is
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high enough that you can clearly see how the pen pressure affects the thickness of your lines.
TIP
To do this, in the Tool Properties view, click on the Show Extended Properties button
to open the Brush or Pencil Properties dialog. Then, adjust the value of the Minimum
Size and the Maximum Size sliders.
5. If you want to be able to lightly brush the tip of your tablet pen against your tablet without actually
drawing, increase the value in the Min Pressure field.
6. If you don't want to have to press your tablet pen all the way down to draw in your drawing tool's
maximum size, decrease the value in the Max Pressure field.
7. To try a curve preset select one in the Curve Preset field. This will instantly change the shape of
your pressure curve.
8. To adjust the shape of the curve manually:
l Click and drag on the leftmost Bezier handle to change the shape of the curve from the
leftmost point.
l Click and drag on the rightmost Bezier handle to change the shape of the curve from the
rightmost point.
The following is a list of examples of how you can adjust the curve, depending on the way you use
your tablet pen:
l If you make an ease-in curve like the one below, the size of your drawing strokes will tend to
be closer to the minimum size of your drawing tool, unless you apply a lot of pressure on your
tablet pen.
l If you make an ease-out curve like the one below, the size of your drawing strokes will tend to
be closer to the maximum size of your drawing tool, unless you apply very little pressure on
your tablet pen.
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l If you make an ease-in-ease-out curve like the one below, the size of your drawing strokes
will tend to be closer to the minimum size of your drawing tool when applying light pressure,
and to be closer to the maximum size of your drawing tool when applying more pressure, but
it will rarely be the median between the minimum and the maximum size.
l If you make an ease-out-ease-in curve like the one below, the size of your drawing strokes
will tend to be closer to median between the minimum and maximum size of your drawing
tool, unless you apply very little or a lot of pressure on your tablet pen.
9. Test out how your new settings feel by drawing strokes in the Camera or Drawing view, and make
adjustments as needed until you have the configuration that works best for you.
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About Drawing Guides
T-LAY-001A-001
Drawing guides are drawing aids that you can add to your scene to help you draw backgrounds and objects
with straight lines, square angles and graphic projection effects such as isometric projection, straight
perspective or curvilinear perspective. In traditional art, this is often done with tools such as rulers, T-squares,
set squares and vanishing points. Guides allow you to simulate the use of such tools in combination with the
drawing tools in Harmony.
Harmony supports different types of drawing guides, each designed for a different kind of drawing task. Most
of Harmony's drawing guides work by adding a horizon line and vanishing points to your drawing space. While
using a drawing guide, dotted guide lines appear through your mouse cursor. These guide lines are either
parallel or perpendicular to the horizon line, or are going from one of the guide's vanishing points to your mouse
cursor. When you start drawing a stroke, your drawing tool instantly becomes locked to one of the guide's axes,
as if you were drawing against a ruler. Optionally, you can use drawing guides as mere visual references,
without locking your drawing tool against their axes.
Harmony supports the following types of drawing guides:
l The Ruler allows you to position and rotate a simple axis, then draw a line along that axis, like a regular
ruler.
l The Square Grid helps you draw lines that are either parallel or perpendicular to a horizon line.
l The Isometric Perspective guide helps you draw lines that are parallel to one of three axes: The x-axis,
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the y-axis and the z-axis. The angle of each axis can be customized as needed.
This type of pseudo-perspective, also referred to as parallel projection, is often used in 2D games,
computer graphics and schematics to depict 3D objects and environments without using any actual
perspective, foreshortening or 3D rendering. In 2D animation, it is often used to draw long panning
backgrounds from a low or high angle.
l The 1-Point Perspective guide helps you draw lines coming from a single vanishing point in the middle
of the horizon. It also helps you draw lines that are either parallel or perpendicular to the horizon line.
This is useful for drawing cuboid structures that are facing the camera.
l The 2-Point Perspective guide helps you draw lines coming from one of two vanishing points, which are
placed on the horizon line outside the camera field. It also helps you draw lines that are perpendicular to
the horizon line.
This is useful for drawing cuboid structures from a specific horizontal angle.
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l The 3-Point Perspective (Bird's Eye View) guide helps you draw lines coming from one of three
vanishing points. Like with the 2-Point Perspective guide, two vanishing points are placed on the
horizon line, which are used to draw horizontal lines on either the x-axis or the z-axis. The other
vanishing point is placed below the horizon line to help draw lines on the y-axis.
This is useful for drawing cuboid structures from an elevated point of view.
l The 3-Point Perspective (Worm's Eye View) guide helps you draw lines coming from one of three
vanishing points. Like with the 2-Point Perspective guide, two vanishing points are placed on the
horizon line, which are used to draw horizontal lines on either the x-axis or the z-axis. The other
vanishing point is placed above the horizon line to help draw lines on the y-axis.
This is useful for drawing cuboid structures from a low point of view.
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l The 3-Point Perspective (Horizontal Pan) guide helps you draw horizontally panoramic backgrounds,
with curvilinear horizontal lines. A vanishing point is placed in the middle of the horizon line, to help
draw lines on the z-axis, and two vanishing points are placed on the horizon line outside of the camera
field, to define the curve of the horizontal lines. Vertical lines are made perpendicular to the horizon line.
This is useful for drawing backgrounds meant to be panned over horizontally. Panning the camera
horizontally over a background drawn with a 3-Point Perspective (Horizontal Pan) guide will simulate a
rotation of the camera on the y-axis.
l The 3-Point Perspective (Vertical Pan) guide helps you draw vertically panoramic backgrounds, with
curvilinear vertical lines. A vanishing point is placed in the middle of the horizon line, to help draw lines
on the z-axis, and two vanishing points are placed above and below the horizon line, outside of the
camera field, to define the curve of the vertical lines. Horizontal lines are made parallel to the horizon
line.
This is useful for drawing background meant to be panned over vertically. Panning the camera vertically
over a background drawn with a 3-Point Perspective (Vertical Pan) guide will simulate a vertical rotation
of the camera on the x-axis.
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l The 4-Point Continuous Perspective guide is very similar to the 3 Point Perspective (Horizontal Pan)
guide, except that it is designed to help draw full 360° panoramic backgrounds.
This guide uses 5 vanishing points. When drawing a horizontal line, it is curved by arching over one of
the vanishing points and reaching down to the two surrounding vanishing points. This creates a
perspective effect where each vanishing point represents one of the cardinal points, except that the
leftmost and the rightmost points represent the same cardinal point, effectively creating a looping
background. Backgrounds made with the 4-Point Continuous Perspective guide can be looped
horizontally to simulate a full rotation of the camera on the y-axis.
l The 4-Point Perspective (Vertical Pan) is a lot like the 2-Point Perspective guide, except that its
vertical lines are curvilinear, so it can be used to make vertically panning backgrounds. Two vanishing
points are on the horizon line, outside of the camera field, to help draw lines on the x-axis and the z-axis,
and two vanishing points are placed above and below the camera field to define the curve of the vertical
lines.
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This is useful for drawing backgrounds meant to be panned over vertically, in which cuboid objects are
seen from an angle.
l The 5-Point Perspective (Fish Eye) guide helps you draw backgrounds that are curvilinear on both the
x-axis and the y-axis. It has one central vanishing point on the horizon line, from which lines on the z-
axis are drawn, two vanishing points at the extremities of its horizon line, to define the curve of the
horizontal lines, and two vanishing points above and below the horizon line, to define the curve of the
vertical lines.
This guide can be used to draw backgrounds with a fisheye-style wide angle lens effect. It can also be
used to draw backgrounds that are meant to be panned in various directions.
Guides are made to work with the following tools. To avoid cluttering your drawing space, they are only visible
when one of these tools is selected:
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l Brush
l Pencil
l Stroke
l Line
To use a guide, you must add the Guides view to your workspace. Then, you can add the guide you wish to use
to your scene's guides list. A newly added guide will have its horizon line and vanishing points in preset
positions. You can rotate and reposition the horizon line as well as reposition the vanishing points to fit your
scene's needs. When using curvilinear perspective guides, you can also adjust the Beziers of the curves to make
them narrower or wider.
The Guides view allows you to have as many guides as you want, and each one will preserve the adjustments
you make to it. In the Guides view, you can also select which guide you wish to use, rename, delete and reorder
guides as needed, as well as cut, copy, paste, export and import guides between different scenes.
NOTES
l The guide list, its guides and their individual parameters are saved with your scene. Hence, you
can create a configure a guide specifically for the backgrounds and objects in your scene in one
Harmony session, then reuse them exactly as you configured them in a later Harmony session.
l Changes made to a guide or to the guide list can be undone with the Undo command.
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Adding Drawing Guides
T-LAY-001A-002
The first step in using drawing guides is to add a guide to the scene's guides list.
How to add a drawing guide to your scene
1. In the Tools toolbar, select either the Brush, Pencil, Stroke or Line tool.
NOTE
Drawing guides are only visible in the Camera or Drawing view when one of these tools
is selected.
2. Add the Guide view to your workspace by doing one of the following:
l In the top-right corner of any view in your workspace, click on the Add View button and
select Guides.
l In the top menu, select Windows > Guides.
3. In the Guides view, click on the New Guide button and choose one of the following types of
guides:
l Ruler
l Square Grid
l Isometric Perspective
l 1-Point Perspective
l 2-Point Perspective
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l 3-Point Perspective (Bird’s-Eye View)
l 3-Point Perspective (Worm’s-Eye View)
l 3-Point Perspective (Horizontal Pan)
l 3-Point Perspective (Vertical Pan)
l 4-Point Continuous Perspective
l 4-Point Perspective (Vertical Pan)
l 5-Point Perspective (Fisheye)
NOTE
For information on each kind of guide in the list, see About Drawing Guides on page 553
The new guide appears in the guides list.
NOTES
l Adding a guide automatically toggles the Enable Guides option on, and automatically
toggles the Lock Guides option off, so that you can immediately view and adjust your
new guide.
l Your new guide will come in a preset position with preset parameters. To make adjustments
to your guide, see Editing Drawing Guides on page 566.
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Selecting the Active Drawing Guide
A Harmony scene can have several guides in its guides list, but you can only see, edit and use one guide at a
time. You can decide which guide you're working with by selecting it from the guides list. The selected guide
will display in your drawing space.
When a guide is active, its horizon line, vanishing points and other visual elements will display in your drawing
space. Also, dotted lines will follow your mouse cursor when you move it inside your drawing space. Each of
these lines represents one of the axes of your drawing guide.
NOTE
Although you can select the active guide at any time, a guide will only be visible, editable and
usable if either the Brush, Pencil, Stroke or Line tool is selected.
How to select the active guide from the guides list
1. In the Guides view, click on the desired guide in the guides list
The selected guide will become active in the Camera and Drawing views.
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NOTE
If guides are disabled, clicking on a guide in the guides list will enable them.
How to quickly switch between guides using keyboard shortcuts
1. Click on the tab for the Camera or Drawing view to set the focus on that view.
2. Press the Up Arrow or Down Arrow key to select the previous or next guide in the list.
NOTE
Using the Up Arrow or Down Arrow to select a guide will only work if guides are already
enabled.
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Renaming Drawing Guides
When adding a guide, it is automatically named after its guide type. Since you can have several guides of the
same type in the same guides list, you might need to rename your guides to be able to easily differentiate them.
NOTE
It is not required to give a unique name to each guide in the guides list.
How to rename a guide using the Guide Menu
1. In the Guides view, select a guide from the list.
2. Click on the Menu button and select Rename Guide.
The Rename Guide dialog box appears.
3. In the Rename Guide: field, type in a new name for the selected guide.
4. Click on OK.
How to rename a guide using the Guide List
1. In the Guides view, double-click on a guide displayed in the list.
The guide's name turns into a text input field.
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2. In the text field, type in the new name for the guide.
3. Press Enter/Return.
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Editing Drawing Guides
T-LAY-001A-005
After a guide is added, it is configured with a preset position and angle for its horizon line, a preset position for
its vanishing points, a preset size and, if applicable, preset Bezier curves. In many cases, you have to make
adjustments to your guide so that you can use it to draw backgrounds and objects from the right point of view.
Different guides can be customized in different ways. This sections provides steps on how to customize each
type of guide.
NOTES
l You can view a guide and make changes to it directly in the Camera or Drawing view when the
Brush, Pencil, Stroke or Line tool is selected.
l When you make a change to a guide, you can undo that change with the Undo command.
l Changes made to guides are saved to your scene.
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Adjusting a Ruler Drawing Guide
The Ruler guide is simply a ruler. It has a single axis that you can position and rotate. You can draw along this
axis as if you were drawing against a ruler.
NOTE
To add a Ruler guide to your scene, see Adding Drawing Guides.
How to adjust a Ruler guide
1. In the Tools toolbar, select either the Brush, Pencil, Stroke or Line tool.
NOTE
Drawing guides are only visible in the Camera or Drawing view when one of these tools
is selected.
2. In the Guides view, make sure that the Enable Guides option button is toggled on.
3. In the guides list, select the Ruler guide that you wish to make adjustments to.
The guide appears in the Camera or Drawing view.
4. Do one of the following:
l To reposition the guide without rotating it, click and drag on its offset handle .
TIP
You can press and hold the Shift key to only move the guide horizontally or
vertically relative to the camera angle.
l To rotate the guide, click and drag on one of its rotation handles . It will rotate around the
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opposite rotation handle.
TIPS
l You can press and hold the Shift key to make the angle of the ruler snap to
the nearest multiple of 15°.
l You can press and hold the Alt key to make the guide rotate around its centre.
l When rotating a guide, its angle displays in the top-left corner of the Camera
or Drawing view.
5. Once you are done making adjustments to the guide, you can click on the Lock Guides button in
the Guides view so as to avoid accidentally modifying your guide while drawing.
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Adjusting a Square Grid Drawing Guide
The Square Grid guide helps you draw lines that are either parallel or perpendicular to the horizon line. You can
customize it by repositioning and rotating its horizon line.
NOTE
To add a Square Grid guide to your scene, see Adding Drawing Guides.
How to adjust a Square Grid guide
1. In the Tools toolbar, select either the Brush, Pencil, Stroke or Line tool.
NOTE
Drawing guides are only visible in the Camera or Drawing view when one of these tools
is selected.
2. In the Guides view, make sure that the Enable Guides option button is toggled on.
3. In the guides list, select the Square Grid guide that you wish to make adjustments to.
The selected guide appears in the Camera or Drawing view.
TIP
To see the parallel and perpendicular reference lines, click on the Show Reference
Lines option button in the Guides view.
4. Do one of the following:
l To reposition the guide without rotating it, click and drag on its offset handle .
l To rotate the guide, click and drag on its horizon line.
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TIPS
l When the mouse is positioned over the horizon line, the mouse cursor will
change to to indicate that you are about to rotate the guide.
l When rotating a guide, its angle displays in the top-left corner of the Camera
or Drawing view.
5. Once you are done making adjustments to the guide, you can click on the Lock Guides button in
the Guides view so as to avoid accidentally modifying your guide while drawing.
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Adjusting an Isometric Perspective Drawing Guide
The Isometric Perspective guide helps you draw lines that are parallel to one of three axes: the x-axis, the y-
axis and the z-axis. By default, the z-axis is at 26.565° from the horizon, the x-axis is at 153.435° from the
horizon, and the y-axis is at 90° from the horizon.
These specific angles are commonly used in video games and computer generated graphics, as lines in these
angles do not require antialiasing to be properly rendered in pixels. The angle of all three of these axes can be
adjusted independently as needed. For example:
l You can achieve "true" isometric perspective, where the angle between each axis is equal, by setting the
angle of the x-axis to -150° and the angle of the z-axis to -30°.
l You can achieve cabinet-type oblique projection by setting the angle of the x-axis to -180°.
l You can achieve military-type oblique projection by setting the angle of the x-axis to -135° and the
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angle of the z-axis to -45°.
NOTE
To add a Isometric Perspective guide to your scene, see Adding Drawing Guides.
How to adjust an Isometric Perspective guide
1. In the Tools toolbar, select either the Brush, Pencil, Stroke or Line tool.
NOTE
Drawing guides are only visible in the Camera or Drawing view when one of these tools
is selected.
2. In the Guides view, make sure that the Enable Guides option button is toggled on.
3. In the guides list, select the Isometric Perspective guide that you wish to make adjustments to.
The selected guide appears in the Camera or Drawing view.
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TIP
To display the reference lines for the guide, click on the Show Reference Lines option
button on in the Guides view.
4. Do one of the following:
l To reposition the guide, click and drag on the offset handle .
l To adjust the angle of one of the axes, click and drag on the rotation handle for that axis.
TIPS
l The angle of the axis you are adjusting will appear in the top-left corner of the
Camera or Drawing view as you adjust it.
l You can hold the Shift key while rotating one of the axes to make it snap to
the nearest angle that is a multiple of 5°. The x-axis and z-axis will also snap
to 26.565° and 153.435°, which are their default angles.
l To adjust the angle of both horizontal axes, press and hold the Alt key, then click and drag
on the rotation handle of either the x-axis or the z-axis.
TIP
This will set the angle of both the x-axis and the z-axis to the same value,
making your guide symmetrical.
l To rotate the entire guide, press and hold the Alt key, then click and drag on the rotation
handle of the y-axis.
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Adjusting a 1-Point Perspective Drawing Guide
The 1-Point Perspective guide can help you draw backgrounds and objects with front-facing perspective. It
provides a horizon line and a single vanishing point. The height and angle of the horizon line as well as the
position of the vanishing point on the horizon line can be adjusted as needed.
NOTE
To add a 1-Point Perspective guide to your scene, see Adding Drawing Guides.
How to adjust a 1-Point Perspective guide
1. In the Tools toolbar, select either the Brush, Pencil, Stroke or Line tool.
NOTE
Drawing guides are only visible in the Camera or Drawing view when one of these tools
is selected.
2. In the Guides view, make sure that the Enable Guides option button is toggled on.
3. In the guides list, select the 1-Point Perspective guide that you wish to make adjustments to.
The selected guide appears in the Camera or Drawing view.
4. Do one of the following:
l To reposition the guide without rotating it, click and drag on its vanishing point .
l To rotate the guide, click and drag on its horizon line.
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TIPS
l When the mouse is positioned over the horizon line, the mouse cursor will
change to to indicate that you are about to rotate the guide.
l When rotating a guide, its angle displays in the top-left corner of the Camera
or Drawing view.
5. Once you are done making adjustments to the guide, you can click on the Lock Guides button in
the Guides view so as to avoid accidentally modifying your guide while drawing.
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Adjusting a 2-Points Perspective Drawing Guide
The 2-Points Perspective guide can help you draw backgrounds and objects seen from the ground, but at an
angle. It provides a horizon line and two vanishing points, which are located outside of the camera field by
default. The height and angle of the horizon line as well as the position of both vanishing points can be
adjusted as needed.
NOTE
To add a 2-Points Perspective guide to your scene, see Adding Drawing Guides.
How to adjust a 2-Points Perspective guide
1. In the Tools toolbar, select either the Brush, Pencil, Stroke or Line tool.
NOTE
Drawing guides are only visible in the Camera or Drawing view when one of these tools
is selected.
2. In the Guides view, make sure that the Enable Guides option button is toggled on.
3. In the guides list, select the 2-Points Perspective guide that you wish to make adjustments to.
The selected guide appears in the Camera or Drawing view.
NOTE
The vanishing points for this guide are far outside of the camera field by default. You
may need to zoom out in order to be able to see them.
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4. Do one of the following:
l To move the horizon line along with the two vanishing points that are on it, click and drag on
the horizon line.
l To rotate the horizon line, click and drag on one of the two vanishing points and move it up
or down. This will rotate the horizon line around the opposite vanishing point.
TIPS
l You can press and hold the Shift key to make the angle of the horizon line
snap to the nearest multiple of 15°.
l You can press and hold the Alt key to make the guide rotate around the
centre of its horizon line.
l When rotating a guide, its angle displays in the top-left corner of the Camera
or Drawing view.
l To reposition one of the vanishing points on the horizon line, click and drag on that vanishing
point and move it left or right.
TIP
You can press and hold the Alt key to make both points move simultaneously, so
that they are both at the same distance from the centre of the horizon line.
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Adjusting a 3-Points Perspective (Bird's-Eye View) Drawing Guide
The 3-Points Perspective (Bird's-Eye View) guide can help you draw backgrounds and objects with
perspective from an elevated point of view. It provides a horizon line, which is located just underneath the
camera field, and on which there are two vanishing points: one for drawing lines on the x-axis and one for
drawing lines on the z-axis. Another vanishing point, used to draw lines on the y-axis, is located far above the
camera field.
The height and angle of the horizon line, the position of its two vanishing points as well as the position of the
upper vanishing point can be adjusted as needed.
NOTE
To add a 3-Points Perspective (Bird's-Eye View) guide to your scene, see Adding Drawing Guides.
How to adjust a 3-Points Perspective (Bird's-Eye View) guide
1. In the Tools toolbar, select either the Brush, Pencil, Stroke or Line tool.
NOTE
Drawing guides are only visible in the Camera or Drawing view when one of these tools
is selected.
2. In the Guides view, make sure that the Enable Guides option button is toggled on.
3. In the guides list, select the 3-Points Perspective (Bird's-Eye View) guide that you wish to make
adjustments to.
The selected guide appears in the Camera or Drawing view.
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NOTE
The horizon line and vanishing points for this guide are far outside of the camera field by
default. You may need to zoom out in order to be able to see them.
4. Do one of the following:
l To move the horizon line along with the two vanishing points that are on it, click and drag on
the horizon line.
l To rotate the horizon line, click and drag on one of the two vanishing points on the horizon
line and move it up or down. This will rotate the horizon line around the opposite vanishing
point.
TIPS
l You can press and hold the Shift key to make the angle of the horizon line
snap to the nearest multiple of 15°.
l You can press and hold the Alt key to make the guide rotate around the
centre of its horizon line.
l When rotating a guide, its angle displays in the top-left corner of the Camera
or Drawing view.
l To reposition one of the vanishing points on the horizon line, click and drag on that vanishing
point and move it left or right.
TIP
You can press and hold the Alt key to make both points move simultaneously, so
that they are both at the same distance from the centre of the horizon line.
l To reposition the bottom vanishing point, click and drag on that vanishing point .
TIPS
l You can press and hold the Alt key to position the point on the axis that is
perpendicular to the horizon line and in the middle of its two vanishing
points.
l You can press and hold the Shift key to make the point only move horizontally
or vertically relative to the camera angle.
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Adjusting a 3-Points Perspective (Worm's Eye View) Drawing Guide
The 3-Points Perspective (Worm's-Eye View) guide can help you draw backgrounds and objects with
perspective from an low point of view. It provides a horizon line, which is located just below the camera field,
and on which there are two vanishing points: one for drawing lines on the x-axis and one for drawing lines on
the z-axis. Another vanishing point, used to draw lines on the y-axis, is located far above the camera field.
The height and angle of the horizon line, the position of its two vanishing points as well as the position of the
lower vanishing point can be adjusted as needed.
NOTE
To add a 3-Points Perspective (Worm's-Eye View) guide to your scene, see Adding Drawing
Guides.
How to adjust a 3-Points Perspective (Worm's-Eye View) guide
1. In the Tools toolbar, select either the Brush, Pencil, Stroke or Line tool.
NOTE
Drawing guides are only visible in the Camera or Drawing view when one of these tools
is selected.
2. In the Guides view, make sure that the Enable Guides option button is toggled on.
3. In the guides list, select the 3-Points Perspective (Worm's-Eye View) guide that you wish to
make adjustments to.
The selected guide appears in the Camera or Drawing view.
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NOTE
The horizon line and vanishing points for this guide are far outside of the camera field by
default. You may need to zoom out in order to be able to see them.
4. Do one of the following:
l To move the horizon line along with the two vanishing points that are on it, click and drag on
the horizon line.
l To rotate the horizon line, click and drag on one of the two vanishing points on the horizon
line and move it up or down. This will rotate the horizon line around the opposite vanishing
point.
TIPS
l You can press and hold the Shift key to make the angle of the horizon line
snap to the nearest multiple of 15°.
l You can press and hold the Alt key to make the guide rotate around the
centre of its horizon line.
l When rotating a guide, its angle displays in the top-left corner of the Camera
or Drawing view.
l To reposition one of the vanishing points on the horizon line, click and drag on that vanishing
point and move it left or right.
TIP
You can press and hold the Alt key to make both points move simultaneously, so
that they are both at the same distance from the centre of the horizon line.
l To reposition the top vanishing point, click and drag on that vanishing point .
TIPS
l You can press and hold the Alt key to position the point on the axis that is
perpendicular to the horizon line and in the middle of its two vanishing
points.
l You can press and hold the Shift key to make the point only move horizontally
or vertically relative to the camera angle.
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Adjusting a 3-Points Perspective (Horizontal Pan) Drawing Guide
The 3-Points Perspective (Horizontal Guide) helps you draw backgrounds and objects with front-facing
perspective and curvilinear horizontal lines. It provides a horizon line, a central vanishing point, used to draw
lines on the z-axis, and two vanishing points at the extremities of the horizon line, used to draw curvilinear
horizontal lines.
The position and size of the guide, the height and angle of the horizon line, the distance of the outer vanishing
points from the central vanishing point as well as the shape of the curves can be adjusted as needed.
NOTE
To add a 3-Points Perspective (Horizontal Pan) guide to your scene, see Adding Drawing Guides.
How to adjust a 3-Points Perspective (Horizontal Pan) guide
1. In the Tools toolbar, select either the Brush, Pencil, Stroke or Line tool.
NOTE
Drawing guides are only visible in the Camera or Drawing view when one of these tools
is selected.
2. In the Guides view, make sure that the Enable Guides option button is toggled on.
3. In the guides list, select the 3-Point Perspective (Horizontal Pan) guide that you wish to make
adjustments to.
4. In the Guides view, make sure the Show Reference Lines option button is toggled on. This will
allow you to see how the adjustments you make to your guide affect its curves.
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5. Do one of the following:
l To reposition the guide, click and drag on its central vanishing point .
l To rotate the guide, click and drag on its horizon line.
TIPS
l When the mouse is positioned over the horizon line, the mouse cursor will
change to to indicate that you are about to rotate the guide.
l When rotating a guide, its angle displays in the top-left corner of the Camera
or Drawing view.
l To adjust the distance between the left and right vanishing points, click and drag on either
one of these points .
NOTES
l The vanishing point at the other end will also move so as to keep both points
at the same distance from the central vanishing point.
l This will stretch or squash the guide horizontally and make its curves wider or
narrower.
l To scale up the guide, press and hold Shift, then click and drag on either the left or right
vanishing points .
NOTE
If you previously adjusted the position of outer vanishing points relative to the
central vanishing point, doing this will reset their position.
l To skew the curves of the guide, click and drag on one of the green dots in the top-right
corner of the guide.
NOTE
These dots act as the Bezier handles of the outermost top-right curve, and affect
all the curves of the guide.
6. Once you are done making adjustments to the guide, you can click on the Lock Guides button in
the Guides view so as to avoid accidentally modifying your guide while drawing.
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Adjusting the 3-Points Perspective (Vertical Pan) Drawing Guide
The 3-Points Perspective (Vertical Pan) Guide helps you draw backgrounds and objects with front facing
perspective and curvilinear vertical lines. It provides a horizon line, a central vanishing point, used to draw lines
on the z-axis, and two vanishing points above and below the horizon line, used to draw curvilinear vertical
lines.
The position and size of the guide, the height and angle of the horizon line, the distance of the outer vanishing
points from the horizon line as well as the shape the curves can be adjusted as needed.
NOTE
To add a 3-Points Perspective (Vertical Pan) guide to your scene, see Adding Drawing Guides.
How to adjust a 3-Points Perspective (Vertical Pan) guide
1. In the Tools toolbar, select either the Brush, Pencil, Stroke or Line tool.
NOTE
Drawing guides are only visible in the Camera or Drawing view when one of these tools
is selected.
2. In the Guides view, make sure that the Enable Guides option button is toggled on.
3. In the guides list, select the 3-Point Perspective (Vertical Pan) guide that you wish to make
adjustments to.
4. In the Guides view, make sure the Show Reference Lines option button is toggled on. This will
allow you to see how the adjustments you make to your guide affect its curves.
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5. Do one of the following:
l To reposition the guide, click and drag on its central vanishing point .
l To rotate the guide, click and drag on its horizon line.
TIPS
l When the mouse is positioned over the horizon line, the mouse cursor will
change to to indicate that you are about to rotate the guide.
l When rotating a guide, its angle displays in the top-left corner of the Camera
or Drawing view.
l To adjust the distance between the top and bottom vanishing points, click and drag on
either one of these points .
NOTES
l The vanishing point at the other end will also move so as to keep both points
at the same distance from the central vanishing point.
l This will stretch or squash the guide vertically and make its curves wider or
narrower.
l To scale up the guide, press and hold Shift, then click and drag on either the top or bottom
vanishing points .
NOTE
If you previously adjusted the position of outer vanishing points relative to the
central vanishing point, doing this will reset their position.
l To skew the curves of the guide, click and drag on one of the red dots in the bottom-right
corner of the guide.
NOTE
These dots act as the Bezier handles of the outermost bottom-right curve, and
affect all the curves of the guide.
6. Once you are done making adjustments to the guide, you can click on the Lock Guides button in
the Guides view so as to avoid accidentally modifying your guide while drawing.
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Adjusting a 4-Points Continuous Perspective Drawing Guide
The 4-Points Continuous Perspective helps you draw backgrounds with perspective and curvilinear horizontal
lines that span over up to four cardinal points, so as to make backgrounds that can be panned in a loop to
simulate a 360° camera rotation. It provides a horizon line with five vanishing points spread evenly along it.
Each vanishing point represents one cardinal point, except for the two vanishing points at the extremities,
which represent the same cardinal point, adding up to four cardinal points.
The size and position of the guide, the height and angle of the horizon line, the distance between the
vanishing points as well as the shape of the curves can be adjusted as needed.
NOTE
To add a 4-Points Continuous Perspective guide to your scene, see Adding Drawing Guides.
How to adjust a 4-Points Continuous Perspective guide
1. In the Tools toolbar, select either the Brush, Pencil, Stroke or Line tool.
NOTE
Drawing guides are only visible in the Camera or Drawing view when one of these tools
is selected.
2. In the Guides view, make sure that the Enable Guides option button is toggled on.
3. In the guides list, select the 4-Point Continuous Perspective guide that you wish to make
adjustments to.
4. In the Guides view, make sure the Show Reference Lines option button is toggled on. This will
allow you to see how the adjustments you make to your guide affect its curves.
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5. Do one of the following:
l To reposition the guide, click and drag on its central vanishing point .
l To rotate the guide, click and drag on its horizon line.
TIPS
l When the mouse is positioned over the horizon line, the mouse cursor will
change to to indicate that you are about to rotate the guide.
l When rotating a guide, its angle displays in the top-left corner of the Camera
or Drawing view.
l To adjust the distance between the vanishing points, click and drag on one of the two points
located left and right of the central vanishing point.
NOTES
l All of the vanishing points on the horizon line will move so that they are at
the same distance from each other.
l This will stretch or squash the guide horizontally and make its curves wider or
narrower.
l To scale up the guide, press and hold Shift, then click and drag on one of the two points
located left and right of the central vanishing point.
NOTE
If you previously adjusted the position of outer vanishing points relative to the
central vanishing point, doing this will reset their position.
l To skew the curves of the guide, click and drag on one of the green dots in the top-right
corner of the central part of the guide.
NOTE
These dots act as the Bezier handles of the outermost top-right curve, and affect
all the curves of the guide.
6. Once you are done making adjustments to the guide, you can click on the Lock Guides button in
the Guides view so as to avoid accidentally modifying your guide while drawing.
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Adjusting a 4-Points Perspective (Vertical Pan) Drawing Guide
The 4-Points Perspective (Vertical Pan) guide helps you draw backgrounds and objects with perspective from
an angle with curvilinear vertical lines. It provides a horizon line on which there are two vanishing points, one
for drawing lines on the x-axis and the other for drawing lines on the z-axis. There are two more vanishing
points above and below the horizon line, used to draw curvilinear vertical lines.
The position and size of the guide, the height and angle of the horizon line, the position of the two vanishing
points on the horizon line, the distance of the top and bottom vanishing points from the horizon line as well as
the shape of the curves can be adjusted as needed.
NOTE
To add a 4-Points Perspective (Vertical Pan) guide to your scene, see Adding Drawing Guides.
How to adjust a 4-Points Perspective (Vertical Pan) guide
1. In the Tools toolbar, select either the Brush, Pencil, Stroke or Line tool.
NOTE
Drawing guides are only visible in the Camera or Drawing view when one of these tools
is selected.
2. In the Guides view, make sure that the Enable Guides option button is toggled on.
3. In the guides list, select the 4-Point Perspective (Vertical Pan) guide that you wish to make
adjustments to.
4. In the Guides view, make sure the Show Reference Lines option button is toggled on. This will
allow you to see how the adjustments you make to your guide affect its curves.
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Chapter 5: Drawing
NOTE
The vanishing points for this guide are far outside of the camera field by default. You
may need to zoom out in order to be able to see them.
5. Do one of the following:
l To reposition the guide, click and drag on its central vanishing point .
l To rotate the guide, click and drag on its horizon line.
TIPS
l When the mouse is positioned over the horizon line, the mouse cursor will
change to to indicate that you are about to rotate the guide.
l When rotating a guide, its angle displays in the top-left corner of the Camera
or Drawing view.
l To adjust the distance between either one of the left and right vanishing points and the
central vanishing point, click and drag on one of these points .
TIP
You can press and hold the Alt key while dragging one of the outer vanishing
points to make both vanishing points move and keep both points at the same
distance from the central vanishing point.
l To adjust the distance between the top and bottom vanishing points, click and drag on
either one of these points .
NOTES
l The vanishing point at the other end will also move so as to keep both points
at the same distance from the central vanishing point.
l This will stretch or squash the guide and make its curves wider or narrower.
l To scale up the guide, press and hold Shift, then click and drag on one of the four outer
vanishing points .
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NOTE
If you previously adjusted the position of outer vanishing points relative to the
central vanishing point, doing this will reset their position.
l To skew the curves of the guide, click and drag on one of the red dots in the bottom-right
corner of the guide.
NOTE
These dots act as the Bezier handles of the outermost bottom-right curve, and
affect all the curves of the guide.
6. Once you are done making adjustments to the guide, you can click on the Lock Guides button in
the Guides view so as to avoid accidentally modifying your guide while drawing.
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Chapter 5: Drawing
Adjusting a 5-Points Perspective (Fisheye) Drawing Guide
The 5-Points Perspective (Fisheye) guide helps you draw backgrounds and objects with both horizontal and
vertical curvilinear perspective. It provides a horizon line, a central vanishing point, used to draw lines on the z-
axis, two vanishing points at the horizontal extremities, used to draw curvilinear horizontal lines, and two
vanishing points at the vertical extremities, used to draw vertical lines.
The position, angle and size of the guide can be adjusted as needed.
NOTE
To add a 5-Points Perspective (Fisheye) guide to your scene, see Adding Drawing Guides.
How to adjust a 5-Points Perspective (Fisheye) guide
1. In the Tools toolbar, select either the Brush, Pencil, Stroke or Line tool.
NOTE
Drawing guides are only visible in the Camera or Drawing view when one of these tools
is selected.
2. In the Guides view, make sure that the Enable Guides option button is toggled on.
3. In the guides list, select the 5-Point Perspective (Fisheye) guide that you wish to make
adjustments to.
4. In the Guides view, make sure the Show Reference Lines option button is toggled on. This will
allow you to see how the adjustments you make to your guide affect its curves.
5. Do one of the following:
l To reposition the guide, click and drag on its central vanishing point .
l To rotate the guide, click and drag on its horizon line.
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TIPS
l When the mouse is positioned over the horizon line, the mouse cursor will
change to to indicate that you are about to rotate the guide.
l When rotating a guide, its angle displays in the top-left corner of the Camera
or Drawing view.
l To scale up the guide, click and drag on one of the four outer vanishing points .
6. Once you are done making adjustments to the guide, you can click on the Lock Guides button in
the Guides view so as to avoid accidentally modifying your guide while drawing.
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Chapter 5: Drawing
Locking Guides to Prevent Editing Them
T-LAY-001A-008
When using a drawing tool with a guide, you are also able to edit the guide's horizon line, vanishing points and
other parameters by manipulating them in the Camera or Drawing view. Hence, it is possible to make changes
to your guide by accident when drawing too close to one of its visual elements. Once you are done making
adjustments to a guide, it is recommended to lock guides to be able to draw freely without having to worry
about making accidental changes to your guides.
How to prevent editing of Drawing Guides while drawing
1. In the Guides view, click on the Lock Guide button.
NOTES
l The Lock Guide option prevents editing all guides, not just the selected one.
l When adding a new guide, the Lock Guide option is automatically toggled off to allow the
new guide to be edited immediately.
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Drawing with Drawing Guides
T-LAY-001A-006
When guides are enabled and a guide is selected, you can use this guide to assist you in drawing with precision
or perspective. The guide will display dotted lines going through your mouse cursor as you move it inside the
drawing space. Each of these lines represents one of the axes of the selected guide.
When you start drawing a stroke, your drawing tool will automatically lock against the axis that most closely
matches the angle of your stroke, forcing you to draw a straight line along that axis, as if you were using a ruler
or a set square.
NOTES
l Guides can only be used with the Brush, Pencil, Stroke or Line tool.
l If the Align with Guide option in the Guides view is toggled off, your mouse cursor will not
lock against the axes in your guide.
How to draw using guides
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select a drawing, or select an empty cell and create a new drawing
by doing one of the following:
l Right-click on the cell and select Drawing > Create Empty Drawing.
l Press Alt + Shift + R
2. In the Tools toolbar, select either the Brush, Pencil, Stroke or Line tool.
NOTE
Drawing guides are only visible in the Camera or Drawing view when one of these tools
is selected.
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Chapter 5: Drawing
3. In the Guides view, select the guide you wish to use.
4. To avoid editing your guide by accident while drawing, make sure the Lock Guides option is
toggled on—see Locking Guides to Prevent Editing Them on page 593.
5. If you want your drawing strokes to be locked against the axes of your guide, make sure the
Align with Guide option of the Guides view if toggled on. Otherwise, toggle it off to be able to draw
freely and only use the guides as references—see Drawing Freehand Perspective with Drawing
Guides on page 598.
6. Move the mouse cursor around the drawing space. Observe that guide lines are going through your
mouse cursor, one for each of the axes of the drawing guide.
7. Start drawing a stroke roughly at the same angle as one of the axes.
If the Align with Guide option is enabled, the drawing stroke aligns to the axis that is the closest
to its angle, as if you were drawing against a ruler.
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Harmony 20 Advanced User Guide
TIPS
l You can also manually select which axis to lock onto—see Locking Drawing Strokes to a
Specific Axis.
l Whether you're drawing or not, you can lock the position and angle of the guide lines by
pressing and holding the Alt key. The guide lines will stop following the mouse cursor,
allowing you to keep them at a specific angle and position. This can be used to draw over
the same line several times over so as to adjust its length and thickness.
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Chapter 5: Drawing
Locking Drawing Strokes to a Specific Axis
T-LAY-001A-010
When using a drawing guide with the Align with Guide option enabled, your drawing tool will
automatically lock against one of the axes of your guide. Which axis it locks onto is the one that is the closest to
the angle of your stroke as you start drawing.
If you want, you can manually select which axis to lock your drawing tool against, so as to avoid accidentally
locking against the wrong axis.
How to lock your drawing tool to a specific axis
1. Set the focus to the Camera or Drawing view, for example, by clicking on the view's tab.
2. Press the Left Arrow or Right Arrow key repeatedly to cycle through your guide's axes. The
selected axis will be displayed in bold across your mouse cursor.
All your drawing strokes will lock onto the selected axis.
How to re-enable using all axes
1. Press the Left Arrow or Right Arrow key repeatedly to cycle through your guide's axes, until none of
them are displayed in bold across your mouse cursor.
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Drawing Freehand Perspective with Drawing Guides
By default, when drawing with a drawing guide active, your mouse cursor will lock against one of your guide's
axes, forcing it to draw along the axis as if you were drawing against a ruler.
If you want, you can disable this behaviour by turning off the Align with Guide option, and only use your
drawing guide as a visual reference. This can be useful if you want to draw with less rigid drawing style.
When the Align with Guide option is disabled:
l Your drawing tool will allow you to draw in any direction.
l The guide will still be visible, but will only serve as a visual aid.
l While drawing, the dotted line representing the axis you are drawing along will lock into place instead
of following your mouse cursor, so that you can follow it as you draw.
How to draw freehand perspective
1. In the Guides view, click on the Align with Guide button to toggle it off
2. Start drawing.
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Viewing Drawing Guide Reference Lines
T-LAY-001A-007
By default, a guide will only display its horizon line and its vanishing points, as well as dotted lines going
through your mouse cursor to represent its axes.
To help you lay out objects in your drawing, you can also enable reference lines. Reference lines are semi-
transparent lines displaying all over your drawing space, representing your guide's axes at different angles or
distances.
When using reference lines, you can decide the amount of lines that display in your drawing space. If you have
too many reference lines, they will be very close to each other and your drawing space might feel cluttered, but
if you have too few, you might not always have a reference line close enough to the stroke you wish to draw to
help serve as a reference.
How to view Drawing Guide Reference lines
1. In the Guides view, click on the Show Reference Lines button to toggle it on.
The reference lines appear as a semi-transparent overlay all over your drawing space.
2. In the Guides view, click and drag on the Number of Lines slider to adjust the amount of reference
lines displayed in your drawing space.
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Minimizing Guide Cursor Axes Display
By default, the guide axes that are drawn across your mouse cursor extend throughout your entire drawing
space. You may want those axes to only extend to a short distance around your cursor, so that they can still
serve as guides without obstructing your drawing space or drawing your eye away from your mouse cursor. You
can do this by disabling the Full Cursor Display option, which is enabled by default.
When the Full Cursor Display option is disabled:
l The axis lines displaying across your mouse cursor only span on a short distance from your mouse cursor.
l When drawing a stroke, all axis lines disappear until you finish drawing the stroke. By default, only the
axis you are drawing on disappears.
l The actual axes used to lock your drawing tool still extend across the entire drawing space. This is
strictly a visual option.
How to minimize the Drawing Guide's cursor axes display
1. In the Guides view, toggle the Full Cursor Display button off.
The guide axes now only span over a short distance from your mouse cursor.
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Chapter 5: Drawing
Erasing Using Drawing Guides
By default, drawing guides have no effect when using the Eraser tool. If you want, you can enable using the
Eraser tool with guides.
How to erase using a Drawing Guide
1. In the Guides view, click on the Enable Guide with Eraser button to toggle it on.
The Eraser tool will now work with the currently selected guide, just like the Brush,
Pencil, Stroke and Line tools.
2. Start erasing.
NOTE
When this option is enabled, it is also possible to make adjustments to your guide while the
Eraser too is selected.
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Enabling and Disabling Drawing Guides
T-LAY-001A-009
Once you are done working with guides, you can disable them. When drawing guides are disabled, they are
not displayed in your drawing space and do not affect the behaviour of your drawing tools.
How to enable and disable drawing guides
1. To enable or disable Drawing Guides, do one of the following:
l In the Guides view, click on the Enable Guide button.
l Press Shift + G.
NOTES
l Guides are automatically enabled when you add a new guide or when you select a guide in
the guides list.
l The guide that was selected when you disabled guides will be selected again when you re-
enable guides.
l Drawing guides only work with the Brush, Pencil, Stroke and Line tools tools.
If any other tool is selected, drawing guides will behave as if they are disabled.
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Chapter 5: Drawing
Reordering Drawing Guide Lists
The drawing guides in your guides list can be reordered.
How to reorder a Drawing Guide list
1. In the Guides view, select one or multiple guides from the list.
TIPS
l You can select multiple guides by holding the Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ (macOS)
key and clicking on each guide you want to select.
l You can select a series of guide by holding the Shift key, clicking on the first guide
you want to select, then clicking on the last guide you want to select. Every guide in-
between will also be selected.
2. Drag and drop the selected guides to their desired position in the list.
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Cutting and Pasting Drawing Guides
You can cut a drawing guide from your guides list and paste it into the guides list of another scene.
How to cut and paste drawing guides
1. In the Guides view, select one or multiple guides from the list.
TIPS
l You can select multiple guides by holding the Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ (macOS)
key and clicking on each guide you want to select.
l You can select a series of guide by holding the Shift key, clicking on the first guide
you want to select, then clicking on the last guide you want to select. Every guide in-
between will also be selected.
2. Do one of the following:
l In the Guides view, click on the Menu button and select Cut.
l Press Ctrl + X (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + X (macOS).
The selected guides are deleted from the list and stored in the clipboard.
3. In the top menu, select File > Open and open a different Harmony scene.
4. In the Guides view, click on the guides list to set the focus on it. If the guides list already contains
guides, select the guide that will act as an insertion point.
5. Do one of the folliowing:
l In the Guides view, click on the Menu button and select Paste.
l Press Ctrl + V (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + V (macOS).
Drawing Guides that were cut from the previous guides list are pasted in the current guides list.
NOTE
If you want to use the Cut, Copy and Paste keyboard shortcuts on guides, make sure the focus
is on the Guides view.
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Copying & Pasting Drawing Guides
T-LAY-001A-004
You can copy drawing guides from your guides list and paste them into the guides list of another scene.
How to copy and paste drawing guides
1. In the Guides view, select one or multiple guides from the list.
TIPS
l You can select multiple guides by holding the Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ (macOS)
key and clicking on each guide you want to select.
l You can select a series of guide by holding the Shift key, clicking on the first guide
you want to select, then clicking on the last guide you want to select. Every guide in-
between will also be selected.
2. Do one of the following:
l In the Guides view, click on the Menu button and select Copy.
l Press Ctrl + C (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + C (macOS).
3. In the top menu, select File > Open and open a different Harmony scene.
4. In the Guides view, click on the guides list to set the focus on it. If the guides list already contains
guide, select a guide that will act as an insertion point.
5. Do one of the folliowing:
l In the Guides view, click on the Menu button and select Paste.
l Press Ctrl + V (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + V (macOS).
Drawing Guides that were copied from the previous guides list are pasted in the current guides list.
NOTE
If you want to use the Cut, Copy and Paste keyboard shortcuts on guides, make sure the focus
is on the Guides view.
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Exporting and Importing Drawing Guides
You can export drawing guides from the current scene into a file, then and import them into another scene.
How to export drawing guides to a file
1. In the Guides view, select one or multiple guides from the list.
TIPS
l You can select multiple guides by holding the Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ (macOS)
key and clicking on each guide you want to select.
l You can select a series of guide by holding the Shift key, clicking on the first guide
you want to select, then clicking on the last guide you want to select. Every guide in-
between will also be selected.
2. In the Guides view, click on the Menu button and select Export Selected Guides.
3. In the Export Guides dialog box that appears, choose a destination folder, type in the name of the
file you want to export, then click on Save.
The selected guides are exported to the destination file. A confirmation dialog box displays the
amount of guides that were exported.
How to import drawing guides
1. In the Timeline or Thumbnail view, select the destination panel.
2. In the Guides view, click on the Menu button and select Import Guides.
3. In the Import Guides dialog box that appears, browse to the folder in which you exported your
guides, select the file in which you exported your guides and click on Open.
The guides that were stored in the file are inserted at the bottom of the guides list. A confirmation
dialog box displays the amount of guides that were imported.
NOTE
When importing a list of guides, duplicate guides are filtered out to avoid cluttering the list. The
confirmation dialog box will specify if duplicates were detected and filtered out.
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Deleting Drawing Guides
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You can delete drawing guides from the guides list.
How to delete a Drawing Guide
1. In the Guides view, select one or multiple guides from the list.
TIPS
l You can select multiple guides by holding the Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ (macOS)
key and clicking on each guide you want to select.
l You can select a series of guide by holding the Shift key, clicking on the first guide
you want to select, then clicking on the last guide you want to select. Every guide in-
between will also be selected.
2. Do one of the following:
l In the Guides view, click on the Delete Guide button
l Press Del (Windows/Linux) or Backspace (macOS).
The selected guided are deleted from the list.
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About Drawing Optimization
As you work, you drawing can get complex and contain multiple strokes. You may want to optimize those
drawings to reduce the number of brush strokes, pencil lines, and invisible strokes. You may also want to flatten
your artwork or optimize your brush stroke textures.
The Optimize command reduces the number of layers, such as overlapping brush strokes, in the selected
drawing objects. Drawing objects will only be flattened and optimized if the selected objects do not change the
appearance of the final image when they are merged.
For example, if you have selected a number of partially transparent objects, which you layered to create an
additive colour effect, the selected transparent drawing objects will not be merged. This is because merging
the transparent drawing objects will cause them to lose the effect of the layered transparent colours.
You could also want to add invisible contour strokes so that if you unpaint lines, the vector container remains to
be repainted later.
The Crop Brush Textures option is used to crop an unnecessarily large texture bitmap that lies unseen beneath
the vector contour of a textured line. This often occurs when you cut and paste textured lines from one drawing
into another. If you cut a portion from a textured line and paste it into a different drawing, Harmony pastes the
entire unseen texture bitmap from the source drawing into the new one, even if you only took a small portion of
the source drawing. Using the Crop Brush Texture command will crop away extraneous texture that does not
touch the vector area. If there are many textured lines in your scene, this will greatly reduce the file size.
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In the example shown above, a textured line is cut from a drawing and pasted into a new drawing. At first, it
appears as if only a cropped section of the underlying texture bitmap was cut and pasted as well. However,
using the Contour Editor tool to expand the vector envelope of the textured line, it is revealed that more
texture bitmap exists beyond the cropped boundary. If you use the Crop Brush Texture command, the bitmap
texture is cropped to the boundaries of the textured line’s vector contour (as seen in the fourth image where
the vector envelope has been pulled out to reveal empty space).
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Flattening Drawings
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The Flatten operation is used to merge drawing objects and brush strokes into a single layer. If you draw new
lines to fix a drawing or line with many brush strokes, it can be useful to flatten them all into a single shape. By
default, lines are drawn one on top of each other. If you intend to repaint the lines or modify their shape, it will
be easier if they are flattened.
How to flatten drawings
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Select tool.
2. In the Camera or Drawing view, select the drawing strokes you want to flatten.
3. Select Drawing > Optimize > Flatten or press Alt + Shift + F. You can also press the Flatten
button in the Tool Properties view.
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Smoothing Drawings
The Smooth operation is used to reduce the number of contour points on a brush stroke and center points on a
pencil line. It also smooths out the shape.
How to smooth drawings
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Select tool.
2. In the Camera or Drawing view, select the drawing strokes you want to smooth out.
3. Select Drawing > Optimize > Smooth or press Alt + Shift + S. You can also press the Smooth
button in the Tool Properties view.
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Creating Contour Strokes
The Create Contour Stroke option is used to add a permanent invisible line around a shape that was drawn
directly in Harmony. This allows you to unpaint your lines with the Paint tool but maintain the shape of the
lines, should you need to repaint later.
This command is useful when inking and painting and using the Apply to All Drawings in Layer option.
How to create contour strokes
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Select tool.
2. In the Camera or Drawing view, use the Select tool to select the drawing objects you want to create
contour strokes for.
3. From the top menu, select Drawing> Optimize > Create Contour Strokes.
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Removing Contour Strokes
The Remove Contour Stroke option is used to remove any permanently invisible lines that were created while
scanning and vectorizing drawings or manually adding contour strokes. This is useful if you want to remove the
intersection triangles created during vectorization.
How to remove contour strokes
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Select tool.
2. In the Camera or Drawing view, use the Select tool to select the drawing objects you want to
remove contour strokes for.
3. From the top menu, select Drawing> Optimize > Remove Contour Strokes.
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Removing Extra Strokes
The Remove Extra Strokes command allows you to instantly remove invisible lines that are adjacent to the
artwork in your selection.
NOTE
This will only remove invisible lines that are adjacent to visible artwork. Invisible lines that are not
connected to any visible shape or line will not be removed.
How to remove extra strokes
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Select tool.
2. In the Camera or Drawing view, use the Select tool to select the artwork from which you want to
remove extra strokes.
3. Do one of the following:
l In the top menu, select Drawing > Optimize > Remove Extra Strokes.
l In the Camera or Drawing view, open the View Menu and select Drawing > Optimize >
Remove Extra Strokes.
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Optimizing Drawings
You can use the Optimize feature to flatten your drawing strokes without changing the aspect of your
drawings. This mainly means that transparencies will not be flattened.
How to optimize a drawing
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Select tool.
2. In the Camera or Drawing view, select the drawing strokes you want to optimize.
3. Do one of the following:
l From the top menu, select Drawing > Optimize > Optimize.
l From the Camera or Drawing view menu, select Drawing > Optimize > Optimize.
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Cropping Brush Textures
The Crop Brush Textures option is used to crop an unnecessarily large texture bitmap that lies unseen beneath
the vector contour of a textured line
How to crop the brush texture
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the drawing whose texture you want to crop.
2. Do one of the following:
l From the top menu, select Drawing > Optimize > Crop Brush Textures.
l From the Camera View or Drawing View menu, select Drawing > Optimize > Crop
Brush Textures.
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Reducing the Drawing Texture Resolution
When you import and vectorize as texture (colour) a high resolution image, the size of your drawing can be
heavy. You can reduce the size and resolution of the textures in a drawing.
How to reduce the drawing texture resolution
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Select tool.
2. In the Camera or Drawing view, use the Select tool to select the drawing objects whose texture
resolution you wan to reduce.
3. From the top menu, select Drawing > Optimize > Reduce Drawing Texture Resolution.
l From the Camera or Drawing view menu, select Drawing > Optimize > Reduce
Drawing Texture Resolution.
4. In the dialog box, drag the slider toward the left to reduce the texture resolution.
5. Enable the Apply to All Drawings option if you want the modification to be applied to all the
drawings in your layer.
6. Click OK.
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About Strokes Conversion
You may have drawing stroke using the Pencil tool when you wanted to use the Brush tool. You may also have
drawing your image using the Polyline tool and now you want to convert your strokes to brush strokes. For
many reasons, you may want to switch your stroke types to another type to use the various advantage set they
offer.
There are three types of strokes:
l Brush strokes (contour vector)
l Pencil strokes (central vector)
l Invisible strokes (central vector with a thickness value of 0)
Harmony lets you convert pencil lines to brush strokes, brush strokes to pencil lines, and invisible strokes
(strokes) to pencil lines.
You can also break text objects apart—see Breaking Text Into Letters or Vector Shapes on page 515.
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Converting Brush Strokes to Pencil Lines
The Brushes Strokes to Pencil Lines operation converts selected contour strokes into centreline pencil strokes.
The brush stroke thickness will be lost.
How to convert brush strokes to pencil lines
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Select tool.
2. In the Camera or Drawing view, select the strokes you want to convert.
3. Do one of the following:
l From the top menu, select Drawing > Convert > Brush Strokes to Pencil Lines or
press ^.
l Right-click on the selection, select Convert >Brush Strokes to Pencil Lines or press ^
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Converting Pencil Lines to Brush Strokes
The Pencil Lines to Brush Strokes operation converts the selected centreline pencil strokes into contour strokes
brush lines. This feature works for both solid and textured pencil lines.
How to convert pencil lines to brush strokes
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Select tool.
2. In the Camera or Drawing view, select the strokes you want to convert.
3. Do one of the following:
l From the top menu, select Drawing > Convert > Pencil Lines to Brush Strokes .
l Right-click on the selection, select Convert > Pencil Lines to Brush Strokes.
l In the Tool Properties view, press the Pencil Lines to Brush Strokes button.
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Converting Strokes to Pencil Lines
The Strokes to Pencil Lines operation converts the selected invisible line to a pencil line.
How to convert strokes to pencil lines
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Select tool.
2. In the Camera or Drawing view, select the strokes you want to convert.
3. Do one of the following:
l Select Drawing > Convert > Strokes to Pencil Lines or press Shift + F12
(Windows/Linux only).
l Right-click on the selection, select Convert > Strokes to Pencil Lines or press Shift +
F12 (Windows/Linux only)
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About Vector and Bitmap Layers
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With Harmony, you have the choice to use vector or bitmap drawing tools. Vector drawing tools allow you to
make drawings that can be scaled without losing quality, to easily tweak and fine tune your drawings and to
use the whole suite of drawing tools available in Harmony, whereas bitmap drawing tools allow you to lay on
brush strokes to make more traditional-looking artwork, and to tweak your drawing by the pixel rather than by
their strokes and contours.
When drawing, whether you can use vector or bitmap drawing tools is determined by whether the art layer
you are drawing on is a vector or a bitmap layer. By default, each drawing layer has two art layers: Line Art and
Colour Art, and each of these art layers can be a vector or a bitmap layer. This can be useful if, for example, you
wish your line art to be done using bitmap drawing tools, and then to paint your drawings using vector
drawing tools, or vice versa.
NOTE
Optionally, drawing layers can have two extra art layers, the Overlay Art layer, which appears over
the other art layers, and the Underlay Art layers, which appears underneath. For more information,
see Enabling Overlay and Underlay Art Layers on page 865.
Using bitmap layers may be preferable if you find that vector drawings are too limiting for the desired art style,
or if your vector drawings are so complex that they affect software performance. However, bitmap layers have
the following limitations which you should carefully consider before using them:
l In vector drawings, each stroke is a separate drawing object by default, and each of these drawing
objects, as well as each of their points, curves and outlines, can be manipulated independently. It is not
possible to do that with bitmap layers, as they are always a single drawing object. They can be drawn,
filled or erased over, and manipulated as a whole, but its individual elements cannot be manipulated
independently.
l By default, bitmap layers are created at the same pixel density as your scene's camera when it is in its
default position. This means that your artwork will lose picture quality if you zoom in on it or scale it up. If
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you need bitmap drawings to be scaled up or zoomed on, you must set your bitmap artwork's pixel
density higher before you start drawing.
l Bitmap drawings may require more storage space than vector drawings. Note that this depends a lot on
the amount of space in your drawing that is covered by artwork. Harmony does not store bitmap data
for empty areas of your drawings.
When drawing on a bitmap layer, the following tools are unavailable, as they exploit the vector drawing
capabilities of Harmony:
l Pencil
l Contour Editor
l Pencil Editor
l Smooth Editor
l Perspective
l Envelope
l Ink
l Stroke
l Close Gap
l Polyline
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Adding Bitmap Layers
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By default, new scenes created in Harmony will have a single vector layer. You can choose whether a drawing
layer will be a vector or a bitmap layer at its creation. Therefore, if you want to use a bitmap layer, you can
simply create one.
Each drawing layer in your scene has two sub-layers, referred to as Line Art and Colour Art, each which can be
either Vector or Bitmap. When creating a new layer, you can choose whether each of these art layers will be
vector or bitmap art layers.
How to add a bitmap layer
1. In the Timeline view, click the Add Drawing Layer button,
The Add Drawing Layer window opens.
By default, drawing layers have two art layers: Line Art and Colour Art. If your Support Overlay and
Underlay Arts preference is enabled, your drawing layers will have four art layers: Overlay Art, Line
Art, Colour Art and Underlay Art. For more information, see Enabling Overlay and Underlay Art
Layers on page 865.
2. If you want a fully bitmap layer, select Bitmap for all the art layers. If you want parts of your drawing
to use bitmap drawing tools and other parts of your drawings to use vector drawing tools, set the
corresponding art layers to Bitmap or Vector, depending on your needs.
3. Click OK.
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Setting the Bitmap Resolution
When drawing in bitmap, it is important to understand that, contrary to vector artwork, bitmap artwork is
stored in pixels. This implies that, where vector artwork can be scaled and zoomed in without issue, bitmap
artwork is resolution dependent, and is liable to drop in picture quality and appear pixelated if it is enlarged or
zoomed in.
By default, bitmap layers created in Harmony have a pixel density of 100%. At this density, when your scene is
not zoomed in and your artwork is not scaled up, each pixel in your artwork corresponds to one pixel in the
rendered image. Scaling it up or zooming in will require Harmony to render several pixels using the same
bitmap pixel, making the artwork lose quality.
Hence, before you start drawing on your bitmap layer, it is important to consider if you will need to zoom onto
or scale up your artwork, and set the pixel density accordingly. For example, if you intend to scale your bitmap
artwork up to 300%, or if you intend to zoom in from 12 fields to 4 fields, you should make sure your bitmap
artwork's pixel density is of at least 300% before you start drawing.
The pixel density of a bitmap layer affects the amount of pixels it contains, but not its apparent size in the
scene. For example, if your scene resolution is set to 1920 x 1080 and your bitmap artwork's pixel density is
300%, its resolution will be 5760 x 3240. However, it will be scaled down to 1920 x 1080, and the extra pixels
will be used to preserve the image quality if the artwork is zoomed on or scaled up.
Bitmap layers are also limited by a canvas. By default, this canvas is set to be 200% of the scene's width and
height. This means that your artwork can bleed outside any edge of the camera frame by 50% of its size. If you
need your bitmap artwork to have a larger canvas, it is possible to change its canvas size. This can be useful for
example if you want to create a panning background in a bitmap layer. If you want a background to pan
horizontally over three times the width of the camera frame, you would need to set its canvas width to at least
300%, but it is recommended to make your canvas bigger than what you plan to use so as to avoid accidentally
including the edges of your artwork in the picture.
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You can specify the pixel density and canvas size at the scene level or at the drawing level:
l Setting the pixel density and canvas size at the scene level will make it newly created bitmap drawings
have the specified settings, but it will not change the pixel density and canvas size of existing bitmap
drawings.
l Setting the pixel density and canvas size at the drawing level will allow you to change the pixel density
and canvas size of existing drawings in a bitmap layer, but will not affect the pixel density and canvas
size of drawings created afterward.
NOTE
If you are using textured brushes on a vector drawing layer, you must set the pixel density for
vector drawing brush textures instead—see Setting the Textured Brush Resolution on page 343.
How to set the canvas size and pixel density of bitmap layers for a scene
1. From the top menu, select Scene > Scene Settings.
The Scene Settings dialog box opens.
2. Select the Bitmap Resolution tab.
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1. In the Default Canvas Size & Pixel Density for Bitmap Drawings section, do the following:
a. In the Width and Height fields, enter the percentage of your scene's resolution that you want
the canvas of your bitmap layer to occupy. By default, both values will be set to 200%, which
means the width and height of your bitmap canvas will be twice the width and height of your
scene's resolution. When the camera is in its default position, this leaves extra space around
the camera frame to draw on your bitmap layer.
b. In the Pixel Density field, enter the desired percentage of pixel density. If you intend to scale
or zoom in on your artwork, make sure your pixel density is set to be at least the factor by
which your artwork will scaled or zoomed on. For example, if you intend to scale your artwork
by 300%, you need to set the pixel density to at least 300%. If you intend to zoom in on your
artwork from 12 fields to 6 fields, you need to set the pixel density to at least 200%. If you
intend to do both, you need to set the pixel density to at least 600%, as the camera zoom
and scaling factor will have a multiplying effect on the apparent scaling of your artwork.
2. Click OK.
From now on, new bitmap drawings created in your scene will have the selected canvas size and
pixel density.
Since changing the bitmap resolution settings for your scene will only affect newly created bitmap drawings,
you may also want to change the bitmap resolution settings for existing bitmap drawings. This is possible.
However, if your bitmap layer already contains artwork, it will be resampled.
This is not necessarily a problem if you want to lower your bitmap layer's pixel density, which you might want
to do to save on disk space and help Harmony's performance. However, if you want to increase your bitmap
layer's pixel density, Harmony will have to generate extra pixels for your bitmap drawing, which will cause the
image to lose quality. Hence, it is important to calculate and set the proper pixel density for your bitmap
drawings before you start drawing.
How to change the canvas size and pixel density of existing bitmap drawings
1. In the Timeline or Camera view, select the bitmap drawing for which you want to change the canvas
size or pixel density.
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2. From the top menu, select Drawing > Change Bitmap Drawing Resolution.
The Change Bitmap Drawing Resolution dialog opens.
3. In the Width and Height fields, enter the percentage of your scene's resolution that you want the
canvas of your bitmap layer to occupy. By default, both values will be set to 200%, which means the
width and height of your bitmap canvas will be twice the width and height of your scene's
resolution. When the camera is in its default position, this leaves extra space around the camera
frame to draw on your bitmap layer.
4. In the Pixel Density field, enter the desired percentage of pixel density. If you intend to scale or
zoom in on your artwork, make sure your pixel density is set to be at least the factor by which your
artwork will scaled or zoomed on. For example, if you intend to scale your artwork by 300%, you
need to set the pixel density to at least 300%. If you intend to zoom in on your artwork from 12
fields to 6 fields, you need to set the pixel density to at least 200%. If you intend to do both, you
need to set the pixel density to at least 600%, as the camera zoom and scaling factor will have a
multiplying effect on the apparent scaling of your artwork.
5. Enable the Resample Bitmap option if you want your drawings to preserve their apparent size in
the scene.
6. If you want the specified settings to be applied to all of the drawing's art layers, i.e., Line Art, Colour
Art and, if enabled, Overlay Art and Underlay Art, check the Apply to All Art Layers option.
Otherwise, only the currently active art layer will be affected.
7. If you want the specified settings to be applied to all drawings in the active layer, check the Apply
to All Drawings option. Otherwise, only the current drawing will be affected.
8. Click OK.
The selected drawing's canvas size and pixel density is set to the specified settings.
NOTE
This does not change the default canvas size and pixel density for the scene. New drawings
will still be created with the scene's default canvas size and pixel density.
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Using Colours with Bitmap Layers
Contrary to vector layers, colours used in bitmap layers are not linked to their swatch in your scene's palette.
Therefore, if you update a colour in your palette, this new colour will be updated in the drawings in your vector
layers, but your bitmap layers will remain intact. Hence, it is important to know exactly the colours you wish to
use before your start painting on a bitmap layer.
Because bitmap layers are not linked to your colour palettes, this adds extra flexibility when painting on a
bitmap layer. Although you are still able to use the colour swatches from your colour palette, you can also pick
any other colour and paint right away with it, without having to create a colour swatch for it in your palette.
Hence, when a bitmap layer is selected, the Colour view lists your palettes and their swatches, but it also
features an extra panel, Bitmap Colour, which allows you to create a colour on the go.
NOTE
The Bitmap Colour panel only allows you to create solid or semi-transparent colours. If you wish to
use a gradient or bitmap texture in a bitmap drawing, you must still create a colour swatch for it in
one of your scene's palettes.
By default, the bitmap colour sliders allow you to pick a colour by choosing its Hue, Saturation and Value. These
sliders are referred to as the HSV Sliders. If you prefer, you can also pick your bitmap colour by choosing its Red,
Green and Blue values, by switching to the RGB sliders .
How to change between HSV and RGB sliders
1. Do one of the following:
l Right click on the Bitmap Colour panel and select either HSV Sliders or RGB Sliders.
l Open the Colour View menu and select Colour > Bitmap Colour Sliders > HSV
Sliders or RGB Sliders.
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Painting with Gradients or Textures on Bitmap Layers
When drawing on a vector layer, each stroke is its own vector drawing object, and can be manipulated
independently at any time unless you flatten or group your strokes together. When drawing on a bitmap layer,
most modifications are immediately merged into the artwork, making it a single bitmap drawing that can only
be drawn on, painted on or erased. One exception to this rule is when you paint a zone with a gradient or
texture.
When using the Paint tool to fill a zone in a bitmap layer with a gradient or texture, a temporary vector object
in the shape of the fill is created, and contains the fill. This allows you to use the Edit Gradient/Texture tool on
this vector shape to tweak your gradient or texture so that it has the intended position, angle and scale. Then,
the next modification you make to your bitmap layer—be it with a drawing tool, or by pasting artwork—will
cause the gradient/texture to merge with your artwork, making it no longer possible to tweak it with the Edit
Gradient/Texture tool from that point on. Hence, it is important to make sure your gradients or textures look
exactly as you intend them to before continuing to work on your drawing.
NOTE
Certain tools, such as the Text or Cutter tool, will not cause your gradient/texture to merge with
your artwork.
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Manipulating Bitmap Artwork
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Since bitmap artwork is stored as colour information for each pixel, scaling your artwork requires Harmony to
resample it. This means that if you scale up your artwork, it is liable to lose picture quality. Furthermore, since
Toon Boom bitmaps are embedded in a rectangular canvas, you cannot select a part of your bitmap with the
Select tool to transform it. With Toon Boom bitmaps, the Select tool is only able to select the entire canvas. If
you want to transform a part of your bitmap drawing, you must use the Cutter tool to cut out the part you wish
to manipulate.
However, artwork that you manipulate is not immediately resampled. This is to make sure you can manipulate
your artwork in multiple steps before it is merged into your artwork again, allowing to preserve as much of its
quality as possible. While manipulating your artwork, it temporarily becomes an object that is separate from
your bitmap canvas. Then, it is merged back into your canvas and resampled to match its pixel density when
you perform your next drawing operation on it.
In the following example, a circle is scaled down. Then, when zooming in on it, it appears to have preserved all
its precision. Right after drawing a short stroke on the drawing, it is sampled down to match the layer's pixel
density:
Likewise, if bitmap artwork is scaled up, it will be resampled after a drawing operation is performed on it. In this
example, the artwork is scaled up and looks pixelated. Once a stroke is drawn on it, Harmony resamples it, and
creates the missing pixels so that it does not look pixelated:
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Changing Art Modes
Whether a layer is a bitmap or a vector layer is decided when creating it. However, it is also possible to change
the art mode for an existing layer.
If you convert a vector layer to a bitmap layer, the artwork will not be immediately converted, but it will be
automatically flattened and rasterized into a single bitmap image if you make any modifications to your artwork
using drawing tools.
If you convert a bitmap layer into a vector layer, the existing bitmap artwork will become a single drawing
object, which you will be able to manipulate with the select tool or cutter tool, but which you won't be able to
draw over, erase or repaint. However, you can convert it to a vector rectangle with its artwork as its texture
using the Convert Drawings to Match Layer Type command. It will still not be possible to edit the actual
artwork, but you will be able to draw or erase over it, as well as tweak the contour of its canvas.
If you want to actually vectorize a bitmap layer's artwork into vector outlines, see Vectorizing Bitmap Artwork.
How to change the art mode
1. Open the Layer Properties view.
2. In the Timeline view, select the layer you want to edit.
3. In the Layer Properties view, select the Drawing tab.
4. In the Art Layers section, select the whether the art mode should be Vector or Bitmap for each art
layer.
By default, drawing layers have two art layers: Line Art and Colour Art. If your Support Overlay and
Underlay Arts preference is enabled, your drawing layers will have four art layers: Overlay Art, Line
Art, Colour Art and Underlay Art. For more information, see Enabling Overlay and Underlay Art
Layers on page 865.
5. In the Timeline view, right-click on the layer and select Convert Drawings to Match Layer Type.
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A message box appears informing you of how many drawings were converted.
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Vectorizing Bitmap Artwork
It is possible to convert artwork in a bitmap layer into vector outlines, which you can then edit and paint using
Harmony's vector drawing tools. This procedure takes the bitmap drawing in the layer's line art layer, then
converts it to vector outlines and inserts them into a vector drawing layer, which you must create as your
destination layer for the vectorization.
NOTE
To do this, your bitmap drawing you should be line art only, and it should be in your drawing layer's
line art layer.
How to vectorize a bitmap drawing
1. In the Timeline view, create a new vector drawing layer, and make sure it is listed right below your
bitmap drawing layer. If it is not, drag and drop the vector drawing layer below the bitmap drawing
layer to reorder it.
2. On the right side of the Timeline view, select all the bitmap drawings you vectorize, along with the
frames in the vector layer which should serve as a destination for the vectorized images.
3. Right-click on the selected frames, then select Drawings > Vectorize Line Art in Selected Drawing.
The Convert to Vector Drawing dialog box opens.
4. In the Vectorization section, select a vectorization preset. Among the default presets, you can select
Black and White if you wish to make crisp, vector only outlines, or Grey if you wish to preserve your
line art's texture. You can customize your own preset using the Add or Edit buttons.
5. Click OK.
Your bitmap drawing layer's line art is vectorized and inserted into your vector drawing layer.
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6. Click on the Enable/Disable Layer icon next to your bitmap drawing layer to hide your bitmap
line art and see your vectorized line art.
NOTE
For this functionality to work, your selection must absolutely have frames from a bitmap
drawing layer on top, and frames from a vector drawing layer in the bottom, and nothing else.
Otherwise, an error message indicating how to use this feature will appear.
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Setting the Default Art Mode for New Layers
You can configure Harmony to create drawing layers with specific art modes for each art layer using the
Preferences dialog.
How to adjust the art mode settings in the Preferences dialog box
1. From the top menu, select Edit > Preferences ( Windows/Linux ) or Harmony Advanced >
Preferences ( macOS ).
2. Select the Layer tab.
By default, drawing layers have two art layers: Line Art and Colour Art. If your Support Overlay and
Underlay Arts preference is enabled, your drawing layers will have four art layers: Overlay Art, Line
Art, Colour Art and Underlay Art. For more information, see Enabling Overlay and Underlay Art
Layers on page 865.
3. In the Layer Drawing Options section, set the art layers to the desired art mode. Once this option is
enabled, all new layers will follow these settings. It will not affect any existing layers.
4. Click OK.
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Chapter 6: Painting and Colours
T-ANIMFX-003-001
Toon Boom Harmony Advanced has some very powerful painting features to add colour to your drawings.
Whereas some other software only allow users to work with one colour swatch at a time, painting in Harmony
is done by using palettes containing multiple colour swatches that can be saved and reused as needed.
In the Colour view, you choose a different colour swatch for each colour you want to paint in your drawing. You
can add as many swatches as you want. You can also rename them and modify existing ones.
When you modify the colour of an existing swatch, it automatically updates all the zones painted with this
swatch throughout the entire scene. The colour swatch has a unique ID number that associates it with the
painted zones. This way, you can change the look of your character at any time without having to repaint it!
Another advantage of this system is that you can create complete palettes for different lighting situations. For
instance, in addition to the regular palette for a character, you could have one for that character in the rain
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using colours that are duller and less vibrant than the dry daytime colours, or yet another for using in a night
scene. Using palettes linked to your character in this way allows you to instantly change its colouring to suit the
mood and atmosphere of the scene without having to repaint each element.
It is also possible to use colour swatches from palettes in bitmap drawings, although changing the colours in the
palettes will not automatically update colours used in bitmap layers. Likewise, it is possible to create drawing
layers with bitmap line art and vector colour art, all with the same palettes —see About Art Layers on page 861
and Creating Colour Art from Line Art on page 867.
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About Colour Swatches
T-HFND-006-017
You can use several different types of colour swatches, including solid colour, gradient colour and bitmap
texture swatches.
A colour palette is an actual file on the hard drive.
In Harmony Server, these palette files can be stored in a different location on the server. They can be stored in
the Environment, Job, Scene, or Element folder and linked to any palette list. This means that if the original
palette file is modified, it will update in every drawing element the palette is linked to.
In Harmony Server, to avoid accidentally modifying the palette, the palette files can be locked. If a palette must
be modified, you must get the rights to modify them before doing so.
In Toon Boom Harmony Advanced, when you add a swatch, it is created using the colour of the currently
selected swatch from your palette. However, you can set a default colour to be used every time you create a
new colour in your colour palette. This is useful for creating different shades of the same basic colour.
The default colour is also the colour used when you choose to vectorize images you're scanning into your scene,
however you add the Default colour swatch to your palette in a different way, so it's unique. It has a unique ID
number that makes it easily recognizable from all the other colours in your colour palettes. Being able to change
this colour allows you to change the basic colour of all scanned drawings. This can be useful on more than just
an aesthetic level as sometimes when you go to NTSC or PAL, pure colours, such as pure black, can create
problems.
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Locking and Unlocking the Colour List
In Harmony Server, you can lock and unlock the colour list to avoid modifying or modify the colour swatches.
How to lock and unlock the colour list
1. In the Colour view, click the Edit Palette Mode button.
A grey pencil icon appears in the top-right corner of the Palette list.
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Adding a Colour Swatch
T-HFND-006-017A
You can add as many colour swatches as you want in your palette.
NOTE
If you are using Harmony Server, make sure you have the rights to modify the selected palette by
doing one of the following:
l In the Colour view, make sure the Edit Palette Mode toggle button is pressed in.
l In the palette list of the Colour view, right-click on the selected palette and select either Get
Rights to Modify Palette or Get Rights to Modify All Palettes.
l From the Colour view menu , select Palettes > Get Rights to Modify Palette or Get Rights to
Modify All Palettes.
How to add a solid colour swatch
1. In the Colour view, click the Add Colour button.
2. Do one of the following to edit the colour swatch:
l From the Colour view menu, select Colours > Edit.
l Double-click on the colour swatch.
The Colour Picker window opens.
3. To set your colour, do one of the following:
l Select either Red, Green, Blue, Hue, Saturarion of Value to change the colour wheel's
spectrum, then click on the desired colour in the colour wheel.
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l Enter the hue, saturation, value, red, green and blue values manually into their
corresponding fields. All values range from 0 to 255.
l Click the Dropper button to select any colour on your screen. It can be from the
Harmony interface, your operating system or any other open application.
You can also click Multi Wheel Mode to open the Multiwheel Colour window. This displays all the
picking area styles together and also contains a picking undo list. To return to the regular Colour
Picker window, click Single Wheel Mode.
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4. Click on the Shade Scale swatches to modify the shade of the selected colour.
5. Adjust the transparency with the Alpha slider or type the value directly in the Alpha field.
6. Click the Add button to add the current selected colour to the Colour Storage Library, so you can
quickly access it later.
7. Rename the colour swatch in the Colour Picker window or directly in the colour list by double-
clicking on its name.
By default, when you create a new colour swatch, its colour will be the same as the currently selected colour
swatch, or black if no colour swatch is selected. You can make Harmony create new colour swatches with a
specific default colour instead.
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How to change the default swatch colour for all your colour palettes
1. Select Edit > Preferences (Windows/Linux) or Harmony Advanced > Preferences (macOS).
2. In the Preferences dialog box, select the Drawing tab.
3. In the New Colour Pots section, select the Create New Colour Pots Using the Default Colour
option. You can also click the colour swatch beside the option to change the default colour.
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Adding a Gradient Colour Swatch
T-HFND-006-017B
You can transform any colour swatch into a linear or radial gradient.
NOTE
If you are using Harmony Server, make sure you have the rights to modify the selected palette by
doing one of the following:
l In the Colour view, make sure the Edit Palette Mode toggle button is pressed in.
l In the palette list of the Colour view, right-click on the selected palette and select either Get
Rights to Modify Palette or Get Rights to Modify All Palettes.
l From the Colour view menu , select Palettes > Get Rights to Modify Palette or Get Rights to
Modify All Palettes.
How to create a gradient colour swatch
1. In the Colour view, select a colour to modify .
2. Do one of the following:
l Click the new colour and from the Colour View menu, select Colours > New.
l Double-click on the colour swatch.
The Colour Picker window opens.
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3. Select the Gradient option.
4. Select the Linear or Radial option.
5. In the Gradient slider, create your gradient:
l To change one of the colours of your gradient, select a key colour from the gradient slider,
then pick its colour in the colour picker.
l To add a key colours to your gradient, click anywhere on the colour slider, between the
existing key colour.
l To delete a key colour, use the mouse to pull down on it.
l To move a key colour's position in the gradient, use the mouse to drag it left or right.
NOTE
To learn how to reposition the gradient zones in your drawings, see About the Edit Gradient
and Texture Tool on page 744.
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Adding a Texture Colour Swatch
T-HFND-006-017C
You can add bitmap texture colour swatches to your palette. This allows you to fill zones in your artwork with
custom patterns and textures.
NOTE
If you are using Harmony Server, make sure you have the rights to modify the selected palette by
doing one of the following:
l In the Colour view, make sure the Edit Palette Mode toggle button is pressed in.
l In the palette list of the Colour view, right-click on the selected palette and select either Get
Rights to Modify Palette or Get Rights to Modify All Palettes.
l From the Colour view menu , select Palettes > Get Rights to Modify Palette or Get Rights to
Modify All Palettes.
How to create a texture colour
1. From the Colour menu, select Colours > New Texture or click the New Texture button.
The Browser window opens.
2. Browse for a PSD or TGA bitmap file created with a third party software and click Open.
The texture is added to the colour list.
You can also replace a texture once it is painted. If you decide to make the character’s shirt wool
instead of plaid, just update the texture file in the swatch and the entire project updates. Any
transformation previously applied to the texture’s position in your drawings will be kept.
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NOTE
To learn how to reposition the textured zones in your drawings, see About the Edit Gradient
and Texture Tool on page 744.
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Copying and Pasting Colours
There are three ways to copy and paste colour swatches:
l Paste as New Colours: This create a new colour swatch with the same colour value, but with a different
colour ID as the original swatch.
l Paste as Clones: This creates a new colour swatch with the same colour value and the same colour ID as
the original swatch.
l Paste Colour Values: This replaces the colour values in the selected colour swatch with the colour values
from the copied swatch.
Pasting a colour as a clone is useful if you’ve created a clone of a palette, then added a new swatch in the
original palette, and need to add a swatch with the same colour ID in the clone palette.
NOTE
A palette cannot have two swatches with the same colour ID. Hence, you can only paste colours as
clones in a different palette than the ones the colours were copied from.
If, for any reason, you need to obtain the colour ID of your colour swatches, whether to make a reference table of
them, or to compare the colour IDs of two swatches, you can copy the colour ID of a colour swatch to the
clipboard. You cannot paste a colour ID anywhere on a colour swatch, but you can paste it in a text editor or a
spreadsheet application for your own purposes.
A colour ID is a string of 16 hexadecimal digits, i.e.: 075cf5b552401130.
NOTE
If you are using Harmony Server, make sure you have the rights to modify the selected palette by
doing one of the following:
l In the Colour view, make sure the Edit Palette Mode toggle button is pressed in.
l In the palette list of the Colour view, right-click on the selected palette and select either Get
Rights to Modify Palette or Get Rights to Modify All Palettes.
l From the Colour view menu , select Palettes > Get Rights to Modify Palette or Get Rights to
Modify All Palettes.
How to copy and paste colours
1. In the Colour view, select one or more colours to copy.
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2. In the Colour View menu, select Colours > Copy or press Ctrl + C (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + C
(macOS).
3. In the Palette list, select the palette in which you want to paste the colours.
4. From the Colour View menu, select Colours > Paste as New Colours or press Ctrl + V
(Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + V (macOS).
l To paste the colour values of the copied swatch over an existing colour swatch, select
Colours > Paste Colour Values.
How to clone a colour swatch
1. In the Colour view, select the colour swatch you want to clone.
2. From the Colour View menu, select Colours > Copy or press Ctrl + C (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + C
(macOS).
3. In the Colour view, select the colour palette you want to paste the clone into or create a new palette.
4. From the Colour View menu, select Colours > Paste as Clone.
The cloned colour swatch appears in the palette.
How to copy a colour ID
1. In the Colour view, select the colour swatch from which you want to copy the ID.
2. From the Colour View menu, select Colours > Copy Colour ID or press Ctrl + C (Windows/Linux) or
⌘ + C (macOS).
3. Paste the copied colour ID in a document.
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Deleting a Colour Swatch
T-ANIMPA-003-007
You can delete unnecessary colour swatches from your palette. If painted zones are using this colour, they will
be displayed in red and the system will try to recover them the next time you load the scene.
NOTE
If you are using Harmony Server, make sure you have the rights to modify the selected palette by
doing one of the following:
l In the Colour view, make sure the Edit Palette Mode toggle button is pressed in.
l In the palette list of the Colour view, right-click on the selected palette and select either Get
Rights to Modify Palette or Get Rights to Modify All Palettes.
l From the Colour view menu , select Palettes > Get Rights to Modify Palette or Get Rights to
Modify All Palettes.
How to delete a colour swatch
1. In the Colour view, select the colour swatches to delete.
2. Do one of the following:
l From the Colour View menu, select Colours > Delete.
l Click the Delete Colour button.
l Right-click and select Delete.
l Press Del.
If the colour swatch is used in a drawing, the Delete Colour dialog box opens.
3. Click OK to delete the colours or click Cancel to abort the operation.
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If you delete colour swatches already in use, the zones painted with them turn red so you can easily
identify them.
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Modifying a Texture Colour Swatch
You can replace a texture colour swatch and all zones already painted with it will update.
NOTE
If you are using Harmony Server, make sure you have the rights to modify the selected palette by
doing one of the following:
l In the Colour view, make sure the Edit Palette Mode toggle button is pressed in.
l In the palette list of the Colour view, right-click on the selected palette and select either Get
Rights to Modify Palette or Get Rights to Modify All Palettes.
l From the Colour view menu , select Palettes > Get Rights to Modify Palette or Get Rights to
Modify All Palettes.
How to replace a texture swatch
1. In the Colour view, select the texture swatch that contains the bitmap texture you want to replace.
2. From the Colour View menu, select Colours > Edit Texture or double-click on the swatch.
The Browser window opens.
3. Browse for the new PSD or TGA bitmap file created in a third party software.
4. Click Open to update the colour swatch.
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Replacing Colours and Textures in Drawings
T-H15NEW-004-001
Although it is always possible to change colours and textures in existing drawings by updating the swatch in
the palette, there may be situations where you want to replace a colour or texture in your drawings with a
different colour or texture swatch, without updating the existing swatch. For example, you may want to only
replace a colour with a different colour in specific drawings, but not in all the drawings that use the original
colour, or you may want to replace a colour with a colour from a different palette without changing your
palettes.
Using the Recolour Drawing dialog, you can replace all instances of a colour or texture used in your drawings
with a different colour or texture swatch. This will actually change the colours or textures from within the
drawings, without making any changes to your palette. You can perform this operation on the currently
selected drawing, on all drawings in the current layer or in all drawings in your scene.
How to recolour drawings
1. First, make sure one of the palettes in your scene already has a swatch containing the colour or
texture you want to replace the original colour with—see About Colour Swatches on page 639,
About the Edit Gradient and Texture Tool, Adding a Texture Colour Swatch on page 647 and
Adding a Pencil Line Texture on page 380.
2. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the drawing or drawing layers you wish to recolour.
NOTE
You can select multiple layers if needed.
NOTE
You can skip this step if you intend to recolour all the drawings in your scene.
3. In the Colour view, click on Show Colour Palettes if you want to replace a colour, gradient or
texture, or on Show Pencil Texture Palettes if you want to replace a pencil texture. You can also
click on Show All Palettes .
4. In the Colour view, select the colour or texture swatch you want to replace by doing one of the
following:
l Select the palette in which the colour or texture swatch is located, then select the swatch you
wish to replace.
l If the drawing in the Camera or Drawing view contains the colour or texture you want to
replace, select the Colour Eyedropper tool in the Tools toolbar, then click on that colour or
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texture in the drawing. The Colour view will automatically select that colour or texture's
palette as well as that colour or texture's swatch.
5. Do one of the following:
l Right-click on the swatches list, then select Recolour Drawings.
l Open the Colour view menu , then select Colours > Recolour Drawings.
The Recolour Drawings dialog appears.
6. In the Replace Colour In panel, select whether you want to replace the selected colour in the Current
Drawing, in All drawings in the selected layers or in All drawings in the scene.
7. In the palette list in the Replacement Colour panel, select the palette that contains the colour or
texture swatch you want to replace the original colour or texture with.
8. In the swatches list, select the colour or texture swatch you want to replace the original colour or
texture with.
9. Click OK.
A dialog displays showing the progress of the recolour operation. When finished, the original colour
or texture is replaced with the replacement colour or texture in your drawing.
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Protecting Colours
T-ANIMPA-011-006
When you are finished inking one colour, you can lock it so if you ever paint over it accidentally, the work
already done will not be affected. You can also use the Protect Colour feature to block the filling colours if you
painted all of the animation in Line Art and you plan to repaint the lines.
When painting, the Respect Protected Colour option is enabled by default. In the Colour view, you can protect
In the Colour view, you can protect a colour swatch to avoid repainting or unpainting the zones linked to that
swatch. If you using the Paint tool and this option is deselected, you will repaint or unpaint the protected
colours on your drawings until you enable the option again.
How to protect colours
1. In the Colour view, select the colour to be protected.
2. Do one of the following:
l Right-click and select Protect Colour.
l From the Colour view menu, select Colours > Protect Colour.
A red bar appears beside the colour to indicate that it is locked.
How to enable the Respect Protected Colours option
1. Do one of the following:
l In the Paint tool properties, click the Respect Protected Colour button.
l From the top menu, select Drawing> Colour Protection > Respect Colour Protection.
l Press Shift + S.
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Changing the Colour Display Mode
The Colour view has two display modes:
l List
l Swatch
You can also display the RGB values and names of your solid colour swatches instead of only the name. This
option is not available when displaying the colours in Swatch mode.
How to switch between the display modes
1. From the Colour View menu, and do one of the following:
l Select Colours > Swatch Mode to display the swatches.
l Deselect Colours > Swatch Mode to display the colour list.
How to display the swatch colour values
l From the Colour View menu, select Palettes > Display Colour Values.
The solid colour swatches’ RGB values are displayed between the colour swatch and its name. The
gradient colour swatches will be identified as (gradient).
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About Palettes
T-ANIMPA-003-001
In animation, specific colours are used to paint each part of each character. In order to maintain absolute
consistency, a base colour palette should be created for each character, prop and effect in the production. This
is referred to as a master palette.
Master palettes contain a colour swatch for each area to colour. Each swatch stores a colour in precise levels of
red, green, blue and opacity (the latter which is referred to as alpha).
Using a master colour palette has many benefits, including:
l Each character consistently retains their dedicated colours.
l You cannot accidentally use a colour which is not in the master palette.
l Standardization and colour consistency throughout the production.
l Multiple artists can use the same colour palette and produce the same results.
Harmony uses palettes to hold all the colours needed to paint your elements, allowing complete control and
consistency in the painting process.
A palette is created by assigning a set of colours to each character, prop or effect. You will create a new palette
and add a new colour, known as a colour swatch, for each zone of the character, such as the skin, hair, tongue,
shirt, pants, and so on.
When you modify the colour of an existing swatch, it automatically updates all the zones painted with this
swatch throughout the entire scene. The colour swatch has a unique ID number that associates it with the
painted zones. This way, you can change the look of your character at any time without having to repaint it!
Another advantage of this system is that you can create complete palettes for different lighting situations. For
instance, in addition to the regular palette for a character, you could have one for that character in the rain
using colours that are duller and less vibrant than the dry daytime colours, or yet another for using in a night
scene. Using palettes linked to your character in this way allows you to instantly change its colouring to suit the
mood and atmosphere of the scene without having to repaint each element.
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About Advanced Palette Management
In Harmony, palettes are individual *.plt files that can be copied, transferred and stored. When a palette is
created in Harmony,it is stored in your scene's palette-library subfolder by default, and linked to your
scene's palette list. However, Harmony has advanced palette management features that allow you to store and
manage your palettes in manners that may better serve your production's needs. This is called Advanced
Palette Lists mode. To enable these features, you must enable the Advanced Palette Lists preference.
The Advanced Palette Lists mode unlocks two features that can be very useful, especially for a big production:
l Palette location: While palette files are stored in a scene's palette library directory by default, you can
choose to store palettes in different locations, allowing you to easily share palettes between different
scenes in a Harmony Server database.
l Palette list type: Whereas palettes are usually added to a scene's palette list, making them available to
all the elements in your scene, you can also choose to add palettes to the palette list of individual
elements (layers) in your scene.
When the Advanced Palette Lists mode is enabled, Harmony open a dialog called the Palette Browser
whenever you want to create, import, clone, duplicate or link to a palette, which allows you to decide your
palette's location and palette list type.
To use advanced palette lists, it is important to understand the difference between a palette's location and a
palette list's level. For example, it is possible to add a palette file stored in a scene's palette library folder to an
element's palette list. This can be useful if you wish to have the same palette file used by several specific
elements in your scene, without copying it in the palette library folder of each element that uses it. The reverse
is possible: You can add a palette file stored in an element's palette library folder to a scene's palette list,
making the palette usable for all the elements in the scene, even if it is stored inside a single element's folder.
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Enabling the Advanced Palette Lists Mode
Advanced Palette Lists mode is disabled by default to avoid cluttering a basic workflow with too many options,
but it enables palette management capabilities that are very useful for big productions. Mainly, this preference
allows you to:
l Create palettes inside a scene's environment, job or element palette-library directory, instead of the
scene's palette-library directory. Storing a palette at the environment or job level can be especially
useful if you want to use the same palette in several scenes without creating dependencies between
animation scenes and colour model scenes.
l Create palettes for specific elements instead of the entire scene. You can do this by adding, importing or
linking to a palette in an element's palette list. A palette in an element's palette list can only be used by
that element.
You can set up the Advanced Palette Lists option in the Preferences panel.
How to set the Advanced Palette Lists mode
1. Do one of the following:
l From the top menu, select Edit > Preferences (Windows/Linux) or Harmony
Advanced > Preferences (macOS).
l Press Ctrl + U (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + U (macOS).
2. Select the Advanced tab.
3. In the Advanced Options section, select the Advanced Palette Lists option.
4. Click OK.
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About Scene and Element Palette Lists
By default, you can only add palettes to a scene's palette list. With the Advanced Palette Lists preference
enabled, you can choose to store add palettes to the palette list of individual elements if you choose. Here is an
explanation of the two different levels of palette lists:
l Scene palette list: This palette list and its palettes are available for and can be used in all of the scene's
elements. Hence, it is the most simple and least restrictive approach, and is the type of palette used by
Harmony when Advanced Palette Lists mode is disabled. It is most recommended to add your palettes
to your scene's palette list if you are doing digital animation, where character models can be made of
many different elements that must use the same palette.
l Element palette list: A palette list associated with a single element in your scene. An element is the
container for the drawings used by a drawing layer. Hence, when an element has a palette list with its
own palettes, only the drawings in that element can use the colours in these palettes, and the palettes
in this element's palette list will only be shown in the Colour view when a drawing from this element is
selected.
Using element palette lists as certain advantages, depending on your type of production:
l In paperless and traditional animation projects, characters are usually drawn on single elements. Hence,
you can use this to associate characters in a scene to their colour palette.
l If a scene requires a lot of palettes, linking those palettes only to elements that need them rather than to
the whole scene can help declutter your palette list.
l When a palette and its clone are in the scene's palette list, Harmony will only use whichever palette is
highest in the list. If you want one element to use the original palette and another element to use the
cloned palette, you can do so by adding the right palette to each element's palette list.
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About Palette Storage Locations
Palettes can also be stored in four different locations. The best location to store palettes depends on the type of
production, the purpose of the palette, your pipeline and your backup plan. Here is an introduction to each type
of palette location and their purpose:
l Element: The palette-library folder inside an element's folder in the scene. This is the recommended
location if you are adding palettes to the palette lists of individual elements.
l Scene: The palette-library folder inside the scene's folder. This is the default location when creating a
palette in the scene's palette list, and is the location chosen by Harmony when creating a palette with
the Advanced palette Lists preference disabled. This is a suitable location to store the palettes of
characters, props and backgrounds used in a single scene, a small project, or any production that uses
Harmony Stand Alone.
l Job: For Harmony Server, this is the palette-library folder inside the job's folder on the database server.
This is the recommended location if you want to share the same palette between several scenes in the
same job, like for characters, props and backgrounds that are used in across entire episodes or smaller-
scale projects.
l Environment: For Harmony Server, this is the palette-library folder inside the environment's folder on
the database server. This is the recommended location if you want to share the same palette between
several scenes in the same environment, like for characters, props and backgrounds that are used across
an entire series or movie.
It is actually possible, but not recommended, to use palettes that are from a different job or environment. For
example, if you wish to store a colour model's palette in the colour model's scene, you can make animation
scenes that user this character link to the palette in the colour model's scene. However, this means your scene
will depend on the colour model's scene and its palette being available at this location to render its colours. If
the colour model's scene is moved or deleted, or if you export the animation scene and import it in another
database, it will not be able to retrieve the palette. Hence, you would have to export the colour model along
with the animated scene, and import it into the other database. If you were to store the colour model's palette
in its element folder, this would have the same restriction, with the added risk of breaking links to the original
palette if the character model's element is renamed. However, if you are sure that the structure of your
Harmony database will remain static and available at all time and at all steps of your production, then you can
store your palettes in whichever job or environment you see fit.
Another reason why it is better to store shared palettes in a scene's job or environment is because, when you
export a Harmony scene, you can choose to export the palettes in the scene's job or environment palette
libraries along with it. These palettes are then stored with the exported scene and, when importing the scene
back into the database, you can choose to import the job and environment palettes that were exported with it
back into the scene's job and environment.
Even in Harmony Stand Alone, you can store palettes at the job or environment level, even though Harmony
Stand Alone scenes do not have a job or an environment. When you do this, palettes are stored inside a
provisional jobs or environments directory inside the scene directory. If you import your scene to a Harmony
Server database, you can choose to import the files located in that scene's provisional job and environment into
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the scene's job and environment. Hence, when using Harmony Stand Alone, you should only store palettes at
the job or environment level if you intend to import your scene in a database later.
NOTE
In Harmony Server, even if you store palettes in a job or environment, they will not become
immediately accessible to the scenes inside that job or environment. You must still add them to the
scene's palette list, or to the palette list of one of its elements, before you can use the palette.
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About Exporting Palettes
It is important to understand what is happening to a palette file when the scene is exported.
Because of the Harmony client-server configuration, all of the data can be shared through all of the scenes in
the database. This also includes the palette files, even if they are stored at the Element, Scene, Job, Drawing or
Environment level. The palette files can be accessed from any scene of any project.
When you export scenes from Harmony to either archive or send them to other users or studios, you can choose
to export it with palettes stored in the scene's own job or environment, but if your scene uses palettes stored in
other jobs, environments, or in any other location, those palettes will not be exported. Hence, if you wish to use
the same palette for several scenes, it is recommended to store that palette at the environment or job level to
avoid ever facing a situation where a scene no longer has access to its palette.
For example, in the following chart, if you export Scene 2 from Job 1, the package will carry the palettes from
Scene 2, Job 1 and Environment. It WILL NOT carry the palettes from Element 3 in Scene 1, Scene 1 and Job 2.
If Scene 2 was linked to any of these, the system will create a recovery palette the next time Scene 2 is opened
in another Harmony system.
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Harmony 20 Advanced User Guide
About Backing Up and Recovering Palettes
Although Harmony Server opens palettes in read-only mode by default, there is always the possibility of
palettes that are shared between scenes getting modified or their swatches getting deleted by accident. That
is why it is a good idea to copy and back up your palette libraries, your master palette directories and your
colour models.
If you open a scene and a palette file happens to be missing, it will still appear in the palette list for that scene or
element, with a strike through across its name.
When Harmony attempts to load a drawing that uses colours from a missing palette, or colours that were
removed from their palette, it will display the zones painted with the missing colours in red. Then, it will prompt
you to recover the missing colours into a recovery palette. A recovery palette is based on the colour information
which Harmony stores in each drawing as a backup mechanism. This palette is stored at the scene level, and is
not shared or sourced externally.
Whether you choose to perform colour recovery or not, your artwork will preserve the colour IDs which
Harmony uses to associate brush strokes, pencil lines and filled zones with the colour swatches in your palettes.
Hence, if you recover your original palette, you can just import or link it back to your scene—and remove the
recovery palette, if you have one—and Harmony will automatically associate your artwork with the original
palette again. You will not have to repaint your drawings.
You can backup your palettes by copying them manually using your operating system's shell, or by cloning
them using the Palette Operations d