Using OpenToonz, you can add finishing touches, color, and add camera movement to your Clip Studio Paint animations.

Note: OpenToonz scene files are only supported on Windows 64 bit and mac OS.

There are several points to consider at the production stage to ensure a smooth transition from Clip Studio Paint to OpenToonz.

 

This tutorial will explain these points when creating animations for OpenToonz in Clip Studio Paint, and how to import the exported scene file into OpenToonz.

 

About OpenToonz

“OpenToonz” is an open source 2D animation production software developed by Dwango Co., Ltd. based on “Toonz,” a digital software provided by Digital Video and used at Studio Ghibli Co, Ltd.

By making it open source, Dwango is aiming to create a new platform that connects the academic side of film expression and the production side of animation.

 

Please refer to the official website for how to download and use OpenToonz.

 

Switching languages in OpenToonz

Follow the instructions below to change OpenToonz’s interface language.

 

(1) Select [File] menu > [Preferences].

 

(2) Select [Interface] from the [Preferences] dialog box.

 

(3) Switch the language using the [Language] combo box.

 

(4) Close OpenToonz and restart the software to apply the new language settings.

 

Things to be careful when creating OpenToonz data

When creating data for OpenToonz, be careful of 3 things: “Layer composition,” “Anti-aliasing,” and “Colors.”

 

 

 

1. Animation cel layer composition

 

In this tutorial, we will use data with a main outline, colored outline (boundary when painting), and shadow markup.

 

Each cel consists of one layer folder that stores the “Main outline,” “Colored outline,” and “Shadow markup.”

You can draw the main outline and colored outline on the same layer, but you must draw the shadow markup on a different layer set as a [Draft] layer.

 

How to set as a draft layer

Select the shadow markup layer and click [Layer] menu > [Layer Settings] > [Set as Draft Layer] or click the pencil icon at the top of [Layer] palette.

▲ The pencil icon appears on the draft layer.

 

 

 

2. Anti-aliasing for line art

 

Animation studios usually use lines without anti-aliasing, but since OpenToonz supports coloring or editing with anti-aliasing, you can choose whether to export with or without it.

For detailed export methods, please look at “Exporting animation for OpenToonz.”

 

 

 

3. Colors available for colored lines and shadow markup

 

Only certain colors can be used for colored lines (boundaries for painting) and shadow markup (boundaries for painting shadows).

 

As with PaintMan, a total of 5 + 8 = 13 available colors.

If you use colors other than these, it may not export or may appear as a different color.

 

Five colors for drawing

When exporting main outlines and colored outlines from Clip Studio Paint as OpenToonz scene files, use the following five colors:

000000, FFFFFF, FF0000, 00FF00, 0000FF

Eight colors for shadow fill

When exporting shadow markup from Clip Studio Paint as OpenToonz scene files, use the following eight colors:

Note: You can also use the three colors used for colored outlines, but we do not recommend it because it makes the picture difficult to see.

FF80FF, 80FFC0, FFFF00, 8080FF, FF8000, 00C0FF, 80FFFF, FF8080

Note:

For the 13 colors that can be used for colored outlines and shadow fill, it is useful to download and register the color set material distributed on Clip Studio Assets.

 

Also, when registering the color set by yourself, please use the hexadecimal color code described above.

Note: Please do not obtain the color from the image of this tutorial, as the colors of the image are not exactly the same.

000000, FFFFFF, FF0000, 00FF00, 0000FF

FF80FF, 80FFC0, FFFF00, 8080FF

FF8000, 00C0FF, 80FFFF, FF8080

 

Exporting animation for OpenToonz

We will explain how to export a file for OpenToonz.

 

 

 

1. Exporting procedure

 

In order to export from Clip Studio Paint to OpenToonz, you must install OpenToonz in advance.

 

1.1 Select [File] menu > [Export animation] > [OpenToonz Scene File...].

 

1.2 On the [OpenToonz scene file export settings] dialog box, specify the export settings.

 

・[Enable anti-aliasing]:

In the default settings, it is set to ON. If you want to export without anti-aliasing, turn it OFF.

Note: Use this feature if you want to edit files using the anti-aliasing editing feature in OpenToonz.

 

・[Line width]/[Preview]:

When [Enable anti-aliasing] is OFF, set the value between 0 and 254 (100 in the initial state). ・Click [Preview] to open the preview window and check the line conditions.

Note: In the preview window, the shadow markup on the [Draft] layer will not be displayed.

▲ You can adjust the line width in the preview window.

 

1.3 To export the file, select the [OK] button at the top right of the [OpenToonz scene file export settings] dialog box.

 

 

 

2. Exported files

 

Animation edited in Clip Studio Paint is converted into the following three files and exported.

 

(1) Cel inside Clip Studio Paint’s animation folder (layer folder).

Toonz raster level file (extension: tlv)

Note: Merges the line art and shadow markup for each cel.

 

(2) Drawing color of the cel inside Clip Studio Paint’s animation folder.

Palette file (extension: tpl)

Note: Only exports the specific colors used in Clip Studio Paint.

 

(3) [Timeline] palette information in Clip Studio Paint

Scene file (extension: tnz)

Note: There is one file for each animation.

 

There is one data per animation folder for (1) and (2). There is one file per animation for (3).

 

Opening an OpenToonz Scene File exported from Clip Studio Paint

<Introduction>

・The following procedure uses the menu name after changing the language.

・This tutorial will use the “Default” workspace layout. If you selected the “StudioGhibli” layout or customized the menu bar, the menu position will be different.

 

 

 

1. Opening an OpenToonz Scene File exported from Clip Studio Paint

 

1.1 Start OpenToonz.

If you see an [OpenToonz Startup] window, close it.

 

1.2 Select [File] menu > [Load Scene] to display the [Load Scene] window.

 

1.3 (1) From the left folder tree, select the destination folder set in Clip Studio Paint (Inside My Documents in the default settings).

(2) From the area on the right, select the file with the .tnz extension (OpenToonz scene file) by clicking on it.

(3) Click [Open] from the window at the bottom right.

 

Note:

If the save destination of the scene file is different from the current project, you are prompted to decide whether you want to switch the project or not.

 

Click the [Change Project] button on the dialog box to switch to the default “sandbox” project and open the scene.

 

If you want to place the scene in a specific project, first switch to the “sandbox” project. Then, after selecting [File] menu > [Save Scene As], save the scene file inside the “scenes” folder of the project.

Note: If you want to work without creating a project, you do not have to follow these procedures.

 

1.4 The scene file is open.

 

1.5 I will move on to the finishing touches.

 

 

 

2. About the OpenToonz interface

 

Time sheet

The timeline of Clip Studio Paint is reproduced in the OpenToonz Xsheet (unlike the timeline, time flows in the vertical direction for Xsheet, and arranges the material in the horizontal direction).

 

Confirm resolution and number of pixels

Select [File] menu > [Output Settings...] to open the [Output Settings] window where you can see the camera settings. The pixel size and DPI are the same as the values specified in Clip Studio Paint.

 

OpenToonz file

The cel image of each animation folder is divided into an OpenToonz level file (TLV) and a palette file (TPL). Each level file stores the image data of all the frames within the animation folder.

 

Palette

Each cel automatically generates a number of palettes. The three colors used for colored lines - #2 red (255, 0, 0), #3 green (0, 255 0), and #4 blue (0, 0, 255) have the [Autopaint] option enabled.

Note: When you paint the area, the [Autopaint] feature automatically paints the colored line as well.

 

 

 

3. Finishing touches using cel images without anti-aliasing

 

OpenToonz can perform finishing work on both anti-aliased and non-anti-aliased images.

 

In specific, if you finish an image without anti-aliasing, and export the cel image in TGA format, you can open and edit the file in RETAS PaintMan too.

 

Things to be careful of when working without anti-aliasing

・Enable the pencil mode of the “Brush Tool” and the “Eraser Tool.”

・Set the opacity of the “Tape Tool” to “255.” If you use a value below 255, halftone pixels will appear.

 

Export level in TGA format compatible with RETAS PaintMan

3.1 Select [File] menu > [Export Level].

 

3.2 When the [Export Level] window opens, follow the steps below.

 

(1) Select the save destination folder from the left folder tree.

(2) Input the name of the cel.

Note: If you want to include periods and underbars between the cel name and consecutive numbers, input it here. For example, if you enter “A_”, the exported file names will be A_001.tga, A_002.tga, etc.

(3) Check the [RETAS Compliant] check box to export the files in TGA format.

(4) Click the [Export] button to export the files.

 

For detailed information, please refer to the Instruction Manual.