Toon Boom
Harmony21
Release Notes

TOON BOOM ANIMATION INC.

+1 514 278 8666

4200 St.Laurent Blvd, Suite 1020
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
H2W 2R2

contact@toonboom.com
toonboom.com

Toon Boom Harmony 21.1.0 Release Notes

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 theapplicable 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
06-05-2023
Copyright © 2023 Toon Boom Animation Inc., a Corus Entertainment Inc. company. All rights reserved.

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Toon Boom Harmony 21.1.0 Release Notes

Table of Contents
Table of Contents

2

Toon Boom Harmony 21.1

3

Toon Boom Harmony 21.0.4

6

Toon Boom Harmony 21.0.3

9Toon Boom Harmony 21.0.1

11

Toon Boom Harmony 21

142

Toon Boom Harmony 21.1.0 Release Notes

Toon Boom Harmony 21.1
IMPORTANT
If your studio uses a license server, you will need to upgrade your license server to Harmony 21.1 orStoryboard Pro 20.1.
Even though licenses from Harmony 21 can be used to run Harmony 21.1, the server running the license
server needs to be upgraded to Harmony 21.1 to support client workstations running Harmony 21.1.
License from servers using earlier versions of Harmony cannot be used to run Harmony 21.1.

Here is the list of changes in Harmony 21.1, build 21.1.0.18394 (2022-05-04):

FeatureDescription

Apple silicon
support

The macOS version of Storyboard Pro is now compiled as a Universal 2 binary that runs natively on either
Intel processor and ARM64-based Apple silicon Macs.

Retina and HiPDI

Retina and HiDPI screens are now fully supported. The content of the Stage and Camera views are now

screen support

displayed at each screen’s native resolution.

JavaScript
Python Plugin

The JavaScript Python bridge, used by PythonManager and PyObjectWrapper, has been updated to
Python 3. If you have python scripts using the bridge, they must be updated to Python 3. The Python
bridge now requires Python 3.9 or later to be installed.

JavaScript Qt API

The Qt API used by Harmony has been updated from version 4 to version 6. Qt classes and function
names have been updated to use Qt6 naming.

Fixes
The following issues have been fixed in this release of Harmony:

Generall

Shift+B to navigate down the hierarchy blocks when reaching a Transformation Switch node. HAR-7886

lLoading a keyboard shortcut set makes default shortcuts stop working. HAR-8025l

The Remove Unused Palettes dialog lists palettes that are used in the scene and allows deleting them. HAR7889

l

Scene locks are not always released when closing Harmony. HAR-8092

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Toon Boom Harmony 21.1.0 Release Notes

Drawing Toolsl

Strokes are offset when drawing if a constraint node and a peg apply are used on the drawing element. HAR8048

l

Textures in brush lines repeat near the stroke’s edges if a pencil line was displayed during the session. HAR7985

Camera ViewlKinematic-output does not work when there is an auto-fold, auto-muscle or fold node in the chain. HAR-7935

lOnion skins don't work with deformers. HAR-7856

l

IK Tool does not work properly. HAR-7968

lInfluence regions on deformers cannot be modified. HAR-7879

l

The last segment of an envelope deformer does not deform properly when rotating. HAR-8220lColour Scale effect is not visible in OpenGL when connected directly under an element node. HAR-7993

lColour Overrides and Colour Selectors effects are applied to drawings connected to Animated Matte Generator in
the OpenGL views. HAR-7766lPencil texture disappears in OpenGL when modifying a colour pot. HAR-8065

lScenes with many deformers may cause a crash when Camera View Performance Report is enabled in thepreferences. HAR-8181

lShow Drawing Outline does not work when using the Shift and Trace tool. HAR-8040

LibrarylThumbnails are displayed with the wrong aspect ratio in Library folders. HAR-8071

Node ViewlDragging a node cable to the left of an existing group port while holding ALT does not create a new port. HAR7626

l

Selecting nodes in the Node view using CTRL+A/command+A is critically slow since version 20. HAR-8223

RenderinglRandom drawings missing in renders when using multiple rendering threads. HAR-8225

lPoor quality when rendering movies using OpenH264. HAR-7877

lWeighted Deform sometimes produces incorrect results when rendering in batch. HAR-8139

lHarmony crashes when rendering OpenEXR files using a Multi-Write node. HAR-8039

l

The Directional Blur effect can be very slow when used with empty images. HAR-7990

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Toon Boom Harmony 21.1.0 Release Notes

Control Center and WebCCl

Importing multiple scenes in the same operation is critically slow. HAR-8020lModifications to statuses are not saved in WebCC. HAR-8081

lRender Queue does not update the proper job when a WebCC preview render is already in the Queue. HAR7704

ScriptinglColour modifications done using Color.setColorData are not saved. HAR-7998

Known IssueslWhen there’s not enough room for all the buttons in a toolbar, the extension that can be opened to access the
buttons is hidden when it opens over an OpenGL view. HAR-8186

lExporting to H.264 format is not available using the OpenH264 library on Apple silicon Macs. HAR-8188

lWhen using Harmony on Big Sur, Harmony may crash when saving a colour in macOS’s native colour picker.
HAR-8032l

On macOS Mojave, GateKeeper prevents launching Harmony unless the quarantine extended attribute isremoved from the application bundle. The quarantine extended attribute can be removed using the following
command in the Terminal:
sudo xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/Toon Boom Harmony 21.1 Premium"5

Toon Boom Harmony 21.1.0 Release Notes

Toon Boom Harmony 21.0.4
NOTEThis version of Harmony does not natively support the new Apple silicon processors (M1 and later). On
systems using these new processors, this version of Harmony runs through Apple’s Rosetta 2. This may
cause compatibility issues when running on the new ARM-based macOS systems. For full compatibility with
the new Apple silicon systems, use Harmony 21.1 or later.

NOTE
The Python plugin, which allows Python 2.7 scripts to be run from Harmony, no longer loads by default on
macOS Big Sur and Monterey. You can force the Python plugin to load by enabling the FORCE_LOAD_PYTHON_SCRIPT hidden preference.
Here is the list of improvements and fixes in Harmony 21.0.4, build 21148 (2023-03-21).

Improvements
Utilitiesl

The utransform utility now has the ability to print and clear metadata from a TVG using the -print_meta_data
and -clear_meta_data options. HAR-8421

Scriptingl

Scene version description can now be queried and set using scene.Description andscene.setDescription from the Harmony scripting interface. The description can also be set when importing ascene through Control Center using ImportData.impDescription. The description text is limited to 200 UTF8 characters. HAR-8792l

The scene.closeSceneAndOpen JavaScript function has a new isReadOnly parameter which allows opening ascene in read-only mode. For example using scene.closeSceneAndOpen( "Env", "Job", "Scene01","1", true); will close the current scene and open Scene01 in read-only mode. This can only be used when ascene is opened in Harmony from the database. HAR-9042

Fixes
GenerallDuplicated drawings may be lost when saving a scene if synched layers have the same base name. HAR-8887

lCopying multiple synced layers from one instance of a character to another may cause new drawings to go
missing. HAR-8899

lHarmony may crash when typing in the Node View’s Quick insert. HAR-8850

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Toon Boom Harmony 21.1.0 Release Notesl

The Transform tool bounding box is at the wrong position when using bitmap drawings with weighted or freeform
deformers. HAR-7787

lHarmony freezes when trying to read a TVG that has metadata. HAR-8409

Rendering and Pipeline IntegrationlHarmony may crash with a memory corruption while rendering a scene in batch if a large number of rendering
threads are used. HAR-7875

lSmall or simple drawings are sometimes missing from rendered frames when rendering using multiple threads onfast processors. HAR-9012

lWorkstations that don't have a GPU may not have the OpenCL libraries installed and will fail loading plugins that
use OpenCL for GPU rendering, such as blurs. HAR-8693

lHarmony may become unresponsive for a while when rendering asset snapshots for Toon Boom Producer. HAR8817

l[macOS] Harmony is unable to save scenes on filesystems that do not support hard links such as LucidLink cloudNAS. HAR-8806

Database / Control Centerl

Palettes are locked during batch renders if colours are being recovered. HAR-8536

lWhen 'Update Database Scene' fails the error reporting is uninformative and sometimes wrong. HAR-8843

lLocks can be taken on the root folder, preventing locks to any other folders in the database. HAR-8556

lRendering through Control Center's scripting interface does not use the scene’s default camera if it is not specified
by name. HAR-8403

l[Windows] WebCC does not start on a new Windows installation due to missing MSVCR120.dll in path. HAR8873

lHarmony randomly crashes when running specific scene setup scripts. HAR-8838

lUsing the ’‘Update Database Scene” command can corrupt the scene in the database if the scene was changed
since it was exported offline. To address this issue, a new dictionary file named export.dict has been added toHarmony 21.0.4. The export.dict file will have to be manually copied to the /USA_DB/dicts/ folder in existing
Harmony databases. New databases created using Harmony 21.0.4 have the new dictionary file. HAR-8858Import/ Export PSD files saved with Adobe Photoshop 2021 or later are blank once imported. HAR-8835 [Windows]
PNG image files cannot be written to folders that have non-english characters in their name. HAR-8902

Performancel

Top and Side views take a long time to refresh while thumbnails are being rendered. HAR-8760

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Toon Boom Harmony 21.1.0 Release Notes

Scriptingl

addNodeToSelectionNode, addNodesToSelectionNode and removeNodeFromSelection in theselection class do not work with backdrops correctly. HAR-8391

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Toon Boom Harmony 21.1.0 Release Notes

Toon Boom Harmony 21.0.3
This version of Harmony does not natively support the new Apple silicon processors (M1 and later). On systems using
these new processors, this version of Harmony runs through Apple’s Rosetta 2. This may cause compatibility issues whenrunning on the new ARM-based macOS systems. For full compatibility with the new Apple silicon systems, use Harmony
21.1.
NOTE
The Python plugin, which allows Python 2.7 scripts to be run from Harmony, no longer loads by default on
macOS Big Sur and Monterey. You can force the Python plugin to load by enabling the FORCE_LOAD_PYTHON_SCRIPT hidden preference.
Here is the list of changes and fixes in Harmony 21.0.3, build 18334 (2022-04-14).

Fixes and Changes
GenerallKinematic Output nodes do not work when there is an auto-fold, auto-muscle or fold node in the chain. HAR-7935

lOnion skins don't work with deformers. HAR-7856

l

IK Tool does not work properly. HAR-7968

lInfluence regions on deformers cannot be modified. HAR-7879

lLoading a keyboard shortcut set makes default shortcuts stop working. HAR-7865l

The Remove Unused Palettes dialog lists palettes that are used in the scene and allows deleting them. HAR-7889

lScene locks are not always released when closing Harmony. HAR-8092

lShift+B to navigate down the hierarchy is blocked by Transformation-Switch nodes. HAR-7886

lPencil textures disappear in OpenGL when modifying a colour pot. HAR-8204

Camera Viewl

The last segment of an envelope deformer does not deform properly when rotating using the Show Manipulator
option from the Deformation toolbar. HAR-8220lColour-Scale effect is not visible in OpenGL when connected directly under an element node. HAR-7993

lColour changes from Colour Override and Colour Selectors are applied to drawings connected to Animated-MatteGenerator nodes in OpenGL renders. HAR-7766

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Toon Boom Harmony 21.1.0 Release Notes

Drawing Toolsl

Strokes are offset when drawing if a constraint type node and an Apply-Peg-Transformation node are used on thedrawing element. HAR-8048

lTextures in brush lines repeat near the stroke’s edges if a pencil line was displayed during the session. HAR-7985

Control CenterlImporting multiple scenes in the same operation is critically slow. HAR-8020lHard links and symbolic links options do not work when importing scenes if the database is configured using ashortcuts.conf file. Files are copied instead of linked. HAR-8018

Node ViewlDragging a node cable to the left of an existing group port while holding ALT does not create a new port. HAR7626

l

Selecting nodes in the Node view using CTRL+A/command+A is critically slow since version 20. HAR-8223

RenderinglRandom drawings missing in renders when using multiple rendering threads. HAR-8225

lPoor quality when rendering movies using OpenH264. HAR-7877

lWeighted Deform nodes sometimes produce incorrect results when rendering in batch. HAR-8139

ScriptinglColour modifications done using Color.setColorData are not saved. HAR-8112

Utilitiesl

Brush textures are ignored when copying a TVG to an art layer using utransform’s Art Layer options. HAR-7809

l

New keepTexture option available in Pix2vec’s 4 colour vectorization (-4colours) to preserve brush textures. HAR7918

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Toon Boom Harmony 21.1.0 Release Notes

Toon Boom Harmony 21.0.1
Here is the list of changes in Harmony 21.0.1, build 21.0.1.17727 (2021-11-17):lFixes and ChangeslGeneral on page 11lDrawing Tools on page 12lCamera View on page 12l

3D on page 12lRendering on page 12lSymbols on page 13lControl Center on page 13

This patch release of Harmony 21 addresses known compatibility issues with macOS Monterey (12.0.1).
Harmony does not natively support the new Apple silicon processors (M1 and later). On systems using these newprocessors, Harmony runs through Apple’s Rosetta 2. This may cause compatibility issues when running on the new
ARM-based macOS systems.
NOTE
The Python plugin, which allows Python 2.7 scripts to be run from Harmony, no longer loads by default on
macOS Big Sur and Monterey. You can force the Python plugin to load by enabling the FORCE_LOAD_PYTHON_SCRIPT hidden preference.

GenerallHarmony crashes when creating or opening a scene on macOS Monterey. HAR-7677

lElements cannot be deleted using the Element Manager if used in more than one version of the scene. HAR-7722

lHarmony does not delete columns when deleting the nodes if “Delete Drawing Files and Element Folders” isunchecked. HAR-7712

lCustom shortcuts don't work if changed in more than one shortcut set. HAR-7717

lVolume objects disappear from the Normal Map and Shading Map nodes when Harmony is running in Japanese or
Chinese. HAR-7631l“Default Pass Through Composite" preference is missing when Harmony is running in Japanese or Chinese. HAR7829

l

Frames are held and skipped when importing movies with 23.976 frame rate. HAR-7709

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Toon Boom Harmony 21.1.0 Release Notes

Drawing Toolsl

Drawings on bitmap layers do not follow interactively when editing them using the select or cutter tool in the
Camera view. HAR-7716

lSnapping a stroke drawn with the Polyline tool to an existing pencil line resets its width. HAR-7837

Camera Viewl

The Transform tool’s pivot resets its position when pressing the space bar to switch to the Hand tool. HAR-7682

lAnimated Matte Generator is offset in OpenGL when there's a colour card on the composite. HAR-7714

lCached images from Pre-render Cache nodes should not be used in OpenGL. HAR-7738l

The Camera view does not update automatically after rendering cached frames from the Pre-Rendered Cachenode. HAR-7739

lLens Flare effect renders as opaque white shapes in OpenGL. HAR-7635

lDeformer manipulators don’t follow the mouse when the camera is rotated in 3D space. HAR-6917

3Dl

The wrong layer is selected when selecting with the Transform tool in the Camera view when there is a 3D model
on a 2D composite. HAR-7681

lSelecting a 3D model by making a lasso or marquee selection does not work. HAR-7678

lZ-fighting in camera view or perspective view when rotating in 3D. HAR-7693

RenderinglRandom black frames in movies when rendering scenes with static images. HAR-7676l

RGB values can be off by 1 when rendering in PNG 8-Bit image format. HAR-7764

lDeformations are ignored in software render when there is an Apply-Image-Transformation node below. HAR7782

l

Applying transformations to textures using a Colour Override node does not work. HAR-7760l

The Gaussian Blur effect should only mirror pixels that are outside the camera frame when the “Repeat Edge
Pixels” option is enabled. HAR-7623

lToggling the "Repeat Edge Pixels" option in the Gaussian Blur effect node does not update the Render preview
immediately. HAR-7622

lHarmony crashes when exporting a scene with audio in H.264 or Apple ProRes format on macOS 10.13 (High
Sierra). HAR-7654

lInvalid images are written when certain effects nodes receive an empty cel from the node above. HAR-7718

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Toon Boom Harmony 21.1.0 Release Notesl

Exported SWF files are empty. HAR-7834

lHarmony on Windows may crash when rendering a specific drawing drawn with brush textures. HAR-7413

Symbolsl

The Transform tool manipulator only appears around one instance if the same symbol is used multiple times.
HAR-7729lTransformations from a parent on a symbol only considers the first keyframe in OpenGL. HAR-7719

l

The Transform tool manipulator of symbols is only accurate if the frame exposed in the timeline is the same as theone in the symbol. HAR-7720

l

Only one instance of a symbol appears in OpenGL when the symbols are connected to cutter nodes. HAR-7724lSymbols cannot be selected by clicking them in the Camera view. HAR-7652l

The top level of a scene does not update automatically in OpenGL when making changes in the node graph inside
a symbol. HAR-7750

lEditing a symbol resets the current frame of the scene to 1. HAR-7679

lTransformations on symbols are not applied to all frames in OpenGL. HAR-7651

Control CenterlImporting scenes that are in database format do not work properly when using Control Center in batch mode.
HAR-7817

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Toon Boom Harmony 21.1.0 Release Notes

Toon Boom Harmony 21
Here is the list of changes in Harmony 21, build 21.0.0.17367 (2020-09-01):lDrawing ToolslTimeline on page 17lAnimationl

Camera and CompositinglRendering and Pipeline IntegrationlPerformancelGame PipelinelLibrary

l

WebCC

l

Scriptingl

Search Filter Improvements

l

Fixes
l

Drawing ToolslAnimation ToolslTimelinelNode view and Compositingl

Master ControllerslLibraryl

3DlControl Centerl

ScriptinglOthersDrawing Tools
FeatureNew Brush Tool Parameters

Description
To give you more control over the look and feel of the brush tool, new options are available
to dynamically control the size, flow, opacity and brush tip angle when using a drawing
tablet.

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Toon Boom Harmony 21.1.0 Release Notes

FeatureDescription
Size, Flow and Opacityll

Pen tilt and drawing speed can now be used as inputs to change the Size, Flow andOpacity properties of brushes, making it possible to control the size and the opacityof brushes independently while drawing. You are not limited to using the pressure
for both.
Fading and tapering parameters can also be used to increase or decrease the valueof these properties based on the length of strokes. The additional properties are in a
new window found by clicking the arrow next to those properties. A combination ofmultiple inputs can be used to control a single property.

Brush Tip Orientationl

The orientation of the brush tip can now be dynamically controlled using more thanjust the Wacom Art pen twist. A new drop-down list, in which you can selectbetween Constant, Heading, Azimuth and Twist, is now available next to the Angle

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Toon Boom Harmony 21.1.0 Release Notes

FeatureDescription
Function property.
A new Stencil Brush tool is now available in Harmony. Located in a drop-down menu underthe Brush tool in the Tools toolbar.

The Stencil Brush Tool has a Repaint Brush Mode and an Overlay Brush Mode. The twomodes are available from the Stencil Brush Tool Properties, in a drop-down menu underthe brush presets.
Stencil Brush Tool

In Repaint Brush Mode, the existing artwork is replaced and repainted, ignoring empty
zones.
In Overlay Brush Mode, the existing artwork is used as a mask to generate new brushstrokes which are added on top, leaving the existing artwork untouched.
A selection of multiple layers can be used when Overlay Brush Mode is active. With
multiple layers selected, the union of the artwork in all of the selected layers is used as themask while the topmost layer, the active layer, will be where the new strokes are created.

The Cutter tool now has two gesture cutting modes available in the Tool Properties view.
Single Line and Multiple Lines
Cutting Modesll

Select by Colour Tool

Single Line Cutting Gesture: This mode trims the first line segment cut by a single
straight gesture.
Multiple Lines Cutting Gesture: This new mode trims multiple line segments cut by
the same gesture.

The Select by Colour tool, which was only available as a mode in the Select tool’s
properties in previous versions, is now directly accessible from the Tools toolbar and the
Drawing Tools menu for faster workflow.

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Toon Boom Harmony 21.1.0 Release Notes

FeatureDescription

The ability to create a keyboard shortcut for this tool has also been added under the
Drawing Mode category.

Deselecting Multiple Strokes

It is now possible to deselect multiple strokes from the selection when using the Select toolby holding down the SHIFT+ALT keys (SHIFT+OPTION on macOS). This allows you toquickly remove multiple strokes from a selection without having to click each of them
individually.
A new option named Scale Pencil Line Thickness has been added to the Select Tool
Properties.

Scale Pencil Line Thickness

When enabled, the thickness of lines created with the Pencil tool or any of the shape tools
will scale when using the Select tool to transform them.

Timeline
FeatureDescription

Extend Exposure for Scene
Duration

A new option named Extend Exposure for Scene Duration has been added to the Add
Drawing Layer dialog. This new option allows you to quickly create and extend a new
drawing exposure in a single step when adding a new drawing layer.

Reorder Sound Layers

It’s now possible to reorder sound layers by dragging and dropping them within the soundlayer section of the Timeline.

Locking Sound Layers

A lock button is now available on sound layers in the Timeline to prevent accidental timing
modifications to audio tracks.

Renaming Sound Layers

Sound layers can now be renamed directly from the Timeline, by double-clicking on the17

Toon Boom Harmony 21.1.0 Release Notes

FeatureDescription
name.

Animation
FeatureDescription
The new Mixed Manipulation Mode button available in the Transform tool properties,
allows the manipulation of multiple selections and combinations of Curve Deformers, Free
Form Deformers, Drawings and Pegs together using the Transform Tool.

Mixed Manipulation Mode

When the Mixed Manipulation Mode button is enabled in the Transform Tool Properties,
the bounding box manipulator allows to perform scale, move, rotate and skew operations
on all the selected elements together.
The new Rigid Point Deform node is a type of weighted deformer that uses the position ofpegs to apply transformations. It prioritizes rigid transformations over deformations topreserve drawing integrity.
Rigid Point Deform Node

Used in conjunction with the Weighted Deform node, it is particularly useful for tracking
and deforming textures on characters and animated surfaces.

Capture Motion Tool

A new tool called the Capture Motion tool can be used to record the position and motion of
the mouse and apply it as an animated path to Drawing and Peg layers. This provides aneasy way of creating animated paths for drawing and peg layers. The tool is available in the
Advanced Animation toolbar as well as in the Animation Tools menu.
The deformer manipulator that can be enabled using the Show Manipulator button in the
Deformation toolbar has the following improvements:

Deformer Manipulator
Improvementsl

It is now possible to skew a selection of deformer points by clicking and dragging on
the edges of the manipulator box. Selecting all the points and skewing themproduces the same result as when skewing a parent peg.

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Toon Boom Harmony 21.1.0 Release Notes

FeatureDescriptionll

New handles are available on the sides of the manipulator box to scale a selectionof deformer points on a single axis.
Holding the Shift key while scaling using a corner handle will scale the deformer
proportionally.

l

The deformer manipulator’s position no longer resets after each rotation.

l

The deformer manipulator’s pivot will now follow when moving points.

It is now possible to display the deformation mesh of a deformer using the new Show
Deformer Mesh option.

Show Deformation Mesh
The Show Deformation Mesh button can be added to the Deformation toolbar using the
Toolbar Manager by right-clicking on the Deformation toolbar and selecting Customize
from the menu.
Nudging Deformer Points using
the rigging tool

The Rigging Tool now allows nudging deformer points using the arrow keys. This allows
for precise positioning of points while creating deformers.

Camera and Compositing
FeatureDescription
The new Shine effect node in Harmony 21 can be used to create effects such as shining
light from behind an object or rays shining through the clouds.

Shine Effect Node

New Timing Nodes

Without having to build a complex node network, the Shine node replicates the placementof a light source behind an object and projects light rays around the given object. This newnode is available in the Blur category of the Node Library.

New effects nodes that allow retiming and changing the order of frames are now available
in Harmony. The following nodes are available in the Timing category of the Node Library.
The Hold Timing and Hold Transformation Timing nodes are used to define held frames
and are useful for putting content on twos.

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Toon Boom Harmony 21.1.0 Release Notes

FeatureDescription
The Loop and Loop Transformation nodes can be used to define a range of frames to repeat
in loop or ping pong mode.
The Retime and Retime Transformation nodes are used to offset image or transformations
by a given amount of frames and can be used to shuffle frames in any order.
A Proportion Grid can now be displayed in Harmony’s Camera view, to help with balanceand proportions of scenes.

Proportion Grid Overlay
The Proportion Grid can be enabled from the Camera view’s status bar and follows thecamera frame as it moves. The grid is divided by three on each axis by default to create arule of thirds grid. The number of divisions can be changed from the Camera tab of thePreferences.
The Take Snapshot button in the Camera View status bar now has a drop-down menu withfive available slots to store snapshots.

Camera View Snapshots

Custom keyboard shortcuts can be set for each slot from the Camera category of theshortcuts.

Preview Resolution Ratio

The preview resolution can now be changed from a drop-down menu in the Camera view’s
status bar, providing a quick way of changing the resolution used for software renderpreviews.

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Toon Boom Harmony 21.1.0 Release Notes

FeatureProgressive Render Preview

Description

The new Progressive Render option, available in the Preview Resolution menu, allows
generating fast low resolution previews before displaying renders using the selected
preview resolution.

Rendering and Pipeline Integration
FeatureApple ProRes exports on
Windows and Linux

Description
Apple ProRes 4444 and 422 codecs are now available on Windows, Linux and macOS asexport formats. The new QuickTime ProRes formats are available in the Write node, as wellas in the Export to Video and Export OpenGL Frames dialog.
On macOS, the Apple ProRes options from previous versions are still available forcompatibility with scenes created in those versions. These export formats are labelled with
“Legacy” in parentheses.

Writing 16-bit TIFF

Harmony now allows writing TIFF files in 16-bit per channel and also provides the option
to use LZW compression for this format.

Export Format Selection

The list of available image formats when rendering is now easier to use. Format, colours
and bit depth are now listed as separate options rather than in a single list.

Colour Management for
OpenGL Rendering

In order to provide consistent colours between OpenGL previews and software renders, a
new option named Read Toon Boom Drawings using sRGB Colour Space has been added
to the Colour Space tab of the Scene Settings dialog. When this option is selected, colours
from Toon Boom drawings are converted from sRGB to the project working colour space
before being composited.

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Toon Boom Harmony 21.1.0 Release Notes

FeatureDescription

This allows Harmony’s Camera view to use the same colour space, which can be selectedfrom the list at the bottom of the Camera view, when displaying drawings in OpenGL and
Render modes. The Display Colour Space option that was available on the Camera tab of
the preference is not required anymore and has been removed.
This also allows using a different colour space for each camera view in the workspace,which is useful when using monitors with different colour spaces.
The Read Toon Boom Drawings using sRGB Colour Space option is selected by default for
any new scene created in Harmony 21. When a scene created in a previous version is
opened, this option remains unchecked, to ensure colours in the scene render as they did inprevious versions of Harmony.

Assign Image Colour Space on
ImportAn option has been added to the Import Images dialog to assign a colour space whenimporting an image using the Keep as Original Bitmap option. The colour space selected in
the New Layer Colour Space list will define the colour space set for new layers.

Convert Image Colour Space on
ImportAn option has been added to the Import Images dialog to convert an image’s colour spacewhen importing an image using the Import as Toon Boom Bitmap option. The image will be
converted from the selected colour space in the Source Colour Space list, to sRGB.

Performance
FeatureOpenGL Rendering
Optimizations

Description
The performance of the Camera view has been improved by making OpenGL rendering inthis view multithreaded. This allows Harmony to use multiple CPU cores to simultaneously
perform render operations of multiple drawings and effects. Scenes with high numbers ofdrawing layers benefit the most from the multithreaded OpenGL rendering. Performance22

Toon Boom Harmony 21.1.0 Release Notes

FeatureDescription
improvements are noticeable when manipulating artwork using the Transform tool or when
panning and zooming the camera view in those types of scenes.

Transform Tool Optimizations

Interactive Camera View Cache

Weighted Deformers
Optimizations

Transform Tool overall responsiveness and performance when selecting, editing andinteracting in the scene has been improved, specifically with heavier scenes that have many
nodes (common to rig-based projects).
The new Interactive Camera View Cache preference, available in the OpenGL tab of thePreferences, is now enabled by default.
This improves the performance of tools in the Camera view by reducing the number ofrefresh required when using those tools.
The weighted deformer now renders faster and manipulates faster in heavy scenes that
contain detailed drawings and textures.

Game Pipeline
FeatureSkinning View

Description
The new Skinning View in Harmony allows you to manage and edit the skins you create foryour assets used in your game. It is especially useful when you want to switch to different
costumes or props on a character while continuing to use the same animation.
This Skinning view replaces the Game Skinning toolbar and shortcuts in the Gaming
category that were available in previous versions of Harmony.

Scene Markers View

Scene markers are an essential part of the gaming pipeline. The new Scene Markers view
allows you to create, manage and edit all your scene markers from a single place.

Export to Sprite Sheet

The option Export Sprites Individually has been added to the Export to Sprite Sheetwindow. When enabled, each drawing is exported separately instead of on one sprite
sheet, allowing the game engine to create the sprite sheets or sprite atlases during import.

Library
FeatureLibrary View Thumbnails

Description
The Library view Thumbnail display mode has been improved with the addition of a slider,23

Toon Boom Harmony 21.1.0 Release Notes

FeatureDescription
placed on the bottom right of the view, that can be used to change the thumbnail sizes.
Filenames are now written below the thumbnails to allow them to align in a grid fashion.

Higher Resolution Thumbnails

Higher resolution thumbnails are now used to display the drawing substitutions in the
Library and the Drawing Substitution view as well as thumbnails of drawing when opening
a template as a folder.

WebCC
FeatureDescription
New parameters are now available to customize the options available when using theExport Offline dialog, simplifying the export process and preventing errors.

Customizable Export Options
for WebCC

Use the following parameters when launching the WebCC service to disable export
options in the Export Offline dialog:-noEnvLibraryExport: disables the Environment Library export option during.
-noJobLibraryExport: disables the Job Library export option.
-noEnvPaletteExport: disables the Environment Palette export option.
-noJobPaletteExport: disables the Job Palette export option.

ScriptingFeatureDescription
The following scripts are now packaged and available in Harmony:l

New Scriptsll

TB_FindAndReplaceNodeName.js: Used to find and replace node names in a
Harmony scene. The script traverses the node network, finds snippets or full names
and replaces those sections with the desired replacement text. Useful for renaming
character rigs, prefixing characters, or correcting common naming convention
issues.
TB_FindAndReplacePaletteColourName.js: Used to find and replace colour names
in a Harmony scene. The script traverses the palettes, finds snippets or full names
and replaces those sections with the desired replacement text.
TB_CopyPastePivot.js: Allows for pivot information of a selection to be copied tothe clipboard and applied to a different selection by pasting it.

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Toon Boom Harmony 21.1.0 Release Notes

FeatureDescriptionlCenter Timeline on a SpecificFrame

TB_CopyPivot function to store the position of the selected node's pivot. Selectanother peg and use the TB_PastePivot function to paste the pivot information.

Timeline.centerOnFrame(frameNum) has been added to the Timeline scripting api.
This function will get the position of a frame and centre the Timeline view on that frame.
New SessionChangeNotifier JavaScript class that can be used to connect a function to

SessionChangeNotifier

any available signal from this class. Once a function is connected to a signal, the code will
be executed when the specific event is triggered, until the parent object is destroyed.

Added Signals to
SceneChangeNotifier

nodeMetadataChanged() and sceneMarkersChanged() signals have been added to
the SceneChangeNotifier class.

Search Filter Improvements
Improvements have been made to the search filters in the Node View and Node Library.
The Node View Find and Insert search results are now ordered to quickly find the nodes you want to insert by showing
best matches at the top rather than alphabetically. For example, typing “Peg” now lists results in the following order:
1. Peg
2. Apply-Peg-Transformation
The Node Library search filter has been improved to show nodes that match all the words that are typed, even when thematch is partial. In addition, the option Search Node Description, that can be used to search through the description ofnodes, has been.

The improved search filters now have an X button that appears in the search field when a filter is applied. Clicking thisbutton or pressing the Esc key can be used to quickly clear the search filter.

Fixes
The following issues have been fixed in this release of Harmony:

Drawing Toolsl

The Pencil tool loses its texture when creating a new drawing layer. HAR-7060l

Brush texture is lost when changing the colour of drawings using Permanent Selection and Apply to all Frames.
HAR-7072l

Small parts may disappear when using the Perspective tool in Lattice mode. HAR-7159

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Toon Boom Harmony 21.1.0 Release Notes

Animation Toolsl

The Transform tool doesn’t work correctly when the parent peg is selected if there is a deformation switch
beneath. HAR-6927

l

Master Controllers should honour the "Set Keyframes on all Functions with the Transform Tool" preference. HAR6552

lUsing the transform tool or moving up the hierarchy using B does not select the peg connected to the target port of
the Transform Gate. HAR-7101

lAuto Muscle does not work properly when the angle is more than 90 degrees. HAR-7259

lHarmony may crash when manipulating the Fold node in the Camera view. HAR-7395

lCannot manipulate Light Position connect to a Cast Shadow node from the Top and Side views. HAR-6423

Timelinel

Crash when copying keyframes using the mouse on Windows 10 systems with NVIDIA Quadro video cards. HAR7491

l

Crash when dropping a selection of layers containing a Free Form Deformer over a Drawing layer. HAR-7550

lColour Cards are added as a parent when a Drawing layer is selected. HAR-7273

l

Map Lip-Sync applies the timing to the wrong layer. HAR-7330

Node view and CompositinglSelecting only the backdrop in the Node view with ALT+Click does not work. HAR-6790

lHarmony freezes when rendering certain scenes containing Weighted Deform nodes. HAR-6646

lWhite areas of bitmaps turn grey when lowering the opacity from the Layer Properties. HAR-6694

lRendered image in Camera view appears blurry when zoom level is at 200%. HAR-7056

Master ControllerslSlider and Point2D widgets are not updated immediately when modifying their attributes from the layer properties
view. HAR-6880, HAR-6883

Libraryl

Double-clicking a template in the Library regenerates its thumbnails. HAR-4332

lFolders in the Library view collapse when creating a new folder. HAR-6959

l

TB_MayaToXml.py only exports the first 25 frames. HAR-6577

lFraming is wrong when importing camera information from Maya. HAR-6578

3D

26

Toon Boom Harmony 21.1.0 Release Notesl

FBX files with shared embedded textures take a long time to load. HAR-6945

lScenes with Alembic files that use RGB colour sets may crash. HAR-7503

l

Crash when importing a Collada file that does not have normals. HAR-7042

Control Centerl

The Control Center -import_scene command line argument does not work anymore. HAR-7225

lPalettes at the job and environment levels are not imported when importing an offline scene. HAR-7565

ScriptinglexportPenstyleToString function in the PenstyleManager class does not work. HAR-6695

l

TB_EditLineThicknessOvertime.js script creates too many entries in the undo list. HAR-7168

lscene.setDefaultResolution overrides the scene’s projection value. HAR-7157

Othersl

The Lock in Time button in the function editor does not work correctly with 3D Paths. HAR-6697

lRemove Unused Files does always delete palette files from disk. HAR-7090

lKeyboard shortcuts may stop working after clicking Cancel in the Shortcuts window. HAR-5632

lCannot type characters that require the right Alt key in some views on Windows. HAR-6854

lRestore All Defaults in the Colours preferences restores all the preferences when clicking OK. HAR-7235l

The Create Empty Drawing shortcut only works from the Timeline and Xsheet. HAR-6558

lCannot import Apple ProRes movies on Windows. HAR-7133

lKeyboard Shortcuts are imported to the wrong preset if the same name is used. HAR-7569

l

The selected Alignment Rule is ignored when importing a PSD as Individual Layers. HAR-7616

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