Toon Boom Harmony 10.3
Paint User Guide

Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint 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 guide 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.
The content of this guide is the property of Toon Boom Animation Inc. and is copyrighted.
Any reproduction in whole or in part is strictly prohibited.
Trademarks
Toon Boom® is a registered trademark and Harmony™ is a trademark of Toon Boom Animation Inc.
Credits
Art Development: Shabana Ali, Marie-Eve Chartrand, Tania Gray, Annie Rodrigue, Anouk Whissell
Technical Editor: Peter Cawthorne, Pamela Grimaud, Liven Tam
Technical Reviewer: Joel Baril, Marc-André Bouvier-Pelletier, Lindsay Brown, Steve Masson, Elke Starck, Lilly
Vogelesang
Technical Writer: Shabana Ali, Marc-André Bouvier-Pelletier, Marie-Eve Chartrand, Christopher Diaz, Annie
Rodrigue, Liven Tam, Anouk Whissell
Publication Date2013-12-10
Copyright © 2013 Toon Boom Animation Inc., a Corus® Entertainment Inc. company. All rights reserved.
PUSG203HAR103EN

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Contents
Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

1

Legal Notices

2

Contents

3

Chapter 1: Introduction

16

What is Toon Boom Harmony?

16

What is the Harmony Paint Module?

16

Topics Covered

17

Chapter 2: Getting Started

19

Topics Covered

19

Launching Harmony Paint

20

Loading Drawings and Elements

22Open Drawings

22

Open Elements

23

Extra Commands

26

Chapter 3: Interface

29

Topics Covered

29

User Interface

30

Views and Toolbars

30

Views

30

Toolbars

30

Interface Highlights

30

Menus

31

Top Menu

31

Quick Access Menu

32

Toolbars

32

Drawing View Toolbar

32

Tools Toolbar

33

Drawing and Drawing Thumbnails Views

33

Drawing Area

33

Drawing Thumbnails View

34

Overlay, Line Art, Colour Art, Underlay and Preview Modes

34

Drawing Name

34

Tool Name

34

Frame Number

34

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Contents

Controls

35

Previous and Next Drawing

35

Previous and Next Layer

35

Line Art, Colour Art, Preview Mode

35

Extra Views

35

Menus

36

Top Menu

36

Quick Access Menu

37

Toolbars

37

Drawing and Drawing Thumbnails Views

38

Controls

39

Colour View

40

Add Colour

41

Remove Colour

41

Add Texture

42

Set Current Brush Colour

42

Set Current Pencil Colour

42

Set Current Paint Colour

42

Link/Unlink Three Colours

42

Show/Hide Palette List View

43

Colour Swatch Name

43

Colour Swatch

43

Colour View Menu

44

Edit Palette Mode

44

Extra Views

44

Tool Properties View

44

Model View

46

Colour Editor View

46

Managing the Views

47

Managing the Toolbars

48

Interface Navigation

49

Preferences

50

Shortcuts Tab

50

General Tab

50

Save

51

Options/Settings

51

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Colours52

Current View Border

52

Edit Colours Button

52

Onion Skin

52

Others52

Clean Up and Drawing Tools

55

Topics Covered

55

Cleaning Scanned Drawings

57

Remove Dirt

57

Remove Art Outside Selection

58

Remove Art Inside Selection

59

Remove Hair60

How to Draw

61

Tool Properties View

63

Manipulators

63

Options

63

Operations

64

Drawing View

65

Drawing Area

66

Zoom Drop-down Menu

66

Drawing Name

67

Tool Name

67

Current Frame

67

Cursor Coordinates

67

Drawing Name

67

Colour Picker

67

Drawing with the Brush or the Pencil

68

Viewing the Final Lines as you Draw

70

Full Scene Antialiasing

70

Real-Time Antialiasing

71

Drawing Using the Pencil Tool

73

Pencil Tool Options

74

Draw Behind

76

Create Colour Art Automatically76

Auto-Flatten Mode76

Auto-Close Gap

77

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Contents

Line Building Mode

77

Auto Adjust Thickness

78

Line Pushing Mode

79

Thickness Stencils

79

Minimum and Maximum Size

79

Central Line Smoothness

80

Contour Optimization

80

Changing the Line Shape80

Previewing the Stroke

81

Pencil Line Texture

81

Working with TemplatesThickness Stencils

81

Selecting a Pencil TemplateThickness Stencil

82

Creating a Pencil TemplateThickness Stencil

83

Creating a Pencil TemplateThickness Stencil with the Select Tool

83

Renaming a Pencil TemplateThickness Stencil

84

Deleting a Pencil TemplateThickness Stencil

84

Locking a Pencil TemplateThickness Stencil

85

Applying a Pencil Template

85

Pencil Line Texture

86

Applying Texture to a Pencil Line86

Creating a Pencil Texture Template with the Pencil Tool

88

Creating a Pencil Texture Template with the Select Tool

89

Adding a Texture to the Preferences

91

Applying a Preset Texture to a Pencil Line92

More Drawing Tools

94

Arrange

94

Convert Brush Strokes to Pencil Lines

95

Pencil Lines to Brush Strokes

95

Strokes to Pencil Lines

95

Optimize

96

Remove Extra Strokes

96

Reduce Drawing Texture Resolution

96

Crop Brush Textures

97

Create Contour Stroke

98

Remove Contour Stroke

98

Grid

98

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Group/Ungroup

99

Hand

99

Rotate View

99

Drawing with the Brush Tool

101

Brush Tool Options

102

Normal Brush Mode

104

Previewing the Stroke

104

Maximum Size and Smoothing

104

Brush Presets

105

Draw Behind

105

Repaint Brush Mode

105

Create Colour Art Automatically105

Auto-Flatten Mode106

Respect Protected Colour

106

Use Stored Colour Gradient

106

Drawing Magnifier

106

Brush Styles

107

Dynamic Brush

107

Minimum and Maximum Size

107

Central Line Smoothness

107

Contour Optimization

108

Brush Tips

108

Preview

108

Line Texture

108

Brush Styles

109

Selecting a Brush Style

109

Adding a Brush Style

110

Renaming a Brush Style

111

Deleting a Brush Style

111

Locking a Brush Style112

Dynamic Brush112

Drawing with Line Texture

115

How to Draw with Texture

115

Adjusting the Line Texture Parameters

118

Creating Texture Brushes

120

Erasing Textured Lines122

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Contents

Hiding the Line Texture

124

Adjusting the Line Texture Opacity

125

Selecting Drawing Objects

127

Inverting a Selection

128

Repositioning a Pivot Point

129

Selection on Single or Multiple Layers

130

Select Tool Properties

130

Manipulators

133

Lasso and Marquee

133

Snap Options

133

Permanent Selection

134

Apply to All Drawings in Layer

135

Apply to All Visible Drawings

135

Apply to Line and Colour Art

135

Select by Colour

136

Flip Horizontal and Vertical

136

Rotate 90 Degrees CW and CCW

137

Pencil to Brush

137

Smooth137

Flatten138

Store Colour Gradient138

Merge Pencil Lines

138

Reverse Pencil Thickness

139

Create Colour Art from Line Art

139

Distribute to Layers

140

Width and Height

140

Offset X and Y

141

Angle

141

Adjusting the Pencil Line Thickness

141

Adjusting the Pencil Line Style

141

Pencil Stencils

142

Adding Texture to a Pencil Line

142

Adjusting the Text Selection

142

Erasing Parts of a Drawing

144

Eraser Tool Options

144

Tip Style146

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Minimum and Maximum Size

146

Central Line Smoothness

146

Contour Optimization

146

Eraser Tips

147

Preview

147

Previewing the Stroke

147

Maximum Size and Smoothing

147

Brush Presets

148

Eraser Styles

148

Eraser Blur Parameters

148

Reshaping a Drawing Using the Contour Editor Tool

149

Contour Editor Tool Properties

151

Lasso and Marquee

152

Show Contour Editor Controls

152

Apply to Line and Colour Art

152

Snap to Contour

152

Snap and Align153

Smooth Selection

154

Reshaping Pencil Lines with the Pencil Editor Tool

155

Pencil Editor Properties

157

Lasso and Marquee

158

Smooth158

Pump Pencil Pressure

158

Deflate Pencil Pressure

159

Merge Pencil Lines

159

Reverse Pencil Thickness

159

Adjusting the Pencil Line Thickness

160

Adjusting the Pencil Line Style

160

Pencil TemplatesThickness Stencils

160

Adding Texture to a Pencil Line161

Drawing with Shapes

162

Shape Tool Options

163

Line, Rectangle and Ellipse

165

Draw Behind

165

Snap Options

165

Line Building Mode

166

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Contents

Automatic Filling

166

Create Colour Art Automatically167

Auto-Flatten Mode167

Auto-Close Gap

168

Use Stored Colour Gradient

168

Keep Proportion

168

Pencil Templates

168

Thickness Adjustment

169

Adjusting the Pencil Line Style169

Applying Texture to a Pencil Line169

Drawing with the Polyline Tool

170

Polyline Tool Options

171

Previewing the Stroke

172

Size

172

Polyline Presets

173

Size and Smoothness

173

Adjusting Polyline Style

173

Working with Line Textures

173

Snap to Contour

173

Create Colour Art Automatically174

Auto-Flatten Mode

174

Pencil Templates

174

Thickness Adjustment

175

Drawing Using Invisible Lines

176

Pencil Tool

176

Stroke Tool

177

Stroke Tool Options

177

Draw Stroke as Straight Lines

178

Connect Line Ends

178

Auto-Flatten Mode

178

Central Line Smoothness

178

Show Strokes as Washed-out Colours

178

Deforming a Drawing Using the Perspective Tool

180

Perspective Tool Properties

181

Lasso and Marquee

182

Snap to Contour

182

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Snap and Align182

Snap to Grid

182

Apply to Line and Colour Art

182

Flip Horizontal and Vertical

183

Rotate 90 Degrees CW and CCW

183

Cutting Drawing Parts

184

Cutter Tool Options

185

Lasso and Marquee

185

Apply to Line and Colour Art

185

Use Mouse Gesture

185

Use Mouse Gesture Breaker Mode186

Tip Style186

Flip Horizontal and Vertical

187

Rotate 90 Degrees CW and CCW

187

Smoothing Lines188

Smooth Editor Tool Options

189

Brush, Marquee and Lasso Smoothing Style

189

Show Control Points

189

Minimum Size and Maximum Size

189

Smoothness

190

Colour190

Working With Text

192

Formatting the Text

192

Font Type

193

Font Style193

Alignment

194

Font Size

194

Kerning

194

Indent195

Line Spacing

195

Resizing the Text Box

195

Converting Text into Separate Objects

196

Override Tool

197

More Drawing Tools

198

Arrange

198

Convert Brush Strokes to Pencil Lines

199

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Contents

Pencil Lines to Brush Strokes

199

Strokes to Pencil Lines

199

Optimize

200

Remove Extra Strokes

200

Reduce Drawing Texture Resolution

200

Crop Brush Textures

201

Create Contour Stroke

202

Remove Contour Stroke

202

Grid

202

Group/Ungroup

203

Hand

203

Rotate View

203

Chapter 5: Colour

205

Topics Covered

205

How to Paint

206

Colours

208

Palette Lists and Palettes Lock

209

Edit Palette List Mode

209

Edit Palette Mode209

Adding a Colour Swatch

210

Solid Colour Swatch

210

Default Colour Swatch

213

Gradient Colour Swatch

214

Bitmap Texture Swatch

215

Deleting a Colour Swatch

217

Colour Display Modes

219

Switching Between Thumbnails and List Display modes

219

Displaying Colour Values

219

Selecting the Current Colour of a Tool

221

Painting Using the Paint Tool

223

Create Breaking Triangles to Paint Brush Strokes

224

Paint Tool Properties

225

Lasso and Marquee

225

Painting Mode

226

Paint Mode

226

Paint Unpainted Mode

226

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Repaint Mode

227

Unpaint Mode227

Automatic Close Gap

227

Paint and Remove Texture

228

Apply to Multiple Drawings

228

Apply to All Visible Drawings

229

Respect Protected Colour

229

Use Stored Colour Gradient230

Select Newly Painted/Repainted/Unpainted Contours/Lines

230

Painting Pencil Lines with the Ink Tool

231

Ink Tool Properties

232

Lasso and Marquee

232

Show Inkable Lines233

Be Smart on Connecting Lines233

Select Mode233

Arrange Ink Lines

233

Mitre

233

Tip Style

233

Advanced Painting Features

234

Repaint Selection

235

Repaint Selection On All Drawings

235

Repaint Outside Selection

236

Repaint Outside Selection On All Drawings

236

Unpaint Selection

237

Unpaint Selection On All Drawings

237

Unpaint Outside Selection

238

Unpaint Outside Selection On All Drawings

238

Selecting a Colour in a Drawing

239

Editing Gradients and Textures

241

Storing Your Favourite Gradient or Texture Settings
Closing Gaps Manually

245
247

Close Gaps

248

Protecting Colours

250

Highlighting the Selected Colour

251

Inverting a Colour Selection

252

Line Art and Colour Art Layers

253

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Contents

Underlay and Overlay Layers

254

Underlay

254

Overlay255

Creating Strokes to Paint Your Drawings on a Separated Layer

255

Verifying Zones are Painted

258

Palettes

259

Displaying the Palette List

260

Basic Mode

260

Advanced Mode260

Toon Boom Harmony Palette File Storage

261

Element Level

262

Scene Level

262

Scene Palette List and Element Palette List

262

Scene Palette List

263

Element Palette List

263

Creating a Colour Palette

264

Basic Palette Lists Mode

264

Advanced Palette Lists Mode264

Renaming a Colour Palette

266Managing Palettes

266

Creating a Palette in Harmony

267

Linking a Palette in Harmony

269

Palette Operations

271

Palette Storage

274

Where to Save the Palette File?

274

What Happens when you Export a Palette File?

274

Palette Backup

276

Copying and Pasting Colours

276

Copying Colours from Another Palette

277

Removing a Colour Palette

277

Duplicating a Colour Palette

278

Cloning a Colour Palette

279

Cloning a Colour Swatch

280

Mixing the Colours

281

Importing Palettes

283

Importing a Colour Palette

283

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Linking a Colour Palette

284

Linking your Master Palette

284

Palette Linkage Status Icons

286

Ordering the Palette List

287

Colour Model

288

Loading a Colour Model

288

Cutting, Copying and Pasting from a Colour Model

291

Colour Preferences

293

Drawing Tab

293

Default Multiwheel Colour Picker

294

Sticky Eye Dropper

294

Create New Colour Pots Using Default Colour

294

Auto Gap Closing on Startup

294

Auto Gap Closing in Pixel Units

295

General Tab

295

Colour Management

295

Advanced Tab

296

Advanced Palette Lists

296

Shortcuts Tab

297

Go to Next/Previous Colour in the Colour Palette
Keyboard Shortcuts For Harmony Paint

297
299

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Chapter 1: Introduction

What is Toon Boom Harmony?

Chapter 1: Introduction

What is Toon Boom Harmony?
Toon Boom Harmony is a revolutionary team-based infrastructure for animation production. Its array of cuttingedge features increases productivity and encourages creativity. Developed in conjunction with the leading
studios worldwide, Toon Boom Harmony is specifically designed for long-term episodic and feature length
projects, providing a true animation pipeline. Several animators can work simultaneously on the same scene
while the asset library provides users with easy access to up-to-date media assets.
Toon Boom Harmony is truly scalable; more than 100 staging clients can share animation just as easily as a few
can. Whether you are a start-up studio or a large established animation facility, Toon Boom Harmony serves as
the animation backbone ensuring sustainable growth.
Toon Boom Harmony is a powerful solution that brings together multiple teams working on the same project,
whether in-house or remotely. The Toon Boom Harmony solution offers a robust asset management system thatenables users to quickly locate assets, share tasks on complex scenes and centralize all assets in a common
repository. Tremendous gains in efficiency and quality are made by the teams, who enjoy a smooth flow between
each task, and more time dedicated to their creative assignments.

What is the Harmony Paint Module?
The Harmony Paint module is mainly used in large productions where there is an Ink and Paint or Colour Stylist
team. The Harmony Paint module includes the Drawing and Colour views as well as drawing tools. By using thismodule the Ink and Paint team does not need to learn the entire application, but can focus on the Ink and Paint
process.

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

The Harmony Paint module can only be used with a connection to the Harmony database, unlike theToon Boom Harmony application which can be used as a standalone application. To start the ink andpaint process, you need to first fill in your scene’s exposure sheets and import the drawings thatneed to be coloured.
Refer to the Harmony Xsheet and Harmony Scan Guides to learn more about the previous steps ofthe production.

In this guide, the default keyboard shortcuts that are used are the Adobe Flash set.

Topics Covered•

Getting Started on page 19•

Interface on page 29•

Clean Up and Drawing Tools on page 55•

Colour on page 205

17

Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

18

Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Chapter 2: Getting Started
Once the software is installed and setup, you are ready to launch the application and ink and paint!

Topics Covered•

Launching Harmony Paint on the next page•

Loading Drawings and Elements on page 22•

Extra Commands on page 26

19

Chapter 2: Getting Started Launching Harmony Paint

Launching Harmony Paint
Before using Harmony Paint, you have to start the program. You can run the software on Mac OS X or
Windows/Linux operating systems.
To open Harmony Paint, do one of the following:
1. Launch Toon Boom Harmony:‣

Mac OS X: Double-click on the Harmony Paint

icon or selectApplications > Toon Boom Harmony 10.0 > Paint‣

Windows: Double-click on the Harmony Paint

icon or selectStart > Programs > Toon Boom Harmony 10.0 > Paint‣

Linux: Double-click on the Harmony Paint

icon or selectApplications > ToonBoom-Harmony_10.0 > Paint
or type in the command line:cd /usr/local/ToonBoomAnimation/harmony_10.0/lnx86/bin
Launch Stage -paint:./Stage -paintHarmony Paint opens, displaying the Login Screen.

2. Enter your Harmony user name to login to the Database. To work on Harmony Paint, you need to beconnected to the database to have access to the scenes stored in the central database of Toon Boom
Server. You cannot open offline scenes with Harmony Paint.
3. Click on Login. Harmony Paint Opens.
Harmony user names are created via the Control Center. If you do not have a user name, contact your IT
department.

20

Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Refer to the Control Center and Server Guide to learn how to create Harmony user names.

Related Topics•

Loading Drawings and Elements on the next page

21

Chapter 2: Getting Started Loading Drawings and Elements

Loading Drawings and Elements
Once you launch Harmony Paint, you need to load a scene’s drawings from the Database Selector, in order tostart the ink and paint process. The drawings must have previously gone through the Xsheet and Scanning
processes.
There are two ways of loading drawings:•

Open Drawings
This option will let you load drawings from one element at a time, for quick ink and paint on a single layer
animation.

•

Open Elements
This option will let you load drawings from several elements at once. This can be useful when an animationis separated in many layers, to insure that they are well aligned and that the painted shapes and lines fit
together. A good example of this would be a dialogue with the chin and mouth separated from the rest of
the head.

Related Topics•

Open Drawings below•

Open Elements on the facing page

Open Drawings
To open drawings in Paint:
1. Once Harmony Paint is launched and you are logged in, select File > Open Drawings. The [Ctrl] + [O](Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + [O] (Mac OS X).
The Database Selector opens, displaying the Environments available from the Harmony database.

2. Select the Environment, Job, Scene and Element where the drawings you need to paint are located.

3. Choose the version you want to open from the Version drop-down menu.

22Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide‣

The Saved By and Saved Date fields display the user who was the last to save the selected scene andthe date of the last save.

Refer to the Harmony Network to learn more about scene versions.

4. Click on the Open button.
The Drawings Selector dialog box opens.

5. Select the desired drawings from the drawings list:•

Click on a single drawing to select it.

•

You can create a continuous multiple selection by holding the [Shift] key.

•

You can create a multiple selection by holding the [Ctrl] (Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] (Mac OS X) key.

•

Click on the All button to select all the drawings that are listed in the Drawings Selector.

•

Click on the Unpainted button to select all the drawings whose status appears as UNPAINTED.

•

Click on the Painted button to select all the drawings whose status appears as PAINTED.

6. Click on the OK button.
The selected drawings appear in the Drawing Thumbnails view
7. Use the Control panel to navigate between the previous and next drawings. The [F] and [G].

You are now ready to ink and paint!

Related Topics•

Open Elements below

Open Elements
To open elements in Paint:
1. Once Harmony Paint is launched and you are logged in, select File > Open Elements. The[Ctrl] + [E](Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + [E] (Mac OS X).

23

Chapter 2: Getting Started Loading Drawings and Elements

The Database Selector opens, displaying the Environments available from the Harmony database.

2. Select the Environment, Job and Scene where the elements containing the drawings you need to paint arelocated.

3. Choose the version you want to open from the Version drop-down menu.

‣

The Saved By and Saved Date fields display the user who was the last to save the selected scene andthe date of the last save.

4. Click on the Open button.
The Open Elements dialog box opens.

5. Select the elements you need to paint from the Elements list:•

You can create a continuous multiple selection by holding the [Shift] key.

•

You can create a multiple selection by holding the [Ctrl] (Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] (Mac OS X) key.

6. Select the frames you wish to load from the Frames list:•

You can create a continuous multiple selection by holding the [Shift] key.

•

You can create a multiple selection by holding the [Ctrl] (Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] (Mac OS X) key.

•

Click on the All Frames button to load all the frames of the scene.

7. Click on the OK button.
The Drawing Thumbnails view will be hidden and your selected elements will be loaded in Harmony Paint.

24

Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

8. Enable the Light Table

option from the Drawing view toolbar to display all the drawing layers.

•

The selected layer will be displayed in original colours.

•

The other layers will be displayed as washed out colours.

9. Use the Control Panel to navigate between previous and next layers. The [H] and [J].

10. Use the Control panel to navigate between previous and next drawings. The [F] and [G].

You are now ready to ink and paint!

Related Topics•

Open Drawings on page 22

25

Chapter 2: Getting Started Extra Commands

Extra Commands
This table lists the most common commands used in Harmony Paint.
Command

ActionShortcutFile > Add/Revert

Use the Add/Revert command
to load new drawings to thealready existing selection or toreload drawings to revert themodifications to the last save.
This option does not work whenseveral elements are loaded.

Windows > Colour

Use the Colour command to
display the Colour view.

Windows > Colour
EditorUse the Colour Editor command
to display the Colour Editor
view.

Windows > Model

Use the Model command to
display the Model view.

Windows > Tool
Properties

Use the Tool Properties
command to display the Tool
Properties view.

File > Load
Background FileUse the Load Background Filecommand to import abackground image in Paint tocompare your drawing's colours
with it.

File > Move
BackgroundUse the Move Backgroundcommand to move thebackground image in the stage.

File > OpenDrawings

Use the Open Drawings
command to open the Database
Selector dialog box to select a
set of drawings.

The [Ctrl] + [O] (Windows/Linux)or [⌘ ] + [O] (Mac OS X).

File > Open
Elements

Use the Open Elementscommand to open the Open
Elements window and select aseries of drawing elements anda frame range to work on.

The [Ctrl] + [E] (Windows/Linux)or [⌘ ] + [E] (Mac OS X).

Options > Play by
Frame

Use the Play by Frame
command to flip between theframes instead of the drawings.
If a drawing is exposed on two

26

Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Command

ActionShortcutframes, you will have to flip
twice before moving on to thenext drawing.
File > Reset
Background
Position

Use the Reset Background
Position command to restore
the background image original
size and position.

File > Scale
Background Down

Use the Scale Background
Down command to scale down
the size of the backgroundimage.

File > Scale
Background Up

Use the Scale Background Up
command to scale up the size ofthe background image.

File > Unload
BackgroundUse the Unload Background
File command to remove thebackground image from Paint.

27

Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

28

Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Chapter 3: Interface

Knowing how to manage the Paint module interface helps you to work efficiently and organize your workspaceconveniently. There are a series of views and toolbars you can use as you perform different operations. Each user
has a preferred way of working in the interface and which views and toolbars they will use. In this chapter, youwill learn about the main elements of the interface and how to manage them.

Topics Covered•

User Interface on the next page•

Managing the Views on page 47•

Managing the Toolbars•

Interface Navigation on page 49•

Preferences on page 50

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Chapter 3: Interface

User Interface

User Interface
This section takes you through the most common elements of the user interface. Throughout the user guide, youwill learn about each view and toolbar and how and when to use them.

Related Topics•

Views and Toolbars below•

Interface Highlights below•

Extra Views on page 44

Views and Toolbars
Harmony Paint has different views and toolbars.The top toolbars are available at the top of the interface and theView toolbars are in individual windows. View toolbars are only shown if the particular view is displayed in theworkspace.
This is a complete list of the views and toolbars which are available in Harmony Paint.

Views
•

Colour view•

Colour Editor view•

Drawing Thumbnails view•

Drawing view•

Model view•

Tool Properties view

Toolbars•

Drawing View Toolbar•

Edit Toolbar•

File Toolbar•

Tools Toolbar

Interface Highlights
It’s important that you become familiar with the following elements of the user interface, this will help you tostart using Harmony Paint. You can learn more about the highlights described here, and how to use them in a
production context, throughout this guide.
This is Harmony Paint’s default workspace, it is restored every time you launch a session.

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1. Menus below
2. Toolbars on the next page
3. Drawing and Drawing Thumbnails Views on page 33
4. Controls on page 35
5. Colour View on page 40•

Extra Views on page 44

Menus
You can access the commands from the following menus:•

Top Menu•

Quick Access Menu

Top Menu

The top menu contains most of the commands. This menu is always located at the very top of the user interface.
The top menu contains the following categories:
•

File

•

Edit

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Chapter 3: Interface•

Drawing•

Selected

•

View

•

Tools

•

Options•

Colours•

Palettes•

Windows•

Help

User Interface

In the Mac OS X version, there is a Stage category containing the following commands:•

Preferences

•

About

•

Quit

Quick Access Menu

Each view has a Quick Access Menu containing recurring actions. This menu is accessed by right-clicking
anywhere in the view.

Toolbars
Here are the main toolbars in Harmony Paint:•

Drawing View Toolbar•

Tools Toolbar

Drawing View Toolbar

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

The Drawing View toolbar contains the main options and features you will use while working in Harmony Paint.
You can customize this toolbar to display the features you use the most. Refer to the Managing the Toolbars on
page 1 to learn how.

Tools Toolbar

The Tools toolbar contains all of the main tools you will use while working in Harmony Paint.

Drawing and Drawing Thumbnails Views

1. Drawing Area
2. Drawing Thumbnails View
3. Overlay, Line Art, Colour Art, Underlay and Preview Modes
4. Drawing Name
5. Tool Name
6. Frame Number

Drawing Area
This is the Drawing view’s main space, it is where you draw, and where the drawings are displayed.

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Chapter 3: Interface

User Interface

Drawing Thumbnails View
The Drawing Thumbnails view display a list with thumbnails of the loaded drawings. The highlighted drawing is
the one displayed in the drawing area. You can select the drawing you want to paint directly from this list.

Overlay, Line Art, Colour Art, Underlay and Preview Modes
Overlay
Click on this button to switch to the drawing’s Overlay layer. This layer is located above the Line Art layer. The
shortcut is [:].
Line Art
Click on this button to switch to the Line Art layer of the drawing. The shortcut is [L].
Colour Art
Click on this button to switch to the Colour Art layer of the drawing. The shortcut is [L].
Underlay
Click on this button to switch to the drawing’s Underlay layer. This layer is located under the Colour Art layer.
The shorcut is [:].
Preview mode
Click on this button to switch to Preview mode. This lets you see both Line Art and Colour Art layers
simultaneously. The shortcut is [Shift] + [P]. Hold the Preview mode button to display a drop-down list in which
you can enable the Underlay or Overlay layers to include them in the preview.

Drawing NameThe Drawing Name field displays the name of the selected drawing as well as the layer containing it. If the cell
does not contain any drawings, an Empty Cell text is shown in the field.

Tool Name
The Tool Name field displays the name of the selected tool. If you override a tool using an overriding keyboard
shortcut, the tool’s name will be highlighted in red letters.

Refer to the Override Tool on page 197 to learn how to temporarily override a tool.

Frame Number
The Frame Number field displays the number of the current frame.

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Controls
The controls are used to quickly have access to common commands:

Previous and Next Drawing

These buttons let you switch to the previous or next drawings. The shortcuts are [F] and [G].

Previous and Next Layer

These buttons are used to switch to the previous or next layer when you have different layers loaded. The
shortcuts are [H] and [J].

Line Art, Colour Art, Preview ModeUse these buttons to switch from Line Art to Colour Art. The shortcut is [L]. You can also enable or disable thePreview mode. The shortcuts are [Shift] + [P].

Extra Views
There are three extra views, that are not part of the workspace when the Harmony Paint module is launched:•

Tool Properties View on page 44•

Model View on page 46•

Colour Editor View on page 46

Related Topics•

Open Elements on page 23•

Drawing and Drawing Thumbnails Views on page 38•

Interface Navigation on page 49

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Chapter 3: Interface•

Extra Views

Managing the Views on page 47

Menus
You can access the commands from the following menus:•

Top Menu•

Quick Access Menu

Top Menu

The top menu contains most of the commands. This menu is always located at the very top of the user interface.
The top menu contains the following categories:
•

File

•

Edit

•

Drawing•

Selected

•

View

•

Tools

•

Options•

Colours•

Palettes•

Windows•

Help

In the Mac OS X version, there is a Stage category containing the following commands:•

Preferences

•

About

•

Quit

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Quick Access Menu

Each view has a Quick Access Menu containing recurring actions. This menu is accessed by right-clicking
anywhere in the view.

Toolbars
Here are the main toolbars in Harmony Paint:•

Drawing View Toolbar•

Tools Toolbar

Drawing View Toolbar

The Drawing View toolbar contains the main options and features you will use while working in Harmony Paint.
You can customize this toolbar to display the features you use the most. Refer to the Managing the Toolbars on
page 1 to learn how.
Tools Toolbar

The Tools toolbar contains all of the main tools you will use while working in Harmony Paint.

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Chapter 3: Interface

Extra Views

Drawing and Drawing Thumbnails Views

1. Drawing Area
2. Drawing Thumbnails View
3. Overlay, Line Art, Colour Art, Underlay and Preview Modes
4. Drawing Name
5. Tool Name
6. Frame Number
Drawing Area
This is the Drawing view’s main space, it is where you draw, and where the drawings are displayed.
Drawing Thumbnails View
The Drawing Thumbnails view display a list with thumbnails of the loaded drawings. The highlighted drawing is
the one displayed in the drawing area. You can select the drawing you want to paint directly from this list.
Overlay, Line Art, Colour Art, Underlay and Preview Modes
Overlay:
Click on this button to switch to the drawing’s Overlay layer. This layer is located above the Line Art layer. The[:].
Line Art:
Click on this button to switch to the Line Art layer of the drawing.The [L].
Colour Art:
Click on this button to switch to the Colour Art layer of the drawing. The [L].

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Underlay:
Click on this button to switch to the drawing’s Underlay layer. This layer is located under the Colour Art layer.
The [:].
Preview mode:
Click on this button to switch to Preview mode, this will let you see both Line Art and Colour Art layers
simultaneously. The [Shift] + [P]. Hold the Preview mode button to display a drop-down list in which you canenable the Underlay or Overlay layers to include them in the preview.
Drawing NameThe Drawing Name field displays the name of the selected drawing as well as the layer containing it. If the cell
does not contain any drawings, an Empty Cell text is shown in the field.
Tool Name
The Tool Name field displays the name of the selected tool. If you override a tool using an overriding keyboard
shortcut, the tool’s name will be highlighted in red letters.

Refer to the Override Tool on page 197 to learn how to temporarily override a tool.

Frame Number
The Frame Number field displays the number of the current frame.

Controls
The controls are used to quickly have access to common commands:

Previous and Next Drawing

These buttons are used to switch to the previous or next drawings. The [F] and [G].
Previous and Next Layer

These buttons are used to switch to the previous or next layer when you have different layers loaded. The [H] and
[J].

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Chapter 3: Interface

Extra Views

Line Art, Colour Art, Preview ModeUse these buttons to switch from Line Art to Colour Art. The [L]. You can also enable or disable the Preview
mode. The [Shift] + [P].

Related Topics•

Open Elements on page 23•

Drawing and Drawing Thumbnails Views on page 38

Colour View

1. Add Colour on the facing page
2. Remove Colour on the facing page
3. Add Texture on page 42
4. Set Current Brush Colour on page 42
5. Set Current Pencil Colour on page 42
6. Set Current Paint Colour on page 42
7. Link/Unlink Three Colours on page 42
8. Show/Hide Palette List View on page 43

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

9. Colour Swatch Name on page 43
10. Colour Swatch on page 43
11. Colour View Menu on page 44
The Colour View is where you create colours and palettes and import existing palettes into your project. The
Colour View is also necessary for drawing, painting and creating colour styling.
The Colour View has two display modes:•

List Mode•

Swatch Mode

To toggle between the display modes:
1. In the Colour View menu, select Colours > Swatch Mode.
‣

Enable the option to display the swatches.

‣

Disable the option to display the colour list.

Add Colour
The Add Colour

button is used to add a colour swatch to your palette. Click on the Add Colour button to

add a new swatch to the bottom of your colour list.

Remove Colour
The Remove Colour

button is used to delete the currently selected colour swatches. If the colour swatch isused in your project, the Delete Colour dialog box will pop and will ask you to confirm the operation.

‣ Click OK to confirm the operation or Cancel to cancel it.
Zones painted with colour swatches which have been deleted will turn red, easily identifying them so you can
repaint them with another colour swatch.

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Chapter 3: Interface

Extra Views

Add Texture

The Add Texture

button is used to add a bitmap colour swatch to your palette. Use this to load photos andtextures and paint your drawings with it. The bitmap image must be a TGA or PSD file format.

Set Current Brush Colour
The Set Current Brush Colour
by the Brushbutton is used to set the currently selected colour swatch as the colour used

tool. If you select a new colour in the Colour view while using the Brush tool, the Set Current

Brush Colour swatch will be updated.

Set Current Pencil Colour
The Set Current Pencil Colour
by the Pencil, Polyline

button is used to set the currently selected colour swatch as the colour used
, Ellipse, Rectangle

and Line

tools. If you select a new colour in the

Colour view while using any of these tools, the Set Current Pencil Colour swatch will be updated.

Set Current Paint Colour
The Set Current Paint Colour
the Brush

button is used to set the currently selected colour swatch as the colour used bytool. If you select a new colour in the Colour view while using the Paint tool, the Set Current Paint

Colour swatch will be updated.

Link/Unlink Three Colours

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

The Link/Unlink Three Colours

button is used to link the Set Current Brush Colour, Set Current Pencil

Colour and Set Current Paint Colour swatches to the currently selected colour swatches in the Colour view.

Show/Hide Palette List View

The Show/Hide Palette List View

button is used to display the Palette List view in the Colour view. This

option is for the advanced user who wants to create colour palettes for their props and characters.

Colour Swatch Name

Each colour swatch available in the Colour view can have its own name, making it easy to identify which colour isused to paint what part of your character or background.

Two colours can have the same name.

Colour Swatch

A colour swatch is a specific colour used to paint a certain zone of a character or background. Colour palettes
are composed of colour swatches. They can also be called colour pots. When you paint a zone with a colour
swatch, the zone is linked to the swatch. So if you update the swatch’s tint, the zone will be updated along with
it. This allows you to modify your animation colours even after it is completely painted.

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Extra Views

Colour View Menu
The Colour View

menu allows you to access commands that are specifically related to the Colour view suchas creating new palettes, adding new colour swatches and displaying the Tint panel. The commands listed in the
Colour View menu can also be found following a similar path from the top menu categories Colours and Palettes.

Edit Palette ModeIn Network mode, to avoid accidentally modifying the palette, the palette files can be locked. Enable the Edit
Palette Modeto get the rights to modify the palette.

Related Topics•

Colours on page 208

Extra Views
There are three extra views, that are not part of the workspace when the Harmony Paint module is launched:•

Tool Properties View below•

Model View on page 46•

Colour Editor View on page 46

Tool Properties View

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

The contextual Tool Properties view contains the most common options and operations related to the currently
selected tool. As soon as you select a tool from the Tools toolbar, the Tool Properties view will be updated.
For example, if you choose the Selecttool in the Tools toolbar, the Tool Properties view will display the

options and operations related to the Select tool such as Snap to Contour, Apply to All Drawings, Flip
Horizontal and Flatten.
To open the Tool Properties view:‣ Select Windows > Tool Properties.

The content of the Tool Properties view is explained in detail in the following chapters:•

Drawing•

Traditional Animation•

Colour on page 205•

Scene Setup•

Cut-out Animation

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Chapter 3: Interface

Extra Views

Model View

You can load a colour model in the Model view to have a quick reference when doing ink and paint. You can also
pick the colour directly from the Model view instead of from the Colour view. See Colour Model on page 288.

Colour Editor View

You can use the Colour Editor view to modify the tint of selected colours from a palette.

Related Topics•

Mixing the Colours on page 281

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Managing the Views
The Harmony Paint user interface is composed of different views, each one designed for a specific purpose.
This section explains how you can modify your workspace by adding or closing views, as well as resizing or
temporarily hiding a view.

Refer to Managing the Views in the Managing the Views section in the Harmony Stage User Guide tolearn how to manage views.

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Chapter 3: Interface

Managing the Toolbars

Managing the Toolbars
The Toon Boom Harmony user interface contains toolbars which, by default, are located at the top of theinterface. Some of the workspace’s views also have their own toolbars. These toolbars can be moved around.
You can reposition the toolbars to suit your work style or hide unused ones.

Refer to Managing the Views in the Managing the Views section in the Harmony Stage User Guide tolearn how to manage views.

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Interface Navigation
Toon Boom Harmony supports zoom in, zoom out, rotate, pan and reset view position for easy interface
navigation.
•

Zoom In: Zooms into the view. From the top menu, select View > Zoom In or press [2].

•Zoom Out: Zooms out of the view. From the top menu, select View > Zoom Out or press [1].

•To zoom in and zoom out, hold down [Spacebar] and your middle mouse button while moving the mouseup or down.

•

To pan the view, hold down the keyboard shortcut [Spacebar] and drag your mouse in the direction you
want to pan the view.

•

To Recentre the view: recentres the view on your mouse cursor or press [N].

•Reset View: Resets the view to its default position. From the top menu, select View > Reset View orpress [Shift] + [M].

•

Reset Rotation: Resets the view’s rotation to its default position. From the top menu, select View >Reset Rotationor press [Shift] + [X].

•Reset Pan: Resets the view’s pan to its default position. From the top menu, select View > Reset Pan orpress [Shift] + [N].

•Reset Zoom: Resets the view’s zoom to its default position. From the top menu, select View > Reset
Zoom.

•

Toggle Full Screen: Enlarges the selected view to full screen. The full screen process is done in threestages. From the top menu, select View > Toggle Full Screen or press [Ctrl] + [F] (Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ]+ [F] (Mac OS X).
•

First, the selected view enlarges to the maximum width or height, but keeps the tool views such as
Colour or Tool Properties view.

•

Second, the view enlarges to full screen.

•

Third, the view returns to its original size.

•

Rotate 90 CW: Rotates the Camera view 90 degrees clockwise, like an animation table. From the top
menu, select View > Rotate View CW.

•

Rotate 90 CCW: Rotates the Camera view 90 degrees counter-clockwise, like an animation table. From
the top menu, select View > Rotate View CCW.

Related Topics
•

Zoom

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Chapter 3: Interface

Preferences

Preferences
An important feature of Harmony Paint is the Preferences panel. From here you can customize your interface,tool behaviour and shortcuts. Throughout this guide, you are often required to go to the Preferences panel toset parameters and options.
To access the Preferences panel:‣ In the top menu, select Edit > Preferences (Windows/Linux) or Stage > Preferences (Mac OS X). The[Ctrl] + [U] Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + [U] (Mac OS X).
The Preferences panel is divided into the following tabbed sections:•Shortcuts Tab below•

General Tab below

Some preferences require you to exit and restart the application or to close a view and reopen it.

Shortcuts Tab
To speed up your work, all of Harmony Paint’s keyboard shortcuts can be customized and you can even choose
other software keyboard shortcut sets.

Refer to the following sections in the Harmony Stage User Guide.
•

Selecting a Keyboard Shortcut Set•

Customizing a Keyboard Shortcut

General Tab
Use the General tab to set general software behaviour and user interface.

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Save
The Save preferences are used to specify if you want the following elements to be saved or not when using theSave command:•

Save Palette Lists
When this option is enabled, the Palettes Lists will be save when saving your work with the Savecommand. Disabling this option prevents the Palette Lists from being saved without specifically using theSave Palette Lists command from the Colour view.

•

Save Palettes
When this option is enabled, the Palettes will be save when saving your work with the Save command.
Disabling this option prevents the Palettes from being saved without specifically using the Save Palettecommand from the Colour view.

•

Save Drawings
When this option is enabled, the drawings will be save when saving your work with the Save command.
Disabling this option prevents the drawings from being saved.

Options/Settings
Cycle ExposureThis option makes the navigation wrap-around from the last cell or column to the first.
HTML Browser for Unix

This option is used to view the online help on Linux machines. Enter the command to launch the browser,
including the path if necessary.
Level of Undo

The Levels Of Undo preference determines the number of actions retained by the Undo List. By default, thesystem stores 50 actions in the list. You can alter the number if you want to.

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Chapter 3: Interface

General Tab

Colours
The Colours preference allows you to modify the colours of the different User Interface views and elements. For
example, you can change the Drawing view’s background colour from white to any other colour. This can be
useful to easily and quickly distinguish details that are painted white which would not show on a whitebackground, for example a character’s white eyeballs.
Altering these preferences require you to restart the application or to close a view and reopen it for themodifications to be applied.

Current View Border
The Current View Border preference sets the colour of the frame around the workspace view you are currently
using, also known as focus. By default, the colour is red. Click on the red colour swatch to select a new colour in
the Colour Picker window.

Edit Colours Button
Click on the Edit Colours button to open the Colours window.

In the Colours window, you can modify any of the colours from the list. Most of the modifications will require you
to restart the application or close the view and reopen it to see them.
Click on any of the colour swatches and select a new colour from the Colour Picker window.

Onion Skin•

Onion Skin After
Changes the colour display of the next drawing when using the Onion Skin feature.

•Onion Skin Before
Changes the colour display of the previous drawing when using the Onion Skin feature.

Others•Background
Changes the background colour of the Drawing and Model view.

•

Backlight
Changes the display colour of the Backlight option.

•

Grid
Changes the display colour of the grid when using the Show Grid option.

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide•

Colour View Background
Changes the background colour of the colour list area of the Colour view.

•

Colour Highlight Mode Opacity
Changes the opacity value of the washed out art when using the Highlight Selected Colour option.

To restore all of the default interface’s colours, click on the Restore All Defaults button.

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Clean Up and Drawing Tools

In Toon Boom Harmony, many powerful tools, views and features are available so you can design, draw andanimate with ease. This chapter explains the main assets needed when drawing and animating in the software aswell as tips on how to start and use these tools efficiently.

Topics Covered•

How to Draw on page 61•

Tool Properties View on page 63•

Drawing View on page 65•

Drawing with the Brush or the Pencil on page 68•

Viewing the Final Lines as you Draw on page 70•

Drawing Using the Pencil Tool on page 73•

Drawing with the Brush Tool on page 101•

Drawing with Line Texture on page 115•

Selecting Drawing Objects on page 127•

Erasing Parts of a Drawing on page 144•

Reshaping a Drawing Using the Contour Editor Tool on page 149•

Reshaping Pencil Lines with the Pencil Editor Tool on page 155•

Drawing with Shapes on page 162•

Drawing with the Polyline Tool on page 170

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Clean Up and Drawing Tools•

Drawing Using Invisible Lines on page 176•

Deforming a Drawing Using the Perspective Tool on page 180•

Cutting Drawing Parts on page 184•

Smoothing Lines on page 188•

Working With Text on page 192•

Override Tool on page 197•

More Drawing Tools on page 198

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Cleaning Scanned Drawings

As paper drawings are passed through a scanner they may pick up dirt, hairs or dust. These foreign bodies
register as part of the drawing and will appear as unwanted marks on the scanned drawing. These marks need
to be cleaned. Toon Boom Harmony provides different features to remove them quickly.
Each of the removal features are described in the following sections:•Remove Dirt below•

Remove Art Outside Selection on the next page•

Remove Art Inside Selection on page 59•

Remove Hair on page 60

Remove Dirt

The Remove Dirt tool selects small dots and hairs on the drawing. Increasing the Remove Dirt level selects larger
dots for removal, but be careful not to lose small details like pupils and nostrils. Once the removal level ischosen, you can apply it to either the current drawing or to the whole animation sequence.
This is a fast way to get rid of most dirt and dust.
To use the Remove Dirt tool:
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the drawing to clean.

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Remove Art Outside Selection

2. In the top menu, select Drawing > Clean Up > Remove Dirt or press [Shift] + [D].
In Harmony Paint, select Drawing > Remove Dirt.
The Remove Dirt dialog box opens.

3. Increase the Remove Dirt value by moving the slider to the right. As you increase the tolerance, larger
speckles will become highlighted to indicate that they have been included in the selection.
4. Enable the Apply to All Drawings option if you want to apply the operation to all the drawings in thelayer.
5. Click on the OK button.

Remove Art Outside Selection

The Remove Art Outside Selection option is used to delete any art existing outside a selection. If you have an
accumulation in your Colour Art, it can result in large output files, especially if you work in high definition
resolution. Simultaneously apply this operation to all of your drawings in the layer by using the Remove Art
Outside Selection On All Drawings command.

To clean dirt with the Remove Art Outside Selection:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Selecttool or press [Alt] + [S].

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

2. If you want to apply the action to your entire animation, enable the Permanent Selection

option in

the Tool Properties view.
3. In the Camera or Drawing view, draw a selection around the animation. (Make the area large enough toinclude the whole animation sequence).
4. In the top menu, select Drawing > Clean up > Remove Art Outside Selection option to delete artwork
outside your selection on one single drawing.
In Harmony Paint, select Selected > Remove Art Outside Selection.
‣

To apply the action to all the drawings contained in the layer, select the Drawing > Clean up >Remove Art Outside Selection on All Drawings option from the top menu.
In Harmony Paint, select Selected > Remove Art Outside Selection On All Drawings.

Remove Art Inside Selection

The Remove Art Inside Selection option is used to delete any art inside a selection.
We recommend that you clean your Colour Art level as well. If you have an accumulation of strokes (almost
invisible, accidental or leftover marks) in your Colour Art, it can result in large output files, especially if you workin high definition resolutions.
You can simultaneously apply this operation to all of your drawings in the layer by using the Remove Art Inside
Selection On All Drawings command.
To clean dirt with Remove Art Inside Selection:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Selecttool or press [Alt] + [S].

2. If you want to apply the action to your entire animation, in the Tool Properties view, enable thePermanent Selection
option in the Tool Properties view.
3. In the Camera or Drawing view, draw a selection around the animation. (Make sure to make the arealarge enough to include all the zones to be cleaned up on all drawings).
4. In the top menu, select Drawing > Clean up > Remove Art Inside Selection option to delete artwork
inside your selection on one single drawing.
In Harmony Paint, select Selected > Remove Art Inside Selection.

59Remove Hair‣

To apply the action on all your drawings contained in the layer, in the top menu, select Drawing >Clean up > Remove Art Inside Selection on All Drawings option to delete artwork inside yourselection on all the drawings.
In Harmony Paint, select Selected > Remove Art Inside Selection on All Drawings.

Remove Hair

The Remove Hair command is used to remove any small strokes created in the Colour Art from very thick lines orfilled zones.
Increasing the Remove Hair level value will select larger strokes for removal from the drawing. You can also
select the Apply to All Drawings option to remove them on all drawings.
To use the Remove Hair tool:
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the drawing containing the drawing to clean.
2. In the top menu, select View > Show > Show Strokes to display the invisible lines or press [K].
3. In the top menu, select Drawing > Clean Up > Remove Hair.
In Harmony Paint, select Drawing > Remove Hair.
The Remove Hair dialog box opens.

4. Move the Hair Selection slider to the right to increase the number and length of hairs to be selected.
5. Enable the Apply to All Drawings option if you want to apply the operation to all the drawings in thelayer.
6. Click on the OK button.

Related Topics•

Scanning Images

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

How to Draw
As soon as Toon Boom Harmony is started, you can start to draw straight away using the default drawing layer.
How to draw:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Brush

tool or press [Alt] + [B].

2. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, click in the first cell of the drawing layer.
In Harmony Paint, select a drawing in the Drawing panel.

3. In the Drawing or Camera view, start drawing.

4. To select a different colour, in the Colour view, select the a different colour swatch. Double-click on thecolour swatch to open the Colour Picker window and modify the colour. Remember that anything alreadypainted with that colour swatch will update to the new colour.

If you are working in Database mode, refer to Locking Drawings to learn how to lock and unlock
drawings.

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How to Draw

Related Topics•

Adding a Colour Swatch on page 210•

Adding New Drawing Layers on page 1•

Tool Properties View on the facing page62

Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Tool Properties View
The Tool Properties view is where you can customize the currently selected tool. The options and operations
displayed changes according to each tool you select.

Manipulators
Manipulators are buttons which let you switch quickly between similar tools such as the Select tool and theTransform tool or the Line, Rectangle and Ellipse tools.

Options
Options are different modes you can apply to a selected tool to modify its behaviour to fit the current task’s
needs.

63

Operations

Operations
Operations are actual actions you can perform while using the selected tool.

Related Topics•

How to Draw on page 61

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Drawing View
In Toon Boom Harmony, you can draw in the Drawing or Camera view. Although the two views are similar, whenit comes to drawing, there are some differences.
Only the selected drawing is displayed by default in the Drawing view. You can use features, such as the lighttable to display the current frame drawing of all the enabled layers of your scene in washed-out colours, or theOnion Skin to display the previous and next drawings of the currently selected drawing layer.

1. Drawing Area on the next page
2. Zoom Drop-down Menu on the next page
3. Drawing View above
4. Drawing Name on page 67
5. Tool Name on page 67
6. Current Frame on page 67
7. Cursor Coordinates on page 67
8. Colour Picker on page 67

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Drawing Area

1. Drawing Area below
2. Drawing Name on the facing page
3. Tool Name on the facing page
4. Current Frame on the facing page
5. Cursor Coordinates on the facing page
6. Colour Picker on the facing page

Drawing Area
This is the Drawing view’s main space, it is where you draw, and where the drawings are displayed.

Zoom Drop-down Menu
The Zoom menu lets you enlarge or reduce the Camera or Drawing view display.

To make the camera frame size always match the size of your view, select the Fit to View option.
Click the drop-down arrow and select a zoom level or press [1] and [2].

66Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Drawing NameThe Drawing Name field displays the name of the selected drawing, as well as the layer containing it. If the cell
does not contain any drawing, an Empty Cell text is shown in the field.

Tool Name
The Tool Name field displays the name of the selected tool. If you override a tool using an overriding keyboard
shortcut, the tool’s name will be highlighted in red letters—see Override Tool on page 197 to learn how to
temporarily override a tool.

Current Frame
This field displays the current frame of the animation you are working on.

Cursor Coordinates
This indicates the position of your mouse cursor in the drawing area.

Drawing Name
Displays the name of the currently selected drawing.

Colour Picker
The Colour Picker allows you to select a colour to draw with.

Related Topics•

Camera View

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Drawing with the Brush or the Pencil

Drawing with the Brush or the Pencil

The Brushand Pencil

tools are used to draw and sketch with. Both tools support pressure sensitivity,

allowing you to create lines with variable thickness. The Pencil and shape tools produce central vector lines. The
Brush tool produces contour 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 and the Brush line’s control points are located along thecontour.
•If you draw with the Pencil tool and want to modify the thickness variation, use the Pencil Editor•

If you draw with the Brush tool and want to modify the thickness, use the Contour Editor

tool.

•

You can also convert a brush zone into a pencil line with the Brush Stroke to Pencil Line

option.

tool.

If you sketch a drawing using a semi-transparent colour to get a paper-like feel, you should use the Brush tool as
it produces a more realistic and natural feel. The pencil line is very useful for tracing, clean or final drawings.

Also, it is recommended to use brush lines when designing cut-out puppets’ articulations which use patches.

68Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Related Topics•

Drawing Using the Pencil Tool on page 73•

Drawing with the Brush Tool on page 101•

Reshaping a Drawing Using the Contour Editor Tool on page 149•

Drawing with Shapes on page 162•

Patch Articulation on page 1•

How to Draw on page 61

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Viewing the Final Lines as you Draw

Viewing the Final Lines as you Draw

Everything you draw in Toon Boom Harmony is vector-based. Although, when you draw in the Camera or
Drawing view, you will notice that your lines may be 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. There are two types of antialiasingin Toon Boom Harmony:•

Full Scene Antialiasing below•

Real-Time Antialiasing on the facing page

Full Scene Antialiasing
Not available in Harmony Paint.
The 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 a preference you can turn on and off. By default, the Full Scene Antialiasing preference isdisabled.

Full Scene Antialiasing parameters are only valid while you work in your scene. The scene will berendered out to 100% of its resolution regardless of your settings in the preferences or graphic card
panel.

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

To customize the full scene antialiasing parameters:

This procedure requires that if you have a Mac OS you must restart the Harmony after you havechanged the parameters.

1. If you are using Windows or Linux, you must enable your graphic card’s antialiasing parameter. Refer toyour graphics card manufacturers user guide to learn how to do so. For example, the parameters for an
NVIDIA GeForce card may look like this:

2. In the Harmony, do one of the following:‣

Windows/Linux: Select Edit > Preferences.

‣

Mac OS X: Stage > Preferences.

‣

Press [Ctrl] + [U] Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + [U] (Mac OS X).

The Preferences dialog box opens.
3. In the OpenGL tab, go to the Full Scene Antialiasing section.

‣

Enable: Select this option to enable/disable the Full Scene Antialiasing.

‣Number or samples (For Mac OS): If you are using a Mac OS X computer, enter the number ofsamples you want to be used for the antialiasing process. The number of samples is basicallyequivalent to the amount of time a pixel will be enlarged to calculate the antialiasing. This technique iscalled supersampling. The higher the number of samples, the better the antialiasing quality will be, but
the longer it will take to calculate.

4. Restart the Harmony.

Real-Time Antialiasing
It is highly recommended that you use Full Scene Antialiasing. The Real-Time Antialiasing method
is NOT RECOMMENDED as it is heavier to run than the Full Scene Antialiasing.

Real-Time Antialiasing is generated by . This means that when you draw your lines, the preview becomesantialiased as you go. If you zoom in more than 100% in the Camera view, pixels will start to appear. Your

71

Real-Time Antialiasing

elements are still fully vector based. Only the preview becomes pixelated. Your drawings are antialiased to thescene’s resolution.
Antialiasing is a preference you can turn on and off. By default, the Real-Time Antialiasing preference isdisabled.
This option lets you see the final result of your scene as you draw. You can change the value of the antialiasing
through the Preferences dialog box, to fit to the current zoom level used in the Camera or Drawing view or todisable it.

Real-Time Antialiasing parameters are only valid while you work in your scene. The scene will berendered out to 100% of its resolution regardless of your settings in the Preferences panel.

To customize the antialiasing parameters:
1. Select Edit > Preferences (Windows/Linux) or Stage > Preferences (Mac OS X).
The [Ctrl] + [U] Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + [U] (Mac OS X).
The Preferences dialog box opens.
2. In the OpenGL tab, go to the Real-Time Antialiasing section.

‣

Enable check box: Click on the Enable check box to enable or disable the Real-Time Antialiasing. The[Ctrl] + [Alt] + [A] (Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + [Alt] + [A] (Mac OS X).

‣

Render at this Factor Times the Scene Resolution: The default value is 1. This value corresponds to
how many times larger than the scene’s resolution you want your drawings to be antialiased. If you
zoom into your drawings to 200% you should set the value to 2.

‣

Tile Size: When the drawing is antialiased, the whole is broken into small tiles to make the process
faster. Only the tiles with artwork on are rendered out. When you modify a zone on your drawing, only
the modified tiles are updated.

•

Making the tiles too small results in sending more tiles to be rendered out, which makes the process
longer.

•Making the tiles too large results in sending bigger tiles out to be rendered out which is more of a strain
on the video card. Since the tiles are larger, they get updated more often because the artwork you modify
may be one of these tiles.

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Drawing Using the Pencil Tool

The Pencil

tool creates a centreline shape. Pencil lines now support pressure sensitivity and texture.

To draw with the Pencil tool:
In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the cell on which you want to draw.
In Harmony Paint, select a drawing in the Drawing panel.

1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Pencil

tool or press [Alt] + [/].

2. In the Colour view, click a colour swatch to select a colour.

3. In the Drawing or Camera view, start drawing.
‣

When you get close to an existing pencil line, hold [Alt] to draw connect your stroke to the existingone. Pencil lines are central vector lines and you might think your line is connected, but in fact, only thecontour is touching the other one. Also, make sure the central vector crosses the other one.
You can use the [Alt] key to connect the start of your stroke or the end of it by holding it when you
start drawing or when you finish your line.

‣

To draw a straight line, press [Shift] + [Alt] as you draw.

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Drawing Using the Pencil Tool

Related Topics•

Pencil Tool Options below•

Drawing with the Brush or the Pencil on page 68•

Drawing with Shapes on page 162

Pencil Tool Options
When you select the Pencil

tool, its properties and options appears in the Tool Properties view.

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

These are the options available for the Pencil tool:•

Draw Behind on the next page•

Create Colour Art Automatically on the next page•

Auto-Flatten Mode on the next page•

Auto-Close Gap on page 77•

Line Building Mode on page 77•

Auto Adjust Thickness on page 78•

Line Pushing Mode on page 79•

Thickness Stencils on page 79•

Minimum and Maximum Size on page 79•

Central Line Smoothness on page 80•

Contour Optimization on page 80•

Changing the Line Shape on page 80•

Previewing the Stroke on page 81•

Pencil Line Texture on page 81

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Drawing Using the Pencil Tool

Draw Behind

When drawing on vector layers, the Draw Behind mode lets you paint behind existing art. By default, strokes willappear over your work until you release the tool. If you want to have live preview of your stroke in draw behindmode, you must activate the Realistic Preview option.
To activate Realistic Preview:‣

From the top menu, select View > Realistic Preview.

Create Colour Art AutomaticallyAs you draw in the Line Art layer, the Create Colour Art Automaticallyautomatically creates thecorresponding strokes in the Colour Art layer.

Auto-Flatten Mode
When drawing on vector layers, lines do not usually become one object. The Auto-Flatten mode automaticallymerges lines created with the existing ones into one single object as you draw.
When drawing on a bitmap layer, you are laying down the bare pixels, so they are always flattened. You can nolonger access the individual stroke after you draw it.

Using the Select tool, you can use the middle mouse button to select a segment of a flattened pencil
line to create a nice finish on the lines and corners of your artwork.

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Auto-Close Gap

When using the pencil tool, you can automatically close strokes with an invisible stroke.
It is recommended to keep this option enabled when drawing with the Pencil tool.

Line Building Mode

The Line Building

mode is very useful when drawing long lines and curves in small increments with pencil

lines. As the pencil lines are central vector lines and it may be difficult to align the line tips perfectly to create a
uniform stroke and close all gaps.
In this mode, you can draw lines in small increments and the tip are merge into one single stroke.

This mode only works with pencil lines.

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Drawing Using the Pencil Tool

Auto Adjust Thickness

The Auto Adjust Thickness

tool is useful when you want to render a portion of a line thicker. When tracing adrawing on paper, you will often go back to a section of a curve to make it thicker to add dynamism to the line.
Using the Auto Adjust Thickness tool, you can draw highlight strokes over the section to make thicker. Once you
release the pen or the mouse, the line gets thicker following the shape and curve of the original stroke. This way
is much faster and smoother than using the Pencil Editor tool. You do not have to add extra points and adjust
the position and Bezier handles.
The default overlay colour is light yellow. If this colour is difficult to see because of your background or drawing
colour, you can adjust the colour.
To change the Auto Adjust Thickness Colour:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Pencil

tool.

2. In the Tool Properties view, select the Auto Adjust Thickness
3. Click the colour swatch.

The Colour Picker window opens.
4. In the Colour Picker window, select a new colour.

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Line Pushing Mode

The Line Pushing Mode

option lets you draw highlight strokes over your existing pencil lines. You canreshape the curves. Depending how you draw the pushing stroke over your line, the highlighted section will bereshaped in one direction or the other.
The default overlay colour is light yellow. If this colour is difficult to see because of your background or drawing
colour, you can adjust the colour.
To change the Line Pushing Mode colour:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Pencil

tool.

2. In the Tool Properties view, select the Line Pushing Modebutton.

3. Click the colour swatch.

The Colour Picker window opens.
4. In the Colour Picker window, select a new colour.

Thickness Stencils
Toon Boom Harmony provides a variety of thickness stencils and also lets you create and save your own. It is agood idea to create and save pencils with precise sizes and parameters when you draw and design.
A thickness stencil saves a preset of how the thickness information looks across the length of the line. Whendrawing with a thickness stencil, the pressure sensitivity of the tablet is discarded in order to apply the thickness
stencil.
A thickness stencil can be used while drawing, or applied afterwards.
You also have the possibility to apply different textures to your lines by either using the preset ones or importingyour own—see Working with TemplatesThickness Stencils on page 81

Minimum and Maximum Size
This is where you set the minimum and maximum sizes of your drawing tool which will produce the thick and thineffect on your stroke. This works with the pressure sensitivity of a pen tablet.

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Drawing Using the Pencil Tool

1. Minimum Size field: Type a value in this field to set the minimum width of the line.
2. Maximum Size field: Type a value in this field to set the maximum width of the line.
3. Up/Down arrows: Use the up and down arrows to set the minimum size value.
4. Up/Down arrows: Use the up and down arrows to set the maximum size value.

Central Line Smoothness
You can modify the Central Line Smoothnessof your line using this option. This parameter smoothes theinitial movement of your line. Increasing the value will result in a smoother line with fewer control points.

Contour Optimization
You can optimize the Contour Line Smoothness of you line using this option. This parameter will smooth thecontour of your line once the line has been traced, the higher the value the less control points will compose yourline.

1. Smoothness field: Type a value to set the smoothness of the line.
2. Contour Optimization field: Type a value to set the contour optimization of the line.
3. Up/Down arrows: Use the up and down arrows to set smoothness value.
4. Up/Down arrows: Use the up and down arrows to set the contour optimization value.

Changing the Line Shape
There are several line shape to choose from. You can select how the start, end, and joints in the pencil line aredrawn.
To change the line shape:
In the Pencil Properties window, click a line shape in the Shape section and select a shape from the menu.

•

Start: Make the beginning of the line round or flat.

•

End: Make the end of the line round or flat.

•

Join: Make joints round, mitred, or bevelled.

80Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Previewing the Stroke
The Preview area lets you see a preview of the stroke that will be produced after you customize the different
parameters in the Tool Properties view.

1. The Arrow button lets you show or hide the Preview area.
2. The Preview field is where the brush line is displayed.

Pencil Line Texture
You can apply a bitmap texture on your pencil line and adjust it as needed—see Pencil Line Texture on page 86

Related Topics•

Drawing with Line Texture on page 115•

Pencil Line Texture on page 86•

Working with TemplatesThickness Stencils below•

Drawing Using the Pencil Tool on page 73

Working with TemplatesThickness Stencils

A templatethickness stencil is a preset that already set with specific properties. There are two types of thickness
stencils.

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Drawing Using the Pencil Tool

A template allowsRegular thickness stencils 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 use with a pen and tablet.
Thickness stencils that are indicated with this icon
are also set with specific properties but disregards thepressure you use with your pen and tablet. The line thickness varies
You can access templatesthickness stencils from the list of preset on the Tool Properties view, or create yourown.
•

Selecting a Pencil TemplateThickness Stencil below•

Creating a Pencil TemplateThickness Stencil on the facing page•

Creating a Pencil TemplateThickness Stencil with the Select Tool on the facing page•

Renaming a Pencil TemplateThickness Stencil on page 84•

Deleting a Pencil TemplateThickness Stencil on page 84•

Locking a Pencil TemplateThickness Stencil on page 85•

Applying a Pencil Template on page 85

Selecting a Pencil TemplateThickness Stencil
Using the drop-down menu, you can select an existing pencil templatethickness stencil.
To select a pencil templatethickness stencil:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Pencil, Line, Ellipse, or Rectangle

tool.

2. In the Tool Properties view, in the Pencil TemplatePresets drop-down menu, select the
templatethickness stencil you want to use.

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

3. In the Drawing or Camera view, draw your pencil line or shape.

Creating a Pencil TemplateThickness Stencil
To create a pencil templatethickness stencil:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Pencil, Line, Ellipse, or Rectangle

2. In the Tool Properties view, click the New Pencil or New Brush

tool.

button.

A new pencil template is added to the end of the list in the Pencil Template drop-down menu.
The New Preset dialog box opens.
3. Enter a name for your new pencil thickness stencil and click OK.
4. Start drawing in the Camera or Drawing view.

Creating a Pencil TemplateThickness Stencil with the Select Tool
To create a pencil templatethickness stencil with the Select tool:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Selecttool.

2. In the Camera view, select the pencil line or shape you want to take the style from.

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Drawing Using the Pencil Tool

3. In the Tool Properties view, click the New Preset

button.

A new pencil templatethickness stencil is added to the end of the list in the Presets drop-down menu.
4. In the Tool Properties view, click the Apply Pencil Template

button to apply to the style to yourselection.
5. In the Presets drop-down menu, select your new pencil templatethickness stencil and click on a line or
shape in the Camera view to apply the pencil templatethickness stencil you created.

Renaming a Pencil TemplateThickness Stencil
To rename a pencil templatethickness stencil:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Pencil, Line, Ellipse, or Rectangle

tool.

2. In the Presets drop-down menu, select the pencil templatethickness stencil you want to rename.
3. Click the Rename Pencil

button.From the Brush menu, select Rename Pencil or Rename Brush,

depending on the tool you selected.
The Rename Preset dialog box opens.

4. In the Name field, type in a name for the selected pencil templatethickness stencil you are renaming.

Deleting a Pencil TemplateThickness Stencil
To delete a pencil templatethickness stencil:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Pencil

tool.

2. In the Presets drop-down menu, select the pencil templatethickness stencil to delete.
3. Click the Delete Preset

button.

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Locking a Pencil TemplateThickness Stencil
To avoid modifying your pencil templatethickness stencil inadvertently, you can lock them by enabling the LockPen
option.

Applying a Pencil Template
To apply a pencil templateto a pencil line:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Selecttool.

2. In the Camera or Drawing view, select the pencil line on which you want to apply a style.

3. In the Tool Properties view, select the style you want to apply from the Pencil drop-down menu.

4. In the Tool Properties view, click the Apply Pencil Template

button to apply to the style to yourselection.

To apply a thickness stencil to a pencil line or shape:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Selecttool.

2. In the Camera or Drawing view, select the pencil line or shape on which you want to apply a style.

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Drawing Using the Pencil Tool

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.

Related Topics•

Pencil Tool Options on page 74•

Shape Tool Options on page 163•

Select Tool Properties on page 130

Pencil Line Texture
You can apply a texture on a pencil line.
•

Applying Texture to a Pencil Line below•

Creating a Pencil Texture Template with the Pencil Tool on page 88•

Adding a Texture to the Preferences on page 91•

Applying a Preset Texture to a Pencil Line on page 92•

Creating a Pencil Texture Template with the Select Tool on page 89

Applying Texture to a Pencil Line
Pencil lines support texture. Before drawing, you can select or import a texture and apply it to your lines. You
can also change it afterwards using the Select tool. Textures are independent from pencil templates.

86Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

To apply a preset texture to a pencil line:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Pencil

tool.

2. In the Tool Properties view, in the Texture drop-down menu, select a texture.

3. In the Tool Properties view, the preview area displays the stroke that will be produced after you
customize the different parameters in the Tool Properties view. Click the arrow button.

In the Pencil Properties property editor displays.
4. If you want your lines to have soft tips instead of hard ends, select the Soft Tip option.
5. In the Texture section, select a texture for your pencil.
6. In the Camera or Drawing view, draw your pencil line.

87Drawing Using the Pencil Tool

Creating a Pencil Texture Template with the Pencil Tool
To create a pencil texture template with the Pencil tool:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Pencil

tool.

2. In the Tool Properties view, click the arrow button beside the stroke preview area.

3. In the Tool Properties viewPencil Properties property editor, click the New Texture

button or selectNew Texture from the Texture menu.
‣

To delete a preset style, click the Delete Texture

button.

4. Browse for your bitmap texture file.

The file must be a TGA or PSD. Your texture MUST HAVE an alpha channel.

5. Click Open.
The imported texture is saved in your scene texture list.

6. In the Tool Properties view, in the Texture drop-down menu, select your new texture template.

88Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

7. In the Pencil Properties property editor, select your new texture.

8. In the Tool Properties view, click the Rename Texture

button.

9. In the Tool Properties view, click the Texture menu and select Rename Texture.
The Rename Opacity Texture dialog box opens.

10. In the Name field, type the template name and click OK.
11. If you want your lines to have soft tips instead of hard ends, select the Soft Tip option.
12. In the Camera or Drawing view, draw your pencil lines.

Creating a Pencil Texture Template with the Select Tool
To create a pencil texture template with the Select tool:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Selecttool.

2. In the Camera view, select a pencil line on which to apply a texture.
3. In the Tool Properties viewPencil Properties property editor, click the New Texture

button or selectNew Texture from the Texture menu.
‣

To delete a preset style, click on the Delete Texture
textures stored in your preferences.

4. Browse for a bitmap texture file.

89

button. Note that you cannot delete theDrawing Using the Pencil Tool

The file must be a TGA or PSD. Your texture MUST HAVE an alpha channel.

5. Click Open.
The imported texture is saved in your scene texture list.

6. In the Tool Properties view, in the Texture drop-down menu, select your new texture template.

7. In the Pencil Properties property editor, select your new texture template.

8. In the Tool Properties view, click the Rename Texture

button.

9. In the Tool Properties view, click the Texture menu and select Rename Texture.
The Rename Opacity Texture dialog box opens.

10. In the Name field, type the template name and click OK.
11. If you want your lines to have soft tips instead of hard ends, select the Soft Tip option.
12. In the Tool Properties view, click the Apply Texture

90

button to apply to the texture to your selection.

Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Adding a Texture to the Preferences
When you import a texture in your pencil styles, it is saved in your scene. If you want to add that texture to abank that you will be able to reuse in different scenes, you can add that texture to your preferences.
To add a texture to your preferences:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Pencil

tool.

2. In the Tool Properties view, click the arrow button beside the stroke preview area.

3. In the Pencil Properties property editor, select a texture from the Textures area to add to yourpreferences.
4. Click the Copy to Preference

button.

5. In the Tool Properties view, in the Texture drop-down menu, select the texture you want to add to yourpreferences.

The selected texture appears in the Scene preview. If the texture is already saved in your preferences, youwill see the texture in both the Scene and the Pref. previews.

6. To save the texture in your preferences, click the Copy Current Texture into Preference arrow. You cansave the texture as a new one or, if there is already a texture saved in the preference, you can override it.

91Drawing Using the Pencil Tool

7. You might receive a scene from someone else or import a texture over your existing one by mistake. If you
want to override the Scene texture with the corresponding one available in your preferences, you canclick on the Copy Preference Texture into Current arrow.

Applying a Preset Texture to a Pencil LineTo apply a preset texture to a pencil line:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Selecttool.

2. In the Camera view, select a pencil line.

3. In the Tool Properties view of the Select tool, select a texture from the Texture drop-down menu.

4. In the Tool Properties view, select a texture from the Textures area to apply to the selected stroke.
5. If you want the selected lines to have soft tips instead of hard ends, select the Soft Tip option.

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6. In the Tool Properties view, click the Apply Texture

Related Topics•

Pencil Tool Options on page 74•

Select Tool Properties on page 130•

Drawing with Line Texture on page 115

93

button to apply to the texture to your selection.

More Drawing Tools

More Drawing Tools
Harmony offers a wide variety of useful tools to optimze your drawings and work more efficiently; tools such asGroup, Arrange, and the animation disk to rotate your workspace.

Related Topics•

Arrange below•

Convert Brush Strokes to Pencil Lines on the facing page•

Pencil Lines to Brush Strokes on the facing page•

Strokes to Pencil Lines on the facing page•

Optimize on page 96•

Remove Extra Strokes on page 96•

Reduce Drawing Texture Resolution on page 96•

Crop Brush Textures on page 97•

Create Contour Stroke on page 98•

Remove Contour Stroke on page 98•

Grid on page 98•

Group/Ungroup on page 99•

Hand on page 99•

Rotate View on page 99

ArrangeUse the different Arrange options to reorder drawing objects inside a single layer in the Drawing or Camera
view.
•

Bring to Front button or select Drawing > Arrange > Bring to Front or press [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [PgUp](Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + [Shift] + [PgUp] (Mac OS X).
The selected art is moved to the top.

•

Bring Forward button or select Drawing > Arrange > Bring Forward or press [Ctrl] + [PgUp](Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + [PgUp] (Mac OS X).
The selected art is moved one level higher.

•

Send Backward button or select Drawing > Arrange > Send Backward or press [Ctrl] + [PgDown](Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + [PgDown] (Mac OS X).
The selected art is moved one level lower.

•

Send to Back button or select Drawing > Arrange > Send to Back or press [Ctrl] + [Shift] +[PgDown] (Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + [Shift] + [PgDown] (Mac OS X).
The selected art is moved to the bottom.

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Convert Brush Strokes to Pencil Lines

The Brushes Strokes to Pencil Lines

operation converts the selected contour strokes into centreline pencil

strokes. This command is only available from the top menu.
To convert brush strokes to pencil lines:‣

Select Drawing > Convert > Brush Strokes to Pencil Lines or press [^].

In Harmony Paint, this option is found in the Selected menu rather than the Drawing menu.

Pencil Lines to Brush Strokes

The Pencil Lines to Brush Strokes

operation converts the selected centreline pencil strokes into contour

strokes brush lines.
To convert pencil lines to brush strokes:‣

From the top menu, select Drawing > Convert > Pencil Lines to Brush Strokes or press [&].

In Harmony Paint, this option is found in the Selected menu rather than the Drawing menu.

Strokes to Pencil Lines

The Strokes to Pencil Lines

operation converts the selected invisible line to a pencil line.

95More Drawing Tools

To convert strokes to pencil lines:‣

Select Drawing > Convert > Strokes to Pencil Lines. or press [Shift] + [F12] (Windows/Linux only).

In Harmony Paint, this option is found in the Selected menu rather than the Drawing menu.

Optimize

The Optimize command reduces the number of layers, such as overlapping brush strokes, in the selecteddrawing objects. Drawing objects will only be flattened and optimized if the selected objects will not change theappearance 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 thetransparent drawing objects will cause them to lose the effect of the layered transparent colours.
•

Use the Select tool to select the drawing objects you want to optimize.

•

Select Drawing > Optimize > Optimize.

In Harmony Paint, this option is found in the Selected menu rather than the Drawing menu.

Remove Extra Strokes
The Remove Extra Strokes option is used to remove the invisible lines in your selection.
•

Use the Select tool to select the drawing objects you want to remove invisible lines from.

•

Select Drawing > Optimize > Remove Extra Strokes.

In Harmony Paint, this option is found in the Selected menu rather than the Drawing menu.

Reduce Drawing Texture Resolution
If you import and vectorize as texture (colour) a high resolution image, the size of your drawing can be heavy.
This option is used to reduce the size and resolution of the textures in your drawing. When you import andvectorize drawings using the grey or colour preset styles, you don't have control on the size of the bitmap
texture. This tool allows you to reduce that bitmap texture.

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To reduce the drawing texture resolution:•

In the Timeline or Xsheet view, Select tool to select the drawing objects you want to reduce the texture
resolution for.remove invisible lines from.

•

Select Drawing > Optimize > Reduce Drawing Texture Resolution.

In Harmony Paint, this option is found in the Selected menu rather than the Drawing menu.

1. In the dialog box, drag the slider toward the left to reduce the texture resolution.
2. Enable the Apply to All Drawings option if you want the modification to be applied to all the drawings inyour layer.
3. Click OK.

Crop 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. 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, Toon Boom
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.
In the example shown above, a textured line is cut from a drawing and pasted into a new drawing. At firstglance, 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 thebitmap 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).
To crop the brush texture:
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the drawing you want to crop the texture for.
2. Select Drawing > Optimize > Crop Brush Textures.
In Harmony Paint, this option is found in the Selected menu rather than the Drawing menu.

97More Drawing Tools

Create Contour Stroke
The Create Contour Stroke

option is used to add a permanent invisible line around a shape that was drawn

directly in the application. This allows you to unpaint your lines with the Paint

tool but to maintain the shapeof 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.

In Harmony Paint, this option is found in the Selected menu rather than the Drawing menu.

Remove Contour Stroke
The Remove Contour Stroke option is used to remove any permanently invisible lines that were either 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.
In Harmony Paint, this option is found in the Selected menu rather than the Drawing menu.

Grid

Use the Show Grid option to display a grid in the Drawing or Camera view.

98Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide•

Select View > Grid > Show Grid. The [Ctrl] + ['] (Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + ['] (Mac OS X).

•

Select View > Grid > Square to display a standard square grid.

•

Select View > Grid > 12 Field Grid to display a 12 field size grid.

•

Select View > Grid > 16 Field Grid to display a 16 field size grid.

•

Select View > Grid > Underlay to display the grid behind the drawing elements.

•

Select View > Grid > Overlay to display the grid over the drawing elements.

Group/Ungroup
Use the Group

option to group the selected drawing objects. This can help in the selection, repositioning,re-scaling and other transformations to be applied to multiple objects of a drawing.
In Harmony Paint, this option is found in the Selected menu rather than the Drawing menu.
•

Select Edit > Group > Group or Edit > Group > Ungroup.

•

Press [Ctrl] + [G] and [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [G] (Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + [G] and [⌘ ] + [Shift] + [G] (Mac OS X).

Hand
Use the Hand tool to pan through the Drawing and Camera view.
•

In the Tools toolbar, select the Hand

tool, click in the Drawing or Camera view and drag your cursor.

•

You can also Hold down the keyboard shortcut [Spacebar], click in the Drawing or Camera view andmove your mouse in the direction you want to pan the view.

Rotate View
Use the Rotate View

tool to rotate the Drawing or Camera view, the same way as you would do with a realanimation disc.
•

Select Drawing > Tools > Rotate View.

In Harmony Paint, this option is found in the Selected menu rather than the Drawing menu.
•

Press [Ctrl] + [Alt] (Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + [Alt] (Mac OS X).

99

More Drawing Tools

This tool can also be used in the Perspective view.

Related Topics•

How to Draw on page 61

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Drawing with the Brush Tool

The Brush

tool is pressure sensitive and can create a contour shape which gives a thick and thin line effect, as

if the drawing was made with a brush.
To draw with the Brush tool:
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the cell on which you want to draw.
In Harmony Paint, select a drawing in the Drawing panel.

2. In the Tools toolbar, select the Brush

tool or press [Alt] + [B].

3. In the Colour view, click a colour swatch to select a colour.

4.

5. In the Drawing or Camera view, start drawing.
‣

Hold [Ctrl] (Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] (Mac OS X) to force a line to join the end and start of your shapewhile drawing.

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Drawing with the Brush Tool

The last colour you select while using the Brush tool is recalled the next time you select the Brush
tool.

Related Topics•

Brush Tool Options below

Brush Tool Options
When you select the Brush

tool, its properties and options appear in the Tool Properties view.

102Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

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Drawing with the Brush Tool

These are the options available for the Brush tool:•

Normal Brush Mode below•

Draw Behind on the facing page•

Repaint Brush Mode on the facing page•

Create Colour Art Automatically on the facing page•

Auto-Flatten Mode on page 106•

Respect Protected Colour on page 106•

Use Stored Colour Gradient on page 106•

Drawing Magnifier on page 106•

Brush Styles on page 107•

Dynamic Brush on page 107•

Minimum and Maximum Size on page 107•

Central Line Smoothness on page 107•

Contour Optimization on page 108•

Brush Tips on page 108•

Preview on page 108•

Line Texture on page 108

Normal Brush Mode
The Normal Brush Modecreates contour lines as you draw, adding each brush lines on top of the last ones.

Previewing the Stroke
The Preview area lets you see a preview of the stroke that will be produced after you customize the different
parameters in the Tool Properties view.

Maximum Size and Smoothing
This is where you set the minimum and maximum sizes of your drawing tool which will produce the thick and thineffect on your stroke. This works with the pressure sensitivity of a pen tablet.
‣

Maximum and Minimum Size: Defines the maximum width of the stroke.

‣

Smoothing: Defines the number of control points added to the centre line.

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Brush Presets
Brush presets are created by saving the properties of the current brush to a new preset, which you can reuse for
repeated tasks. You can create as many brush presets as you need.

Draw Behind

When the Draw Behindmode is enabled, the lines you draw will appear behind the art that already exists.

Repaint Brush Mode

The Repaint Brushis used to repaint zones that have already been painted, it will not affect empty zones or

pencil lines. It also automatically flattens each of its brush lines so it does not add new brush lines on top ofexisting ones. You can use this mode to paint tones or highlights onto your character.

Create Colour Art AutomaticallyAs you draw in the Line Art layer, the Create Colour Art Automaticallycorresponding strokes in the Colour Art layer.

105

automatically creates theDrawing with the Brush Tool

Auto-Flatten Mode
When enabled, the Auto-Flatten mode automatically flattens the new lines created with the existing artwork as
you draw in the Drawing or Camera view. Brush strokes will flatten with brush strokes and pencil lines will flatten
with pencil lines.

Respect Protected Colour
The Respect Protected Colour

option prevent the colours you marked as protected in the Colour view tobe repainted using the Repaint Brush mode or any of the painting tools.

Refer to Protecting Colours on page 250 to learn how to use the Protect Colour feature.

Use Stored Colour Gradient
The Use Stored Colour Gradientoption makes your tool use the previously stored gradient position. Thisway, every new brush line or colour fill will use the stored gradient position.

Refer to Storing Your Favourite Gradient or Texture Settings on page 245 to learn how to use theStore Colour Gradient option.

Drawing Magnifier

The Drawing Magnifier

tool allows you to magnify portions of your drawing. When this option is enabled,

you can hover over your drawings to see a close up of your lines in the Magnifier box.

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This feature only works in the Drawing view.

To adjust the settings for the Drawing Magnifier:
1. In the top menu, select Edit > Preferences > Drawing.
2. Adjust the Magnifier window Width, Height, X-Axis Offset, Y-Axis Offset, and Zoom Factor.

Brush Styles
A variety of brush styles are provided allowing you to create and save your own. This way you can create brushes
with precise sizes and parameters and save them so you can draw and design—see Brush Styles on page 109

Dynamic Brush
A Dynamic Brushcan be created to allow you to draw using patterns created from your artwork—see

Dynamic Brush on page 112

Minimum and Maximum Size
This is where you set the minimum and maximum sizes of your drawing tool which will produce the thick and thineffect on your stroke. This works with the pressure sensitivity of a pen tablet.

1. Minimum Size field: Type a value in this field to set the minimum width of the line.
2. Maximum Size field: Type a value in this field to set the maximum width of the line.
3. Up/Down arrows: Use the up and down arrows to set the minimum size value.
4. Up/Down arrows: Use the up and down arrows to set the maximum size value.

Central Line Smoothness
You can modify the Central Line Smoothnessof your line using this option. This parameter smoothes theinitial movement of your line. Increasing the value will result in a smoother line with fewer control points.

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Drawing with the Brush Tool

Contour Optimization
You can optimize the Contour Line Smoothness of you line using this option. This parameter will smooth thecontour of your line once the line has been traced, the higher the value the less control points will compose yourline.

1. Smoothness field: Type a value to set the smoothness of the line.
2. Contour Optimization field: Type a value to set the contour optimization of the line.
3. Up/Down arrows: Use the up and down arrows to set smoothness value.
4. Up/Down arrows: Use the up and down arrows to set the contour optimization value.

Brush Tips

In this drop-down menu, you can find a variety of tip shapes from round and square ones to star shaped, selectthe one you need.

Preview
The Preview field lets you see a preview of the style that will be produced after you customize the different
parameters in the Tool Properties view.

1. The Arrow button lets you show or hide the Preview area.
2. The Preview field is where the brush line is displayed.

Line Texture
In Toon Boom Harmony, you can draw with a textured line. Textured lines are a mixed bitmap image containedin a vector frame. This allows you to sketch as if you are drawing on paper.

Refer to the Drawing with Line Texture on page 115 topic to learn everything about line texture andits parameters.

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Related Topics•

How to Draw on page 61•

Drawing with the Brush Tool on page 101•

Drawing with Line Texture on page 115•

Working with TemplatesThickness Stencils

Brush Styles
You can create your own brush styles.
•

Selecting a Brush Style below•

Adding a Brush Style on the next page•

Renaming a Brush Style on page 111•

Deleting a Brush Style on page 111•

Locking a Brush Style on page 112

Selecting a Brush Style
A variety of brush styles are provided allowing you to create and save your own.This way you can create brushes
with precise sizes and parameters and save them so you can draw and design.

To select a brush style:
1. Click the arrow button to get the Brush Style drop-down menu.
2. Select a brush style from the list.

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Drawing with the Brush Tool

To select a brush style:•In the Tool Properties, select a brush style from the Brush Presets section.

Adding a Brush Style

To create a brush style:‣ Click the Add Brush Stylebutton.

The new brush style appears at the end of the Brush Styles drop-down menu list.
To create a brush preset:

Make sure your current brush has the settings you would like in your preset.

3. Do one of the following:‣

In the Brush view, click the New Brush‣

From the Brush‣In the Properties window of the tool you are using, click the

button.

menu, select New Brush Preset.

Viewing Tool Properties on page 1.
4. In the New Preset window, type a name for your new brush preset.

110button in the upper-left corner—see

Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

The new brush is added to the end of the list of brush preset.

Brush presets cannot be updated. However you can select a preset, which applies those properties
to the current brush. Then you can modify the properties, and create a new preset with the newproperties. If desired, you can delete the old preset.

Renaming a Brush Style

To rename a brush style:
1. Click the arrow button of the Brush Style drop-down menu.
2. Select the brush style you want to rename.
3. Click the Rename Brush Stylebutton.

The Rename Pen dialog box opens.

4. Type in a name for the selected brush style and click OK.
Renaming a brush can make it easier to identify and access the brushes you use most frequently.
To rename a brush:
1. In the Tool Properties view, select a brush to rename.
2. From the Brushmenu, select Rename Brush.

3. Type in a new name for the brush.

Deleting a Brush Style
To delete a brush style:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Brush tool.
2. In the Tool Properties view, in the Brush Style drop-down menu, select the brush style you want to delete
from the Brush Style list.
3. Click the Delete Brush Stylebutton.

To delete a brush preset:
1. Select the brush preset you want to delete.
2. Do one of the following:111

Drawing with the Brush Tool‣

In the Brush Preset view, click the Delete Brush‣

From the Brush Preset

button.

menu , select Delete Brush.

Locking a Brush Style
To avoid modifying your brush style inadvertently, you can lock them by clicking the Lock Brush Settings
button.

Related Topics•

Brush Tool Options on page 102

Dynamic Brush
A Dynamic Brushcan be created to allow you to draw using patterns created from your artwork. Create a

new Dynamic Brush to copy a pattern you have drawn to reproduce it quickly. You can create dynamic brushed
using either a single pattern or a multiple one that will automatically switch through the patterns as you draw.
To create a new dynamic brush:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select a drawing tool.
2. In the Drawing or Camera view, draw the pattern you want to use as your Dynamic Brush stamp.

3. In the Tools toolbar, click the Selecttool and select the parts of the drawing you want to repeat.

4. In the Tools toolbar, select the Brushtool.

5. In the Tool Properties view, click the Add Dynamic Brushbutton to add your selection as a new

dynamic brush preset.
6. Click the Rename Brush Stylebutton.From the Brush menu, select Rename Brush.

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

The Rename Pencil Rename Preset dialog box opens.
7. Type in a name for the new dynamic brush and click OK.
8. In the Camera or Drawing view, start drawing with your dynamic brush to quickly repeat a pattern.

9. To adjust the scale of your pattern to make it bigger or smaller as you stamp it, you can change the Scalevalue in the Tool Properties view.

To create a dynamic brush with multiple drawings:
1. In the Timeline view, click the Add Drawing Layers

button to create as many layers as patterns you

want in your dynamic brush. It is recommended to rename your layers.

2. In the Camera view, draw your individual pattern on a separated layer.

3. In the Tools toolbar, select the Selecttool.

4. In the Camera view, select all the drawings you want to add to your new dynamic brush.

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Drawing with the Brush Tool

5. In the Tools toolbar, select the Brush

tool.

6. Click the Add Dynamic Brushbutton to add your selection as a new Dynamic Brush preset.

7. Click the Rename Brush Stylebutton.From the Brush menu, select Rename Brush.

The Rename Pencil Rename Preset dialog box opens.
8. Type in a name for the new dynamic brush and click OK.
9. In the Camera or Drawing view, start drawing with your dynamic brush to quickly repeat a pattern. Whenyou use this brush, you will cycle through the drawings.

Related Topics•

Brush Tool Options on page 102

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Drawing with Line Texture

In Toon Boom Harmony, you can use the Brush

tool to draw with bitmap textured lines.

In the Brush Tool Properties view, you will find a series of default textured brushes but you can also create yourown collection by importing either PSD or TGA files in the Pen list.

The textured brush only work with the Brush tool. It does not work with the Pencil, Line, Ellipse,
Polyline or Rectangle tools.

Related Topics•

How to Draw with Texture below•

Adjusting the Line Texture Parameters on page 118•

Creating Texture Brushes on page 120•

Erasing Textured Lines on page 122•

Hiding the Line Texture on page 124•

Adjusting the Line Texture Opacity on page 125

How to Draw with Texture
To draw with textured lines, use the Brush tool and the correct pen in the list. You can also draw with pencil line
texture—see Pencil Line Texture on page 86
To draw with textured lines:
1. In the Tool toolbar, select the Brush

tool or press [Alt] + [B].

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Drawing with Line Texture

2. In the Tool Properties view, select a textured brush from the Pen drop-down list.

3. In the Camera or Drawing view, start drawing.

To draw with textured lines:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Brush

tool or press [Alt]+[B].

2. In the Tool Properties view, select a brush and click the Arrow button to open the Brush Properties view.

3. In the Texture section, select the Select Texture option.

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4. Set the following parameters:‣

Hardness: The hardness value corresponds to the smoothness of the line edge. The lower the value,
the more blurry and smooth the line edge will be. The higher the value, the sharper the line edge willbe.

‣

Minimum Opacity: This value corresponds to the transparency of the brush when the pressure is very
light. Values closer to 0 produce a more transparent line.

.
‣

Maximum Opacity: This value corresponds to the transparency of the brush when the pressure isheavy. Values closer to 1 produce a more opaque line.

‣

Select Texture: Lets you use and select a texture for your brush. The thumbnail displays the texture
currently in use. You can also browse for a texture file to import. Browsing for a texture file in a brushalready using texture will replace the file currently in use, although it will not replace the texture in thelines already drawn.

117

Drawing with Line Texture‣

Texture Scale: Changes the size of the texture in the lines you draw. If you are using a plaid texture,
the squares will be larger if you increase the value and smaller if you decrease it.

5. In the Camera or Drawing view, start drawing.

Related Topics•

Drawing with the Brush Tool on page 101•

Pencil Line Texture on page 86

Adjusting the Line Texture Parameters
In the Brush Tool Properties view, there are a number of parameters you can use to adjust the look and feel ofyour textured brush.

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

1. Enable Texture: When selected, allows your brush to draw with texture. When deselected, the brush will
trace fully vector based lines.
2. Minimum Opacity: This value corresponds to the opacity of the brush when the pressure is very light. The
closer to zero the value is, the more transparent the line will be.

.
3. Maximum Opacity: This value corresponds to the opacity of the brush when the pressure is heavy. The closer
to 1 the value is the more opaque the line will be.
4. Hardness: The hardness value corresponds to the smoothness of the line edge. The lower the value, the moreblurry and smooth the line edge will be. The higher the value, the sharper the line edge will be.

5. Texture File: The Texture File button displays the texture currently in use or allows you to browse for a
texture file to import. Browsing for a texture file in a brush already using texture will replace the file currently inuse, although it will not replace the texture in the lines already drawn.

6. Texture Scale: This value changes the size of the texture file in the line. If you are using a plaid texture, thesquares will be larger if you increase the value and smaller if you decrease it.

119Drawing with Line Texture

Related Topics•

Drawing with Line Texture on page 115

Creating Texture Brushes
To create your own texture brush, you must prepare your texture file in a third-party software, such as Adobe
Photoshop. If your image has transparency in it, it will be supported. The texture file must be either a PSD or
TGA file.

It is recommended that you maintain your texture resolution between 100 x 100 pixels and 400 x
400 pixels.

To create your own texture brush:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Brush

tool or press [Alt] + [B].

2. In the Tool Properties view, click the New Brushbutton to add a new brush to your list.

In the Texture section, select the Enable Texture option.

3. Click the Texture File button and browse for your bitmap texture file.

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

The image colour will not be used, only the pattern in it.

4. In the Camera view, draw some lines and adjust the parameters to fit the style you are looking for. Note:your pen list will be automatically saved.
To create your own texture brush, you must prepare your tiled texture file in a third-party software, such as
Adobe Photoshop. If your image has transparency in it, it will be supported. The texture file must be either a.PSD or .TGA file.

It is recommended that you maintain your texture resolution between 100 x 100 pixels and 400 x
400 pixels.

To create a texture brush:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Brush

tool or press [Alt]+[B].

2. In the Texture section, do one of the following:‣

On a bitmap layer, select the Textured Tip option and then select the Select Texture option.

‣

On a vector layer, select the Select Texture option.

3. In the Texture section, select the Select Texture option.
4. Click the Folder button and browse for a bitmap texture file.

5. In the Tool Properties view, click the New Brushbutton to add a new brush to your list.

The colour of your texture will not be used. Instead, the dark and light areas will be used todetermine the alpha in your texture. The current colour swatch will be used in conjunction with thepattern and alpha in your texture.

6. In the StageCamera or Drawing view, draw some lines and adjust the parameters to fit the style you arelooking for.

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Drawing with Line Texture

Related Topics•

Drawing with Line Texture on page 115

Erasing Textured Lines
When you use the Eraser tool to erase a portion of a textured line, the vector frame is cut straight and you lose
the feather created while drawing with the Brush tool. In Toon Boom Harmony, a special option in the Eraser
tool lets you create a soft edge on your textured lines. You can also cut or keep the vector frame as is.
To erase textured lines:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Eraser

tool, press [Alt] + [E].

2. In the Tool Properties view, select the Use Blur Parameters option.

3. While erasing, select the Keep Vectors option to keep your vector frames and not cut them.

4. Adjust Minimum Opacity and Maximum Opacity parameters of the eraser to change the transparency ofthe erasing trail as you press harder on the pen tablet.

5. Adjust the Hardness and Eraser Saturation parameters of the eraser to control the amount ofsmoothness and the size of the feather edge.

6. In the Camera or Drawing view, erase your textures lines.

7. In the Tool Properties view, click the arrow button.

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

The Brush Properties panel opens.

8. Adjust the following:‣

Maximum/Minimum Size: Defines the minimum and maximum width of the stroke.

‣

Smoothing: Defines the number of control points added to the centre line.

‣

Contour Smoothing: Defines the number of control points added to the contour boundaries (aroundthe line). Lower values mean that the line will appear as you draw it (with more control points added
along the centre line). Higher values mean that the line will be smoothed out (removing control points
from the centre line).

‣

Tip Shape: Lets you select a shape for the tip of the eraser. There are a variety of tips to choose from:round, square, oval, star-shaped and more.

‣

Soft Tip: Gives the tip of your stroke a soft edge.

‣

Keep Vectors: Keeps your vector frames and does not cut them.

‣

Hardness: The hardness value corresponds to the smoothness of the line edge. The lower the value,
the more blurry and smooth the line edge will be. The higher the value, the sharper the line edge will
be.

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Drawing with Line Texture‣

Saturation: Corresponds to the intensity of line color.

‣

Maximum Opacity: Corresponds to the transparency of the brush when the pressure is heavy. Values
closer to 1 produce a more opaque line.

‣

Minimum Opacity: Corresponds to the transparency of the brush when the pressure is very light.
Values closer to 0 produce a more transparent line.

9. In the Camera or Drawing view, erase your textures lines.

Related Topics•

Drawing with Line Texture on page 115

Hiding the Line Texture

Sometimes you need to hide the line texture to see the complete vector frame around your lines. This is useful tohelp you see any dirt floating around your drawing.

To hide the line texture, you must deselect the Real-Time Antialiasing option. In the top menu,
select Edit > Preferences (Windows/Linux) or Stage > Preferences (Mac OS X) and in the OpenGLtab, deselect the Enable option in the Real-Time Antialiasing section. The default shortcut is [Ctrl] +[Alt] + [A] (Windows/Linux) or [⌘] + [Alt] + [A] (Mac OS X).

To hide the line texture in the Camera view, you must enable the Show Drawing on Top option. In
the top menu, select View > Show > Current Drawing on Top. Refer to the Show Current Drawing
on Top on page 1 section to learn more about this option.

To hide the line texture:
1. Make sure the real-time antialiasing is deselected. If you are in the Camera view, select the Show Current
Drawing on Top option.

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2. In the Camera or Drawing View

menu, select View > Show > Hide Line Texture or press [Ctrl] +[Shift] + [H] (Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + [Shift] + [H] (Mac OS X).

Related Topics•

Drawing with Line Texture on page 115

Adjusting the Line Texture Opacity

At some point, you may want to modify the look of a textured drawing. Maybe you find that your line is toosmooth or too faint. You can adjust those parameters by using the Adjust Line Texture Opacity command.

To adjust the line texture, you must deselect the Real-Time Antialiasing option. In the top menu,
select Edit > Preferences (Windows/Linux) or Stage > Preferences (Mac OS X) and in the OpenGLtab, deselect the Enable option in the Real-Time Antialiasing section. The default shortcut is [Ctrl] +[Alt] + [A] (Windows/Linux) or [⌘] + [Alt] + [A] (Mac OS X).

To be able to adjust the line texture in the Camera view, you must select the Show Drawing on Top
option. In the top menu, select View > Show > Current Drawing on Top.
Refer to the Show Current Drawing on Top on page 1 section to learn more about this option.

To adjust the line texture opacity:
1. Make sure that real-time antialiasing is deselected. If you are in Camera view, select the Show Current
Drawing on Top option.
2. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the drawing whose 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.

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4. Drag the sliders toward the middle to increase the contrast and opacity of the textured lines.
5. If you want to apply the changes to all drawings exposed on the layer, select the Apply to All Drawings
option and click OK.

Related Topics•

Drawing with Line Texture on page 115

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Selecting Drawing Objects

The Selecttool is used to select drawing strokes in both the Drawing and Camera views, and apply basic

transformations, such as repositioning, rotating, scaling or skewing, using the different handles of the boundingbox.
To select with the Select tool:
1. In the Timeline view, select the cell on which you want to select drawing objects.
In Harmony Paint, select a drawing in the Drawing panel.
2. In the Tools toolbar, select the Selecttool or press [Alt] + [S].

3. In the Camera or Drawing view, select the drawing objects.
‣

You can select all the drawing objects in a drawing by using the Select All command or press [Ctrl] +[A] (Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + [A] (Mac OS X).

4. To deform or reposition a selection:‣

To reposition, click on the selected drawing object and drag the selection to a new area.

‣

To rotate, grab the selection box handle and rotate it.

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Inverting a Selection‣

To scale, pull or push either on the top, side, bottom or corner control point. Hold down [Shift] to lockthe selection’s ratio.

‣

To skew, drag sideways or up and down the sides or top and bottom segments, between the control
points.

Inverting a Selection
Not available in Harmony Paint.
Sometimes, when you want to select multiple objects, while leaving one unselected, it can be handy to select only
the stroke, or line, that you do not want included in your selection. Then, you can invert that selection so thateverything else becomes selected. This can be quite a time saver.
To invert a selection:
1. From the top menu, select Edit > Invert Selection or press [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [I] (Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] +[Shift] + [I] (Mac OS X).

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You can also find the Invert Selection option in the Camera View or Drawing View menu byselecting Edit > Invert Selection.

Related Topics•

Repositioning a Pivot Point below•

Selection on Single or Multiple Layers on the next page•

Select Tool Properties on the next page

Repositioning a Pivot Point
Some of the transformations such as rotation, scale, skew and flip, are done relative to the position of the pivot
point. You can temporarily reposition this pivot point for a transformation using the Selecttool.
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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Related Topics•

Selecting Drawing Objects on page 127•

Select Tool Properties below

Selection on Single or Multiple Layers

By default, when you draw a selection box in the Camera view, the Select tool will select all the drawing strokes
and symbols in its path. If you would prefer the Select tool to only select the current drawing and not the othervisible drawings, you can enable the Select Tool Works on Single Drawing preference.
To enable the Select Tool Works on Single Drawing preference:
1. In the top menu, select Edit > Preferences (Windows/Linux) or Stage > Preferences (Mac OS X).
The Preferences dialog box opens.
2. In the Camera tab, go to the Tools section and select the Select Tool Works on Single Drawing
preference and click OK.
3. In the Tools toolbar, select the Selecttool or select [Alt] + [S].

4. In the Camera view, select your drawing.

Related Topics•

Selecting Drawing Objects on page 127•

Select Tool Properties below

Select Tool Properties
When you choose the Selecttool, its properties and options appear in the Tool Properties view.

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Related Topics•

Manipulators on the facing page•

Lasso and Marquee on the facing page•

Snap Options on the facing page•

Permanent Selection on page 134•

Apply to All Drawings in Layer on page 135•

Apply to All Visible Drawings on page 135•

Apply to Line and Colour Art on page 135•

Select by Colour on page 136•

Flip Horizontal and Vertical on page 136•

Rotate 90 Degrees CW and CCW on page 137•

Pencil to Brush on page 137•

Smooth on page 137•

Flatten on page 138•

Store Colour Gradient on page 138•

Merge Pencil Lines on page 138•

Reverse Pencil Thickness on page 139

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Create Colour Art from Line Art on page 139•

Distribute to Layers on page 140•

Width and Height on page 140•

Offset X and Y on page 141•

Angle on page 141•

Adjusting the Pencil Line Thickness on page 141•

Adjusting the Pencil Line Style on page 141•

Pencil Stencils on page 142•

Adding Texture to a Pencil Line on page 142•

Adjusting the Text Selection on page 142

Manipulators
Choose between the Select tool and the Transform tool. This is a fast way to switch between the Select tooland Transform tool selection mode.

Lasso and Marquee
Choose between the Lasso•and Marquee

options to change the selection style of the tool.

Click and hold [Alt] to temporarily switch from the current mode to the other.

Snap Options
You can enable different snapping modes to help you when repositioning your drawings using the Select tool.
•

Snap to Contour: Snaps your selection or point to any line you position it on. As soon as you move it
close enough to another line, your point or selection will snap to it.

•

Snap and Align: Snaps the selected anchor point to any existing line while displaying temporary
rulers as a guide that you can also snap your anchor point to.

•Snap to Grid: Snaps your selection following the currently enabled grid.

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To snap to grid:•

Select View > Grid > Show Grid to display the grid in the Camera or Drawing view or press [Ctrl] + ['](Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + ['] (Mac OS X).

•

Select View > Grid > Square Grid, 12 Field Grid or 16 Field Grid for your current needs.

1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Contour Editor

tool or press [Alt] + [Q].

2. In the Contour Editor Tool Properties view, click the Snap to Gridbutton.

3. In the Camera or Drawing view, click on an anchor point you want to snap following the grid, and drag itto the desired position and release.

Refer to the Grid on page 202 topic to learn more about the Grid feature.

Permanent Selection

The Permanent Selection

option is used to maintain a selection over multiple drawings. Once this option isenabled, the selection zone made using the Select tool will remain as you navigate through drawings from alayer and drawings from other drawing layers. This option can be used to simultaneously delete artwork insideor outside of the selection on several drawings when combined with the Apply to Multiple Drawings option.

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Apply to All Drawings in Layer

The Apply to All Drawings in Layer

option is used to perform an action on all the drawings contained in alayer. For example, you could enable the option to paint a section on all the drawings simultaneously. The Apply
Tool to All Drawings option must be activated before performing the action and will stay enabled only for the
next action.

Apply to All Visible Drawings

The Apply to All Visible Drawings

option is used to perform an action on all the visible drawings in the

Camera view. This option is not available in the Drawing view.

Apply to Line and Colour Art
The Apply to Line and Colour Art

option uses the concept of Line Art and Colour Art layers. Use this option

to apply an action such as selecting or resizing a drawing on both Line Art and Colour Art layers, as well as theOverlay and Underlay layers.

To access the Apply to Line and Colour Art option, you must be in the Advanced Art mode—see
Drawing View on page 65.

135Inverting a Selection

Select by Colour

The Select by Colour mode lets you select all the zones in your drawing painted with the same colour.

Only the zones painted with the SAME colour swatch will be selected. If another zone is coloured
with the exact same RGB value (same colour), but not painted with the same colour swatch, it will not
be selected.

To select areas by colour:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Selecttool or press [Alt] + [S].

2. In the Tool Properties view, click the Select by Colour

button.

3. In the view, click on any zone in your drawing.
All zones of the same colour are selected.
4. Click the Select tool again to return to the regular Select mode.

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The Flip Horizontal

and Flip Verticaloperations flip the current selection horizontally or vertically.

From the top menu, select Drawing > Transform > Flip Horizontal and Flip Vertical.

Rotate 90 Degrees CW and CCW

The Rotate 90 Degrees CW

and Rotate 90 Degrees CCW

operations rotate the current selection 90

degrees clockwise or counter-clockwise.
From the top menu, select Drawing > Transform > Rotate 90 Degrees CW and Rotate 90 Degrees CCW.
Or press [Ctrl] + [7] and [Ctrl] + [9] (Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + [7] and [⌘ ] + [9] (Mac OS X).

Pencil to BrushThe Pencil to Brush

operation converts the selected centreline pencil strokes into contour strokes brushlines.
From the top menu, select Drawing > Convert > Pencil Lines to Brush or press [&].

SmoothThe Smooth

operation lets you smooth out selected drawing strokes and remove extra points. You can also

access this feature through the top menu, by selecting Drawing > Optimize > Smooth or press [Alt] + [Shift] +
[S].

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Flatten

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 a 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 repainting the lines or modifying their shape, itwill be easier if they are flattened.
You can also access this feature through the top menu, by selecting Drawing > Optimize > Flatten. The [Alt] +[Shift] + [F].

Store Colour Gradient
Use the Store Colour Gradient

operation to record the selected gradient’s position. This reuses the storedposition of the gradient when drawing new brush lines or painting colour zones. Enable the Use Stored Colour
Gradient
option in the Paint or Brush Tool Properties view to do this.

Refer to Drawing with the Brush Tool on page 101 or Painting Using the Paint Tool on page 223 tolearn how to use the Use Stored Colour Gradient option.

Merge Pencil Lines

Pencil lines are central vector lines and it might be difficult to match pencil line’s tips properly to align them andmake it look like it is one single line. With the Select tool, you can select several pencil lines and merge them as
one single object using the Merge Pencil Lines
option. It will take your lines and adjust the ends to form one
single line.

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Points have to be close enough to be merge. If there is a big gap between the lines, they will not bemerged.

Reverse Pencil Thickness

The Reverse Pencil Thickness

option will invert the thick and thin section on a selected pencil line. This

option will take the thickest size on the line and apply it to the thinnest, and it will apply the thinnest to thethickest.

Create Colour Art from Line Art
You can configure the Create Colour Art from Line Art option to suit your requirements.

To access this option, you must be in the Advanced Art mode—see Drawing View on page 65.

To configure the Create Colour Art from Line Art option:
1. In the Select tool Tool Properties view, [Shift] + click the Create Colour Art from Line Art

button.

The Configure Line Art to Colour Art dialog box opens.

‣

Use rendered version of the drawing: This option will render the drawing and vectorize it tocalculate the position of the centreline that will produce the colour art stroke.

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Inverting a Selection‣

Maximum Resolution for rendered image: The size of the rendered image.

‣Threshold for rendered image: The value of grey processed to create the rendered vectorized arts.

‣

Fitting error for rendered beziers: This value represents how precise the fitting of the colour art zone
in relation to the line art will be.

‣

Source layer: Select the layer (Line Art, Colour Art, Underlay or Overlay) you want the colour art tobe created from.

‣

Destination layer: Select the layer (Line Art, Colour Art, Underlay or Overlay) you want the colour
art to be created on.

‣

Clear Destination Art Layer First: Enable this option if you already have artwork on the destination
layer and you want the content to be deleted before the colour art is added into it.

‣

Perform Line Art to Colour Art Operation Immediately: Enable this option to perform the Create
Colour Art from Line Art command when you click OK.

Refer to Line Art and Colour Art Layers on page 253 to learn more about the Line Art and Colour
Art concept.

Distribute to Layers
The Distribute to Layers

option is used to separate the selected art strokes and send them to new drawing

layers. In the Camera view, once you have drawn your artwork, you can select the strokes you want to distributeusing the Selecttool and click on the Distribute to Layerbutton, you can also select Drawing >Distribute to Layer. It will automatically take every stroke from the drawing selection made in the Camera viewand separate them into a different layer for each. If an artwork is composed of several strokes, you must groupthem using Edit > Group > Group before using the Distribute to Layer option. This option cannot be done fromthe Drawing view.

Refer to Break Down: Distribute to Layers to learn more about the Distribute to Layer option.

Width and Height
Use the Width and Height operation fields to enter specific values to resize the selected shape with precision.

1. Width: Type a width value in this field to resize the width of your selection.
2. Height: Type a height value in this field to resize the height of your selection.
3. Up/Down arrows: Use the up and down arrows to modify the value contained in either the Width or
Height value field.

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4. Lock icon: Click on the lock icon to lock or unlock the ratio between the width and height values.

Offset X and Y
Use the Offset X and Offset Y operation fields to enter specific values and precisely reposition the selectedshape.

1. X: Type an offset value in this field to reposition your selection along the X-axis.
2. Y: Type an offset value in this field to reposition your selection along the Y-axis.
3. Up/Down arrows: Use the up and down arrows to modify the value contained in either the X or Y value
field.

Angle
Use the Angle operation fields to enter specific values and accurately rotate the selected shape.

1. Angle: Type a degree value in this field to rotate your selection.
2. Up/Down arrows: Use the up and down arrows to modify the value contained in the Angle value field.

Adjusting the Pencil Line Thickness
Use the Adjusting the Pencil Line Thickness operation field to resize the selected centreline strokes. This
operation is not permitted on contour line shapes, such as brush strokes or shape fills.

1. Minimum Size: Type a value in this field to set the minimum thickness of the selected centreline stroke.
2. Maximum Size: Type a value in this field to set the maximum thickness of the selected centreline stroke.
3. Up/Down arrows: Use the up and down arrows to modify the value contained in the Thickness value field.
4. Lock Proportions: Enable the Lock option for the minimum and maximum size to increase and decrease inproportion.

Adjusting the Pencil Line Style

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Inverting a Selection

You can adjust the start, end, and joint style of a selected pencil line.
•

Start: Lets you select the style of the start tip, which is the first tip you drew. You can choose between
Round or Flat style.

•

End: Lets you select the style of the end tip, which is the last tip you drew. You can choose between
Round or Flat style.

•

Join: Lets you select the joint style. The joints are where the line curves abruptly. You could also define theJoin style as the corner style. You can choose between Round, Mitre and Bevel style.

Pencil Stencils

Toon Boom Harmony gives you the flexibility to change the style and thickness of your pencil lines even after they
are drawn. You can apply preset pencil stencils or create your own.

Refer to Working with TemplatesThickness Stencils on page 81, Creating a Pencil
TemplateThickness Stencil with the Select Tool on page 83 and Working with TemplatesThickness
Stencils on page 81.

Adding Texture to a Pencil Line
Pencil lines support texture. Once a pencil line is drawn, you can apply a preset texture or load your own.
Textures are independent from pencil stencils.

Refer to Pencil Line Texture on page 86, Applying a Preset Texture to a Pencil Line on page 92 andCreating a Pencil Texture Template with the Select Tool on page 89.

Adjusting the Text Selection
When you select text with the Select tool, the tool properites will display the Text tool options on the bottom of
the view. You can also press [Alt] + [9] to display only the Text properties in the Tool Propertie view.

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Refer to Formatting the Text on page 192 to learn more about the Text tool Tool Properties.

Related Topics•

Drawing Using the Pencil Tool on page 73•

Pencil Tool Options on page 74•

Working with TemplatesThickness Stencils on page 81•

Pencil Line Texture on page 86

143Erasing Parts of a Drawing

Erasing Parts of a Drawing

The Eraser tool is pressure sensitive, like the Brush tool, giving you more precision when erasing parts of adrawing.
To erase with the Eraser tool:
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the cell where you want to erase.
In Harmony Paint, select a drawing in the Drawing panel.

2. In the Tools toolbar, select the Eraser

tool or press [Alt] + [E].

3. In the Camera or Drawing view, start erasing.

You can also use the Select tool to select drawing objects and delete them instead of erasing.

Related Topics•

Eraser Tool Options below•

Selecting Drawing Objects on page 127

Eraser Tool Options
When you select the Eraser

tool, its properties and options appear in the Tool Properties view.

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Related Topics•

Tip Style on the next page•

Minimum and Maximum Size on the next page•

Central Line Smoothness on the next page•

Contour Optimization on the next page•

Eraser Tips on page 147•

Preview on page 147•

Eraser Styles on page 148•

Eraser Blur Parameters on page 148

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Erasing Parts of a Drawing

Tip Style

The Tip Style option affects the erased tip of pencil lines made with the Pencil, Ellipse, Rectangle, Line, and Polyline tools.

Minimum and Maximum Size
This is where you set the minimum and maximum sizes of your drawing tool which will produce the thick and thineffect on your stroke. This works with the pressure sensitivity of a pen tablet.

1. Minimum Size field: Type a value in this field to set the minimum width of the line.
2. Maximum Size field: Type a value in this field to set the maximum width of the line.
3. Up/Down arrows: Use the up and down arrows to set the minimum size value.
4. Up/Down arrows: Use the up and down arrows to set the maximum size value.

Central Line Smoothness
You can modify the Central Line Smoothnessof your line using this option. This parameter smoothes theinitial movement of your line. Increasing the value will result in a smoother line with fewer control points.

Contour Optimization
You can optimize the Contour Line Smoothness of you line using this option. This parameter will smooth thecontour of your line once the line has been traced, the higher the value the less control points will compose your
line.

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1. Smoothness field: Type a value to set the smoothness of the line.
2. Contour Optimization field: Type a value to set the contour optimization of the line.
3. Up/Down arrows: Use the up and down arrows to set smoothness value.
4. Up/Down arrows: Use the up and down arrows to set the contour optimization value.

Eraser Tips

In this drop-down menu, you can find a variety of tip shapes from round and square ones to star shaped, selectthe one you need.

Preview
The Preview field lets you see a preview of the style that will be produced after you customize the different
parameters in the Tool Properties view.

1. The Arrow button lets you show or hide the Preview area.
2. The Preview field is where the brush line is displayed.

Previewing the Stroke
The Preview area lets you see a preview of the stroke that will be produced after you customize the different
parameters in the Tool Properties view.

Maximum Size and Smoothing
This is where you set the minimum and maximum sizes of your drawing tool which will produce the thick and thineffect on your stroke. This works with the pressure sensitivity of a pen tablet.
‣

Maximum/Minimum Size: Defines the minimum and maximum width of the stroke.

‣

Smoothing: Defines the number of control points added to the centre line.

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Erasing Parts of a Drawing‣

Contour Smoothing: Defines the number of control points added to the contour boundaries (aroundthe line). Lower values mean that the line will appear as you draw it (with more control points added
along the centre line). Higher values mean that the line will be smoothed out (removing control points
from the centre line).

‣

Tip Shape: Lets you select a shape for the tip of the eraser. There are a variety of tips to choose from:round, square, oval, star-shaped and more.

‣

Soft Tip: Gives the tip of your stroke a soft edge.

‣

Keep Vectors: Keeps your vector frames and does not cut them.

‣

Hardness: The hardness value corresponds to the smoothness of the line edge. The lower the value,
the more blurry and smooth the line edge will be. The higher the value, the sharper the line edge willbe.

‣

Saturation: Corresponds to the intensity of line color.

‣

Maximum Opacity: Corresponds to the transparency of the brush when the pressure is heavy. Values
closer to 1 produce a more opaque line.

‣

Minimum Opacity: Corresponds to the transparency of the brush when the pressure is very light.
Values closer to 0 produce a more transparent line.

Brush Presets
Brush presets are created by saving the properties of the current brush to a new preset, which you can reuse for
repeated tasks. You can create as many brush presets as you need.

Eraser Styles
The Eraser tool uses the same Brush Styles as the Brush tool. Toon Boom Harmony provides a variety of eraser
styles and allows you to create and save your own. It is a good idea to create and save eraser brushes with
precise sizes and parameters to draw and design—see Brush Styles on page 109

Eraser Blur Parameters
Since Toon Boom Harmony lets you draw with textured lines and create feathered edges on them, you may also
want to erase with smooth edges instead of the solid vector based eraser. The Eraser Blur Parameters allow you
to adjust the smoothness of your eraser for the textured lines—see Erasing Textured Lines on page 122

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Reshaping a Drawing Using the Contour
Editor Tool

When drawing on vector layers, the Contour Editor Tool is powerful. It allows you to add, remove or modify
points on a vector line and to control them with Bezier handles. It is used to correct line shapes and to modify asingle part of a colour zone. If a line is too thin or has a gap in it, you can modify and correct it with the Contour
Editor tool. This tool can also be used to create elaborate shapes.
The Contour Editor tool is powerful, it allows you to add, remove or modify points on a vector line and tocontrol them with Bezier handles. It is used to correct line shapes and to modify a single part of a colour zone. If aline is too thin or has a gap in it, you can modify and correct it with the Contour Editor tool. This tool can also be
used to create elaborate shapes.
The Contour Editor displays vector points around a shape and the central vector points in a pencil line. Pulling or
pushing on these points adjusts the brush’s line thickness. Points can be selected and deleted. Each point has
two Bezier handles used to correct the curves between two points. Shapes can be modified by pulling andpushing directly on the segment between the points. You can use it to perfect a central shape pencil line, acontour shape brush line or even create an elaborate shape from a basic ellipse, or square.
To reshape with the Contour Editor tool:
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the cell in which you want to draw.In the Timeline or Thumbnails
view, select the cell and layer into which you want to draw.
In Harmony Paint, select a drawing in the Drawing panel.
2. In the Tools toolbar, select a shapetool.

3. In the Tool Properties view, click the Ellipse

button, click the Auto Fillsize to 0.
4. In the Drawing or Camera view, draw a circle.
5. In the Stage view, draw a circle.

149

button and set the pencil

Reshaping a Drawing Using the Contour Editor Tool

6. In the Tools toolbar, select the Contour Editor

tool.

7. In the Drawing or Camera view, click the line to reshape it.
8. In the Stage view, click the line to reshape it.

9. Select one or several points by clicking on them or circling around.

10. Press [Delete] to delete a selected point.
Press [Ctrl] (Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] (Mac OS X)and click on the contour to add a new point to adjust thecontour.
11. To modify the shape, you can:‣Pull on the Bezier handle. Both point’s handles will move as one.

‣

Hold down the [Alt] key and pull on one of the Bézier handles. The point’s handle will moveindependently from the other one.

‣

Move the selected points to a new area.

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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.

‣

If an anchor point has no visible Bezier, hold down the [Alt] key to get them.

To add control points, press [Ctrl] (Windows/Linux) or [⌘] (Mac OS X) and click the line.
To remove control points, select the control point and press [Delete].

Related Topics•

Contour Editor Tool Properties below

Contour Editor Tool Properties
When you select the Contour Editor

tool, its properties and options appear in the Tool Properties view.

These are the options available for the Contour Editor tool:•

Lasso and Marquee on the next page•

Show Contour Editor Controls on the next page•

Apply to Line and Colour Art on the next page•

Snap to Contour on the next page•

Snap and Align on page 153•

Smooth Selection on page 154

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Reshaping a Drawing Using the Contour Editor Tool

Lasso and Marquee
Choose between the Lasso•and Marquee

options to change the selection style of the tool.

Click and hold [Alt] to temporarily switch from the current mode to the other.

Show Contour Editor Controls

Use the Show Contour Editor Controls

option to show the contour editor controls. You can use thesecontrols to scale, reposition and rotate the selected anchor points.

Apply to Line and Colour Art
The Apply to Line and Colour Art

option uses the concept of Line Art and Colour Art layers. Use this option

to apply an action such as selecting or resizing a drawing on both Line Art and Colour Art layers, as well as theOverlay and Underlay layers.

To access this option, you must be in the Advanced Art mode—see Drawing View on page 65.

Snap to Contour

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The Snap to Contour

option will snap the selected anchor point to any line you position it on.

To snap two shapes together:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Contour Editor

tool or press [Alt] + [Q].

2. In the Tool Properties view, click the Snap to Contour

button.

3. In the Camera or Drawing view, click on an anchor point you want to snap to the other shape, drag it on
top of the contour line area and release it.

Snap and Align

The Snap and Alignoption lets you snap the selected anchor point to any existing line while displaying

temporary rulers as a guide that you can also snap your anchor point to.
To snap and align:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Contour Editor

tool or press [Alt] + [Q].

2. In the Tool Properties view, click the Snap and Alignbutton.

3. In the Camera or Drawing view, click on an anchor point you want to snap, drag it until a ruler is displayed,
position it on the ruler or on the contour line and release.

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Reshaping a Drawing Using the Contour Editor Tool

Smooth Selection

The Smooth

operation lets you smooth out selected drawing strokes and remove extra points. You can also

access this feature through the top menu, by selecting Drawing > Optimize > Smooth or press [Alt] + [Shift] +[S].

Related Topics•

Reshaping a Drawing Using the Contour Editor Tool on page 149

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Reshaping Pencil Lines with the Pencil Editor
Tool

The Pencil Editor

tool is used to modify the thick and thin contour of a pencil line. A pencil line is a central vec-

tor shape. The shape control points are located all along the central spine allowing to adjust the stroke curveand position. When using the Contour Editor tool, you will be able to reposition the spine of the stroke. Whenusing the Pencil Editor tool, you will be able to adjust the thick and thin areas of the line.

To use the Pencil Editor tool:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Pencil Editor

tool located in the Contour Editor drop-down menu orpress [Alt] + [W].
2. In the Camera or Drawing view, select a pencil line and click the line to reshape it.

3. Select one or several points by clicking them or circling around.

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Reshaping Pencil Lines with the Pencil Editor Tool

4. Press [Delete] to delete a selected point.
5. Press [Ctrl] (Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] (Mac OS X) and click the central spine to add a set of points to adjust
the contour.
6. To modify the shape, you can:‣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 line from both side at the same
time.

‣

Pull on the Bezier handle. Both points’ handles will move as one.

‣

Hold [Alt] down and pull on one of the Bezier handles. The point’s handle will move independently
from the other one.

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Pull directly on the line in-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.

‣

If an anchor point has no visible Bezier, hold down the [Alt] key to get them.

Related Topics•

Pencil Editor Properties below

Pencil Editor Properties
When you select the Pencil Editor tool, its properties and options appear in the Tool Properties view.

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Reshaping Pencil Lines with the Pencil Editor Tool

These are the options available for the Pencil Editor tool:•

Lasso and Marquee below•

Smooth below•

Pump Pencil Pressure below•

Deflate Pencil Pressure on the facing page•

Merge Pencil Lines on the facing page•

Reverse Pencil Thickness on the facing page•

Adjusting the Pencil Line Thickness on page 160•

Adjusting the Pencil Line Style on page 160•

Working with TemplatesThickness Stencils on page 81•

Adding Texture to a Pencil Line on page 161

Lasso and Marquee
Choose between the Lasso•and Marquee

options to change the selection style of the tool.

Click and hold [Alt] to temporarily switch from the current mode to the other.

SmoothThe Smooth

operation lets you smooth out selected drawing strokes and remove extra points. You can also

access this feature through the top menu, by selecting Drawing > Optimize > Smooth or press [Alt] + [Shift] +[S].

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The Pump Pencil Pressure

option is used to increase the line thickness of a selected area on a pencil line.

Deflate Pencil Pressure

The Deflate Pencil Pressure

option is used to decrease the line thickness of a selected area on a pencil line.

Merge Pencil Lines

Pencil lines are central vector lines and it might be difficult to match pencil line’s tips properly to align them andmake it look like it is one single line. With the Select tool, you can select several pencil lines and merge them as
one single object using the Merge Pencil Lines
option. It will take your lines and adjust the ends to form one
single line.

Reverse Pencil Thickness

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Reshaping Pencil Lines with the Pencil Editor Tool

The Reverse Pencil Thickness

option will invert the thick and thin section on a selected pencil line. This

option will take the thickest size on the line and apply it to the thinnest, and it will apply the thinnest to thethickest.

Adjusting the Pencil Line Thickness
This is where you set the minimum and maximum sizes of your drawing tool which will produce the thick and thineffect on your stroke. This works with the pressure sensitivity of a pen tablet.

1. Minimum Size field: Type a value in this field to set the minimum width of the line.
2. Maximum Size field: Type a value in this field to set the maximum width of the line.
3. Up/Down arrows: Use the up and down arrows to set the minimum size value.
4. Up/Down arrows: Use the up and down arrows to set the maximum size value.

Adjusting the Pencil Line Style

You can adjust the start, end, and joint style of a selected pencil line.
•

Start: Lets you select the style of the start tip, which is the first tip you drew. You can choose between
Round or Flat style.

•

End: Lets you select the style of the end tip, which is the last tip you drew. You can choose between
Round or Flat style.

•

Join: Lets you select the joint style. The joints are where the line curves abruptly. You could also define theJoin style as the corner style. You can choose between Round, Mitre and Bevel style.

Pencil TemplatesThickness Stencils

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Toon Boom Harmony gives you the flexibility to change the style and thickness of your lines even after they are
drawn. You can apply preset templatesthickness stencils or create your own.

Refer to Working with TemplatesThickness Stencils on page 81, Creating a Pencil
TemplateThickness Stencil with the Select Tool on page 83 and Working with TemplatesThickness
Stencils on page 81.

Adding Texture to a Pencil Line
Pencil lines support texture. Once a pencil line is drawn, you can apply a preset texture or load your own.
Textures are independent from Pencil templatesthickness stencils.

Refer to Pencil Line Texture on page 86, Applying a Preset Texture to a Pencil Line on page 92 andCreating a Pencil Texture Template with the Select Tool on page 89.

Related Topics•

Reshaping Pencil Lines with the Pencil Editor Tool on page 155

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Drawing with Shapes

Drawing with Shapes

In Toon Boom Harmony, you can use the shape tools to draw with circles, lines and squares. You can also easily
reshape a square or circle into a much more complex drawing such as these butterfly wings.
The Shape tools are used to draw rectangles, ellipses and lines. You can use them on both vector and bitmap
layers. You can also easily reshape a square or circle into a much more complex drawing such as these butterfly
wings.

Refer to Reshaping a Drawing Using the Contour Editor Tool on page 149 and Reshaping Pencil Lines
with the Pencil Editor Tool on page 155 topics to learn more about the Contour Editor and Pencil
Editor tools.

To draw with a Shape tool:
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the cell where you want to draw.
1. In the Timeline or Thumbnails view, select the panel and layer on which you want to draw.In Harmony
Paint, select a drawing in the Drawing panel.
2. In the Tools toolbar, select a shapetool.

3. In the Tool Properties view, you can switch between the different shapes mode.In the Shape Tool
Properties view, you can switch between the different shapes mode. Select either the Ellipse
orRectangle

tool.

4. In the CameraStage view, click and drag your mouse to draw the shape.

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Hold down [Shift] to lock the rectangle or the ellipse ratio to 1:1.

‣

Hold down [Alt] to draw the rectangle or ellipse from its centre.

‣

Hold down [Shift] to snap the line every 15 degrees.

‣

Hold down [Alt] to snap the starting or end point of the line to a close by stroke.

5. Use the Contour Editor

tool to deform your shape and create your drawing.

Related Topics•

Shape Tool Options below

Shape Tool Options
When you select a shape tool, its properties and options appear in the Tool Properties view.

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These are the options available for the shape tools:•

Line, Rectangle and Ellipse on the facing page•

Draw Behind on the facing page•

Snap Options on the facing page•Line Building Mode on page 166

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Automatic Filling on the next page•

Create Colour Art Automatically on page 167•

Auto-Flatten Mode on page 167•

Auto-Close Gap on page 168•

Use Stored Colour Gradient on page 168•

Keep Proportion on page 168•

Pencil Templates on page 168•

Thickness Adjustment on page 169•

Adjusting the Pencil Line Style on page 169•

Applying Texture to a Pencil Line on page 169

Line, Rectangle and Ellipse

Click on the

button corresponding to the shape you want. Click and drag your mouse to draw theselected shape. The shape tools create centre lines.
Using the Ellipse or Rectangle option, press [Shift] to create a perfect round or a perfect square and press [Alt]to create the shape from its centre.
Using the Line tool, press [Shift] to create a line which snaps-to every 15 degrees and then press [Alt] to connect
the start or end point of that line to another nearby line. To create a curve in the line as you draw, hold down
[Ctrl] (Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] (Mac OS X) and drag to create a bend in the line.

Draw Behind

When the Draw Behindmode is enabled, the lines you draw will appear behind the art that already exists.

Snap Options
When drawing a shape, you can enable different snap modes to help you create your shape.

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Drawing with Shapes•

The Snap to Contour

option snaps your shape to any line you position it on.

•

The Snap and Alignoption snaps the selected anchor point to any existing line, while displaying

temporary rulers as a guide that you can also snap your anchor point to.
•

The Snap to Gridsnaps your shape to the currently enabled grid.

Refer to the topic to learn more about the Grid feature.

Line Building Mode

The Line Building

mode is very useful when drawing long lines and curves in small increments with pencil

lines. As the pencil lines are central vector lines and it may be difficult to align the line tips perfectly to create a
uniform stroke and close all gaps.
In this mode, you can draw lines in small increments and the tip are merge into one single stroke.

This mode only works with pencil lines.

Automatic Filling

Use the Automatic Filling

option to automatically fill your shape with the selected colour as you draw. By

default, the Shape tool creates the contour of an empty shape that you can later fill using the Paint tool.

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Refer to Selecting the Current Colour of a Tool on page 221to learn more about selecting a fillcolour.

Create Colour Art AutomaticallyAs you draw in the Line Art layer, the Create Colour Art Automaticallyautomatically creates thecorresponding strokes in the Colour Art layer.

To access this option, you must be in the Advanced Art mode—see Drawing View on page 65.

Auto-Flatten Mode
When enabled, the Auto-Flatten mode automatically flattens the new lines created with the existing artwork as
you draw in the Drawing or Camera view. Brush strokes will flatten with brush strokes and pencil lines will flatten
with pencil lines.
Using the Select tool, you can use the middle mouse button to select a segment of flattened pencil line. Use thistechnique to create a nice finish to lines and corners in your artwork.

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Drawing with Shapes

Auto-Close Gap

When enabled, the Auto-Close Gap

mode automatically connects, with an invisible stroke, the pencil lines

you draw close to each other in the Camera or Drawing view.

It is recommended to leave this option ENABLED when drawing with the Pencil tool.

Use Stored Colour Gradient
The Use Stored Colour Gradientoption makes your tool use the previously stored gradient position. Thisway, every new brush line or colour fill will use the stored gradient position.

Keep Proportion

When the Ellipse or Rectangle mode is enabled in the Tool Properties view, the Draw Circle or Draw Square
option appears. When selecting these options, the shape produced will either be a circle or a square. Holding
down the [Shift] key as you create your shape will maintain proportion.

Pencil Templates
Toon Boom Harmony provides a variety of pencil templates and also lets you create and save your own. It is agood idea to create and save pencils with precise sizes and parameters when you draw and design.
You also have the possibility to apply different textures to your lines by either using the preset ones or importingyour own—see Working with TemplatesThickness Stencils on page 81

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Thickness Adjustment

Use the Size Adjustment field to set the thickness of the shape’s line.
1. Size: Type a value in this field to set the shape’s line thickness.
2. Up/Down arrows: Use the up and down arrows to modify the value contained in the Thickness value
field.

Adjusting the Pencil Line Style

You can adjust the start, end, and joint style of a selected pencil line.
•

Start: Lets you select the style of the start tip, which is the first tip you drew. You can choose between
Round or Flat style.

•

End: Lets you select the style of the end tip, which is the last tip you drew. You can choose between
Round or Flat style.

•

Join: Lets you select the joint style. The joints are where the line curves abruptly. You could also define theJoin style as the corner style. You can choose between Round, Mitre and Bevel style.

Applying Texture to a Pencil Line
Pencil lines support texture. Once a pencil line is drawn, you can apply a preset texture or load your own.
Textures are independent from Pencil templates.

Refer to Pencil Line Texture on page 86, Applying a Preset Texture to a Pencil Line on page 92 andCreating a Pencil Texture Template with the Select Tool on page 89.

Related Topics•

Working with TemplatesThickness Stencils

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Drawing with the Polyline Tool

Drawing with the Polyline Tool

The Polyline tool is used to draw shapes. It is a central vector type of line. To form a shape, you click to add apoint and then, without releasing the mouse, pull the handle in the desired direction before adding the next
point and repeat the operation. To edit the shape, you can use the Contour Editor tool.
To draw with the Polyline tool:
1. In the Timeline view, select the cell where you want to draw.
In Harmony Paint, select a drawing in the Drawing panel.
2. In the Tools toolbar, select the Polyline

tool or press [Alt] + [_].

3. In the Camera view, click and drag your mouse to create a point and a Bezier handle to shape your line.
‣

Press [Alt] to pull only one handle, instead of two.

‣Press [Shift] to snap the handles to 45, 90, or 180 degrees.

4. Click again into a new area and drag the mouse to create a second point and Bezier handle.

5. Repeat the previous step until your shape is completed.
6. Press [Ctrl] (Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] (Mac OS X) and click to release the Polyline tool from the current pathor shape that it is creating. Continue to use the tool to make multiple, independent paths or shapes.
7. If necessary, reshape the lines using the Contour Editor

tool.

Refer to Reshaping a Drawing Using the Contour Editor Tool on page 149 to learn more about theContour Editor tool.

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Related Topics•

Polyline Tool Options below

Polyline Tool Options
When you select the Polyline tool, its properties and options appear in the Tool Properties view.

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Drawing with the Polyline Tool

These are the options available for the Polyline tool:•

Snap to Contour on the facing page•

Create Colour Art Automatically on page 174•

Auto-Flatten Mode on page 174•

Pencil Templates on page 174•

Thickness Adjustment on page 175

Previewing the Stroke
The Preview area lets you see a preview of the stroke that will be produced after you customize the different
parameters in the Tool Properties view.

Size
The Size parameter lets you set the size of the polyline that you will draw.

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Polyline Presets
Polyline presets are created by saving the properties of the current tool to a new preset, which you can reuse for
repeated tasks. You can create as many presets as you need.

Size and Smoothness
This is where you set the minimum and maximum sizes of your drawing tool which will produce the thick and thineffect on your stroke. This works with the pressure sensitivity of a pen tablet.
‣

Maximum/Minimum Size: Defines the minimum and maximum width of the stroke.

‣

Smoothing: Defines the number of control points added to the centre line.

‣

Contour Smoothing: Defines the number of control points added to the contour boundaries (aroundthe line). Lower values mean that the line will appear as you draw it (with more control points added
along the centre line). Higher values mean that the line will be smoothed out (removing control points
from the centre line).

Adjusting Polyline Style

You can adjust the start, end, and joint style of a selected pencil line.
•

Start: Lets you select the style of the start tip, which is the first tip you drew. You can choose between
Round or Flat style.

•

End: Lets you select the style of the end tip, which is the last tip you drew. You can choose between
Round or Flat style.

•

Join: Lets you select the joint style. The joints are where the line curves abruptly. You could also define theJoin style as the corner style. You can choose between Round, Mitre and Bevel style.

Working with Line Textures
Like pencil lines, polylines support texture. Before drawing, you can select or import a texture and apply it toyour lines. You can also change it afterwards using the Select tool. Textures are independent from pencil
templates—see Pencil Line Texture on page 86.

Snap to Contour
The Snap to Contour

option will snap your selection to any line you position it on.

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Drawing with the Polyline Tool

Create Colour Art AutomaticallyAs you draw in the Line Art layer, the Create Colour Art Automaticallyautomatically creates thecorresponding strokes in the Colour Art layer.

To access this option, you must be in the Advanced Art mode—see Drawing View on page 65.

Auto-Flatten Mode
When enabled, the Auto-Flatten mode automatically flattens the new lines created with the existing artwork as
you draw in the Drawing or Camera view. Brush strokes will flatten with brush strokes and pencil lines will flatten
with pencil lines.

Pencil Templates

Toon Boom Harmony gives you the flexibility to change the style and thickness of your pencil lines even after they
are drawn. You can apply preset templates or create your own.

Refer to Working with TemplatesThickness Stencils on page 81, Creating a Pencil
TemplateThickness Stencil with the Select Tool on page 83 and Applying a Pencil Template on page
85.

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Thickness Adjustment

Use the Size Adjustment field to set the thickness of the shape’s line.
1. Size: Type a value in this field to set the shape’s line thickness.
2. Up/Down arrows: Use the up and down arrows to modify the value contained in the Thickness value
field.

Related Topics•

Drawing with the Polyline Tool on page 170

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Drawing Using Invisible Lines

Drawing Using Invisible Lines

There are two different ways to draw invisible lines:•

Pencil Tool below•

Stroke Tool on the facing page

Pencil Tool
Using the Pencil tool, you can draw as strokes only, meaning that the line will be invisible. This can be useful todraw tones and highlights directly on the character.
To draw invisible lines with the Pencil tool:
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the cell where you want to draw.
In Harmony Paint, select a drawing in the Drawing panel.
2. In the Tools toolbar, select the Pencil

tool or press [Alt] + [/].

3. In the top menu, select View > Drawing > Show Strokes

or press [K].

In Harmony Paint, select View > Show Strokes.
4. In the Tool Properties view, set the Pen Style size to 0. You can also adjust the smoothness.
5. In the Camera or Drawing view, start drawing.
If you forgot to enable the Show Strokes option before drawing, as soon as you draw a first stroke, aMessage dialog box opens.

Select the Don’t Show This Message Again option if you do not want the dialog box to notify you about
the Show Strokes option. Click OK.
6. You can modify the stroke shape with the Contour Editor

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Stroke Tool
The Stroke

tool draws invisible lines only. You cannot add thickness to the line.

To draw invisible lines with the Stroke Pencil tool:
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the cell where you want to draw.
In Harmony Paint, select a drawing in the Drawing panel.
2. In the Tools toolbar, select the Stroke

tool or press [Alt] + [V].

3. In the top menu, select View > Show Drawing > Show Strokes

or press [K].

In Harmony Paint, select a drawing in the Drawing panel.
4. In the Tool Properties view, you can adjust the smoothness.
5. In the Camera or Drawing view, start drawing.
If you forgot to enable the Show Strokes option before drawing, as soon as you draw a first stroke, aMessage dialog box opens.

Select the Don’t Show This Message Again option if you do not want the dialog box to notify you about
the Show Strokes option. Click OK.
6. You can modify the stroke shape with the Contour Editor

tool.

Related Topics•

Stroke Tool Options below•

Show Strokes as Washed-out Colours on the next page

Stroke Tool Options
When you select the Stroke tool, its properties and options appears in the Tool Properties view.

Here are the options available for the Stroke tool:•

Draw Stroke as Straight Lines on the next page•

Connect Line Ends on the next page•

Auto-Flatten Mode on the next page

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Stroke Tool•

Central Line Smoothness below

Draw Stroke as Straight Lines
Enable the Draw Stroke as Straight Lines

option if you want the new strokes that you will draw to be aperfect straight line. Disable the option if you want the stroke to follow the mouse gesture.

Connect Line Ends
Enable the Connect Line Ends

option if you want the start or end point of your new stroke to connect toyour existing strokes to make sure no gaps are left in your drawing.

Auto-Flatten Mode
When enabled, the Auto-Flatten mode automatically flattens the new lines created with the existing artwork as
you draw in the Drawing or Camera view. Brush strokes will flatten with brush strokes and pencil lines will flatten
with pencil lines.

Central Line Smoothness
You can modify the Central Line Smoothnessof your line using this option. This parameter smoothes theinitial movement of your line. Increasing the value will result in a smoother line with fewer control points.

Related Topics•

Drawing Using Invisible Lines on page 176•

Show Strokes as Washed-out Colours below

Show Strokes as Washed-out Colours

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Sometimes, it may be difficult to see your strokes, especially if your colours are similar to the blue stroke colour.
In Harmony, you can display the strokes and washed-out the colours of your drawings so that the invisible lines
stand out.
To show the strokes with washed-out colours:‣ In the top menu, select View > Show > Show Stroke With Colour Wash.
Related Topics•

Drawing Using Invisible Lines on page 176

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Deforming a Drawing Using the Perspective Tool

Deforming a Drawing Using the Perspective
Tool

The Perspective tool lets you deform a drawing selection and alter its perspective.
To deform a drawing with the Perspective tool:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Perspective

tool or press [Alt] + [0].

2. In the Camera or Drawing view, select the drawing you want to deform.
3. Click and drag the different anchor points to deform the shape.

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Related Topics•

Perspective Tool Properties below

Perspective Tool Properties
Selecting the Perspective tool displays its properties and options in the Tool Properties view.

•

Lasso and Marquee on the next page•

Apply to Line and Colour Art on the next page181

Deforming a Drawing Using the Perspective Tool•

Flip Horizontal and Vertical on the facing page•

Rotate 90 Degrees CW and CCW on the facing page

Lasso and Marquee
Choose between the Lasso•and Marquee

options to change the selection style of the tool.

Click and hold [Alt] to temporarily switch from the current mode to the other.

Snap to Contour
The Snap to Contour

option will snap the selected anchor point to any line you position it on—see Contour

Editor Tool Properties on page 151.

Snap and Align
The Snap and Alignoption lets you snap the selected anchor point to any existing line while displaying

temporary rulers as a guide that you can also snap your anchor point to—see Contour Editor Tool Properties on
page 151.

Snap to Grid
The Snap to Grid

option snaps your selection according to the currently enabled grid.

Apply to Line and Colour Art
The Apply to Line and Colour Art

option uses the concept of Line Art and Colour Art layers. Use this option

to apply an action such as selecting or resizing a drawing on both Line Art and Colour Art layers, as well as theOverlay and Underlay layers.

To access this option, you must be in the Advanced Art mode—see Drawing View on page 65.

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Flip Horizontal and Vertical

The Flip Horizontal

and Flip Verticaloperations flip the current selection horizontally or vertically.

From the top menu, select Drawing > Transform > Flip Horizontal and Flip Vertical.

Rotate 90 Degrees CW and CCW

The Rotate 90 Degrees CW

and Rotate 90 Degrees CCW

operations rotate the current selection 90

degrees clockwise or counter-clockwise.
From the top menu, select Drawing > Transform > Rotate 90 Degrees CW and Rotate 90 Degrees CCW.
Or press [Ctrl] + [7] and [Ctrl] + [9] (Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + [7] and [⌘ ] + [9] (Mac OS X).

Related Topics•

Deforming a Drawing Using the Perspective Tool on page 180

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Cutting Drawing Parts

Cutting Drawing Parts

The Cutter tool is used to cut a drawing area to move, copy, cut or delete it.
To cut with the Cutter tool:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Cutter

tool or press [Alt] + [T].

2. In the Camera view, trace a selection around the part to cut away.

‣

To delete the selected zone, press[Delete].

‣

To move the selection, click the selection and drag it to a new area.

‣

Use the bounding box controls to scale, skew, or rotate the cut piece.

Related Topics•

Cutter Tool Options on the facing page184

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Cutter Tool Options
When you select the Cutter

tool, its properties and options appear in the Tool Properties view.

Here are the options available for the Cutter tool:•

Lasso and Marquee below•

Apply to Line and Colour Art below•

Use Mouse Gesture below•

Use Mouse Gesture Breaker Mode on the next page•

Tip Style on the next page•

Flip Horizontal and Vertical on page 187•

Rotate 90 Degrees CW and CCW on page 187

Lasso and Marquee
Choose between the Lasso•and Marquee

options to change the selection style of the tool.

Click and hold [Alt] to temporarily switch from the current mode to the other.

Apply to Line and Colour Art
The Apply to Line and Colour Art

option uses the concept of Line Art and Colour Art layers. Use this option

to apply an action such as selecting or resizing a drawing on both Line Art and Colour Art layers, as well as theOverlay and Underlay layers.

To access this option, you must be in the Advanced Art mode—see Drawing View on page 65.

Use Mouse Gesture
When using the Lasso

selection type, the Use Mouse Gesture

option lets you automatically delete any

extra sections of line in your artwork by simply dragging your mouse over it.

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Cutting Drawing Parts

For this operation to work, you lines CANNOT be flattened.

Use Mouse Gesture Breaker Mode
When using the Lasso

selection type, the Use Mouse Gesture Breaker Mode

option lets you draw aninvisible stroke on a pencil line to cut it in two individual objects. Once a pencil line is cut with this option, you will
be able to select the two portions independently with either the Cutter tool, Pencil Editor tool or Select tool.

This option only works with pencil lines.

Tip Style

Use the Tip Style option to customize the tip of the pencil line you are cutting.

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Flip Horizontal and Vertical

The Flip Horizontal

and Flip Verticaloperations flip the current selection horizontally or vertically.

From the top menu, select Drawing > Transform > Flip Horizontal and Flip Vertical.

Rotate 90 Degrees CW and CCW

The Rotate 90 Degrees CW

and Rotate 90 Degrees CCW

operations rotate the current selection 90

degrees clockwise or counter-clockwise.
From the top menu, select Drawing > Transform > Rotate 90 Degrees CW and Rotate 90 Degrees CCW.
Or press [Ctrl] + [7] and [Ctrl] + [9] (Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + [7] and [⌘ ] + [9] (Mac OS X).

Related Topics•

Cutting Drawing Parts on page 184

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Smoothing Lines

Smoothing Lines

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 ofyour lines.
Toon Boom Harmony has a very powerful tool you can use to optimize contours and reduce the number ofpoints on the lines, the Smooth Editor
tool.
To optimize lines with the Smooth tool:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Smooth Editor

tool or select Drawing > Tools > Smooth Editor.

In Harmony Paint, select Tools > Smooth Editor.
2. In the Camera or Drawing view, place your pointer over the lines to smooth. You may need to pass overthe same line several times to remove more points and make the line smoother.

Related Topics•

Smooth Editor Tool Options on the facing page188

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Smooth Editor Tool Options
When you select the Smooth Editor tool, its properties and options appear in the Tool Properties view.

Here are the options available for the Smooth Editor tool:•

Brush, Marquee and Lasso Smoothing Style below•

Show Control Points below•

Minimum Size and Maximum Size below•

Smoothness on the next page•Colour on the next page

Brush, Marquee and Lasso Smoothing Style
The Smoothing Style options allows you to smooth a portion of your drawing either by tracing a smoothing
stroke over the zone to optimize or by selecting an area of the drawing with the Marquee or the Lasso.

Show Control Points
The Show Control Points

option allows you to show or hide the Bezier points around your lines. When the

Bezier points are displayed, you can see the result of your smoothing and the number of points left on yourcurve. When it is turned off, you will only see the original artwork.

Minimum Size and Maximum Size
This is where you set the minimum and maximum sizes of your drawing tool which will produce the thick and thineffect on your stroke. This works with the pressure sensitivity of a pen tablet.

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Smoothing Lines

1. Minimum Size field: Type a value in this field to set the minimum width of the line.
2. Maximum Size field: Type a value in this field to set the maximum width of the line.
3. Up/Down arrows: Use the up and down arrows to set the minimum size value.
4. Up/Down arrows: Use the up and down arrows to set the maximum size value.
This options is available while using the Brush Smoothingstyle.

Smoothness
The Smoothness

impacts the strength of the smoothing result. The higher the value, the more points are

removed and the smoother the curve is. The Smoothness range is from 0 to 100; the default value is 20.

ColourYou can modify the colour of the control points displayed on the artwork while working with the Smooth Editor
tool by double-clicking on the colour swatch.

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Related Topics•

Smoothing Lines on page 188

191

Working With Text

Working With Text
With the Text tool, you can type text in your project, using various fonts and texts attributes. Text objects arepart of a drawing, so you can manipulate them the same way.
To add text to your drawings:
1. Do one of the following:‣

In the Tools toolbar, select the Text‣

Select Drawing > Tools > Text.

‣

Press [Alt] + [9].
In Harmony Paint, select a Tools > Text.

tool.

2. In the Timeline view, select the cell containing the drawing you want to add text to.
3. In the Drawing or Camera view, click on the location you want your text to begin.

4. You can use the Tool Properties view to select the font, font size and format the text you will type—see
Formatting the Text below.
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 returnto edit the text by selecting the Text
tool and clicking in the text.

Related Topics•

Formatting the Text below

Formatting the Text
Use the Text tool Tool Properties view to select the font type and other formatting options you want to apply tothe text.

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1. Font Type below
2. Font Style below
3. Alignment on the next page
4. Font Size on the next page
5. Kerning on the next page
6. Indent on page 195
7. Line Spacing on page 195•

Resizing the Text Box on page 195•

Converting Text into Separate Objects on page 196

If you already wrote your text, you must first use the Text tool and select the text portion you want toformat.

Font TypeUse this drop-down menu to select the desired font, from the list of fonts available in your system.

Font Style
Use these buttons to select a desired style for your text:
•

Bold

•

Italic193

Working With Text

Alignment
Use these buttons to align the paragraph.
Left

Right

CentredJustified

Font Size
Type the desired size for the text in this field. You can also use the up and down arrow buttons to set the desired
value.

Kerning
Use the kerning field to modify the spacing between letters and characters. You can select the Auto Kern option
to set the kerning automatically, based on the font’s predefined standard. A negative value decreases spacing
between each character creating a letter overlap and a positive value increases it.

194Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

IndentEnter a value in the Indent field to increase or decrease the indentation on the first line of your text. A positive
value sets the first line of your paragraph farther to the right and a negative value sets it farther to the left.

Line Spacing
Enter a value in the Line Spacing field to decrease or increase the space between each line of text.

Resizing the Text Box
You can resize the text box by selecting your text box with the Textor left.

195

tool and moving the anchor point rightWorking With Text

Using the Select tool will distort and scale your text itself rather than changing the width and height of your textbox.

Converting Text into Separate Objects
Text contained in a text field is treated as a single drawing object. You can easily separate the text so that eachcharacter becomes an individual drawing object that you can select and modify independently.
To break a text object:
1. In the Tools toolbar, click on the Selecttool or press [Alt] + [S].

2. In the Drawing or Camera view, select the text object you want to break.

3. Select Drawing > Convert > Break Apart Text Layers.
In Harmony Paint, select Selected > Convert > Break Apart Text Layers.

Each character is now surrounded by its own 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, using the
Select tool, select the letters to convert.
5. Select Drawing > Convert > Break Apart Text Layers to break the selection into a regular drawing
object, with no more text attributes.
In Harmony Paint, select Selected > Convert > Break Apart Text Layers.

Related Topics•

Working With Text on page 192

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Override Tool
The Override Tool lets you increase productivity by rapidly switching between tools used for short tasks andyour previous tool. Most drawing tool shortcuts are accessed using the [Alt] key followed by another key, such as
the Eraser tool which is accessed by pressing [Alt] + [E].
If you are drawing with the Brush tool and need to briefly switch to the Eraser before continuing, hold down the[E] key while you are erasing. Once done, release [E] to return to the previous tool, in this case, the Brush tool.
You can do the same for most drawing tools that have a shortcut composed of [Alt] followed by another key.

Related Topics•

Keyboard Shortcuts•

Tools Toolbar

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More Drawing Tools

More Drawing Tools
Harmony offers a wide variety of useful tools to optimze your drawings and work more efficiently; tools such asGroup, Arrange, and the animation disk to rotate your workspace.

Related Topics•

Arrange below•

Convert Brush Strokes to Pencil Lines on the facing page•

Pencil Lines to Brush Strokes on the facing page•

Strokes to Pencil Lines on the facing page•

Optimize on page 200•

Remove Extra Strokes on page 200•

Reduce Drawing Texture Resolution on page 200•

Crop Brush Textures on page 201•

Create Contour Stroke on page 202•

Remove Contour Stroke on page 202•

Grid on page 202•

Group/Ungroup on page 203•

Hand on page 203•

Rotate View on page 203

ArrangeUse the different Arrange options to reorder drawing objects inside a single layer in the Drawing or Camera
view.
•

Bring to Front button or select Drawing > Arrange > Bring to Front or press [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [PgUp](Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + [Shift] + [PgUp] (Mac OS X).
The selected art is moved to the top.

•

Bring Forward button or select Drawing > Arrange > Bring Forward or press [Ctrl] + [PgUp](Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + [PgUp] (Mac OS X).
The selected art is moved one level higher.

•

Send Backward button or select Drawing > Arrange > Send Backward or press [Ctrl] + [PgDown](Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + [PgDown] (Mac OS X).
The selected art is moved one level lower.

•

Send to Back button or select Drawing > Arrange > Send to Back or press [Ctrl] + [Shift] +[PgDown] (Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + [Shift] + [PgDown] (Mac OS X).
The selected art is moved to the bottom.

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Convert Brush Strokes to Pencil Lines

The Brushes Strokes to Pencil Lines

operation converts the selected contour strokes into centreline pencil

strokes. This command is only available from the top menu.
To convert brush strokes to pencil lines:‣

Select Drawing > Convert > Brush Strokes to Pencil Lines or press [^].

In Harmony Paint, this option is found in the Selected menu rather than the Drawing menu.

Pencil Lines to Brush Strokes

The Pencil Lines to Brush Strokes

operation converts the selected centreline pencil strokes into contour

strokes brush lines.
To convert pencil lines to brush strokes:‣

From the top menu, select Drawing > Convert > Pencil Lines to Brush Strokes or press [&].

In Harmony Paint, this option is found in the Selected menu rather than the Drawing menu.

Strokes to Pencil Lines

The Strokes to Pencil Lines

operation converts the selected invisible line to a pencil line.

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More Drawing Tools

To convert strokes to pencil lines:‣

Select Drawing > Convert > Strokes to Pencil Lines. or press [Shift] + [F12] (Windows/Linux only).

In Harmony Paint, this option is found in the Selected menu rather than the Drawing menu.

Optimize

The Optimize command reduces the number of layers, such as overlapping brush strokes, in the selecteddrawing objects. Drawing objects will only be flattened and optimized if the selected objects will not change theappearance 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 thetransparent drawing objects will cause them to lose the effect of the layered transparent colours.
•

Use the Select tool to select the drawing objects you want to optimize.

•

Select Drawing > Optimize > Optimize.

In Harmony Paint, this option is found in the Selected menu rather than the Drawing menu.

Remove Extra Strokes
The Remove Extra Strokes option is used to remove the invisible lines in your selection.
•

Use the Select tool to select the drawing objects you want to remove invisible lines from.

•

Select Drawing > Optimize > Remove Extra Strokes.

In Harmony Paint, this option is found in the Selected menu rather than the Drawing menu.

Reduce Drawing Texture Resolution
If you import and vectorize as texture (colour) a high resolution image, the size of your drawing can be heavy.
This option is used to reduce the size and resolution of the textures in your drawing. When you import andvectorize drawings using the grey or colour preset styles, you don't have control on the size of the bitmap
texture. This tool allows you to reduce that bitmap texture.

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To reduce the drawing texture resolution:•

In the Timeline or Xsheet view, Select tool to select the drawing objects you want to reduce the texture
resolution for.remove invisible lines from.

•

Select Drawing > Optimize > Reduce Drawing Texture Resolution.

In Harmony Paint, this option is found in the Selected menu rather than the Drawing menu.

1. In the dialog box, drag the slider toward the left to reduce the texture resolution.
2. Enable the Apply to All Drawings option if you want the modification to be applied to all the drawings inyour layer.
3. Click OK.

Crop 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. 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, Toon Boom
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.
In the example shown above, a textured line is cut from a drawing and pasted into a new drawing. At firstglance, 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 thebitmap 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).
To crop the brush texture:
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the drawing you want to crop the texture for.
2. Select Drawing > Optimize > Crop Brush Textures.
In Harmony Paint, this option is found in the Selected menu rather than the Drawing menu.

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More Drawing Tools

Create Contour Stroke
The Create Contour Stroke

option is used to add a permanent invisible line around a shape that was drawn

directly in the application. This allows you to unpaint your lines with the Paint

tool but to maintain the shapeof 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.

In Harmony Paint, this option is found in the Selected menu rather than the Drawing menu.

Remove Contour Stroke
The Remove Contour Stroke option is used to remove any permanently invisible lines that were either 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.
In Harmony Paint, this option is found in the Selected menu rather than the Drawing menu.

Grid

Use the Show Grid option to display a grid in the Drawing or Camera view.

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Select View > Grid > Show Grid. The [Ctrl] + ['] (Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + ['] (Mac OS X).

•

Select View > Grid > Square to display a standard square grid.

•

Select View > Grid > 12 Field Grid to display a 12 field size grid.

•

Select View > Grid > 16 Field Grid to display a 16 field size grid.

•

Select View > Grid > Underlay to display the grid behind the drawing elements.

•

Select View > Grid > Overlay to display the grid over the drawing elements.

Group/Ungroup
Use the Group

option to group the selected drawing objects. This can help in the selection, repositioning,re-scaling and other transformations to be applied to multiple objects of a drawing.
In Harmony Paint, this option is found in the Selected menu rather than the Drawing menu.
•

Select Edit > Group > Group or Edit > Group > Ungroup.

•

Press [Ctrl] + [G] and [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [G] (Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + [G] and [⌘ ] + [Shift] + [G] (Mac OS X).

Hand
Use the Hand tool to pan through the Drawing and Camera view.
•

In the Tools toolbar, select the Hand

tool, click in the Drawing or Camera view and drag your cursor.

•

You can also Hold down the keyboard shortcut [Spacebar], click in the Drawing or Camera view andmove your mouse in the direction you want to pan the view.

Rotate View
Use the Rotate View

tool to rotate the Drawing or Camera view, the same way as you would do with a realanimation disc.
•

Select Drawing > Tools > Rotate View.

In Harmony Paint, this option is found in the Selected menu rather than the Drawing menu.
•

Press [Ctrl] + [Alt] (Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + [Alt] (Mac OS X).

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More Drawing Tools

This tool can also be used in the Perspective view.

Related Topics•

How to Draw on page 61

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Chapter 5: Colour

With Toon Boom Harmony, you can add colour to your projects and even create sets of colours for yourcharacters. With Toon Boom Harmony’s colour palette concept, painting and colour styling has never beeneasier!

Topics Covered•

How to Paint on the next page•Colours on page 208•

Colour Display Modes on page 219•

Selecting the Current Colour of a Tool on page 221•

Painting Using the Paint Tool on page 223•

Painting Pencil Lines with the Ink Tool on page 231•

Selecting a Colour in a Drawing on page 239•

Editing Gradients and Textures on page 241•

Closing Gaps Manually on page 247•

Protecting Colours on page 250•

Highlighting the Selected Colour on page 251•

Line Art and Colour Art Layers on page 253•

Verifying Zones are Painted on page 258•

Palettes on page 259•

Colour Model on page 288•

Colour Preferences on page 293

205Chapter 5: Colour How to Paint

How to Paint
Learn how to paint your drawings by following these instructions.
To paint your drawings:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Paint

tool or press [Alt] + [I].

2. In the Colour view, select a colour from the palette.
‣

Double-click on a colour swatch to open the Colour Picker window and modify the colour.

The colour palette will only appear in the Colour view once a drawing element has been selected.

3. In the Camera or Drawing view, start painting the colours on your drawing.

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Related Topics•

Colours on the next page•Colour View on page 40

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Chapter 5: Colour Colours

Colours
Toon Boom Harmony has some very powerful colouring features when it comes to painting. To paint yourdrawings you will use different colour swatches, unlike some paint programs where you modify one swatch eachtime you want to paint with a different colour.

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 project. 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 anytime without having to repaint it!

Related Topics•

Adding a Colour Swatch on page 210•

Deleting a Colour Swatch on page 217

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Palette Lists and Palettes Lock
Edit Palette List Mode
Every drawing element has a palette list. The scene also has a palette list. A palette list is a file containing all of
the links to the original palette files. For example, a drawing element can use three different palettes stored inthree different locations, while another drawing element can use two of these palettes plus another one comingfrom another scene. The palette list keep tracks of the location of the palettes.
To prevent users accidentally removing a link to a palette, the palette lists are locked. To add a new link to apalette, the user must first unlock the palette list.
To enable and disable the Edit Palette List Mode:
1. Select Edit > Edit Drawing Mode or Edit Palette List Mode. When the option is enabled, a check markappears beside it.
When in Edit Palette Lists Mode, a grey pencil appears on the top corner of the Colour view palette list
to indicate that it can be modified.

Before you can add, remove or modify colours from a palette, you need to have the right to edit palettes.

Edit Palette Mode
A colour palette is an actual file that can be found on the hard drive. These palette files can be stored in adifferent location on the server machine. 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. To avoid accidentally modifying the palette, the palette files can be locked. The
user must get the rights to modify them.
To enable and disable the Edit Palette Mode:
1. In the Colour view, click on the Edit Palette Mode button.
When pushed in, the mode is enabled, a grey pencil icon appears in the top corner

When pushed out, the mode is disabled.

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Chapter 5: Colour Colours

Related Topics•

Connecting to the Database on page 1•

Global Lock on page 1•

Locking Drawings on page 1

Adding a Colour Swatch
You can use three different types of colour swatches, these are described in the following sections:•

Solid Colour Swatch below•

Default Colour Swatch on page 213•

Gradient Colour Swatch on page 214•

Bitmap Texture Swatch on page 215

Solid Colour Swatch

To add or modify a solid colour swatch:
1. In the Colour view, click on the New Colour

button.

2. In the Colour View menu, select Colours > Edit. You can also double-click on the colour pot.
The Colour Picker window opens.

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

3. To set your colour:‣

In the colour wheel, select the desired colour.

OR‣

Type in the HSV or RGB values in the corresponding fields. Click on the R,G,B,H,S or V radio buttons
to change the look of the colour picking area.

OR‣

Click on the Dropper
button to select any colour on your screen. It can be from the Toon Boom
Harmony’s interface, your Operating System or any other open application.

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Chapter 5: Colour Colours

You can also click on the Multi Wheel Mode button to open the Multiwheel Colour dialog box. This
displays all the picking area styles together and also contains a picking undo list. Click on the Single
Wheel Mode button to go back to the regular Colour Picker window.

4. If needed, click on the Shade Scale’s swatches to modify the shade of the selected colour.

5. If necessary, adjust the desired level of transparency with the Alpha slider, or type the value directly in theAlpha field.

6. If necessary, click on the Add button to add the current selected colour to the Colour Storage Library, so
you can quickly access it later.

7. You can rename the colour swatch in the Colour Picker window or directly in the colour list by doubleclicking on its name.

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Default Colour Swatch
In Toon Boom Harmony, when you click on the Add Colour

button, a new colour swatch is created using thecolour of the currently selected swatch from your palette. However, you can set a Default colour to be usedevery time you create a new colour in your colour palette. This might be useful if you want to create different
shades of the same basic colour.
To change the default swatch colour for all your colour palettes:
1. In the top menu, go to Edit > Preferences (Windows/Linux) or Stage > Preferences (Mac OS X).
2. In the Preferences panel, under the Drawing tab, enable the Create New Colour Pot Using the Default
Colour option. In addition, You can click on the colour swatch, located just beside, to change the Default
colour.
The default colour is also the colour used when you choose to vectorize images that you are scanning into yourscene, however you add the Default colour swatch to your palette in a different way, so that it is unique. It has aunique ID number that makes it recognizable from all the other colours in your colour palettes. Being able tochange this colour allows you to change the basic colour of all scanned drawings. This can be useful on more thanjust an aesthetic level as sometimes when you go to NTSC or PAL, pure colours, such as pure black, can create
problems.

To add a new colour swatch using the default colour:
1. In the Colour View menu, select Colours > New.
A new swatch will be added to your palette using the default colour pot colour. The new swatch createdwith the New command will be named New 0.

Refer to Colour Preferences on page 293 to learn more on the Create New Colour Pot Using The
Default Colour preference and how to customize the default colour pot colour.

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Chapter 5: Colour Colours

Gradient Colour Swatch

To create a gradient colour swatch:
1. In the Colour view, select the colour to be modified.

2. In the Colour View menu, select Colours > Edit. You can also double-click on the colour pot.
The Colour Picker window opens.

3. Enable the Gradient option.

4. Select the Linear or Radial option.
5. Select the Gradient arrows to modify the colours.

214Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide‣

Click between the arrows to add extra colours.

‣

Pull down the arrows to remove them.

‣Move the arrows left and right to modify the gradient distance.

Refer to the Editing Gradients and Textures on page 241 topic to learn how to reposition yourgradient zones in your drawings.

Bitmap Texture Swatch

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Chapter 5: Colour Colours

To create a texture colour:
1. In the Colour View menu, select Colours > New Texture or click on the New Texture

button.

The Browser window opens.
2. Browse for a PSD or TGA bitmap file created in a third party software.

3. Click on the Open button to create the colour swatch.

Refer to the Editing Gradients and Textures on page 241 topic to learn how to reposition yourtextured zones in your drawings.

You can also replace a texture once it is painted. If you decide to make the character’s shirt wool instead ofplaid, 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.

To replace a texture swatch:
1. In the Colour view, select the texture swatch you want to change the embedded bitmap texture file in.

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

2. In the Colour View menu, select Colours > Edit Texture. You can also 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 on the Open button to update the colour swatch.

Related Topics•

How to Paint on page 206•

Deleting a Colour Swatch below

Deleting a Colour Swatch
To delete a colour swatch:
1. In the Colour view, select the colour swatches to delete.

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Chapter 5: Colour Colours

2. In the Colour View menu, select Colours > Delete. You can also click on the Delete Colour

button.

The default keyboard shortcut is [Delete].
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.
‣

If you delete colour swatches already in use, the zones painted with them turn red so you can easily
identify them.

Related Topics•

Adding a Colour Swatch on page 210

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Colour Display Modes
This section describes the colour modes.
•

Switching Between Thumbnails and List Display modes below•

Displaying Colour Values below

Switching Between Thumbnails and List Display
modes
The Colour view has two display modes:•

List Mode•

Swatch Mode

To toggle between the display modes:
1. In the Colour View menu, select Colours > Swatch Mode.
‣

Enable the option to display the swatches.

‣

Disable the option to display the colour list.

Displaying Colour Values
When using Toon Boom Harmony, you can display the RGB values and names of your solid colour swatches.

This option is not available when displaying the colours in Swatch mode.

219

Chapter 5: Colour Displaying Colour Values

To display the swatch colour values:‣ In the Colour View menu, select Palettes > Display Colour Values.
The solid colour swatches’ RGB values will be displayed between the colour swatch and its name. The
gradient colour swatches will be identified as (gradient).

Related Topics•

Colour View on page 40

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Selecting the Current Colour of a Tool

While drawing and painting, you can let Harmony retain the last colour you selected for each one of the following
tools:
•

Brush

•

Paint

•

Pencil, Ellipse, Line, Rectangle, Polyline

The Colour view has three swatches where you can set a colour for the Brush, Paint

and Pencil

tools.
To unlink the storage swatches:
1. In the Colour view, if the storage swatches are linked, click on the Linkings
2. Click on the Brushstorage swatch.

3. In the Colour list, select the desired colour.
4. Click on the Pencil

storage swatch.

5. In the Colour list, select the desired colour.
6. Click on the Paint

storage swatch.

221

button to unlink them.

Chapter 5: Colour Selecting the Current Colour of a Tool

7. In the Colour list, select the desired colour.

If you prefer not to use this behaviour and have Toon Boom Harmony use the same colour swatches regardlessof the selected tool, you can link the three swatches together.
To link the storage swatches:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select one of the following tool:‣

Brush tool‣

Paint tool‣

Pencil tools:•

Pencil tool•

Polyline tool•Line tool•

Ellipse tool•

Rectangle tool

2. In the Colour view, if the storage swatches are linked, click on the Linking

button to link them.

Each time you select a new colour for your current tool, all the storage swatches are updated.

Related Topics•

How to Paint on page 206

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Painting Using the Paint Tool

The main tool you will use to paint your drawings with is the Paint

tool. The Paint tool can be used in several

different modes, these can be customized in the Tool Properties view.
The Paint tool paints closed zones, this includes brush strokes, as well as pencil lines. If you have gaps in the lines
defining a zone, you will have to close them using either the Brush, Pencil, Close Gap tools or the Automatic
Close Gap option.
To paint with the Paint tool:
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the cell where you want to paint.

2. In the Tools toolbar, click on the Paint

tool or press [Alt] + [I]. You can also select the Paint tool in the

top menu under Drawing > Tools > Paint.
3. In the Colour view, select a colour.

4. In the Camera view, start painting. You can click on a zone or pencil line to paint it, or you can trace a lasso
or marquee selection to paint several zones or pencil lines at once.

The last colour you select while using the Paint tool will be remembered the next time you select the
Paint tool.

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Chapter 5: Colour Painting Using the Paint Tool

Related Topics•

Paint Tool Properties on the facing page

Create Breaking Triangles to Paint Brush Strokes
Not available in Harmony Paint.
The Brush tool is often the most intuitive and rapid tool for creating rough sketches and clean lines. A single
colour, such as black, is often used when tracing a clean version of a rough sketch. However, when it comes time
to soft trace the lines in different colours, the flattened or unflattened clean brush strokes can suddenly become
time consuming to ink.
Toon Boom Harmony provides a solution by creating triangular breaks at natural line intersections. These
intersections are the probable locations of where colour line breaks may occur, such as where a sleeve meets ahand.
To create breaking triangles on a drawing:
1. In the Camera or Drawing view, use the Select tool to select part or all of the drawing to be broken.

2. In the top menu, select Drawing > Create Breaking Triangles. If your brush strokes are not flattened,
they will be flattened automatically before the breaking occurs.

3. Use the Repaint tool

to paint the outline of different colour zones with different colours.

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

Paint Tool Properties
When you select the Paint tool, its properties and options appears in the Tools Properties view.

•

Lasso and Marquee below•

Painting Mode on the next page•

Automatic Close Gap on page 227•

Paint and Remove Texture on page 228•

Apply to Multiple Drawings on page 228•

Apply to All Visible Drawings on page 229•

Respect Protected Colour on page 229•

Use Stored Colour Gradient on page 230•

Select Newly Painted/Repainted/Unpainted Contours/Lines on page 230

Lasso and Marquee
The Lasso and Marquee options let you choose what type of selection the Paint tool will do when you will click
and drag your cursor to paint your drawings. The default selection mode is Marquee.
•

The Marquee

option makes a rectangle selection box. Everything inside the selection will be painted

according to the painting mode you selected.
•

The Lasso

option lets you draw a custom selection box around the zones to be painted. Everythinginside the selection will be painted according to the painting mode you selected.
Hold down the [Alt] key to switch to the opposite mode of your selection.

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Painting Mode
The Paint tool has four different modes available:

Paint Mode
Paint Unpainted Mode
Repaint Mode
Unpaint Mode
You can also find these tools directly in the Tools toolbar and in the Drawing Tools menu.

Paint Mode

The Paintmode paints everything it touches, including empty and filled zones.

Paint Unpainted Mode

The Paint Unpainted

mode paints only empty zones. Any line or filled zone will remain unchanged.

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Repaint Mode

The Repaintmode paints everything it touches except empty zones. Any zone that is not painted will remain

intact.

Unpaint Mode

The Unpaintmode unpaints everything it touches, including empty and filled zones.

Automatic Close Gap
The Automatic Close Gap option has four modes available:

The Automatic Close Gap

option is used while painting drawings with small gaps. Instead of having to close

them manually either with the Brush tool or Close Gap tool, Toon Boom Harmony will analyze the drawing andclose the gaps while you paint according to the selected mode.

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The automated gap closing should be done using the zoom function setting of your Camera or Drawing view. If
your eye does not see the gap, Toon Boom Harmony won’t either.

Paint and Remove Texture

The Paint and Remove Texture

option is used when you vectorized some images as greyscale texture style.

An image vectorized as texture is a mix of bitmap filling encapsulated in a vector based frame. Painting a
textured zones with the Paint tool will change the tint of the textured lines. Painting the textured zones using the
Paint and Remove Texture option transforms the bitmap filling into a 100% vector based zone and fills it with asolid colour.

Apply to Multiple Drawings

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The Apply to Multiple Drawings

option is used for hand-drawn animation fast painting. When you want topaint several drawings in a same layer at once, such as a walk cycle, you can enable this option and make aselection in your Camera or Drawing view. All the closed zones located within your Paint tool selection are
painted with the selected colour swatch.
You do not need to enable the Onion Skin preview to use this option. The option will stay enabled only for the
next action. If you want to use it again, you must click on the Apply to Multiple Drawings button again, or press[Alt] + [A].

Apply to All Visible Drawings

The Apply to All Visible Drawings

option is used to paint several drawings on separated layers on thecurrent frames. If you have a character broken in several layers, you can enable this option to paint all your layers
at once. The operation is only applied on the current frame.
The option will stay enabled only for the next action. If you want to use it again, you must click on the Apply to
All Visible Drawings button again.
This option is only available in the Camera view and does not affect symbols.

Respect Protected Colour
The Respect Protected Colour

option is enabled by default. In your Colour view, you can protect somecolour swatches to avoid repainting or unpainting the zones linked to that swatch.
If you disable this option the Paint tool will not follow the protect colour rule and will repaint or unpaint theprotected colours on your drawings until you enable the option again.

Refer to the Protecting Colours on page 250 topic to learn how to lock your colours.

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Use Stored Colour Gradient

When you paint a zone with a gradient or textured colour swatch, the gradient or texture’s position is set
relative to the size of the zone your are painting. If you want the Paint tool to use a particular size and position,
you must first store your desired position and size using the Selecttool and then enable the Use Stored
Colour Gradientoption in the Paint tool Tool Properties view.

Refer to the Storing Your Favourite Gradient or Texture Settings on page 245 topics to learn how tostore your gradient or texture position.

Select Newly Painted/Repainted/Unpainted Contours/Lines

In the Paint

tool Tool Properties view, engaging this option will keep a selection highlighted around thelatest painted zone after using either the Paint, Repaint, Unpaint, or Paint Unpainted tool.

Related Topics•

Painting Using the Paint Tool on page 223

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Painting Pencil Lines with the Ink Tool
Although pencil lines can be painted in much the same way as closed zones, you can use the Paint, Repaint,
Repaint Brush, and Ink tools to make painting segmented lines easier.
Normally when you have a drawing, such as the one below, and you use the Paint tool to paint one of the lines,
the entire line is painted.

However, if you select the Inktool instead and click on the same pencil line, only the segment that you

clicked on between two intersections will be painted.

The newly inked segment will always be moved to the front of all other pencil strokes, even if it was behind allother pencil strokes before it was inked.

That is, unless you hold down [Alt] while clicking a segment. Then the opposite becomes true. The inked segment
will be sent to the back, even if it was in front of all other segments to begin with.

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Painting and Inking can be used in combination depending on what it is that you need to paint. If you need to ink
a character’s outline in black, it might be easier to use the Paint tool. If you need to paint the outline of acharacter’s neck with a tan colour and its shirt outline blue and both the neck and shirt belong to the same
continuous outline, then the Ink tool might prove more useful.

Related Topics•

Ink Tool Properties below

Ink Tool Properties
When you select the Ink tool, its properties and options appears in the Tools Properties view.

•

Lasso and Marquee below•

Show Inkable Lines on the facing page•

Be Smart on Connecting Lines on the facing page•

Select Mode on the facing page•

Arrange Ink Lines on the facing page•

Mitre on the facing page•

Tip Style on the facing page

Lasso and Marquee
The Lasso and Marquee options let you choose what type of selection the Paint tool will do when you will click
and drag your cursor to paint your drawings. The default selection mode is Marquee.
•

The Marquee

option makes a rectangle selection box. Everything inside the selection will be painted

according to the painting mode you selected.
•

The Lasso

option lets you draw a custom selection box around the zones to be painted. Everythinginside the selection will be painted according to the painting mode you selected.
Hold down the [Alt] key to switch to the opposite mode of your selection.

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User GuideShow Inkable Lines
The Show Inkable Lines

option highlights all pencil lines (so no brush strokes) on the selected layer. Pencil

line segments that are already inked with the selected swatch colour from the colour palette are also nothighlighted.

Be Smart on Connecting Lines
With thisoption selected, as you hover and move the cursor across intersecting pencil lines, the path thatyou create will get highlighted. When you click on your mouse or stylus the highlighted segments will get inked.
With this option disabled, all the intersecting segments that your cursor comes near will get highlighted andbecome part of the selection, even if they were not situated in the direction of the chosen path.
This option only works if the Ink tool is in Hover Mode and not Select Mode.

Select ModeUse thismode instead of the Hover Mode. In the Hover Mode, any potentially inkable pencil line will haveits central vector line highlighted as the Ink tool’s cursor hovers over it. Use [Ctrl] (Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] (MacOS X) to toggle between the two modes.

Arrange Ink Lines
Use this

option to have every newly inked line be brought to the front. Disable this option to have every

newly inked line be sent to the back. Use [Alt] to toggle between the two options.

Mitre
As you hover over two perpendicular or nearly perpendicular segments a highlighted path with a corner iscreated. Clicking on these highlighted segments inks both segments and makes them appear as a single strokewith a corner or bend.
Click on the Mitre

button to reveal four options from its drop down menu. Select either Round, Mitre,Bevel or As Is before creating corner selections to make a bend in the path either round, sharp, bevelled or
gapped.

Tip Style

Use the Tip Style option to customize the edge of the Ink tool.

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Related Topics•

Painting Pencil Lines with the Ink Tool on page 231

Advanced Painting Features

The following advanced painting features are available in Toon Boom Harmony and are described in this section:•

Repaint Selection on the facing page•

Repaint Selection On All Drawings on the facing page•

Repaint Outside Selection on page 236•

Repaint Outside Selection On All Drawings on page 236•

Unpaint Selection on page 237•

Unpaint Selection On All Drawings on page 237•

Unpaint Outside Selection on page 238•

Unpaint Outside Selection On All Drawings on page 238

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Repaint Selection

The Repaint Selection command is used to repaint any art inside a selection. You must first draw a selection
using the Selecttool in order for this command to be available.
To use the Repaint Selection command:‣

Select Drawing > Paint > Repaint Selection.

Repaint Selection On All Drawings

The Repaint Selection On All Drawings command is used to repaint any art inside a selection on all the drawings
contained within the same layer. You must enable the Permanent Selection
option in the Select tool Tool
Properties view and then draw a selection in your drawing using the Selecttool in order for this command to

be available. The Permanent Selection option is used to maintain the same selection throughout the drawings ofa same layer.
To use the Repaint Selection On All Drawings command:‣

Select Drawing > Paint > Repaint Selection On All Drawings.

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Repaint Outside Selection

The Repaint Outside Selection command is used to repaint any art outside a selection. If no selection has beendrawn using the Selecttool, the entire drawing will be repainted.
To use the Repaint Outside Selection command:‣

Select Drawing > Paint > Repaint Outside Selection.

Repaint Outside Selection On All Drawings

The Repaint Outside Selection On All Drawings command is used to repaint any art outside a selection on all thedrawings contained within the same layer. You must enable the Permanent Selection
option in the Selecttool Tool Properties view and then draw a selection in your drawing using the Selecttool in order for thiscommand to be available. The Permanent Selection option is used to maintain the same selection throughout thedrawings of a same layer.
To use the Repaint Outside Selection on All Drawings command:‣

Select Drawing > Paint > Repaint Outside Selection on All Drawings.

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Unpaint Selection

The Unpaint Selection command is used to unpaint any art existing inside a selection. You must first draw aselection using the Selecttool in order for this command to be available.
To use the Unpaint Selection command:‣

Select Drawing > Paint > Unpaint Selection.

Unpaint Selection On All Drawings

The Unpaint Selection on All Drawings command is used to unpaint all art contained inside a selection on all thedrawings within the same layer. You must enable the Permanent Selection
option in the Select tool Tool
Properties view and then draw a selection in your drawing using the Selecttool in order for this command to

be available. The Permanent Selection option is used to maintain the same selection throughout the drawings ofa same layer.
To use the Unpaint Selection On All Drawings command:‣

Select Drawing > Paint > Unpaint Selection On All Drawings.

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Unpaint Outside Selection

The Unpaint Outside Selection command is used to unpaint any art existing outside a selection. If no selection
have been drawn using the Selecttool, the entire drawing will be unpainted.
To use the Unpaint Selection command:‣

Select Drawing > Paint > Unpaint Outside Selection.

Unpaint Outside Selection On All Drawings

The Unpaint Outside Selection on All Drawings command is used to unpaint all art outside a selection on all thedrawings within the same layer. You must enable the Permanent Selection
option in the Select tool Tool
Properties view and then draw a selection in your drawing using the Selecttool in order for this command to

be available. The Permanent Selection option is used to maintain the same selection throughout the drawings ofa same layer.
To use the Unpaint Outside Selection On All Drawings command:‣

Select Drawing > Paint > Unpaint Outside Selection On All Drawings.

Related Topics•

Select Tool Properties on page 130

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Selecting a Colour in a Drawing

While working in your Camera or Drawing view, you can use the Dropper

tool to pick a colour from yourdrawing without going to the Colour view.
To use the Dropper tool:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Dropper

tool or press [Alt] + [D]. You can also select the Dropper toolfrom Drawing > Tools > Dropper in the top menu.
2. In the Camera or Drawing view, click on the desired colour.
‣

If you are using another drawing tool such as the Paint tool, you can temporarily hold down the [D] key
and click in your drawing before releasing the key to pick your colour. Once you let go the hot key,
Toon Boom Harmony will go back to your previous tool.

You may also want to select the zones painted with the colour currently selected in the Colour view. This can be
useful to remove rough lines from a clean drawing.

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To select the zones painted with the current colour:
1. In the Colour view, select the colour you want to select the corresponding zones from.

2. Select Drawing > Select Strokes with Current Colour.
Or press [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [A] (Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + [Shift] + [A] (Mac OS X).

Related Topics•

How to Paint on page 206

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Editing Gradients and Textures

If you paint a zone or pencil line with a gradient or texture you can use the Edit Gradient/Texture

tool tomodify its position in the zone. You can move, scale, rotate and skew. If you have to match the transformations
performed on a gradient or texture from one zone or pencil line to many others, you can copy and paste the Edit
Gradient/Texture position. When moving to the next drawing, you can select the next texture and paste theprevious position to continue the modifications.
To use Edit Gradient/Texture tool on a zone:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Edit Gradient/Texture

tool. You can also select this tool from the top

menu under Drawing> Tools > Edit Gradient/Texture or press [Shift] + [F3].
2. Click on the Gradient or Texture zone to be modified.

‣If you want to modify several areas at once, hold down the [Shift] key and click on the zones to bemodified.

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3. Move the edit texture’s anchor points to the desired result.
‣

If the same modification needs to be applied to another gradient in another drawing or texture zone,
you can select the modified zone and select Edit > Copy. Select the zone to be modified in the otherdrawing and select Edit > Paste.

A pencil line can have its gradient, texture or texture’s gradient edited in two different ways, either with thePencil Editor
or with the Edit Gradient/Texture
tool.
To use Pencil Editor tool to edit the texture or gradient on a pencil line:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Pencil Editor

tool. You can also select this tool from the top menu

under Drawing > Tools > Pencil Editor or press [Alt] + [W].
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.

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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 oftiles, while expanding it will increase the number of tiled images.

This editing technique does not just work on texture fills, but can also be applied to pencil lines drawn
with a textured “brush”.
To use Edit Gradient/Texture tool to edit the texture or gradient on a pencil line:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Edit Gradient/Texture

tool. You can also select this tool from the top

menu under Drawing > Tools > Edit Gradient/Texture or press [Shift] + [F3].
2. Click on the pencil line to be modified to bring up the editor controls.

3. The editor controls delineate a single tile in the texture. For gradients, this is less applicable. Pull on the
top of the editor controls to stretch the tiled texture throughout the length of the stroke.
As gradients are parallel to the stroke’s central vector, this will stretch the way that the gradient is
distributed in the pencil line’s envelope. The envelope still acts as a boundary for the texture or gradient.

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4. Drag the editor control perpendicular to the stroke. You will feel it glide along the strokes central vector
line. This is another way to resize the texture tile. Instead of stretching or shrinking it vertically, thismotion stretches or shrinks it vertically. As gradients are parallel to the pencil line’s central vector,
stretching them vertically gives no visual result.

This way of editing a texture using the Edit Gradient/Texture tool also works with pencil lines drawn with
textured “brushes”. If you then paint your textured pencil line with a gradient, you can do so and then edit bothelements independently at the same time.
To use Edit Gradient/Texture tool to edit both the texture and the gradient of a pencil line:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Edit Gradient/Texture

tool. You can also select this tool from the top

menu under Drawing > Tools > Edit Gradient/Texture or press [Shift] + [F3].
2. Click on the pencil line to be modified to bring up the editor controls.

3. Use the top editor controls edit the gradient.

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4. Use the bottom controls edit the “brush” texture.

Related Topics•

Drawing Using the Pencil Tool on page 73•

Storing Your Favourite Gradient or Texture Settings below

Storing Your Favourite Gradient or Texture Settings
If you are painting a hand-drawn animation or if your want the Brush tool and Paint tool to use your gradient’s
position, angle and scale settings instead of the default ones, you can store your own settings and reuse themafterward.
To store your gradient and texture settings:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Selecttool or press [Alt] + [S].

2. In the Camera or Drawing view, select the gradient or texture zone to store.

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3. In the Tool Properties view, click on the Store Colour Gradientbutton.

To use the stored gradient and texture settings:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Brushor Paint

tool.

2. In the Tool Properties view enable the Use Stored Colour Gradient
3. In the Camera or Drawing view, draw and paint.

Related Topics•

Editing Gradients and Textures on page 241

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Closing Gaps Manually

When painting, notice that some of your drawing areas are not closed. To close the zone, you can either draw
the missing line with the Brush or Pencil tool, or close the gap with an invisible line. To do this, you will use the
Close Gap tool.
The Close Gap tool is used to close small gaps in a drawing. The Paint tool only paints closed areas. The Close
Gap tool will create a small, invisible stroke between the two closest points to close the colour zone. You do notneed to trace directly over the gap. You can draw it a few millimeters away. The two closest points automticallyclose up the gap.
To close gaps:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Close Gap

tool, select Drawing> Tools > Close Gap or press [Alt] +[C].
‣

Enable the Auto-Flatten

option in the Tool Properties view if you want the stroke you will draw to

be flattened in your drawing instead to be on top.
‣

You can display the invisible lines with the Show Strokes option under View > Show Strokes or press[K].

‣

If you do not display the strokes, a Message dialog box will appear.

Enabling the Don’t Show This Message Again option prevents this Message dialog box from appearing.
2. In the Camera or Drawing view, trace an invisible line near to the gap to be closed. The gap willautomatically close.

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Related Topics•

Close Gaps below•

How to Paint on page 206

Close Gaps
When you have too many gaps in your drawings, you can use the Close Gaps feature in Toon Boom Harmony

1. Close Gaps slider: Use this slider to determine the size of the gap you want to be closed. Move the slider
to the left for smaller gaps and move it to the right for bigger gaps.
2. Apply to all drawings: Enable this option so that the Close Gaps feature is applied to all the drawings ofthe selected layer.
To use the Close Gaps feature:
1. Select the Show Strokes option to see a preview of the result.
2. Select View > Show Strokes or press [K].
3. Select Drawing > Clean Up > Close Gaps or press[Shift] + [F10] (Windows/Linux only).
The Close Gaps dialog box opens.
4. Adjust the slider.

5. Select the Apply to all drawings option if needed.

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6. Click OK.

Refer to Colour Preferences on page 293 at the end of this chapter to learn more about the Close
Gap options.

Related Topics•

Closing Gaps Manually on page 247

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Protecting Colours
When you are finished painting some zones, you can protect the colour swatch they are associated with so thework cannot be accidentally painted over.
To use Protect Colour:
1. In the Colour view, select the colour to be protected.

2. In the Colour view menu, select Colours > Protect Colour. You can also right-click on the selected colour
and select Protect Colour.
A red bar will appear on the side of the colour, notifying you that it is locked.

Related Topics•

Respect Protected Colour on page 229

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Highlighting the Selected Colour
The Highlight Selected Colour option is used to identify colour pots used in a drawing. For example, if you haveunnamed colours in your palette and you want to find out if a particular colour pot was used on the current
model or drawing, you can select the colour pot and use the Highlight Selected Colour option. The system will
wash out all the colours in the drawing except the selected one so that it stands out and can be identified. You
can rename it accordingly.

To use the Highlight Selected Colour option:
1. In the Colour view, select the colour you want to highlight.
2. In the Drawing view or Camera view menu, select View > Show > Highlight Selected Colour.

Related Topics•

Selecting a Colour in a Drawing on page 239

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Chapter 5: Colour Inverting a Colour Selection

Inverting a Colour Selection
When you need to select all colour swatches but one, or select only a few swatches here and there, it might befaster to select the only colour you do not need, in order to select and invert the selection.
To invert a colour swatch selection in the Colour view:
1. In the Colour view, select the colour swatch you DO NOT want to have in your final selection.

2. In the top menu, select Edit > Invert Selection.

Related Topics•

Colours on page 208

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Line Art and Colour Art Layers
Toon Boom Harmony has an option allowing you to paint the lines and the colour fills separately.
In Toon Boom Harmony, a drawing is composed of four embedded layers:•

Overlay Layer•

Line Art Layer•

Colour Art Layer•

Underlay Layer

In general, use the Line Art and Colour Art layers. The Underlay and Overlay layers are used for advanced
purposes.
Refer to the topic to learn more about these layers.
Toon Boom Harmony has an option allowing you to paint the lines and the colour fills separately.
In Toon Boom Harmony, a drawing is composed of two embedded layers:•

Line Art Layer•

Colour Art Layer

The Line Art and Colour Art layers are only available in the Advanced Art Mode.

By default, you draw on the Line Art layer. The colour layer is always placed under the Line Art layer. These layers
are accessible in the Drawing or Camera view (using drawing tools). When you look at your final drawing in theTimeline, Xsheet or Network view, you will not see four layers; instead you will see the final composition of thelines and colours.

You can draw and paint in all layers, but if you prefer working in a single layer, you can do everything in Line Art.
The main advantage of using the Line Art and Colour Art option is so you can repaint the lines easily. If yourcolour fills are separated from the lines, it allows you to use the repaint tool and paint the lines without affecting

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the colour zones. Also, it allows you to paint tones and highlights in line art and then add some transparency to
see the Colour Art through it.

In order to paint in the Colour Art, you must first use the Create Colour Art from Line Art option tocreate colour zones in the Colour Art. You need to use this option to paint drawings vectorized asgreyscale texture style.

To toggle between Line Art and Colour Art and enable the Preview mode:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select any drawing tool.
2. To toggle between Line Art and Colour Art:‣

In the Drawing view,right-click and select Switch to Colour Art/Switch to Line Art or s[L].

‣In the Drawing or Camera bottom toolbar, click on the Colour Art‣

In the Drawing or Camera bottom toolbar, click on the Line Art

button.
button.

3. To preview the Line Art and Colour Art at the same time:‣

In the Drawing view,right-click and select Preview Line Art and Colour Art. While using the Preview
mode, you still edit one mode at a time or press [Shift] + [P].

‣In the Drawing or Camera bottom toolbar, click on the Preview

button. To be able to see only

one of the layers at a time in the Camera view, you must enable the Current Drawing on Top option,
available from the Camera bottom toolbar drop-down menu. If this option is not enabled, you will see
the final composition of all four layers.

In order to edit both Line Art and Colour Art at the same time, you must enable the Apply to Line Art
and Colour Art button in the Tool Properties of the tools supporting the operation.

Underlay and Overlay Layers
In Toon Boom Harmony, you have two extra art layers available beside the Line Art and the Colour Art, theUnderlay and the Overlay layers. The Underlay is situated at the very bottom and the Overlay at the very top.

Underlay
The Underlay

layer can be used like any other of the art layers available in the drawing, but since it is situatedbehind everything else, you can use it to create a matte for a quick line-test, write notes or store your roughanimation.

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Overlay
The Overlay

layer can be used as any other of the art layers available in the drawing, but since it is situatedon top of every other, it can be useful for writing notes about the colour model or animation or to draw thehighlight and tone shapes.

Related Topics•

Generating a Matte for Your Animation•

Creating Strokes to Paint Your Drawings on a Separated Layer below•

More Drawing Layers

Creating Strokes to Paint Your Drawings on a
Separated Layer
You can use the outline you traced on one of the four embedded layers and create invisible strokes to paint yourdrawings on separate layers, this provides more inking and painting flexibility.
To do so, you must use the Create Colour Art from Line Art option. You can also configure the option to create
the invisible strokes on any of the four embedded layers.

Make sure to enable the Advanced Art Mode in the Preferences panel in order to be able to use thisfeature.

To create Colour Art zones out of the Line Art content:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Selecttool or press [Alt] + [S].

2. In the Camera or Drawing view, select the artwork to transfer to the Colour Art.

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3. In the Drawing View toolbar, click on the Create Colour Art from Line Art

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Toon Boom Harmony 10.3 Paint User Guide

To Configure the Line Art to Colour Art command settings:
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Selecttool or press [Alt] + [S].

2. In the Tool Properties view, hold down the [Shift] key and click on the Create Colour Art from Line Art
button to open the Configure Line Art to Colour Art dialog box and modify the default settings ofthis command.
The Configure Line Art to Colour Art dialog box opens.

3. Use rendered version of the drawing: This option will render the drawing and vectorize it to calculate theposition of the centreline that will produce the colour art stroke.
4. Maximum Resolution for rendered image: This is the size of the rendered image.
5. Threshold for rendered image: The value of grey processed to create the rendered vectorized arts.
6. Fitting error for generated Beziers: This value represents how precise the fitting of the colour art zone in
relation of the line art will be.
7. Source Layer: In the Source Layer drop-down menu, select the layer (Line Art, Colour Art, Underlay orOverlay) you want the strokes to be created from.
8. Destination Layer: In the Destination Layer drop-down menu, select the layer (Line Art, Colour Art,
Underlay or Overlay) you want the strokes to be created on.
9. Clear Destination Art Layer First: If you already have artwork on the destination layer and you want thecontent to be deleted before the strokes are added into it, enable this option.
10. Perform Line Art to Colour Art Operation Immediately: Enable this check box to perform the Create
Colour Art from Line Art command when you click on the OK button of this window.

Related Topics•

Line Art and Colour Art Layers on page 253257

Chapter 5: Colour Verifying Zones are Painted

Verifying Zones are Painted
When the painting process is completed, you should verify that each zone was painted correctly.
The Backlight feature produces a silhouette effect by changing the drawing’s coloured areas into a single dark,solid colour use this to verify the completeness of the ink and paint process. Any unpainted zones can be seen as
the light shows through the unpainted areas of the silhouetted drawing.
To use the Backlight:

This feature is only available in the Drawing view.

1. In the top menu, select View > Backlight or press [Alt] + [Shift] + [B]. You can also click on the Backlightbutton available in the Drawing View toolbar.
2. Verify the drawings in the Drawing view.

Related Topics•

How to Paint on page 206•

Painting Using the Paint Tool on page 223

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Palettes

In colour animation, specific colours are used to paint each particular character. In order to maintain absoluteconsistency, a colour palette is created for each character, prop and effect throughout the production. These arereferred to as master palettes.
Master palettes contain a colour swatch for each zone to colour with a precise RGBA colour value.
Using a master colour palette has many benefits, including:•

Each character consistently retains their dedicated colours.

•

You cannot accidentally use a colour which is not in the master palette.

•

Standardization and colour consistency throughout the production•

Multiple artists can use the same colour palette and produce the same results.

Toon Boom Harmony uses palettes to hold all of the colours needed to paint your elements, allowing complete
control and consistency in your painting process.
A palette is created by assigning a set of colours to each character, prop or effect. You will create a new paletteand add a new colour, known as a colour swatch, for each zone of the character, such as the skin, hair, tongue,
shirt, pants, etc.
This topic is divided as follows:•

Displaying the Palette List on the next page•

Creating a Colour Palette on page 264•

Copying and Pasting Colours on page 276•

Removing a Colour Palette on page 277•

Duplicating a Colour Palette on page 278•

Cloning a Colour Palette on page 279

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Mixing the Colours on page 281•

Importing a Colour Palette on page 283•

Ordering the Palette List on page 287

Displaying the Palette List
The Colour view has two modes: basic and advanced.

Basic Mode
The Colour view’s basic mode only shows the Colour list. When you open Toon Boom Harmony, you only see thecolours available in the default palette. This default palette contains six basic colour swatches and is
automatically named the same as your scene. For simple projects, you can manage with the default palette, but
for movies, series or shorts it is recommended that you create palettes for your characters. To create a palette,you have to switch to the advanced display of the Colour view and show the Palette list.

Advanced ModeTo create palettes for your characters, you must display the Palette list. Once you display the Palette list area, aseries of new buttons appear.
To show or hide the Palette List area:
1. In the Colour view, click on the Show/Hide Palette List View
Palette List area.

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Each palette you add in your scene will appear in the Palette list.

•

You can add, delete, import and order palettes in your scene using the Palette menu buttons.

Related Topics•

Creating a Colour Palette on page 264•

Toon Boom Harmony Palette File Storage below

Toon Boom Harmony Palette File Storage
In Harmony, palettes are individual *.plt files that can be copied, transferred and stored. When a palette is
created, it needs to be stored somewhere. Harmony is set on Basic Palette Lists mode which saves the palette at
the Scene level.
In Toon Boom Harmony, you can switch from Basic Palette Lists mode to Advanced Palette Lists mode which
will allow you to choose the folder level you want to save your palette files to.

Refer to the Creating a Colour Palette on page 264 section to learn more on how to access these
options.

There are four locations where you can find Palette Library folders: Element, Scene, Job and Environment
folders.
•

Element: The Palette Library folder is stored directly in the Drawing Element (Layer) folder.

•

Scene: The Palette Library folder is stored directly in the Scene folder.

•

Job: If you are working with Toon Boom Harmony as a stand alone version, the Palette Library folder isstored in a Job folder contained within the Scene folder.

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Environment: If you are working with Toon Boom Harmony as a stand alone version, the Palette Libraryfolder is stored in an Environment folder contained in the Scene folder.

This existing structure is compatible with Toon Boom Harmony Server. Toon Boom Harmony’s database has aleveled structure starting from the Environment down to the Element. They have a client-server configurationthat allows all data, such as palettes and scenes, to be shared between a series of client machines.
In Toon Boom Harmony, you can switch from Basic Palette Lists Mode to Advanced Palette Lists Mode andchoose the folder level you want to save your palette files to.

Element Level
Working with Harmony stand alone, the Element level is very useful when there are a lot of different palettes.
When a colour model drawing is created, it is stored in its element folder. By storing the corresponding palettefile with the colour model, the colourist is able to load them both from the same location. This also creates amore organized structure.

Scene Level
Working with Toon Boom Harmony stand alone, a palette file can also be saved at the scene level so that all of
the palettes from the scene are stored together. The palette naming will have to be structured so that thecolourist or character builders can find the correct one. Saving the palettes at the scene level makes it very easy
to backup the palettes and retrieve their location.
The scene level can also be useful for Cut-out animation. Instead of creating a colour model scene that includes
all of the characters, props, effects, and location, the colour palette or model will often be directly imported to,or created in, the character building scene. Just as with a Cut-out character building scene, each element uses
the same palette so it would not be efficient to save the palette inside one element. Instead, it is saved at thescene level. This prevents a palette overload because all of the models are in different scenes. It also allows eachscene its own set of palettes corresponding to its model.
When working on a cut-out animation production, it is highly recommended to work with the Scene level.

Related Topics•

Palettes on page 259

Scene Palette List and Element Palette List
There are two types of palette lists:•

Scene Palette List on the facing page•

Element Palette List on the facing page

Refer to the Colour Preferences on page 293 topic in this chapter to learn how to enable and disable
the Element Palette List mode.

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Scene Palette List
The Scene Palette List is mainly used with cut-out animation. A cut-out character will often be divided in twenty
to thirty different drawing elements that use the character’s master palette.
The palette list is stored at the scene level instead of the Element directory. This way, all palettes linked to thislist will appear in every drawing element created in the scene. There is no need to manually load the palette ineach element.
The Scene Palette List is the simplest one to use. By default, Toon Boom Harmony is set to use only Scene
Palette Lists.

Element Palette List
In Toon Boom Harmony, you can switch to Advanced Palette Lists mode and choose to save your palette at anelement’s level. The Element Palette List is mainly used with Traditional and Paperless animation. Unlike Cut-out
animation, all columns (drawing elements) contain different characters, props, backgrounds and effects. The
Element Palette List is used because you do not necessarily want all of the palettes for all of your elements linked
in every column.
The palette list is stored in the drawing element’s directory instead of directly in the Scene level. This ensuresthat the links to the palettes appear only in the appropriate element. If you prefer to access a global palette list,
link your palettes to the Scene Palette List.

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Related Topics•

Creating a Colour Palette below

Creating a Colour Palette
You can create a palette in either basic or advanced mode:•

Basic Palette Lists Mode below•

Advanced Palette Lists Mode below•

Renaming a Colour Palette on page 266

By default, Toon Boom Harmony is set on basic mode. For simple productions, it is recommended to use thebasic mode. For more advanced productions, it is a good idea to explore the possibilities of the advancedmode.

If you are using Harmony Network, refer to Managing Palettes on page 266.

Basic Palette Lists ModeTo create a new palette (Basic Palette Lists mode):
1. In the Colour View menu, select Palettes > New or click on the New Palettebutton.

The Create Palette window opens.
2. Enter the palette name according to the model.

3. Click OK.
The palette appears in the drawing element’s palette list.

Advanced Palette Lists Mode
To use this method, you first need to set your preferences to Advanced Palette Lists mode in the Preferences
panel.

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To set the Advanced Palette Lists mode:
1. Select Edit > Preferences (Windows/Linux) or Stage > Preferences (Mac OS X) to open the
Preferences panel or press [Ctrl] + [U] Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + [U] (Mac OS X).
2. In the Advanced tab, enable the Advanced Palette Lists option.

3. Click OK.
To create a new palette (Advanced Palette Lists mode):
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the drawing that requires the palette.
2. In the Colour View menu, select Palettes > New or click on the Create Palettebutton.

The advanced Palette Browser: Create Palette (Stand-alone mode) window opens.

‣ Palette Location: Select which location to store the palette file to.
•

Element: Displays the drawing layers in your scene.
•

Environment

•

Job

•

Scene

•

Element.

•

Palette: Displays the palettes available in the currently chosen storage folder.

•

Palette Name: Name the new palette.

‣ Palette List: Select either Scene Palette List or Element Palette List.
3. Select an element from the Element window.
4. If you want to save your palette at the element level, select the Element option from the Palette Location
section and then select the desired element form the Element list.
5. Select either Scene Palette List or Element Palette List.

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6. Click OK.
The palette is created.

Refer to the Toon Boom Harmony Palette File Storage on page 261 and topics to learn more aboutpalette storage location as well as scene and element palette lists.

Renaming a Colour PaletteTo rename a palette:
1. In the Colour view, select the palette to rename.

2. In the Colour View menu, select Palettes > Rename.
3. In the Rename dialog box, rename the palette.

4. Click OK.

Related Topics•

Copying and Pasting Colours on page 276•

Removing a Colour Palette on page 277•

Duplicating a Colour Palette on page 278•

Cloning a Colour Palette on page 279

Managing Palettes
The Harmony Network solution incorporates palettes which hold all of the colours needed to paint elements, a
concept that brings complete control and consistency to the painting process. A palette is created by assigninga set of colours to each character, prop or effect. The colour artist will create a new palette and add a newcolour, called a colour pot, for each zone of the character, such as the skin, hair, tongue, shirt, pants and so on.
When a zone on a character is painted with the colour contained in a colour pot, a link is automatically createdbetween that colour pot and the zone. This means that if the tint of the colour in the colour pot is modified, any
zone that is linked to it will automatically update to the new tint. This saves time and money spent on yourproduction. Another advantage of this system is that you can also create complete palettes for different lighting
situations. For instance, in addition to the regular palette for a character, you can have one for that character inthe rain, using colours that are muted and less vibrant than the dry daytime colours, or another for use in a night266

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scene. Using palettes that are linked to your character this way allows you to instantly change colouring to suitthe mood and atmosphere of the scene without tediously repainting each element.

Related Topics•

Creating a Palette in Harmony below•

Palette Operations on page 271•

Palette Storage on page 274•

Palette Backup on page 276

Creating a Palette in Harmony
Harmony is set to Basic Palette Lists mode by default. This setting stores the palettes automatically for you andsaves them at the Scene level. When you use Advanced Palette Lists mode, you can decide at which level you
want to store your palettes; Environment, Job, Scene, Element.
To switch to Advanced Palette Lists mode:
1. Open the Preferences panel:‣

Windows/Linux: Select Edit > Preferences.

‣

Mac OS X: Select Stage > Preferences.

‣

The [Ctrl] + [U] Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + [U] (Mac OS X).

The Preferences panel opens.
2. Select the Advanced tab.

3. Enable the Advance Palette Lists mode.

4. Click on the OK button.
To create a palette from the Advanced Palette Lists mode:
1. Make sure that you have the necessary rights to modify the palette list. If you do not, select Edit > Edit
Palette List Mode, a check mark will appear beside the command to indicate that the mode is enabled.
2. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the drawing that requires a palette.
3. In the Colour view, click on the Show Palette List View

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4. In the Colour view, click on the Menu
Palettebutton.

button and select Palettes > New or click on the Create

The Palette Browser: Create Palette dialog box opens.

5. Select which level to store the palette file in.

•Environment

The Palette Library folder is stored in an Environment folder contained in the Scene folder.
•

Job
The Palette Library folder is stored in a Job folder contained in the Scene folder.

•

Scene
The Palette Library folder is stored directly in the Scene folder.

•

Element
The Palette Library folder is stored directly in the Drawing Element folder.
When you select a level that has a palette stored in it, the palette names are displayed in the Palette field.

6. Name the palette. (There is no need to add the suffix "palette" to the name as it is always recognized as apalette file.)

7. Select a Palette List option:

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Scene Palette List
The Scene Palette List is mainly used with cut-out animation. A cut-out character will often be divided intwenty to thirty different drawing elements that use the character's master palette.
The palette list is stored at the scene level instead of the Element directory. This way, all palettes linked tothis list will appear in every drawing element created in the scene. There is no need to manually load thepalette in each element.

•

Element Palette List
The Element Palette List is mainly used with traditional and paperless animation. Unlike cut-out
animation, all columns (drawing elements) contain different characters, props, backgrounds and effects.
The Element Palette List is used because you do not necessarily want all of the palettes for all of yourelements linked in every column.
The palette list is stored in the drawing element's directory instead of directly in the Scene level. This
ensures that the links to the palettes appear only in the appropriate element. If you prefer to access a
global palette list, link your palettes to the Scene Palette List.

8. Click on the OK button.
The new palette appears in the palette list.

Related Topics•

Palette Storage on page 274•

Linking a Palette in Harmony below

Linking a Palette in Harmony
To link a palette in Harmony:
1. Make sure that you have the necessary rights to modify the palette list. If you do not, select Edit > Edit
Palette List Mode, a check mark will appear beside the command to indicate that the mode is enabled.
2. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the drawing that requires a palette.
3. In the Colour view, click on the Show Palette List View
4. In the Colour view, click on the Menu

button to display the palette list.

button and select Palettes > Link or click on the Link Palettebutton.
The Palette Browser: Link Palette dialog box opens.

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5. Select the location and level where the palette file is stored. When a level is selected, the palettes it
contains are displayed in the Palette field.

6. Select your palette.

7. Select a Palette List option:•

Scene Palette List
The Scene Palette List is mainly used with cut-out animation. A cut-out character will often be divided intwenty to thirty different drawing elements that use the character's master palette.
The palette list is stored at the scene level instead of the Element directory. This way, all palettes linked tothis list will appear in every drawing element created in the scene. There is no need to manually load thepalette in each element.

•

Element Palette List
The Element Palette List is mainly used with traditional and paperless animation. Unlike cut-out
animation, all columns (drawing elements) contain different characters, props, backgrounds and effects.
The Element Palette List is used because you do not necessarily want all of the palettes for all of yourelements linked in every column.
The palette list is stored in the drawing element's directory instead of directly in the Scene level. This
ensures that the links to the palettes appear only in the appropriate element. If you prefer to access a
global palette list, link your palettes to the Scene Palette List.

8. Click on the OK button.
The palette appears in the drawing element's palette list.

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Related Topics•

Creating a Palette in Harmony on page 267

Palette Operations
When you launch Toon Boom Harmony connected to the database, you can have access to the PaletteOperations dialog box. The Palette Operations lets you clone, rename or delete palettes.
To open the Palette Operation dialog box:
1. Launch Toon Boom Harmony and login on the database. Refer to Connecting to the Database on page 1.
2. Click on the Close button to close the Database Selector dialog box.
3. Select Tools > Palette Operations.
The Palette Operations dialog box opens.

To clone a palette in the Palette Operation dialog box:
1. Select the palette you want to clone at the location and level it was stored in.

2. Click on the Clone button.
3. A Warning dialog box opens.

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Click in the checkbox beside Don't show this message again if you want to prevent the dialog box
from opening every time you do this operation.

4. Click on the Yes button to continue or click on the No button to cancel the palette cloning operation.
The Palette Browser dialog box opens.

5. Select the location level where you want the new palette to be stored.

6. Name the new palette.

7. Select a Palette List option:•

Scene Palette List
The Scene Palette List is mainly used with cut-out animation. A cut-out character will often be divided intwenty to thirty different drawing elements that use the character's master palette.
The palette list is stored at the scene level instead of the Element directory. This way, all palettes linked tothis list will appear in every drawing element created in the scene. There is no need to manually load thepalette in each element.

•

Element Palette List
The Element Palette List is mainly used with traditional and paperless animation. Unlike cut-out
animation, all columns (drawing elements) contain different characters, props, backgrounds and effects.
The Element Palette List is used because you do not necessarily want all of the palettes for all of yourelements linked in every column.
The palette list is stored in the drawing element's directory instead of directly in the Scene level. This
ensures that the links to the palettes appear only in the appropriate element. If you prefer to access a
global palette list, link your palettes to the Scene Palette List.

8. Click on the OK button.

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To rename a palette in the Palette Operation dialog box:
1. Select the palette you want to rename at the location and level it was stored in.

2. Click on the Rename button.
A Warning dialog box opens.

‣

Click in the checkbox beside Don't show this message again if you want to prevent the dialog box
from opening every time you click on the Rename button.

3. Click on the Yes button to continue or click on the No button to cancel the palette renaming operation.
The Rename Palette dialog box opens.

4. Rename the palette.
5. Click on the OK button.
To delete a palette in the Palette Operation dialog box:
1. Select the palette you want to clone at the location and level it was stored in.

2. Click on the Delete button. A Warning dialog box opens.

‣

Click in the checkbox beside Don't show this message again if you want to prevent the dialog box
from opening every time you click on the Delete button. It is not recommended to disable the warning
message in this case. Deleting a palette can not be undone.

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3. Click on the Yes button to continue or click on the No button to cancel the palette deleting operation.

Related Topics•

Connecting to the Database on page 1.

Palette Storage
When a palette is created from Harmony it needs to be stored somewhere. In Harmony, palettes are individual*.plt files that can be copied, transferred and stored.
The palette files are saved in the scene directory and stored in a Palette Library folder. There are four locations
where you can find Palette Library folders:•Element
The Palette Library folder is stored directly in the Drawing Element folder.

•

Scene
The Palette Library folder is stored directly in the Scene folder.

•

Job
The Palette Library folder is stored in a Job folder contained in the Scene folder.

•

Environment
The Palette Library folder is stored in an Environment folder contained in the Scene folder.

Related Topics•

Where to Save the Palette File? below•

What Happens when you Export a Palette File? below

Where to Save the Palette File?
The palette storage location depends on the type of production and the backup plan being used.
Some studios like to store their palettes at the Element level and others at the Environment level. This will not
create a problem as long as the scene is in the Harmony structure, in fact as long as the structure is maintained it
can be stored at any level. However, difficulties may occur when the scene is backed-up or transferred to anotherstudio or database and removed from the initial structure.

Related Topics•

What Happens when you Export a Palette File? below

What Happens when you Export a Palette File?
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 via thecentral database. This also includes the palette files, even if they are stored at the Element, Scene, Job, Drawing
or Environment level. This way, the palette files can be accessed from any scene of any project.

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When you export scenes from Harmony using the Control Center, either to archive them or to send them toother users or studios, the palettes stored in external scenes, jobs or environment will NOT be exported. An
exported scene will only carry palettes stored in its own Element's palette library, Scene's palette library, Job
and Environment. Any other palette from other Environments, Jobs, Elements or Scenes (even from the samejob) will NOT follow. Instead a recovery palette will be created when the scene is reopened in another Harmony
system.
A recovery palette is a local palette created by the system when palettes and colours are missing. This palette is
no longer shared with the rest of the project because the original link is broken.
For example, look at this 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 would create a recovery palette the next time that Scene 2 isopened in another Toon Boom Harmony system.

The best place to store your palette is:•Environment level, for a movie or series•

Job level, for a publicity or small project275

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Scene level, for a student exercise

If you want to store your palettes with your colour models, you can use the Element level. However, this will
require more structure when exporting the different scenes of your project. The scenes will have to be exported
along with the colour model scene. Then, the other studio you are working with will have to recreate an identicalstructure to yours, to be able to import the received scenes into the same location as you did. This will ensurethat the links are maintained.

Related Topics•

Where to Save the Palette File? on page 274

Palette Backup
When sharing palettes between scenes, some users may modify the colours by accident. That is why it is a goodidea to copy and backup your palette libraries and master palette directories.
When a palette file is copied, it automatically becomes a clone palette, so there is no trouble as for replacing analtered file. Harmony automatically updates all of the files and drawings linked to it.

Related Topics•

Creating a Palette in Harmony on page 267•

Palette Operations on page 271•

Palette Storage on page 274

Copying and Pasting Colours
When you are creating palettes, you may want to copy colour swatches or their values and paste them in otherpalettes to save time.
To copy and paste colours
1. In the Colour view, select the colour to copy.

2. In the Colour View menu, select Colours > Copy or press [Ctrl] + [C] (Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + [C] (MacOS X).
3. In the Palette list, select the palette in which you want to paste the colours.

4. In the Colour View menu, select Colours > Paste as New Colours or press [Ctrl] + [V] (Windows/Linux) or[⌘ ] + [V] (Mac OS X).

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If you want to paste the colour values of the copied swatch over an existing colour swatch,select Colours > Paste as Values.

Copying Colours from Another Palette
In Toon Boom Harmony you can quickly copy a colour value from a palette in your scene to a selected colour
swatch in a different palette.
To use Copy Colour From:
1. In the Colour view, select the colour swatch you want to copy the colour into.
2. In the Colour View menu, select Colour > Copy Colour From, then select the palette where the colour you
want to copy is listed and finally select the colour.
The selected colour swatch will immediately change to this new colour.

Related Topics•

Adding a Colour Swatch on page 210

Removing a Colour Palette
You can remove palettes from your Palette list if they are not needed in your scene. The actual palette file will not
be deleted and you will be able to reimport it in your Palette list later on.
To remove a palette:
1. In the Colour view, select the palette to remove.

2. In the Colour View menu, select Palettes > Remove or click on the Remove Palette‣

If the palette was in use in your scene, the zones painted with its colours will turn red.

Related Topics•

Creating a Colour Palette on page 264•

Duplicating a Colour Palette on the next page277

button.

Chapter 5: Colour Palettes•

Cloning a Colour Palette on the facing page

Duplicating a Colour Palette
A duplicate palette uses the same names, colour values, but has a different ID and is independent from theoriginal palette. This ensures that both palettes are completely independent.
This option is used when there are similar models and you want to avoid recreating and naming all of the colours.
You can change the values and the names afterward. You can also keep some RGBA values, such as the eyes,
teeth, tongue, inside mouth, etc.
To duplicate a palette:
1. In the Colour view, select the palette to be duplicated.

2. In the Colour View menu, select Palettes > Duplicate.
The Palette Browser: Duplicate Palette window opens.

3. Name the palette appropriately.
4. Click OK to create the palette.
The palette appears in the palette list.

Related Topics•

Cloning a Colour Palette on the facing page278

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Cloning a Colour Palette

A character usually has only one master palette, although there are times when the characters are placed indifferent lighting conditions and require a different colour shading. The night palette is a popular choice when ascene or sequence changes from day to night. It can be difficult and time-consuming to repaint everything andcreating two independent palettes can be quite complex. As an alternative, Toon Boom Harmony provides clone
palettes.
The clone palette is a copy of the master palette. The colours in each palette have the same properties. The
colours have the same identification number pointing to the same colour zones, but they can have different
names and RGBA values. Depending on the activated palette (night or day), the painted drawing will update. So
there is no need to repaint the animation, but to create or import a clone palette (palette style).
To clone a palette:
1. In the Colour view, select the palette to be cloned.

2. In the Colour View menu, select Palettes > Clone.
The Palette Browser: Clone Palette window opens.

3. Name the palette. (It is recommended to keep the suffix“-clone” in the name.)
4. Click OK to create the palette.
The clone appears in the palette list.

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In the Colour view, you can also modify the colours individually by using the Colour Picker window or all at once
using the Tint Panel window.

If there is more than one clone palette loaded, the system will use the one highest in the palette list.

When you want to see through painted drawings, but still see the outlines, you can create a clone
palette where you set a lower alpha value on all of the filling colours. This trick can be handy whensetting pivot points on cut-out puppets.

Cloning a Colour Swatch
In Toon Boom Harmony, you can copy a selected colour swatch and paste it as a clone.
To clone a colour swatch:
1. In the Colour view, select the colour swatch you want to clone.
2. In the Colour View menu, select Colours > Copy. The [Ctrl] + [C] (Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + [C] (Mac OS X).
3. In the Colour view, select the colour palette you want to paste the clone into, or create a new palette.
4. In the Colour View menu, select Colours > Paste as Clone.
The cloned colour swatch appears in the palette.
Since it produces a clone colour swatch, it is impossible to use the Paste as Clone command in the same palette
as you copied the original colour swatch from. If you try to do it, a Message dialog box will open as a reminder.

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Related Topics•

Mixing the Colours below•

Duplicating a Colour Palette on page 278

Mixing the Colours
If you want to modify a series of colour at once to blend a tint in them or offset their RGBA values, you can use
the Tint panel. The Tint panel is quite useful when creating palette styles such as night and day styles.
To mix colours:
1. In the palette list, select the palette to offset or blend colours in it.

2. In the Colour View menu, select Palettes > Tint Panel.
The Blend/Offset Tint panel opens.

3. Select one or more colours to be modified in the colour list. To select all your colours, press [Ctrl] + [A](Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + [A] (Mac OS X).

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4. Check Preview.

5. Offset, Blend or Mix the selected colours.

‣

Offset

Use this option to simply offset the selected colours by the adjustments made using the HSB and RGB
sliders. Use the Amount slider to adjust the degree of offset. Use the Alpha slider to adjust the opacity ofthe selected colour.
‣

Blend

Use this option to blend the selected colours with the colour swatch in the top right corner. Use theAmount slider to adjust the degree of blend. A blend of 100% would turn the selected colours into thesame colour as the swatch. Adjusting the HSB and RGB sliders affect the swatch colour, which in turnaffects the selected colours on the left. Use the Alpha slider to adjust the opacity of the swatch.
‣

Mixer

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Select a Base and Tint colour to form a third colour swatch. Use the slider just beneath to mix the Baseand Tint colours by different amounts. This will affect the mixed swatch whether it is selected or not.
Select either the Tint or Base swatch and use the HSB and RGB sliders to adjust its colour. This will affectthe mixed swatch colour, which in turn affects the selected colours on the left.

6. Click on the Apply button.
7. Close the Tint Offset/Blend Panel window.

Related Topics•

Cloning a Colour Palette on page 279•

Adding a Colour Swatch on page 210

Importing Palettes•

Importing a Colour Palette below•

Linking a Colour Palette on the next page•

Linking your Master Palette on the next page•

Palette Linkage Status Icons on page 286

Importing a Colour Palette
If you created a palette in another project and you would like to import it in your current project, you can browse
for the palette file on your computer and add it to your project. When the palette is imported in your scene, thefile is copied in the project’s directory. It is not linked to the original file.
To import a palette into your project:
1. In the Colour View menu, select Palettes > Import or click on the Import Palettebutton.

The Browser window opens.
2. Browse for a palette file located on your hard-drive. You will generally find the palettes in your projects’
Palette-Library directory.
3. Click on the Open button.
The palette appears in the Palette list.

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Linking a Colour Palette
You may encounter a scene where only the colour palette created for a certain layer is visible when that layer isselected. A good example would be a scene where there is a character on one layer and the background on
another and each has its own custom colour palette. In order to see both colour palettes, independent of what
element is selected, you must link your palette list to another palette file within the Harmony structure.
To link a colour palette:
1. In the Colour View menu, select Palette > Link.
The Palette Browser window opens.

2. Select the level where the palette file is stored. (Usually Scene or Element)
3. Select the Scene or Element Palette list. See Scene Palette List and Element Palette List on page 262
topic for more information.
The palette appears in the Colour view.

See Scene Palette List and Element Palette List on page 262 topic for more information.

Linking your Master PaletteWith Toon Boom Harmony as a stand-alone application, every scene is local to the machine. This means that allof the scene’s data is only accessible from that particular scene. Palettes are also local to the scene: they can beshared between all drawing layers, but not between scenes.
However, some users may want to share their palettes across a whole project. Toon Boom Harmony offers thatpossibility.
By default, a palette is an independent file stored in your Toon Boom Harmony scene. This file can be copied,
moved or deleted.
To fully link a palette throughout an entire project, you need to create a central directory where you can copy allof the palettes you have created. Every time you link a palette in an element, it is linked to this folder. If you
modify the palette, it will be updated throughout the whole project.

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To link your master palette:
1. In the Colour view, click on the Create Palettebutton to create your master palette.

2. Save your scene by selecting File > Save from the top menu or by clicking on the Save

button orpress [Ctrl] + [S] (Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + [S] (Mac OS X).
3. In your operating system, create a master directory. Ideally, this should be created in your Root folder tokeep it within the project directory. You could also place it inside your Colour Model’s subdirectory.

4. Name the folder appropriately, for example: Joe’s_master_palettes.
5. From your operating system, browse to your Toon Boom Harmony scene and open the palette-libraryfolder.

6. Select and copy your palette.plt file to copy it to the master palette directory.

7. Create a new Toon Boom Harmony scene or open the scene where you will link this palette.
8. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the element to link the palette to.

9. In the Colour View menu, select Palettes > Link to External.
The Link to External Palette dialog box opens.

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Files: Click on the button to browse to your master palettes folder and select the palette *.plt file
you want to link.

‣

Palette List: Select either you want to load this palette at scene or element level.

10. Click OK.
The linked palette appears in your Colour view.

If a palette is outside the scene, the External

icon appears beside the palette name.

To link an element (such as a colour model) to the palette that is stored in the external palette
directory, you must remove the original palette from the element’s palette list. You will then load the
duplicated palette into the palette list using the Link to External command, like you did for the otherelements.

Palette Linkage Status Icons
You will also notice that when you create or link a palette, a small icon will appear on its left. These icons
represent the palette linkage status.
•

Indicates a potentially dangerous situation.
Problems may occur when trying to export or link to the palette file. For example, a palette file is stored
into the element folder and is linked to the Scene Palette list. The issue in this case is that if you decide todelete the layer containing the palette, you will loose it from your scene.

•

Indicates that the palette is safe.

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There won’t be any trouble once the scene will be exported. For example, the palette file is stored in thescene folder and is linked to the Scene Palette List.
•

Indicates that the palette file is stored in a directory external to the scene’s structure.
The palette file is probably stored in a Master Palette directory on a hard drive external to the palettelibraries planned for the palette storage. The warning in this case is that if you move your Master Palette
directory to another location, you may loose the palette in your scene.

•

Indicates that a palette file stored in a level such as Element, Scene, Job or Environment is linked to a
Palette list that is not on the same level.
For example, a palette file is stored into the Environment folder and is linked to the Element Palette list.
The palette is shared.

Ordering the Palette List
When you are using several cloned palettes that are related to the same original palette, Toon Boom
Harmonyuses the highest palette in the list to determine the colour of the painted zones.
To reorder palettes in the Palette list:
1. In the Colour View menu, select Palettes > Move Up or Move Down. You can also use the Up
Down

icons.

Related Topics•

Cloning a Colour Palette on page 279

287

and

Chapter 5: Colour Colour Model

Colour Model

Once you have a fully painted drawing, you can use it as a colour model and load it in the Model view. That
drawing can be used and loaded in any of your Harmony scenes.
Once a drawing is loaded in the Model view, you can click on the Dropper, select a colour from the modeland use it to paint in your Camera or Drawing view without having to pick the colour from the colour palette.
•

Loading a Colour Model below•

Cutting, Copying and Pasting from a Colour Model on page 291

Loading a Colour Model
To load a colour model from your Timeline or Xsheet view:
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view, select the desired drawing (*.tvg).

2. Bring the model into the Model view by doing one of the following:‣

In the Timeline view, click and drag the selected drawing and drop it directly in the Model view.

‣

In the Model View menu, select Use Current Drawing as Model.

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Use Current Drawing

button in the Model View toolbar’s extra buttons.

The model appears in the Model view.
To browse for a colour model drawing on your hard drive:
1. Do one of the following:‣

In the Model View menu, select Import Model.

‣

Click the Import Model‣

Select File > Import > Colour Model.

button or from the Model View’s toolbar.

2. In the Browser window, browse for any *.tvg drawing file on your hard drive.
3. Click Open.
The model appears in the Model view.
To load the Default models:
1. In your scene’s folder, create a new folder and name it models.
2. On your hard drive copy the *.tvg drawing file you want to use as colour models in your scene.
3. In the Model View menu, select Load Default Model. You can also click on the Load Default Modelbutton available in the Model View toolbar’s extra buttons.
To load a single drawing from the Library view:
1. In the Library view, click the template containing the drawing to import in the Model view.
2. Right-click on the template and select Open As Folder.
3. In the Library view’s left side, select the template’s folder and continuing expanding its sub-folders until*.tvg files appear on the right side.

4. In the Library view’s right side, select the TVG drawing to import and drag it into the Model view.
To load a template with multiple drawings from the Library view:
1. In the Library view, find the template you want to import in the Model view.
2. In the Library view’s right side, click and drag the template (*.tpl file) and drop it directly in the Model
view.

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Chapter 5: Colour Loading a Colour Model

3. Use the Scroll Backward

and Scroll Forward

buttons, found in the Model view’s toolbar, to view

all the drawings contained in the template. This can often be the front, profile and 3/4 views of acharacter.

To load a symbol from the Library view:
1. In the Library view’s left side, click on the Symbols folder.
2. In the Library view’s right side, select the symbol that you would like to use as a model and drag and drop
it directly into the Model view.

3. Use the Scroll Backward

and Scroll Forward

buttons, found in the Model view’s toolbar, to view

all the drawings contained in the symbol. This can often be the front, profile and 3/4 views of a character.
To clear a colour model:
1. In the Model View menu, select Clear Model or press [Delete].

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Cutting, Copying and Pasting from a Colour Model
You can do more than just copy colours from a colour model. Harmony gives you the ability to copy parts of thecharacter directly from its colour model and paste these elements into the Drawing or Camera views.
To copy the entire model from the Model view:
1. In the Model view’s toolbar, select the Selecttool.

2. In the Model view, select your model.

3. In the top menu, select Edit > Copy Drawing Object or press [Ctrl] + [C] (Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + [C](Mac OS X).
4. In the Timeline view, make sure that you have the correct layer and frame selected.
5. Select either the Drawing or Camera views then go to the top menu and select Edit > Paste Drawing
Object, or select the Timeline view and from the top men select Edit > Paste cells in the Timeline orpress [Ctrl] + [V] (Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + [V] (Mac OS X).
The model now appears in the selected view.
To copy part of the model from the Model view:
1. In the Model view’s toolbar, select the Cutter

tool or press [Alt] + [T].

2. In the Model view, use the Cutter tool to create a selection around the part of your model that you would
like to copy.

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3. In the top menu, select Edit > Copy Drawing Object or press [Ctrl] + [C] (Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + [C](Mac OS X).
4. In the Timeline view, make sure you have the correct layer and frame selected.
5. Do one of the following:‣

Select the Drawing or Camera view and select Edit > Paste Drawing Object.

‣

Select the Timeline view and select Edit > Paste cells in the Timeline or press [Ctrl] + [V](Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + [V] (Mac OS X).

The model appears in the selected view.

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Colour Preferences
Adjusting preferences to suit your techniques allows you to paint your drawings more efficiently.
To open the Preferences panel:‣

Windows/Linux: Select Edit > Preferences.

‣

Mac OS X: Select Stage > Preferences.

‣

Or press [Ctrl] + [U] Windows/Linux) or [⌘ ] + [U] (Mac OS X).

In the Preferences panel, you will find the following preferences that are related to adding colours to yourproject.

Drawing Tab

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Chapter 5: Colour Drawing Tab

Default Multiwheel Colour Picker
Enable this option to display the Mutliwheel Colour Picker window instead of the regular Colour Picker.

Sticky Eye Dropper
Enable this option to keep the Colour Picker’s Dropper tool active until it is released by clicking on the Dropper
icon again.

Create New Colour Pots Using Default Colour
Set the default colour for creating a new colour swatch. Enable the option so that this default colour is used eachtime you add a new colour in your palettes. This option is useful for when you create new colour pots so that amore recognizable colour is created and not just a duplicate of the currently selected colour. Choosing a colourthat is the opposite of your intended colour palette is recommended, such as grey if your palette will be filledwith bright, primary colours.

Auto Gap Closing on Startup
The values for automatic gap closing while painting drawings are:•

0 = Disabled•

1 = Small•

2 = Medium•

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Auto Gap Closing in Pixel Units
Disabling this option will cause your gap to be zoom dependant. Zoom dependent means that the more you
zoom in, the smaller the gap you can close with the Close Gap tools. By enabling this option, you choose to
make the gap display available in pixel units, which is not zoom dependant.

General Tab

Colour Management
In the General tab of the Preference panel, you will find the following options:•Default to Element Palette Lists: When this option is enabled the new, cloned, duplicated, imported andlinked palettes will be stored in the Element Palette list instead of the Scene Palette List.

•

Interactive Colour Recovery: If a colour palette for your scene is deleted or cannot be found, you will be
asked if you want to recover colours from the program’s memory. If this option is unchecked, theprogram recovers missing colours without displaying a dialog box for your input.

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Chapter 5: Colour Advanced Tab•

Colour Recovery: If this option is unchecked, colour recovery will not occur.

•

Replacement Colours: If colours are no longer available for your scene, these colours are automaticallyreplaced with the ones indicated by the Replacement Colour swatch. The default colour is red, as it acts
as a missing colour warning device.

Advanced Tab

Advanced Palette Lists
In the Advanced section, you will find the Advanced Palette Lists option. Enable this feature to switch yourpalette list to advanced mode. The Advanced Palette Lists mode is used to create and store palettes in the
Scene or Element Palette List.

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Shortcuts Tab

Go to Next/Previous Colour in the Colour Palette
Under the Colour Management section, you can set two new possible shortcuts. You can set a shortcut to Go to
the Next Colour in the Colour Palette or to Go to the Previous Colour.

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Keyboard Shortcuts For Harmony Paint
This document lists default keyboard shortcuts for Harmony Paint.

The Harmony keyboard shortcuts set is used throughout the Harmony Paint module documentation.

To use a shortcut, press the key and the character simultaneously. The + sign, is not part of the sequence. If
there is no shortcut allocated to a command it is left blank.
GeneralCOMMAND

FLASH

CUSTO
M

HARMONY

Win/Linux

Mac OS X

Win/Linux

Mac OS X

Advanced
Save

Ctrl+Shift+S⌘ +Shift+S

Ctrl+Shift+S⌘ +Shift+S

Copy

Ctrl+C⌘ +C

Ctrl+C⌘ +C

Cut

Ctrl+X⌘ +X

Ctrl+X⌘ +X

Delete

Del

Del

Del

Del

Delete(secondary
key)

Backspace

Backspace

Backspace

Backspace

Deselect All

Esc

Esc

Esc

Esc

Free Pan And
Zoom

Space

Space

Space

Space

Get Rights to
ModifyDrawings

Alt+L

Alt+L

Alt+L

Alt+L

Go to Next
ColumnJJJJ

Go to Next
Drawing

G

G

G

G

Go to
Previous
Column

H

H

H

H

Go to
Previous

F

F

F

F

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GeneralCOMMAND

FLASH

CUSTO
M

HARMONY

Win/Linux

Mac OS X

Win/Linux

Mac OS X

Help

F1

F1

F1

F1

Open

Ctrl+O⌘ +O

Ctrl+O⌘ +O

Open
Elements

Ctrl+E⌘ +E

Ctrl+E

⌘ +E

Paste

Ctrl+V⌘ +V

Ctrl+V⌘ +V

Preferences

Ctrl+U⌘ +U

Ctrl+U⌘ +U

Quick Closeup

Shift+Z

Shift+Z

Shift+Z

Shift+Z

Read
ChangedDrawings

Ctrl+;⌘ +;Ctrl+;⌘ +;Recentre

F12⌘ +F12

NN

Redo

Ctrl+Y⌘ +Y

Ctrl+Shift+Z⌘ +Shift+Z

ReleaseRights to
ModifyDrawings

Alt+Shift+L

Alt+Shift+L

Alt+Shift+L

Alt+Shift+
L

Reset Pan

Shift+N

Shift+N

Shift+N

Shift+N

Reset
Rotation

Shift+X

Shift+X

Shift+X

Shift+X

Reset View

Shift+M

Shift+M

Shift+M

Shift+M

Save

Ctrl+S⌘ +S

Ctrl+S⌘ +S

Select All

Ctrl+A⌘ +A

Ctrl+A⌘ +A

Drawing

Reset Zoom
Rotate View
CCW
Rotate View
CW

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GeneralCOMMAND

FLASH

CUSTO
M

HARMONY

Win/Linux

Mac OS X

Win/Linux

Mac OS X

Shift+K

Shift+K

Shift+K

Shift+K

Undo

Ctrl+Z⌘ +Z

Ctrl+Z⌘ +Z

Unload
Model

Del

Del

Del

Del

Zoom In

Ctrl+=⌘ +=2

2

Zoom Out

Ctrl+-⌘ +-1

1

Show Colour
Model
Toggle AutoGet-Rightsto-ModifyPalette-Lists
Toggle AutoGet-Rightsto-ModifyPalettes

Colour Management
COMMAND

Get Rights To
Modify All
PalettesFLASH

HARMONYCUSTOM

Win/Linux

Mac OS X

Win/Linux

Mac OS X

Alt+L

Alt+L

Alt+L

Alt+L

Palette Go to
Next Colour
Palette Go toPrevious Colour

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Keyboard Shortcuts For Harmony Paint

Drawing Mode
COMMAND

FLASH

CUST
OM

HARMONY

Win/Linux

Mac OS X

Win/Linux

Mac OS X

Apply Tool
to AllDrawings

Ctrl+Alt+A⌘ +Alt+A

Alt+A

Alt+A

Apply Tool
to All Visible
Layers

Shift+Q

Shift+Q

Shift+Q

Shift+Q

Auto-Create
Colour Art
from Brush

Shift+F2

Shift+F2

Shift+F2

Shift+F2

Automatically Fill Inside
Regions

Ctrl+Shift+
R⌘ +Shift+R

Ctrl+Shift+R⌘ +Shift+R

Bring
Forward

Ctrl+Up⌘ +Up

Ctrl+PgUp⌘ +PgUp

Bring To
Front

Ctrl+Shift+
Up⌘ +Shift+Up

Ctrl+Shift+Pg
Up⌘ +Shift+Pg
Up

Alt+B

Alt+B

Activate
MagnifierAuto-Matte

Brush Tool
Brush Tool
(General)

Alt+B

Alt+B

Close Gap
Interactive
Tool

Shift+F10

Close Gap
Tool

Alt+C

Alt+C

Alt+C

Alt+C

Contour
Editor Tool

Alt+A

Alt+A

Alt+Q

Alt+Q

ConvertBrush
Strokes toPencil Lines

^

^

^

^

Shift+F10302

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Drawing Mode
COMMAND

FLASH

CUST
OM

HARMONY

Win/Linux

Mac OS X

Win/Linux

Mac OS X

ConvertPencil Lines
to Brush
Strokes

&

&

&

&

ConvertStrokes toPencil Lines

Shift+F12

Shift+F12

CreateBreaking
Triangles
CreateColour Art
from Line
Art

*

*

*

*

Alt+T

Alt+T

Crop Brush
Textures
Cutter Tool
Dropper
Tool

Alt+I

Alt+I

Alt+D

Alt+D

Edit
Texture/Gr
adient Tool

Shift+F3

Shift+F3

Shift+F3

Shift+F3

Ellipse Tool

Alt+O

Alt+O

Alt+=

Alt+=

Eraser Tool

Alt+E

Alt+E

Alt+E

Alt+E

Flatten

Alt+Shift+F

Alt+Shift+F

Alt+Shift+F

Alt+Shift+F

Flatten andRemoveExtra
Strokes

Ctrl+Shift+F⌘ +Shift+F

Ctrl+Shift+F⌘ +Shift+F

FlattenLatest

F2

F2

F2

F2

First Frame

Flip

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Keyboard Shortcuts For Harmony Paint

Drawing Mode
COMMAND

FLASH

CUST
OM

HARMONY

Win/Linux

Mac OS X

Win/Linux

Mac OS X

Ctrl+G⌘ +G

Ctrl+G⌘ +G

Ctrl+Alt+H⌘ +Alt+H

Ctrl+Shift+H⌘ +Shift+H

Light Table

Shift+L

Shift+L

Shift+L

Shift+L

Line Tool

Alt+N

Alt+N

Alt+\

Alt+\

Morphing
Tool

F3

F3

F3

F3

Onion Skin:
1 NextCtrl+1⌘ +1

Ctrl+1⌘ +1

Onion Skin:
1 Previous

!

!

!

!

Onion Skin:
2 NextCtrl+2⌘ +2

Ctrl+2⌘ +2

Onion Skin:
2 Previous

@

@

@

@

Onion Skin:
3 NextCtrl+3⌘ +3

Ctrl+3⌘ +3Onion Skin:

#

#

#

#

Horizontal
Flip Vertical
Go to Next
Morphing
Frame
Go to
PreviousMorphing
Frame
Group
Hand Tool
Hide Line
TextureInk Tool

Merge
Pencil Lines304

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Drawing Mode
COMMAND

FLASH

CUST
OM

HARMONY

Win/Linux

Mac OS X

Win/Linux

Mac OS X

Onion Skin:No Next

Ctrl+`⌘ +`Ctrl+`⌘ +`Onion Skin:
No Previous

~

~

~

~

Optimize

Ctrl+Alt+Sh
ift+C⌘ +Alt+Sh
ift+C

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+C⌘ +Alt+Shift+C

Paint andRemoveTextureCtrl+Shift+
F6⌘ +Shift+
F6

Shift+F6

Shift+F6

Alt+I

Alt+I

Paint
Unpainted
Tool

Alt+Y

Alt+Y

PencilEditor Tool

Alt+W

Alt+W

3 Previous
Onion Skin:
Add 1 nextOnion Skin:
Add 1
PreviousOnion Skin:
Reduce 1
Next
Onion Skin:
Reduce 1
Previous

Paint Tool
Paint Tool
(General)

Alt+K

Alt+K

Pencil Tool

Alt+Y

Alt+Y

Alt+/

Alt+/

Permanent
Selection

Ctrl+Shift+P⌘ +Shift+P

Ctrl+Shift+P⌘ +Shift+P

Perspective

Alt+0

Alt+0

Alt+0

Alt+0

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Keyboard Shortcuts For Harmony Paint

Drawing Mode
COMMAND

FLASH
Win/Linux

CUST
OM

HARMONY
Mac OS X

Win/Linux

Mac OS X

Shift+P

Shift+P

Tool
Pivot Tool
Polyline
Tool

Alt+P

Alt+P

Alt+_

Alt+_

Preview Lineand Colour
Arts

Shift+P

Shift+PP

P

Real-Time
Antialiasing

Ctrl+Alt+Sh
ift+A⌘ +Alt+Sh
ift+A

Ctrl+Alt+A⌘ +Alt+A

Rectangle
Tool

Alt+R

Alt+R

Alt+7

Alt+7

Shift+D

Shift+D

Shift+D

Shift+D

ReduceDrawing
TextureResolution
Remove Dirt
RemoveHair
RemoveSelected
Drawing
Removes art
insideselection
Removes art
insideselection on
all drawings
Removes art
outsideselection
Removes art
outsideselection on

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Drawing Mode
COMMAND

FLASH
Win/Linux

CUST
OM

HARMONY
Mac OS X

Win/Linux

Mac OS X

Repaint
Brush Tool

Alt+X

Alt+X

Repaint
Tool

Alt+R

Alt+R

all drawings

Reposition
All
Drawings
Tool
Resize Pen
Style Tool

O

O

O

O

Rotate 90
CCW

Ctrl+7⌘ +7

Ctrl+7⌘ +7

Rotate 90
CW

Ctrl+9⌘ +9Ctrl+9

⌘ +9

Del

Del

Del

Del

SelectMorphing
Contour
Hint Mode

Ctrl+Shift+
H⌘ +Shift+
H

F7

F7

SelectMorphing
Vanishing
Point Mode

F10

Rotate 180

Rotate View
Tool
SelectDeleteMorphing
Hint Mode
SelectMorphing
Appearing
Point Mode

F10

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Keyboard Shortcuts For Harmony Paint

Drawing Mode
COMMAND

FLASH

CUST
OM

HARMONY

Win/Linux

Mac OS X

Win/Linux

Mac OS X

SelectStrokesWith
Current
Colour

Ctrl+Shift+A⌘ +Shift+A

Ctrl+Shift+A⌘ +Shift+A

Select Tool

Alt+V

Alt+V

Alt+S

Alt+S

Send
Backward

Ctrl+Down⌘ +Down

Ctrl+PgDown⌘ +PgDown

Send To
Back

Ctrl+Shift+
Down⌘ +Shift+
Down

Ctrl+Shift+Pg
Down⌘ +Shift+Pg
Down

SelectMorphing
Zone Hint
Mode

Shift Trace
DrawingMove Down
Shift Trace
DrawingMove Up
Shift Trace
Drawing
Reset
Position
Shift Trace
Drawing
Toggle Peg
State
Shift Trace
Drawing
ToggleVisibility
Shift Trace
Move Tool
Shift Trace
Rotate Tool

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Drawing Mode
COMMAND

FLASH

CUST
OM

HARMONY

Win/Linux

Mac OS X

Win/Linux

Mac OS X

Show Grid

Ctrl+'⌘ +'Ctrl+'⌘ +'Show Grid
Outiline
Only

Ctrl+Alt+G⌘ +Alt+G

Show Other
Morphing
Key
Drawing==

Ctrl+Shift+M⌘ +Shift+M

D

D

K

K

Show/HideContour
EditorControls

Alt+F5

Alt+F5

Alt+F5

Alt+F5

Show/HideOnion Skin

Ctrl+Alt+O⌘ +Alt+O

Alt+O

Alt+O

SmoothAlt+Shift+S

Alt+Shift+
S

Alt+Shift+S

Alt+Shift+S

Ctrl+Alt+,⌘ +Alt+,Ctrl+Alt+,⌘ +Alt+,Shift Trace
Scale Tool
Shift Trace
ToggleManipulator
Shift Trace
Toggle View

Show Scan
Info PanelShow
StrokesShow
SymbolPivot

Smooth
Editor Tool
Snap and
Align

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Keyboard Shortcuts For Harmony Paint

Drawing Mode
COMMAND

FLASH

CUST
OM

HARMONY

Win/Linux

Mac OS X

Win/Linux

Mac OS X

Snap toContour

Ctrl+Alt+;⌘ +Alt+;Ctrl+Alt+;⌘ +Alt+;Snap to
Grid

Ctrl+Alt+'⌘ +Alt+'Ctrl+Alt+'⌘ +Alt+'Stroke Tool

Alt+/

Alt+/

Alt+V

Alt+V

Switch to
Line
Art/Colour
Art

L

L

L

L

Switch To
Overlay/Un
derlay Layer

:

:

:

:

Text Tool

Alt+T

Alt+T

Alt+9

Alt+9

ToggleBacklight

Ctrl+Shift+
C⌘ +Shift+
C

Alt+Shift+B

Alt+Shift+B

Shift+S

Shift+S

Shift+S

Shift+S

Alt+U

Alt+U

Alt+Z

Alt+Z

SuggestMorphing
Hints

Toggle Line
Building
Mode
ToggleProtect
Colours
Unpaint
Tool
Zoom Tool

Alt+Z

Alt+Z

310