Toon Boom
Storyboard Pro 22

Getting Started Guide

TOON BOOM ANIMATION INC.

+1 514 278 8666

4200 Saint-Laurent, Suite 1020
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
H2W 2R2

contact@toonboom.com
toonboom.com

Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

Legal Notices
Toon Boom Animation Inc.
4200 Saint-Laurent, Suite 1020
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
H2W 2R2
Tel: +1 514 278 8666
Fax: +1 514 278 2666
toonboom.com

Disclaimer
The content of this document is the property of Toon Boom Animation Inc. and is copyrighted. Any
reproduction in w hole or in part is strictly prohibited.
The content of this document is covered by a specific limited w arranty and exclusions and limit of liability
under the applicable License Agreement as supplemented by the special terms and conditions for
Adobe® Flash® File Format (SW F). For details, refer to the License Agreement and to those special terms andconditions.

Trademarks
Toon Boom® is a registered trademark. Storyboard Pro™ and the Toon Boom logo are trademarks of Toon
Boom Animation Inc. All other trademarks of the property of their respective ow ners.

Publication Date
09-26-2022
Copyright © 2022 Toon Boom Animation Inc., a Corus Entertainment Inc. company. All rights reserved.

1

Table of Contents

Table of Contents
Table of Contents

2

Chapter 1: Introduction

6

Chapter 2: How to Create a Project8

Chapter 3: About the User Interface

12

View s12

Stage & Camera View s

14

Layers Panel

15

Thumbnails View

16

Timeline View

16

Panel View

17

Storyboard View

18

Tool Properties View

19

Toolbars

19

Tools Toolbar

19

Storyboard Toolbar

20

Playback Toolbar

20

Top Menu

21

Navigating the Interface

22

Chapter 4: How to Add Scenes and Panels

26

Creating Scenes

26

Creating Panels

28

Creating Sequences

29

Reordering Panels

30

Chapter 5: How to Add a Script and Captions

32

Typing a Script

32

Spell Checking

34

Importing a Script

37

Adding Captions

38

Creating a Project from a Final Draft Script

39

2

Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

Chapter 6: How to Add and Manage Layers

44

Layer Types

44

Adding Layers

46

Deleting Layers

47

Grouping Layers

47

Hiding and Show ing Layers

48

Locking and Unlocking Layers

50

Chapter 7: How to Draw and Paint

52

How to Draw52

How to Paint

53

About Art Styles, Draw ing Tools and Layer Types

55

Chapter 8: How to Use Drawing Guides

58

Chapter 9: How to Import Images

68

Chapter 10: How to Create an Animatic

72

Setting the Panel Duration

73

Animatic Editing Mode76

Adding Transitions

81

Chapter 11: How to Animate the Camera

84

Chapter 12: How to Animate Layers

88

Chapter 13: How to Import Audio

94

Enabling Sound

94

Importing Sound Clips

94

Adding Audio Tracks

97

Chapter 14: How to Import Videos

100

Adding Video Tracks

100

Importing Video Clips

101

Chapter 15: How to W ork in 3D

106

Converting a Scene to 3D

106

Resetting a Scene to 2D

106

View ing Objects from the Top and Side

107

3

Table of Contents

Positioning 2D Elements in 3D Space108

Importing 3D Models

109

Manipulating 3D Objects

111

Preview ing 3D Scenes

113

Chapter 16: How to Create and Import Templates

116

Creating Layer Templates

116

Importing Layer Templates

117

Creating Panel Templates

117

Importing Panel Templates

119

Chapter 17: How to Export your Project

122

Exporting a PDF

122

Exporting a Movie

124

Exporting to Harmony

128

4

Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

5

Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 1: Introduction
Storyboard Pro is a full-featured storyboard and animatic creation softw are for animated features, TV series,
projects mixing 2D and 3D, live action productions, video games, or events w ith advanced features.
In this Getting Started Guide, you w ill learn the basics of how to use the main features in Storyboard Pro,w hich w ill quickly bring you up to speed. Refer to the complete Toon Boom Storyboard Pro documentation
available online at docs.toonboom.com to learn about all the tools and options, as w ell as more advanced
techniques.

6

Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

7

Chapter 2: How to Create a Project

Chapter 2: How to Create a Project
W hen you open Storyboard Pro for the first time, tw o dialogs appear. The first one provides links for:l

Learning how to use Storyboard Pro.

l

Details on w hat's new in this version of Storyboard Pro.

l

Joining the Toon Boom Forum, w here you can exchange w ith other Storyboard Pro users, ask questions,and get answ ers to your questions.

W hen you close the first W elcome screen, the second one displays, in w hich you can create and open projects.

8Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

TIP
Once in the main application w indow , you can return to the W elcome Screen by selecting Help >Show W elcome Screen from the top menu.

How to create a project from the W elcome screen
1. In the Project Name field, type the name of the project. This name w ill be used to name theproject's folder and the main project file.
2. Next to the Project Directory field, click on the Browse button to navigate to a location to saveyour project.
3. In the Project Title field, type the name of the project title. By default, this field w ill already be
filled w ith w hat you typed in the Project Name field.
4. If you w ant your project to have a subtitle, type it in the Project Subtitle field. This is notmandatory.
5. In the Colour Space drop-dow n menu, select a colour space to use, or stay w ith the default sRGB.

9

Chapter 2: How to Create a Project

6. In the Camera Size drop-dow n, choose the resolution for your project.

The W idth, Height, Frame Rate and Field of View automatically update based on the Camera Size
selection.
5. In the Colour Space drop-dow n, select a colour space for your project.
6. Click Create Project.

10

Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

11

Chapter 3: About the User Interface

Chapter 3: About the User Interface
W hen you start Storyboard Pro for the first time, the default w orkspace is displayed. It contains all of the mainelements you need for creating a storyboard.

Views
The Storyboard Pro user interface is mainly comprised of view s, w hich are sections of the w orkspace w ith a
specific purpose and a set of functionalities. Each view has a tab over it, and can be docked into the main
application w indow or made to float over it, in its ow n w indow .

How to add a view to your workspace as a tab
1. In the top-right corner of an existing view , click the12

Add View button

Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

2. Select the desired view from the list.
The view appears as a new tab, in the section of your w orkspace w here you added it.

13

Chapter 3: About the User Interface

How to add a view to your workspace as a window
1. Open the W indows menu.
2. In the W indow s menu, select the view you w ish to add.
The view w ill appear as a new w indow over Storyboard Pro's main application w indow .

How to dock a view window to your workspace
1. Click and drag the floating view by its tab and do one of the follow ing:lDrop the w indow over another tab to add it to that set of tabs.

lDrop the w indow above, below or beside an existing view . W hen you get close to theedge of a view , a cyan rectangle appears, indicating w here the view w ill be docked.

Stage & Camera Views
The Stage view is the main view in Storyboard Pro. It is used to view and edit the selected panel. You can draw
on layers in the panel, manipulate elements in it as w ell as create and visualize camera movements.

14

Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

The Camera view is a lot like the Stage view , and it is not necessary to use it if you only intend to w ork in 2D.
How ever, if you intend to w ork w ith 3D models, to position elements at different distances from the camera or
rotate layers in 3D, the difference becomes important: W hen w orking in 3D, the Stage view allow s you to view
the stage from any point of view in the 3D space, w hereas the Camera view alw ays preview s the stage fromthe point of view of the camera lens, w hich means it accurately represents w hat w ill appear w hen you export
your storyboard.

Layers Panel
The Layers panel displays in a section to the right of both the Stage and Camera view s. It allow s you to add,
delete, duplicate, group, reorder, hide, unhide, lock or unlock layers, to enable or disable animation on layers,
to change a layer's opacity and to select w hich layer to draw on, to manipulate or to animate.

15Chapter 3: About the User Interface

Thumbnails View
The Thumbnails view displays all the panels in your storyboard, in chronological order, from left to right. Using
this view , you can navigate through your storyboard, rearrange panels and scenes, and select w hich panel todisplay and edit in the Stage or Camera view .

Timeline View
The Timeline view is the view to use instead of the Thumbnails view w hen you w ant to make an animatic. An
animatic is a video based on your storyboard, in w hich each panel is timed to appear for roughly the length of16

Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

the action they represent, and in w hich the camera movements are animated, to serve as the basis for thetiming in your movie. Just like the Thumbnails view , the Timeline view allow s you to create and to manage
panels and scenes. It also allow s you, among other things, to decide how much time each scene and eachpanel takes in the animatic, to animate camera movements, to animate layers and to add sound clips, images
and videos to your animatic.

Panel View
The Panel view displays the basic information about the currently selected panel. It also allow s to view andedit captions in the current panel, as w ell as to add sketches or voice annotations to the panel.

17

Chapter 3: About the User Interface

Storyboard View
The Storyboard view displays basic information about your project. It also allow s you to w rite, import, viewand edit the script for your storyboard.

18

Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

Tool Properties View
The Tool Properties view contains the options and operations available for the currently selected tool. W hen
you select a tool in the Tools toolbar, the Tool Properties view updates to display its available options.

Toolbars
The Storyboard Pro interface contains toolbars that quicky give you you access many useful tools. You canadd, move and remove toolbars in your w orkspace.
The most important toolbars in Storyboard Pro are the Tools toolbar, the Storyboard toolbar and the Playback
toolbar.

Tools Toolbar
The Tools toolbar contains the main tools you need to w ork in Storyboard Pro. In the default w orkspace, thistoolbar located on the left edge of the application w indow .

19

Chapter 3: About the User Interface

Storyboard Toolbar
The Storyboard toolbar contains all of the basic commands related to adding and deleting panels, scenes, andtransitions, as w ell as sw itching betw een the 2D and 3D w orkspaces.
In the default w orkspace, this toolbar is located at the top of the interface.

Playback Toolbar
The Playback toolbar lets you play back your storyboard. W hen you create an animatic w ith transitions andsound, you can play it back in real time in the Stage view to check the timing.
In the default w orkspace, this toolbar is located at the top of the interface.

20

Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

Top Menu
The top menu contains most of the commands available in Storyboard Pro. Depending on the view you're
w orking in and the selected element, some commands are available and others not. The top menu is alw ays
located at the very top of the interface.

Here is a short introduction to the purpose of every menu in the top menu:
Menu

Description

Storyboard Pro
22

Allow s you to access the About dialog as w ell as the Preferences dialog. This menu isavailable on macOS only.

FileContains items related to creating, saving, exporting and importing your projects.

Edit

Contains commands for cutting, copying and pasting selected panels or layers, for selecting
panels or draw ings and for grouping or ungrouping layers. On W indow s, it is also the locationof the Preferences menu.

View

Allow s you to pan, zoom or rotate the current view , reset it to its default point of view , toenable or disable certain view modes such as the Onion Skin or the Light Table.

Play

Allow s you to play and pause the animatic as w ell as to navigate the panels and scenes ofyour storyboard.

Storyboard

Allow s you to manage your project's scenes, panels and sequences, to add transitions,markers, snapshots and to track the changes made to the project. It is also w here the Project
Properties dialog can be accessed.

Layer

Contains a w ide set of commands to manage the draw ing layers in the current panel, as w ell
as effects you can apply on layers.

CameraContains a few commands to help manage the position and animation of the camera in ascene.

21

Chapter 3: About the User Interface

Menu

Description

Clips

Contains commands for editing and preview ing video and sound clips.

CaptionAllow s you to add, remove, search through and set the format for captions.

Tools

Allow s you to select one of the tools in the Tools toolbar as w ell as to arrange, transform andconvert the shapes and lines that compose your draw ings.

W indow s

Allow s you to sw itch betw een w orkspaces, to manage w orkspaces, and to access the different
view s and toolbars available in Storyboard Pro.

Help

Allow s you to access documentation, the Toon Boom forums, to opt in or out of the Customer
Experience Improvement program and to check for updates. On W indow s, it is also w here you
can access the About dialog.

Navigating the Interface
W ith the help of menu commands and keyboard shortcuts, some view s let you navigate their content byzooming in, zooming out, panning and rotating them. You can also reset the zoom level, pan and rotation angleof these view s as needed.
The navigation commands in the table below can be used in the follow ing view s, w ith some exceptions:
l

Stage

l

CameralTimelinelFunction EditorlSide and Top

TIP
Keyboard shortcuts can be customized. You can view , search for and change keyboard shortcuts
for Storyboard Pro in the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog. To access the Keyboard shortcuts dialog:l

W indows: In the top menu, select Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts.

lmacOS: In the top menu, select Storyboard Pro 22 > Keyboard Shortcuts.

22

Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

Command

ActionAccess Methods

View > Zoom In
Zoom In

Zooms in theview .

Press 2
Roll the mouse w heel up (except in the Timeline view )View > Zoom Out
Zoom Out

Zooms out theview .

Press 1
Roll the mouse w heel dow n (except in the Timeline view )Roll the middle mouse button up or dow n.
Zoom In or Out

Zooms in or outof the view .

Pan

Moves the viewhorizontally or
vertically.

Hold dow n the Spacebar and drag in the direction you w ant to pan
the view .

Resets theView > Reset Panview ’s pan to its
default position.

Press Shift + N

Reset Pan

Hold dow n the Spacebar and the middle mouse button w hile
dragging the mouse up or dow n.

View > Reset View
Reset View

Resets the view
to its default
position.

Press Shift + M
TheReset View button at the bottom of the Stage and Camera

view s.

Reset Rotation

Reset Zoom

Rotate View

Resets theview ’s rotation
to its default
position.

Resets theview ’s zoom toits default
position.

Rotates the viewleft or right.

View > Reset Rotation
Press Shift + X

View > Reset Zoom
Press Shift + Z

W hile holding Ctrl + Alt (W indow s) or ⌘ + Alt (macOS), click anddrag the rotating disc to rotate it clockw ise or counterclockw ise.

23

Chapter 3: About the User Interface

Command

ActionAccess Methods

3D Rotate View

Rotates the viewin any direction.
This is only
available in theStage view , if
the scene is 3Denabled.

W hile holding Ctrl + Shift (W indow s) or Shift + ⌘ (macOS), click anddrag the stage to rotate it in any direction.

Rotate 30 CW

Rotates the
Camera view 30
degreesclockw ise, likean animationtable.

Rotate 30 CCW

Toggle Full Screen

Rotates the
Camera view 30
degrees counterclockw ise, likean animationtable.

Toggles
betw een making
the mainapplication
w indow fullscreen andrestoring it to its
original size.

View > Rotate View CWPress V

View > Rotate View CCW
Press C

View > Toggle Full Screen
Ctrl + Alt + Shift + F (W indow s) or ⌘ + Alt + Shift + F (macOS)

24

Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

25

Chapter 4: How to Add Scenes and Panels

Chapter 4: How to Add Scenes and Panels
The basic structure of a storyboard consists of scenes, each of w hich are composed of one or several panels. A
panel is a draw ing that represents an action in the script. Panels and scenes in a storyboard are ordered inchronological order, from left to right.
An animation project typically requires creating a new scene every time the layout needs to be changed. Thismeans for example that you need to create a new scene in your storyboard each time a change in camera
angle requires to use a different draw ing or rendition of the background, as w ell as each time the script takes
the action to a different setting.
You can create the basic structure of your storyboard by adding a scene for each scene your script requires,
then adding a panel for each action in each scene that needs to be visually represented.

NOTE
In live action terminology, this definition of a scene is actually referred to as a shot. A scene in live
action is actually a sequence of shots occurring in the same setting.
If you are w orking on a storyboard intended for a live action movie, you can make Storyboard Pro
use live action terminology by selecting the Live Action terminology style option in the General tabof the Preferences dialog. For readability, this guide w ill mainly use animation terminology.

Creating Scenes
A new project w ill contain one scene, w ith a single panel in it. Creating a new scene w ill alw ays automaticallycreate it w ith one panel inside it.

How to add a scene to the storyboard
1. Select any panel in the last scene of your storyboard.
2. Do one of the follow ing:l

In the Storyboard toolbar, click the

New Scene button.

l

Right-click on a panel and select New Scene.

l

In the top menu, select Storyboard > New > New Scene.

26

Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

A new scene, containing one blank panel, is added after the current scene.

Each scene is assigned a number. W hen you create a scene at the end of your project, Storyboard Pro
automatically assigns it the number that comes right after the number of the last scene. If you try to insert ascene betw een tw o existing scenes, you w ill be prompted to indicate how this new scene should be named,
and if scenes after the new scene should be re-numbered.

How to insert a scene between two existing scenes
1. Select any panel the scene after w hich the new scene should be inserted.
2. Do one of the follow ing:l

In the Storyboard toolbar, click the

New Scene button.

l

Right-click on a panel and select New Scene.

l

In the top menu, select Storyboard > New > New Scene.

The Rename Scene dialog appears.

3. Do one of the follow ing:l

If you w ant the new scene to have a suffix, to indicate that it w as inserted betw een existing
scenes, you do not have to edit any of the fields. The New name field already contains the27Chapter 4: How to Add Scenes and Panels

name of the currently selected scene follow ed by a letter suffix. For example, if you tried
inserting a scene before scenes 2 and 3, Storyboard Pro w ill name the new scene 2_A by
default.
l

If you w ant the scene to have the number after the number of the currently selected scene,
and to renumber all subsequent scenes accordingly, enter this number in the New Name
field. For example, if you're inserting a scene betw een scenes 2 and 3, type 3 in the New
Name field. Then, in the Renaming Rule for Subsequent Scene dropdow n menu, selectRenumber Scenes.

4. If you intend to use the same options w henever you insert a scene, check the Do not show this
dialog automatically option.
5. Click OK.
A new scene, containing one blank panel, is added after the current scene, numbered according to
your selected settings.

Creating Panels
A panel is used to visually represent an action in a scene.. You should add as many panels to a scene as
necessary to explicitly describe each action in that scene.

How to add a panel to a scene
1. In the Thumbnails view , select the panel after w hich you w ant to insert a new panel.

2. Do one of the follow ing:l

In the Storyboard toolbar, click the

New Panel button.

l

In the top menu, select Storyboard > New > New Panel.

lPress P.

A new panel is added to the storyboard and is part of the same scene as the current panel.

28

Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

Creating Sequences
A sequence is a w ay of grouping scenes together. Using them is optional, but they can help organize yourstoryboard. For example, you can use sequences to group scenes that are part of the same setting together.
W hen you start building a storyboard, by default, your scenes w ill not be part of any sequence. To use
sequences in your project, you can take one of the tw o follow ing approaches:l

After you have created all the scenes that should be part of your first sequence, simply use the New
Sequence command to create your next scene. All the scenes that are already in your project w ill begrouped together in the first sequence of your project, and a new scene, w hich w ill kick off the second
sequence, w ill be added at the end of your project.
From that point on, you can use the New Sequence command w henever you have to create a scene thatshould start off another sequence.

l

After you have created all the scenes required for your project, you can split your storyboard intosequences by selecting scenes that should be part of the same sequence, grouping them together in a
new sequence, and repeating the process until every scene is in the appropriate sequence.

How to create a new sequence
1. Do one of the follow ing:l

In the Storyboard toolbar, click the

New Sequence button.

l

In the top menu, select Storyboard > New > New Sequence.

A new scene is added to your project and is now the starting point of a new sequence.

29

Chapter 4: How to Add Scenes and Panels

If this is the first sequence you add to a project, all scenes prior to it w ill be combined into aseparate sequence. Violet-coloured sequence markers w ill also become visible in both theThumbnails and Timeline view s.

How to create a new sequence from a selection
1. In the Thumbnails or Timeline view , select all the scenes you w ant to put into a new sequence. To
do this, w hile holding Shift, click on the first scene to be part of the new sequence, then on the lastscene to be part of the new sequence. This selects every scene betw een the scenes you clicked on,
inclusively.

2. Do one of the follow ing:
a. In the top menu, select Storyboard > New > New Sequence from Selection.
b. Right-click on the selection, then select New Sequence from Selection.
Your selection becomes a new sequence.
If this is the first sequence you add to your project, all the scenes before the selection w ill begrouped together into a separate sequence, and all the scenes after the selection w ill be grouped
together into another sequence. Violet-coloured sequence markers w ill become visible in both theThumbnails and Timeline view s.

NOTE
Sequences must include w hole scenes. If you only select some of the panels in a scene, thew hole scene w ill be included in the sequence.

Reordering Panels
You can reorder panels by clicking on thedrag and drop handle in the top left corner of the panel, thendragging the panel betw een the tw o panels w here you w ant it to be moved. A red line w ill appear betw een

30

Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

tw o panels near your mouse cursor to indicate w here the panel w ill be moved.

TIP
If you w ant to move several panels together, you can select them together, then click and drag thedrag and drop handle of any panel in the selection. To select several panels in the Thumbnails
view , do one of the follow ing:lDraw a rectangle in the Thumbnails view around all the panels you w ant to select.

l

W hile holding Shift, click on the first panel you w ant to add to your selection, then on the last
panel you w ant to add to your selection. Every panel in-betw een w ill also be selected.

l

W hile holding Ctrl (W indow s) or ⌘ (macOS), click on each panel that you w ant to add to yourselection.

If you move a panel to the space betw een tw o scenes, you have the option of attaching the panel to the scene
before or after this space, or to drop it into its ow n new scene. W here the scene w ill end up depends on how
close to either scene you drop it. The red line that appears betw een the tw o scenes w ill indicate w hether it w ill
be attached to the scene before or after the space w here the panel is being dropped, or moved to its ow n newscene.

31

Chapter 5: How to Add a Script and Captions

Chapter 5: How to Add a Script and Captions
Before making a storyboard, you must have a script ready. You can type the script for your project directly into
Storyboard Pro, or you can import it from a file. Then, you can separate your script into captions for each of thepanels in your storyboard, so as to provide the storyboard artist w ith the information they need to draw thecontent of each panel.
By default, each panel can store four different types of captions: Dialogue, Action Notes, Slugging and Notes.
The Dialogue and Action Notes can be sourced straight from your script, and Notes can be used to store
information such as scene headings, transitions and other useful information. Slugging captions are typically
added later, w hile making the storyboard, to give timing indications regarding the dialogues and actions forthe animatic.

Typing a Script
You can type the script for your storyboard directly into the Storyboard view .

How to type the script for your Storyboard Pro project
1. Open the Storyboard view . By default, it w ill be in the right pane of your w orkspace.

2. Click the inside of the text field.
3. Start typing your script.

32

Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

Storyboard Pro checks the spelling of every w ord you type into the Storyboard view , as w ell as into caption
fields for your panels in the Panel view , against the w ords in a dictionary of a specific language. You canchange the language of the spell checker to match the language in w hich you're w riting.

NOTE
By default, spell checking is done in English (US) if you launch Storyboard Pro for the first time in
English and in Spanish (ES) if you launch Storyboard Pro for the first time in Spanish.
If you launch Storyboard Pro for the first time in Chinese or Japanese, no dictionary w ill be selectedby default, and you w ill have to select a dictionary to enable spell checking. Storyboard Pro does
not have Chinese and Japanese dictionaries.

How to change the dictionary used for automatic spell checking
1. In the top menu, select Captions > Spelling > Spell Check.
The Spelling dialog appears.

2. In the Language drop-dow n at the bottom, select the language in w hich you intend to type yourscript:lEnglish (AU): English (Australia)lEnglish (US): English (United States)lEnglish (CA): English (Canada)lEnglish (GB): English (United Kingdom)lEspañol (ES): Spanish (Spain)lFrançais (FR): French (France)

33

Chapter 5: How to Add a Script and Captionsl한국어 (KR): KoreanlPortuguês (BR): Portuguese (Brasil)lPortuguês (PT): Portuguese (Portugal)lрусский (RU): Russianl

No Spellchecking: Disables spellchecking

Automatic spell-checking w ill now be done using the selected dictionary.
3. Click Close.

Spell Checking
At any time w hile or after typing your script or filling out your project's captions, you can use the Spelling
dialog to go through and correct each spelling mistake that is detected by Storyboard Pro's spell checker.
The Spelling dialog w ill go through every spelling mistake it can find in your project, including in its script andin its panel captions. It w ill start searching for spelling mistakes starting w ith the text field that is currently
selected, at the position w here the typing cursor is placed.

How to correct spelling mistakes in your project's script or captions
1. Place the typing cursor w here you w ant to start checking for spelling mistakes:l

If you w ant to check the spelling of your entire script, open the Storyboard view , and click
inside the Script field, near the top-left corner, to position the typing cursor at the beginningof your script.

l

If you w ant to check the spelling of all of your project's captions, select the first panel in yourproject in the Thumbnails or Timeline view , then open the Panel view and click inside thefirst caption field, near the top-left corner, to position the typing cursor at the beginning of
this caption.

34

Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guidel

If you w ant to check the spelling of a specific caption in your project, select the panel
containing that caption in the Thumbnails or Timeline view , open the Panel view , then click
inside the caption field you w ant to check, near the top-left corner, to position the typing
cursor at the beginning of this caption.

l

If you just w ant to see the spelling suggestions for a specific misspelled w ord, simply
highlight that w ord.

2. In the top menu, select Captions > Spelling > Spell Check.
The Spelling dialog w ill appear. The first w ord it finds in your script or captions that does not exist
in its dictionary w ill be selected in the Storyboard or Panel view . It w ill also appear in the Spelling
dialog, next to the label Unknown W ord:.
Suggestions for how to spell the w ord, if any exist, w ill be listed in the list below . The firstsuggestion in the list w ill be selected and w ill also appear in the Replace W ith: field.

35

Chapter 5: How to Add a Script and Captions

3. For each spelling mistake picked up by the Spelling dialog, do one of the follow ing:l

To correct this specific instance of the w ord, either select the proper spelling in the spellingsuggestion list, or type in the proper spelling in the Replace W ith: field, then click Replace
Once.

l

To replace all instances of this w ord that you have spelled this w ay in your project w ith theproper spelling, either select the proper spelling in the spelling suggestion list, or type in theproper spelling in the Replace W ith: field, then click on Replace All.

NOTE
This w ill replace the spelling of the selected w ord in your script and all of yourproject's captions.

l

To skip correcting this w ord and jump to the next spelling mistake, click Skip.

l

To ignore every instance of this w ord that is spelled in this specific w ay, click Ignore All.

NOTE
Storyboard Pro w ill ignore instances of this spelling mistake for the remainder ofthe session. Next time you launch Storyboard Pro, it w ill resume picking up on
this spelling mistake.

l

If the w ord is spelled properly and you don't w ant the Spelling dialog to pick up on it in the
future, click Add to Dictionary. This w ill add the w ord to your personal dictionary,
preventing Storyboard Pro from considering it a spelling mistake in the future.

Each time you take an action on a spelling mistake, the Spelling dialog w ill instantly jump to thenext spelling mistake it finds as it cycles through your project's script and captions.

36

Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

Once all the spelling mistakes have been fixed, the Uknown W ord: field w ill display No errors
found.
4. Once you are done checking the spelling in your project, click Close.

Importing a Script
You can import a script in plain text (.txt), Rich Text Format (.rtf) or Final Draft XML (.fdx) directly into the
Script field of the Storyboard view . You can also copy and paste it from your editor, or type it directly into the
Storyboard view .

How to import a script into your Storyboard Pro project
1. In the Storyboard view , click the

Menu button just over the right side of the text field and:l

If your script is in plain text (.txt) or Rich Text Format (.rtf), select Import Caption.

l

If your script is in Final Draft XML (.fdx) format, select Import Final Draft Script.

2. In the file brow ser, locate and select your script file, then click on Open.
The script appears in the Script caption field.

37

Chapter 5: How to Add a Script and Captions

Adding Captions
Once your script is imported, you can create the basic structure of your storyboard by creating empty scenes
and panels based on the scene headings, actions and dialogues of your script, then filling the caption fields foreach panel in your storyboard w ith information from your script.
To do this, you can select an excerpt from your script in the Storyboard view , then drag and drop it into a
caption field in the Panel view , instantly copying the selected text into the caption field for the current panel.

NOTE
To learn how to create scenes and panels, see How to Add Scenes and Panels on page 26.

How to drag and drop text from the script into caption fields
1. Sw itch to the Vertical w orkspace by doing one of the follow ing:l

In the W orkspace toolbar, click on the

Vertical W orkspace button.

l

From the top menu, select W indows > W orkspace > W orkspace > Vertical.

2. In the right pane of your w orkspace, select the Storyboard tab.
Your w orkspace now has a vertical roll of each panel in your storyboard to the left, w ith theircorresponding caption fields in the middle, and the script for your storyboard to the right.

3. In the Thumbnails view , scroll to the panel in w hich you w ant to add captions.

38

Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

4. In the Script caption field of the Storyboard view , select the part of your script that you w ant to add
to a panel caption.
5. In the Script caption, drag the selected text and drop it in the appropriate caption field of yourpanel.

6. Repeat this until you have copied all the necessary text for each of your panels into their caption
fields.

TIP
You can also drag and drop text from any panel caption to another panel caption, orfrom a panel caption to the script.

7. Once you are done, you can restore the w orkspace you w ere using by selecting it from theW orkspace toolbar or from the top menu. For example, the default w orkspace is the Draw ing
w orkspace. To restore this w orkspace, do one of the follow ing:l

In the W orkspace toolbar, click on the

Draw ing W orkspace button.

l

In the top menu, select W indows > W orkspace > Drawing.

Creating a Project from a Final Draft Script
If your script w as w ritten in Final Draft, you can automatically generate a project w ith scenes, empty panels
and pre-filled captions based on the structure of your script. For example, you can generate a project w ith a
new scene for each Scene Heading and a new panel for each action or dialogue, and store the content of theseparagraphs into the caption fields of their panels, allow ing you to kickstart the storyboarding process.

How to create project from a Final Draft script
1. From the top menu, select File > New From Final Draft Script.
The Import from Final Draft dialog opens.
2. Click on the

Brow se button.

39

Chapter 5: How to Add a Script and Captions

3. In the file brow ser, locate and select your Final Draft script, then click on Open.
Once your script is loaded, the types of tags contained in your script w ill appear in the list to theleft. You w ill have to indicate to Storyboard Pro w hat to do w ith each of these tags w hen
generating your project.

4. In the list to the left, select Scene Heading:a. In the Action drop-dow n, select New Scene.
b. In the Destination caption field drop-dow n, select Notes.
c. If your Scene Heading elements are numbered in your script and you w ant to include their
number in your project's captions, check the Include Element Number when available
option.
Your storyboard w ill have one scene for every scene heading in your script, and the scene's
description w ill be added to the Notes caption of every first panel of every scene.

40

Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

5. In the list to the left, select the Action tag, then:a. If you w ant one panel to be created for each action, select New Panel in the Action dropdow n.
b. If you w ant consecutive actions to be combined in the same panel, check the Combine
successive elements option.
c. In the Destination caption field drop-dow n, select Action Notes. This w ill store the content
of the action tag into the Action Notes caption of each panel.
d. If your Action elements are numbered in your script and you w ant to include their number inyour project's captions, check the Include Element Number when available option.

6. In the list to the left, select the Character tag, if any, then:a. If you w ant one panel to be created for each dialogue, select New Panel in the Action dropdow n.
b. In the Destination caption field drop-dow n, select Dialogue.
c. If your Character elements are numbered in your script and you w ant to include their number
in your project's captions, check the Include Element Number when available option.
7. In the list to the left, select the Parenthetical tag, if any and:a. In the Destination caption field drop-dow n, select Dialogue.
b. If your Parenthetical elements are numbered in your script and you w ant to include their
number in your project's captions, check the Include Element Number when available
option.

41

Chapter 5: How to Add a Script and Captions

8. In the list to the left, select the Dialogue tag, if any:a. In the Destination caption field drop-dow n, select Dialogue.
b. If your Dialogue elements are numbered in your script and you w ant to include their number
in your project's captions, check the Include Element Number when available option.
9. In the list to the left, select the Transition tag, if any:a. In the action drop-dow n, select New Transition.
Overall, the follow ing settings are suggested:
ActionDestination caption field

ActionNew Panel

Action Notes

Character

New Panel

Dialogue

Dialogue

None

Dialogue

Parenthetical

None

Dialogue

Scene Heading

New Scene

Notes

Transition

New Transition

None

NOTE
Depending on the w ay your script is structured and on how much the action or dialogue
drive the pace, you might have to try creating a project w ith your script using different
options to get the best storyboard structure for your needs. In the end, it is likely thatyou w ill have to split or combine some of the automatically generated panels.

10. If you w ant to make the currently selected parameters default, check the Save as default rules
checkbox.
11. Click Import.
The New Project dialog appears.
12. In the New Project dialog, enter the name, location, title and resolution for your project.
13. If the currently opened project w as not saved, confirm w hether you w ant to save it.

42

Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

Your new project is created, w ith scenes and panels automatically created and their captions filled
w ith excerpts from your script, based on the settings you selected.

43Chapter 6: How to Add and Manage Layers

Chapter 6: How to Add and Manage Layers
Each panel in your storyboard can be composed of one or several draw ing layers. Those layers are composed
together to make the draw ing in each panel.

Layer Types
Storyboard Pro supports four types of layers: Vector draw ing layers, bitmap draw ing layers, 3D layers andgroups.
l

Vector Layers: Vector draw ings are made of points and curves that compose the contours of the shapesof the artw ork, along w ith the colour or textures these shapes are filled w ith. Hence, the artw ork invector layers can be scaled up and zoomed in w ithout losing quality, unless they contain a texture.

W hen draw ing on a vector layer, each draw ing stroke and pencil line is a separate object w hich can be
manipulated individually. You can select single draw ing strokes, then move them around and transformthem, even if draw ing strokes w ere applied over them. Additionally, because draw ing strokes are madeof points and curves, it is possible to edit their shape, making it easy to make corrections and changes toyour artw ork.
lBitmap Layers: Bitmap draw ings are composed of a grid of pixels, w hich are small points that eachhave a single solid colour. Bitmap draw ing tools allow you to lay on brush strokes onto a single flat
canvas, and to tw eak your artw ork by the pixel if needed.

W hen you draw on a bitmap layer, each brush or pencil stroke is composited into the canvas, so it
remains a single draw ing that can only be painted or erased upon, but w hich does not allow you to
tw eak individual parts of it.

44

Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

Bitmap artw ork can only be scaled up or zoomed in on as much as their pixel density allow s w ithout
losing picture quality. By default, bitmap artw ork has a pixel density of 100%, w hich is only enough todisplay the artw ork w ithout zooming in on it or scaling it up, otherw ise Storyboard Pro must generate
new pixels w ithin the artw ork, w hich is liable to make it look blurry or pixelated.
Hence, you might w ant to set the required pixel density for your bitmap artw ork, based on w hether
you'll need to zoom on it or scale it up, before you start draw ing on a bitmap layer.
l

3D Layers: W hen you import a 3D model into your library, adding it to a panel w ill store the model into
a 3D layer. You can then manipulate and animate the 3D model, just like you can w ith a draw ing layer.

lGroup: A group can contain several layers of any type. Just like you can transform and animate a layer,
you can also transform and animate a group. Transformations and animations applied to a group w ill
affect every layer inside the group simultaneously.

The go-to w ay of selecting and managing layers in a panel is to use the Layer panel, w hich is, by default, in theright section of the Stage and Camera view s.

How ever, it is also possible to add the Layers view to your w orkspace, w hich w orks the same w ay. You canthen hide the Layer panel by clicking on its

Collapse button in its top-left corner, leaving more space tow ork in the Stage and Camera view s.

45

Chapter 6: How to Add and Manage Layers

You can also manage layers using the Thumbnails view . If the size of the Thumbnails view is big enough, eachpanel in it w ill have a vertical list of layers on its right edge, w hich allow s you to scroll through and selectlayers. Left of the Thumbnails view , under the Tools toolbar, is a Layer toolbar, w hich allow s you to add andremove layers to the selected panel.

Adding Layers
By default, a panel contains a background (BG) and a draw ing layer (A), but you can add as many layers as youneed to each panel in your project.

How to add a layer to a panel
1. In the Thumbnails or Timeline view , select the panel to w hich you w ant to add a new layer.
2. In the Layer panel of the Stage or Camera view , the Layers view or the Thumbnails view , select thelayer over w hich you w ant to create a new layer.
3. Do one of the follow ing:

46

Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guidel

Click on the

Add Vector Layer or

Add Bitmap Layer button. These buttons arelocated at the bottom of the Layer panel in the Stage and Camera view s, at thebottom of the Layers view and in the Layer toolbar.
l

In the top menu, select Layer > New > Vector Layer or New Bitmap Layer.

Deleting Layers
You can delete layers that you do not need to avoid cluttering the layer list.

How to delete a layer from a panel
1. In the Layer panel of the Stage or Camera view , the Layers view or the Thumbnails view , select thelayer you w ant to delete.
2. Do one of the follow ing:lClick on the

Delete Selected Layers button. This button is located at the bottom of

the Layer panel in the Stage and Camera view s, at the bottom of the Layers view andin the Layer toolbar.
lRight-click the layer and select Delete Layers.

l

In the top menu, select Layer > Delete Layers.

Grouping Layers
You can group your layers together to make them easier to manager, or if you w ant to transform and animate
several layers together.

How to group layers
1. In the Layer panel of the Stage or Camera view or in the Layers view , select at least tw o layers togroup.
2. Do one of the follow ing:lClick theGroup Selected Layers button. This button can be found at the bottom of theLayer panel in the Stage or Camera view and at the bottom of the Layers view .
lRight-click on the selection, then select Group Selected Layers.

l

In the top menu, select Layer > Group Selected Layers.

47

Chapter 6: How to Add and Manage Layers

TIP
You can drag and drop layers into or out of groups.

Hiding and Showing Layers
W hen w orking w ith many layers, you can temporarily hide certain layers to avoid cluttering the stage.

You can also hide a group. W hen a group is hidden, all of the layers it contains appear hidden, but theirindividual visibility state is preserved. Therefore, if you hide only some layers inside a group, hide the groupitself, then unhide the group, the layers that w ere individually hidden w ill remain hidden and the ones thatw ere visible w ill be visible again.

How to show or hide a layer
1. Do one of the follow ing:l

In the Layer panel or the Layers view , click theShow /Hide Layer icon just left of the layer.

l

In the Thumbnails view , click on thel

In the Layer panel, the Layers view or the Thumbnails view , right-click on the layer andShow /Hide Layer icon just beneath the layer's name.

select Show/Hide Layers

48

Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guidel

In the Layer panel, the Layers view or the Thumbnails view , select the layer, then selectLayer > Show/Hide Layers from the top menu.

How to show or hide multiple layers
1. Do one of the follow ing:l

In the Thumbnails view , ALT+Click the eyes icon

beneath the layer's name toShow /Hide multiple layers.
l

In the Layer panel, the Layers view or the Thumbnails view , right-click on the layerand select Show/Hide Layerl

ALT+Click the eyes icon

to show or hide other layers.

How to hide all layers except one
1. In one of the follow ing locations:lLayer panel of the Camera or Stage viewlLayer viewlThumbnail view

Alt + click the Show /Hideicon on the layer you w ish to keep visible.

All other layers are hidden.

How to show all layers

NOTE
For this feature to take effect, all layers except one must be hidden.

1. In one of the follow ing locations:lLayer panel of the Camera or Stage viewlLayer viewlThumbnail view

Alt + click the Show /Hideicon on the only visible layer.

All layers become visible.

49

Chapter 6: How to Add and Manage Layers

Locking and Unlocking Layers
You can lock a selected layer to protect any objects on it from being changed. Once locked, you can unlock thelayer to make changes to any objects on it.

How to lock or unlock a layer
1. Do one of the follow ing:l

In the Layer panel or the Layers view , click the

Lock/Unlock icon just left of the layer.

l

In the Thumbnails view , click on thel

In the Layer panel, the Layers view or the Thumbnails view , select the layer. Then, do one of

Lock/Unlock icon just beneath the layer name.

the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select Layer > Lock/Unlock Layers.

l

In the Layer toolbar, click on thel

Use the keyboard shortcut Alt + L.

Lock/Unlock Layers button.

How to lock all layers except one
1. In one of the follow ing locations:lLayer panel of the Camera or Stage viewlLayer viewlThumbnail view

Alt + click the

Lock/Unlock icon on the layer you w ish to keep unlocked.

All other layers become locked.

50

Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

How to unlock all layers

NOTE
For this feature to take effect, all layers except one must be locked.

1. In one of the follow ing locations:lLayer panel of the Camera or Stage viewlLayer viewlThumbnail view

Alt + click the

Lock/Unlock icon on the only unlocked layer.

All layers become unlocked.

51

Chapter 7: How to Draw and Paint

Chapter 7: How to Draw and Paint
How to Draw
W hen creating a new project in Storyboard Pro, you can immediately start draw ing in the selected panel using
one of the draw ing tools at your disposal.

How to draw with the Brush tool
1. In the Timeline or Thumbnails view , select the panel in w hich you w ant to draw .
2. In the Layer panel of the Stage view , select the layer on w hich you w ant to draw .
3. Do one of the follow ing:l

In the Tools toolbar, select theBrush tool.

l

In the top menu, select Tools > Brush.

lPress Alt + B.

4. In the Presets list of the Tool Properties view , select a brush preset to use.
5. Use the Maximum Size slider to select the desired size for your brush.
6. In the Colour view , do one of the follow ing to select a colour:lDouble-click on the Current colour sw atch to open the Colour Picker w indow .

l

Use the Hue, Saturation and Value sliders to select the colour w ith w hich you w ant to draw .

lSelect a colour sw atch from the sw atch list.

7. In the Stage view , draw a brush stroke.

52

Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

8. If you w ant to make changes to your brush, in the Tool Properties view , click on the arrow button to
open the Brush Properties dialog. In this dialog, you can customize the shape, texture andbehaviour of your brush.

TIPS
You can quickly adjust the size of the selected draw ing tool by pressing and holding the Olkey, then clicking and dragging in the draw ing space. If you are using a tablet pen, doing
this w ith the eraser tip of your pen w ill adjust the size of the Eraser tool, regardless of
w hich draw ing tool is selected.
l

If you press and hold the Shift key before or w hile draw ing, you w ill draw a straight line.

l

If you press and hold the Shift and Alt keys before or w hile draw ing, you w ill draw astraight horizontal or vertical line.
If you press and hold the Ctrl (W indow s/Linux) or ⌘ (macOS) key w hile draw ing, yourldraw ing stroke w ill turn into a closed shape.
If you press and hold Alt before draw ing a stroke, and start draw ing near existing artw ork,lthe start of your draw ing stroke w ill connect to that artw ork.
If you press and hold Alt w hile draw ing a stroke, and end your draw ing stroke nearlexisting artw ork, the end of that draw ing stroke w ill connect to that artw ork.

How to Paint
You can also paint your draw ings for a more finished look. You can paint your characters and props w ith theircolour schemes, or just fill them w ith w hite so that their outlines don't blend w ith the background.

How to paint a drawing
1. Do one of the follow ing:l

In the Tools toolbar, select the

Paint tool.

l

In the top menu, select Tools > Paint.

lPress Alt+I.

53

Chapter 7: How to Draw and Paint

2. In the Colour view , do one of the follow ing to select a colour:lDouble-click on the Current colour sw atch to open the Colour Picker w indow .

l

Use the Hue, Saturation and Value sliders to select the colour w ith w hich you w ant to draw .

lSelect a colour sw atch from the sw atch list.

3. In the Stage view , start painting on your draw ing by clicking the area to be painted. If you w ant tofill several areas simultaneously, draw a lasso around them.

NOTE
If the shape you are trying to paint is not fully closed, it w ill not fill. You can make the
Paint tool automatically close small gaps in the shapes you attempt to fill by increasing
the Close Gap

setting of the Paint tool in the Tool Properties view . To close big

gaps, you can use the Close Gap
Painttool, w hich is available in the pop-up menu of thetool in the Tools toolbar.

54

Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

About Art Styles, Drawing Tools and Layer Types
The tw o main draw ing tools in Storyboard Pro are theBrush tool and thePencil tool. Depending on thedraw ing style you w ant to achieve, you may prefer to w ork w ith vector or bitmap layers.
On vector layers, it is possible to draw w ith pencil lines, textured pencil lines, vector brushes and textured
vector brushes. W hile pencil lines are vector centrelines to w hich you can add thickness, brush strokes are
solid vector shapes filled w ith a colour, and textured brush strokes are brush strokes filled w ith a bitmap
texture that filter out their colour.

On bitmap layers, you can only draw using solid or textured bitmap brushes. Hence, w hile vector layers are
more flexible because they allow you to easily manipulate and tw eak parts of your artw ork, they can also
accommodate more art styles.
How ever, if you use a textured brush on a vector layer, your brush strokes w ill have a bitmap texture. Thismeans that, just like w ith artw ork in bitmap layers, attempting to tw eak or resize a textured brush stroke w ill
require Storyboard Pro to resample the texture, w hich is liable to make it lose picture quality, unless its texture
resolution w as sufficiently increased before you started draw ing.
One pitfall of using textured brushes on vector draw ings is that, w hile bitmap draw ings are alw ays made of asingle flat canvas, vector brush strokes are kept as separate objects. This means that laying on a lot of
textured brush strokes on a vector draw ing w ill require Storyboard Pro to store the texture for each of thesestrokes, and to composite them together in real time to display your draw ing. This can cause texture-heavy
vector draw ings to be heavier on application performance and in file size than bitmap draw ings. This is
how ever the only case w here a vector draw ing is likely to be heavier than a bitmap draw ing.

55

Chapter 7: How to Draw and Paint

Though not recommended for sketching, textured pencil lines are a good compromise. Textured pencil lines
are lighter and easier to edit. This means that the texture w ill update w ith the transformation if you scale or
tw eak your pencil line. This also means that you are able to change the texture applied to an existing pencil
line or to apply a texture to a pencil line that does not already have one. Brush textures are recommended overtextured pencil lines w hen trying to achieve natural-looking brushes.

NOTE
Even if you flatten your artw ork, textured brush strokes of different colours cannot be flattened
together on vector layers.

The follow ing table compares the different approaches to draw ing available in Storyboard Pro:
Drawing Tool

Solid Pencil

Layer Type

VectorSpecifics

Advantages: Very light and easy to tw eak. Can be manipulated, recoloured
and tw eaked by the centreline. Can be zoomed in on or scaled up w ithout
losing quality.
Disadvantages: Not optimized for transparency.
Recommended Use: Clean draw ings w ith a solid and uniform outline style.

Advantages: Light and easy to tw eak. Can be manipulated, recoloured andtw eaked by the centreline. Can be zoomed in on or scaled up w ithout losing
quality.
Textured
PencilVectorDisadvantages: Not optimized for transparency. Not recommended forsketching. Does not look as natural as textured brushes.
Recommended Use: For light textured or mixed-style artw ork that demands a
lot of line manipulation.

Solid Vector
Brush

VectorAdvantages: Light file size. Reproduces traditional animation style. Can be
manipulated, recoloured and edited by the contour or centreline. Can bezoomed in on or scaled up w ithout losing quality.
Disadvantages: Cannot reproduce the look of natural media.
Recommended Use: Sketches, clean traditional animation-style draw ings.

Textured
Vector Brush

Advantages: Can reproduce the look of natural media. As capable as textured
bitmap brushes, but can be manipulated, edited and recoloured like solid
vector brushes.
VectorDisadvantages: Overlapping brush strokes can make the draw ing heavy on
application performance and file sizes. Brush strokes of different colours
cannot be flattened together. Tw eaking, scaling up or zooming in on artw ork is56

Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

Drawing Tool

Layer TypeSpecifics

liable to make it lose texture quality.
Recommended Use: For light bitmap-style textured artw ork or mixed-styleartw ork.

Advantages: Can reproduce the look of natural media. Better performance andlighter file size than texture-heavy vector artw ork. Can be edited pixel by pixel.
Textured
Bitmap Brush

Bitmap

Disadvantages: Brush strokes are alw ays flattened together and cannot be
modified individually. Can only be draw n or erased upon. Scaling up or
zooming in on artw ork is liable to make it lose picture quality.
Recommended Use: Texture-heavy bitmap artw ork.

57

Chapter 8: How to Use Draw ing Guides

Chapter 8: How to Use Drawing Guides
Draw ing guides are draw ing aids that you can add to your panel to help you draw backgrounds and objects
w ith straight lines, square angles and graphic projection effects such as isometric projection, straightperspective or curvilinear perspective. In traditional art, this is often done w ith tools such as rulers, T-squares,
set squares and vanishing points. Guides allow you to simulate the use of such tools in combination w ith thedraw ing tools in Storyboard Pro.
Storyboard Pro supports different types of draw ing guides, each designed for a different kind of draw ing task.
Most of Storyboard Pro's draw ing guides w ork by adding a horizon line and vanishing points to your draw ing
space. W hile using a draw ing guide, dotted guide lines appear through your mouse cursor. These guide lines
are either parallel or perpendicular to the horizon line, or are going from one of the guide's vanishing points toyour mouse cursor. W hen you start draw ing a stroke, your draw ing tool instantly becomes locked to one of theguide's axes, as if you w ere draw ing against a ruler. Optionally, you can use draw ing guides as mere visualreferences, w ithout locking your draw ing tool against their axes.
Storyboard Pro supports the follow ing types of draw ing guides:l

The Ruler allow s you to position and rotate a simple axis, then draw a line along that axis, like a regularruler.

l

The Square Grid helps you draw lines that are either parallel or perpendicular to a horizon line.

58

Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guidel

The Isometric Perspective guide helps you draw lines that are parallel to one of three axes: The x-axis,
the y-axis and the z-axis. The angle of each axis can be customized as needed.
This type of pseudo-perspective, also referred to as parallel projection, is often used in 2D games,
computer graphics and schematics to depict 3D objects and environments w ithout using any actual
perspective, foreshortening or 3D rendering. In 2D animation, it is often used to draw long panningbackgrounds from a low or high angle.

l

The 1- Point Perspective guide helps you draw lines coming from a single vanishing point in the middleof the horizon. It also helps you draw lines that are either parallel or perpendicular to the horizon line.
This is useful for draw ing cuboid structures that are facing the camera.

l

The 2- Point Perspective guide helps you draw lines coming from one of tw o vanishing points, w hichare placed on the horizon line outside the camera field. It also helps you draw lines that areperpendicular to the horizon line.
This is useful for draw ing cuboid structures from a specific horizontal angle.

59

Chapter 8: How to Use Draw ing Guidesl

The 3- Point Perspective (Bird's Eye View) guide helps you draw lines coming from one of threevanishing points. Like w ith the 2-Point Perspective guide, tw o vanishing points are placed on thehorizon line, w hich are used to draw horizontal lines on either the x-axis or the z-axis. The othervanishing point is placed below the horizon line to help draw lines on the y-axis.
This is useful for draw ing cuboid structures from an elevated point of view .

l

The 3- Point Perspective (W orm's Eye View) guide helps you draw lines coming from one of threevanishing points. Like w ith the 2-Point Perspective guide, tw o vanishing points are placed on thehorizon line, w hich are used to draw horizontal lines on either the x-axis or the z-axis. The othervanishing point is placed above the horizon line to help draw lines on the y-axis.
This is useful for draw ing cuboid structures from a low point of view .

60

Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guidel

The 3- Point Perspective (Horizontal Pan) guide helps you draw horizontally panoramic backgrounds,
w ith curvilinear horizontal lines. A vanishing point is placed in the middle of the horizon line, to help
draw lines on the z-axis, and tw o vanishing points are placed on the horizon line outside of the camera
field, to define the curve of the horizontal lines. Vertical lines are made perpendicular to the horizon line.
This is useful for draw ing backgrounds meant to be panned over horizontally. Panning the camera
horizontally over a background draw n w ith a 3-Point Perspective (Horizontal Pan) guide w ill simulate arotation of the camera on the y-axis.

l

The 3- Point Perspective (Vertical Pan) guide helps you draw vertically panoramic backgrounds, w ith
curvilinear vertical lines. A vanishing point is placed in the middle of the horizon line, to help draw lines
on the z-axis, and tw o vanishing points are placed above and below the horizon line, outside of thecamera field, to define the curve of the vertical lines. Horizontal lines are made parallel to the horizon
line.
This is useful for draw ing background meant to be panned over vertically. Panning the camera verticallyover a background draw n w ith a 3-Point Perspective (Vertical Pan) guide w ill simulate a verticalrotation of the camera on the x-axis.

61

Chapter 8: How to Use Draw ing Guidesl

The 4- Point Continuous Perspective guide is very similar to the 3 Point Perspective (Horizontal Pan)
guide, except that it is designed to help draw full 360° panoramic backgrounds.
This guide uses 5 vanishing points. W hen draw ing a horizontal line, it is curved by arching over one ofthe vanishing points and reaching dow n to the tw o surrounding vanishing points. This creates aperspective effect w here each vanishing point represents one of the cardinal points, except that theleftmost and the rightmost points represent the same cardinal point, effectively creating a looping
background. Backgrounds made w ith the 4-Point Continuous Perspective guide can be looped
horizontally to simulate a full rotation of the camera on the y-axis.

l

The 4- Point Perspective (Vertical Pan) is a lot like the 2-Point Perspective guide, except that its
vertical lines are curvilinear, so it can be used to make vertically panning backgrounds. Tw o vanishingpoints are on the horizon line, outside of the camera field, to help draw lines on the x-axis and the zaxis, and tw o vanishing points are placed above and below the camera field to define the curve of thevertical lines.

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Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

This is useful for draw ing backgrounds meant to be panned over vertically, in w hich cuboid objects areseen from an angle.

l

The 5- Point Perspective (Fish Eye) guide helps you draw backgrounds that are curvilinear on both thex-axis and the y-axis. It has one central vanishing point on the horizon line, from w hich lines on the zaxis are draw n, tw o vanishing points at the extremities of its horizon line, to define the curve of thehorizontal lines, and tw o vanishing points above and below the horizon line, to define the curve of thevertical lines.
This guide can be used to draw backgrounds w ith a fisheye-style w ide angle lens effect. It can also be
used to draw backgrounds that are meant to be panned in various directions.

In order to use a draw ing guide, you must first add it to the current panel's guides list. To help yourself get
familiarized w ith guides, you can start by adding 1-Point Perspective draw ing guide to the guides list.

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Chapter 8: How to Use Draw ing Guides

How to add a 1- Point Perspective drawing guide to the current panel
1. In the Tools toolbar, select either theBrush,

Pencil orLine tool.

NOTE
Draw ing guides are only visible in the Stage or Camera view w hen one of these tools is
selected.

2. Add the Guide view to your w orkspace by doing one of the follow ing:l

In the top-right corner of any view in your w orkspace, click on the

Add View button andselect Guides.
l

In the top menu, select W indows > Guides.

3. In the Guides view , click on the

New Guide button and selectThe new guide appears in the guides list.

64

1- Point Perspective.

Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

W hen a new guide is added, it is configured w ith a preset position and angle for its horizon line and a preset
position for its vanishing points. In many cases, you have to make adjustments to your guide so that you candraw backgrounds and objects from the right point of view .

How to adjust a 1- Point Perspective guide
1. In the Tools toolbar, select either theBrush,

Pencil orLine tool.

NOTE
Draw ing guides are only visible in the Stage or Camera view w hen one of these tools is
selected.

2. In the Guides view , make sure that the
3. In the guides list, select the

Enable Guides option button is toggled on.

1- Point Perspective guide that you w ish to make adjustments to.

The selected guide appears in the Stage or Camera view .

4. Do one of the follow ing:l

To reposition the guide w ithout rotating it, click and drag on its vanishing point .

l

To rotate the guide, click and drag on its horizon line.

TIPSl

W hen the mouse is positioned over the horizon line, the mouse cursor w illchange tolto indicate that you are about to rotate the guide.

W hen rotating a guide, its angle displays in the top-left corner of the Stageor Camera view .

5. Once you are done making adjustments to the guide, you can click on the

Lock Guides button in

the Guides view so as to avoid accidentally modifying your guide w hile draw ing.
Once your guide is selected and properly positioned, you can start draw ing w ith it.

65

Chapter 8: How to Use Draw ing Guides

How to draw with a drawing guide
1. In the Tools toolbar, select either theBrush,

Pencil orLine tool.

NOTE
Draw ing guides are only visible in the Stage or Camera view w hen one of these tools is
selected.

2. In the Guides view , select the guide you w ish to use.
3. To avoid accidentally editing your guide w hile you're draw ing, click on the

Lock Guides buttonin the Guides view to toggle it on.
4. If you w ant your draw ing strokes to be locked against the axes of your guide, make sure the
Align w ith Guide option of the Guides view if toggled on. Otherw ise, toggle it off to be able to draw
freely and only use the guides as references.
5. Move the mouse cursor around the draw ing space. Observe that guide lines are going through yourmouse cursor, one for each of the axes of the draw ing guide.

6. Start draw ing a stroke roughly at the same angle as one of the axes.
If theAlign w ith Guide option is enabled, the draw ing stroke aligns to the axis that is the closest

to its angle, as if you w ere draw ing against a ruler.

66

Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

TIPS
You can also manually select w hich axis to lock onto by pressing the Left Arrow and Rightl

Arrow keys to cycle through each axis. The selected axis w ill appear bolder than the otherones. If you cycle through all the axes, no axis w ill be bold, meaning the axis your draw ing
tool locks against is determined by the angle of your draw ing stroke again.
W hether you're draw ing or not, you can lock the position and angle of the guide lines bylpressing and holding the Alt key. The guide lines w ill stop follow ing the mouse cursor,
allow ing you to keep them at a specific angle and position. This can be used to draw overthe same line several times over so as to adjust its length and thickness.

Once you are done w orking w ith guides, you can disable them. W hen draw ing guides are disabled, they are
not displayed in your draw ing space and do not affect the behaviour of your draw ing tools.

How to enable and disable drawing guides
1. To enable or disable Draw ing Guides, do one of the follow ing:l

In the Guides view , click on the Enable Guidel

Press G.

button.

NOTESlGuides are automatically enabled w hen you add a new guide or w hen you select a guide in
the guides list.

l

The guide that w as selected in your panel w hen you disabled guides w ill be selected again
w hen you re-enable guides.

lDraw ing guides only w ork w ith theBrush,

Pencil andLine tools tools. If any

other tool is selected, draw ing guides w ill behave as if they are disabled.

67

Chapter 9: How to Import Images

Chapter 9: How to Import Images
If you have images ready for your storyboard, you can import them into your Storyboard Pro project. Images
can be imported either as new scenes in your project, or as new layers in a panel. You can import one orseveral images at the same time.

NOTE
It is also possible to import images as video clips—see How to Import Videos.

How to import images as scenes
1. Select File > Import > Images as Scenes.
The Choose Image Files brow ser opens.
2. Brow se to the desired images, select one or more images, and click Open.
A new scene is created at the end of your project for each one of the imported images.

How to import images as layers in a panel using the Import Images dialog
1. In the Thumbnails or Timeline view , select the panel to w hich you w ant to import images.
2. In the top menu, select File > Import > Images as Layers.
The Choose Image Files dialog box opens.
3. Brow se to the directory containing the images to import.
4. Select the images to import.

68

Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

TIP
You can select multiple files by doing one of the follow ing:l

W hile pressing Ctrl (W indow s/Linux) or ⌘ (macOS), click on each file you w ant toselect.

l

W hile pressing Shift, click on the first file you w ant to select, then one the last file
you w ant to select to select every file in-betw een.

5. Click Open.
6. If you selected a Photoshop Document (.psd) file w ith multiple layers, a message w ill appear
giving you the option to import each layer separately.
lClick Yes to import each layer in the document as its ow n layer in the panel.

l

Click No to import the entire document as a single layer in the panel.

A layer is created in your panel, containing the imported image. If you selected more than one
image, each image w ill be imported into its ow n layer, in alphanumerical order.

How to import images as layers in a panel using drag & drop
1. Open an Explorer (W indow s) or Finder (macOS) w indow .
2. Brow se to the location of the images you w ant to import.
3. Select all the images you w ant to import.

69

Chapter 9: How to Import Images

TIP
You can select multiple files by doing one of the follow ing:l

W hile pressing Ctrl (W indow s/Linux) or ⌘ (macOS), click on each file you w ant toselect.

l

W hile pressing Shift, click on the first file you w ant to select, then one the last file
you w ant to select to select every file in-betw een.

4. Make sure that both the Storyboard Pro w indow and the Explorer or Finder w indow are visible.
5. In the Thumbnails or Timeline view , do at least one of the follow ing:lSelect the panel to w hich you w ant to import images.

l

Scroll to the panel to w hich you w ant to import images.

6. In the Explorer or Finder w indow , click and drag on one of the selected files, then:l

To import the images into the current panel, drop the selected files in the Stage View, theCamera View or the Layers view .

lTo import the images into any other panel, drop the selected files over the target panel in
the Thumbnails or Timeline view .

NOTE
The thumbnail for the target panel may take a few seconds to update.

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Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

The image w ill be imported into a layer in the target panel, on top of all the other layers in thatpanel.

71

Chapter 10: How to Create an Animatic

Chapter 10: How to Create an Animatic
After creating your storyboard, the next step is to make it into an animatic. An animatic is a video that plays out
each panel of your storyboard. Each panel should be timed to match the intended timing of actions, and eachscene should be timed to match the intended pace of the story. Camera movements can be animated tosimulate w hat the action w ill look like relative to the camera movements and framing. Layers in the storyboard
can also be animated to make the action and its timing more legible.
Sound effects, voice clips and music tracks, be them provisional or final, can be added so that action can be
paced around them, as w ell as to make a draft of the sound mix for the final product. Videos and still images,
such as opening or ending sequences, overlays, captions, logos, or live action footage can also be added to theanimatic to be used as references or so that they do not have to be sketched into panels.
In Storyboard Pro, you can create an animatic from your storyboard by using the Timeline view . The Timelineview is very much like the timeline in a video editing softw are. Among other things, it allow s you to visually
adjust the timing of each panel, to import, cue and clip sound and video clips, to animate camera movements,
to animate layers and to add transitions betw een scenes. Hence, it w ill accompany you in each step tow ards
making your animatic.

How to access the Timeline view
1. Do one of the follow ing:l

In the top-right corner of the Thumbnails view , click on theTimeline.

lSelect W indows > Timeline.

72

Add View button and selectStoryboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

W hen you first open the Timeline view after creating a storyboard, you might notice that all the panels of yourstoryboard are already in the track, and that they are all already timed to last one second each. Therefore, yourstoryboard is already a basic animatic. The next step from that point is to adjust the length of each panel tomatch the intended timing of the actions and the intended pace of the scenes.
Before, w hile and after adjusting the timing of your panels, you can see how your animatic plays out and feels
w ith its current timing by preview ing it.

How to preview your animatic
1. In the Timeline or Thumbnails view , select the panel w here you w ant the playback to begin.
2. In the Playback toolbar, click thePlay button

In the end, an animatic can be exported into video files or even Toon Boom Harmony scenes—see How to
Export your Project on page 122.

Setting the Panel Duration
There are several w ays of setting the duration of a panel. The panel view allow s you to type in the exact
duration of the current panel. The Timeline view allow s you to visually extend or shorten panels. You can alsofine-tune the duration of a panel using the Add Frame to Panel and Remove Frame to Panel keyboard
shortcuts.
By default, w hen you adjust the duration of a panel, it offsets, or ripples all subsequent panels. This keeps
every panel and scene stitched into a single continuous sequence and allow s you to adjust the timing of eachpanel separately.

How to set the duration of a panel duration by frame
1. In the Timeline or Thumbnails view , select a panel.
2. Do one of the follow ing:l

In the Panel view , type in the exact length for the panel in the Duration field.

73

Chapter 10: How to Create an Animatic

NOTE
The format of the duration is H:MM:SS:FF, w here H means hours, M means
minutes, S means seconds and F means frames.

l

In the Panel view , right of the Duration field, click on the
one frame, or on the

Up arrow to extend the panel by

Dow n arrow to shorten the panel by one frame.

lPress + to add a frame to the panel, or - to remove a frame from the panel.

l

In the top menu, select Storyboard > Add Frame to Panel or Storyboard > Remove Framefrom Panel.

How to adjust the length of a panel in the Timeline view and ripple subsequent panels
1. Place the cursor near the right edge of the panel you w ant to resize.
The resize icon

displays. Make sure that it points tow ards the inside of the panel you w ant toresize.

2. Click and drag the edge to the right to extend it, or to the left to shorten it.
As you drag, the new length of the panel is indicated, along w ith the amount of time you are adding
or subtracting from it.

All subsequent panels w ill be rippled forw ard or backw ard to preserve their length.

74

Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

TIP
You can also extend or shorten a panel by clicking and dragging on its left edge.

W hen you do that, dragging tow ards the left w ill extend it, and dragging tow ards the rightw ill shorten it.

It is also possible to adjust the length of a panel w hile simultaneously adjusting the length of the follow ing
panel to compensate. This prevents subsequent panels from being offset, and can be useful if you need toadjust the timing of your panels w ithout affecting the timing of the remainder of your animatic.

How to move the transition between two panels without offsetting later panels
1. W hile pressing and hold the Alt key, position the mouse cursor over the right edge of the panel you
w ant to resize.
The resize icon

displays.

2. W hile holding the Alt key, click and drag the edge of the panel to the right to extend it, or to the left
to shorten it.

75

Chapter 10: How to Create an Animatic

As you drag, the new length of the panel is indicated, along w ith the amount of time you are adding
or subtracting from it.

The length of the follow ing panel w ill be adjusted to avoid shifting subsequent panels.

Animatic Editing Mode
By default, every change you make in the lengths of your scenes and panels w ill result in subsequent scenes
and panels to ripple backw ard or forw ard, so as to make sure there is no hole in the timeline.
W hen Animatic Editing Mode is enabled, you can reposition the in-point and out-point of each panel w ithout
affecting anything else in your your animatic. This means that, in this mode, shortening or deleting a panel
creates a hole in the timeline in w hich another panel can be extended, moved or created. You can also delete
panels or scenes and leave holes behind instead of rippling subsequent panels backw ard.
Then, in the gaps you created in your animatic, you can move existing panels, create new panels or resize apanel next to the gap to fill it.

In this w ay, Animatic Editing Mode makes the w orkflow in Storyboard Pro more similar to that of a typical
video editing softw are, w hich may make editing easier for users w ho are familiar w ith this kind of application.

76

Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

How to toggle Animatic Editing Mode
1. In the bottom-left corner of the Timeline view , click on the

Animatic Editing Mode button.

2. Once you are done using Animatic Editing Mode, simply click on the button again to disable it.

TIPSl

W hen Animatic Editing Mode is disabled, you can press and hold the Ctrl (W indow s) or ⌘(macOS) to temporarily enable Animatic Editing Mode w hile making changes to youranimatic. Likew ise, w hen Animatic Editing Mode is enabled, pressing and holding the Ctrl
(W indow s) or ⌘ (macOS) key w ill temporarily disable it.

l

You can also assign a keyboard shortcut to the Toggle Animatic Editing Mode command in
the Storyboard section of the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog, w hich toggles it by pressing thekey, w ithout requiring you to hold the key.

How to adjust the in- point of a panel in Animatic Editing Mode
1. Place the cursor near the left edge of the panel.
The resize icon

displays. Make sure that it points tow ards the inside of the panel you w ant toedit.

2. Click and drag the edge to the right to move the in-point forw ard, or to the left to move the in-point
backw ard.

77

Chapter 10: How to Create an Animatic

As you drag, the new length of the panel is indicated, along w ith the amount of time you are adding
or subtracting from it.

NOTE
You cannot move the in-point of a panel or scene before the out-point of the previous panel orscene.

How to adjust the out- point of a panel in Animatic Editing Mode
1. Place the cursor near the right edge of the panel.
The resize icon

displays. Make sure that it points tow ards the inside of the panel you w ant toedit.

2. Click and drag the edge to the left to move the out-point backw ard, or to the right to move the outpoint forw ard.

78

Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

As you drag, the new length of the panel is indicated, along w ith the amount of time you are adding
or subtracting from it.

NOTE
You cannot move the out-point of a panel or scene past the in-point of the next panel or scene.

How to delete panels and leave a hole in the timeline in Animatic Editing Mode
1. Select the panels you w ant to delete.

TIPSl

You can select multiple panels by holding Ctrl (W indow s) or ⌘ (macOS) andclicking on each panel you w ant to delete.

l

You can select a sequence of multiple panels by clicking on the first panel you w ant
to select and, w hile holding Shift, clicking on the last panel you w ant to select.
Every panel in-betw een w ill be selected.

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Chapter 10: How to Create an Animatic

2. Do one of the follow ing:lRight-click on the selection and select Clear Panels.

l

In the top menu, select Edit > Clear Panels.

l

Press Del (W indow s) or ⌫ (macOS).

The selected panels w ill be deleted, leaving a gap w here they used to be.

In Animatic Editing Mode, panels do not ripple forw ard or backw ard, w hich may be constraining. To get themost out of Animatic Editing Mode, it is useful to know how to ripple panels on the fly.
At any time, you can press and hold the Ctrl (W indow s) or ⌘ (macOS) key before editing your animatic totemporarily enable or disable Animatic Editing Mode. This means that, w hen Animatic Editing Mode isenabled, pressing and holding Ctrl (W indow s) or ⌘ (macOS) w ill temporarily disable it, making any change
you make to your animatic w hile holding this key offset all the panels after the affected panel. W hen there aregaps in your timeline, those gaps also get rippled forw ard or backw ard.
If you need to create a gap, or to adjust the size of a gap, you can do so by selecting all the panels from a
specific point until the end of the animatic, then moving the selection.

How to select and ripple all panels from a specific point in the animatic in Animatic
Editing Mode
1. Press and hold Ctrl (W indow s) or ⌘ (macOS), Alt and Shift.
2. W hile holding those keys, in the Timeline view , click on the first panel of the sequence of panels
you w ant to offset.
The panel you clicked on as w ell as every panel after it until the end of the animatic w ill beselected.

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Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

3. Click and drag on the selection to offset it.

Adding Transitions
Transitions are animated effects that can be added betw een tw o scenes to move from one scene to the next
gradually, such as a dissolve or an edge w ipe. Among other things, adding transitions can help fine-tune thepace betw een your scenes, or mark changes in the story setting.

How to add a transition
1. In the Thumbnails or Timeline view , select the first of the tw o scenes betw een w hich you w ant to
add a transition. For example, if you w ant to add a transition betw een scenes 2 and 3, select any
panel from scene 2.

2. Do one of the follow ing:l

From the Storyboard toolbar, click the New TransitionlSelect Storyboard > Add Transition.

81

button.

Chapter 10: How to Create an Animaticl

Right-click the scene thumbnails and select Add Transition.

3. Click on the transition to select it.
4. Open the Panel view . W hen a transition is selected, the Panel view displays its properties andallow s you to change them.
5. In the Type drop-dow n, select w hich type of transition you w ant to use:lDissolve: Fades the first scene out to black, then fades the second scene in from black.

l

Edge W ipe: W ipes the first scene out w ith the second scene, w ith a straight line going all
the w ay across the screen. The angle of the line can be customized.

lClock W ipe: W ipes the first scene out w ith the second scene, w ith a line going from thecentre of the screen to its edge, w hich rotates 360 degrees to cover the w hole screen. The
initial angle and direction of the line can be customized.

lSlide: W hen set to Slide In, this makes the second scene slide from the edge of the screenover the first scene. W hen set to Slide Out, this makes the first scene slide tow ards the edgeof the screen, leaving the second scene on the screen as if it had alw ays been behind it. The
angle at w hich the scene slides in or out can be customized.

6. Determine the length of the transition by doing one of the follow ing:l

In the Timeline view , click and drag the right edge of the transition tow ards the right toextend it, or tow ards the left to shorten it.

l

In the Panel view , right of the duration field, click on the Up
by 1 frame, or on the Dow nlarrow to extend the transition

arrow to shorten the transition by one frame.

In the duration field of the Panel view , type in the duration of the transition.

NOTE
The format of the duration is H:MM:SS:FF, w here H means hours, M means
minutes, S means seconds and F means frames.

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Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

NOTE
W hen you extend a transition, the ensuing scenes are rippled backw ards, and w hen
you shorten a transition, the ensuing scenes are rippled forw ard. This is because thescenes before and after the transition overlap during the transition. This means that thescene after the transition starts w hile the scene before the transition has not ended yet,w hich shortens the length of the project.

83

Chapter 11: How to Animate the Camera

Chapter 11: How to Animate the Camera
To create camera movement in a scene, you must start by creating at least tw o camera keyframes, then set theposition of the camera in each of those keyframes. Storyboard Pro w ill interpolate the position of the camera
on each frame betw een tw o keyframes.

How to animate the camera in a scene
1. Select the Camera tool by doing one of the follow ing:l

From the Tools toolbar, select the

Camera tool.

l

From the top menu, select Tools > Camera.

2. In the Timeline view , click and drag the timeline cursor to the frame at w hich you w ant your camera
movement to begin.
3. Create a camera keyframe by doing one of the follow ing:l

In the Timeline view , in the left column of the Camera track, click on the

Add Keyframe

button.
l

In the top menu, select Camera > Add Camera Keyframe at Current Frame.

l

In the Tool Properties view , click on the

Add Keyframe button in the Camera Transformpanel.
A keyframe is added in the Camera track of the Timeline view , w here the timeline cursor is.

4. In the Timeline view , click and drag the timeline cursor to the frame w hen you w ant your camera
movement to end.
5. Create a camera keyframe by doing one of the follow ing:l

In the Timeline view , in the left column of the Camera track, click on the

Add Keyframe

button.
l

In the top menu, select Camera > Add Camera Keyframe at Current Frame.

l

In the Tool Properties view , click on the

Add Keyframe button in the Camera Transformpanel.
Another keyframe is added in the Camera track of the Timeline view , w here the timeline cursor is.

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Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

6. Do one of the follow ing:l

In the Camera track of the Timeline view , select the camera keyframe you w ant to modify.

l

In the Stage or Camera view , zoom out to see all of the camera frames. Then, select thecamera frame you w ant to modify by clicking on its edge or its centre point.

TIP
Even if your camera frames are in the same position, you can still select a specific one in
the Stage or Camera view . Just below the bottom-left corner of the camera frames, you
w ill find blue square-shaped dots. Each of these dots can be clicked on to select a
specific camera frame. If tw o or more camera keyframes are in the same position, theorder of these dots w ill represent their relative position on the timeline. The leftmost
dot can be used to select the first camera keyframe, the second leftmost dot can beused to select the second camera keyframe, etc.

7. Use one of the follow ing methods to modify the camera frame:lMove: Move the mouse cursor over the edge or the centre point of the camera frame until themouse cursor becomes, then click and drag the camera frame to move it.

85

Chapter 11: How to Animate the CameralTruck In or Truck Out: Move the mouse cursor over the point in the top-left corner of thecamera frame until the mouse cursor becomes, then click and drag this corner to shrink or

stretch the camera frame. Shrinking the camera frame w ill make it zoom in, and stretching it
w ill make it zoom out.

lRotate: Move the mouse cursor just outside of one of the corners of the camera frame until
the mouse cursor becomes, then click and drag the corner in either direction to rotate thecamera frame clockw ise or counterclockw ise.

TIP
You can also nudge the camera frame by using the arrow keys on your keyboard, or
enter its exact coordinates in the Tool Properties view .

8. Repeat for the other camera keyframe(s), if needed.
9. Move the timeline cursor back to the beginning of the scene.

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Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

10. In the Playback toolbar, click on thePlay button to preview the camera movement.

87

Chapter 12: How to Animate Layers

Chapter 12: How to Animate Layers
By default, layers in Storyboard Pro are static, but they can be animated.
A layer is animated by setting it in different positions, angles or sizes at tw o different frames in the timeline,
then letting Storyboard Pro calculate the position, angle and size of the layer for each frame betw een thosetw o frames. The frames at the beginning and end of an animation are referred to as keyframes.
You can animate a layer by enabling animation on it, w hich w ill create a keyframe for it in its current position,at the current frame. From there, you can just go to another frame and change its position, w hich w ill
automatically create another keyframe at the current frame. At this point, the layer is already animated from its
original position to the position you just moved it to.

How to animate a layer
1. In the Timeline view , select the panel w ith the layer you w ant to animate.
2. Move the Timeline cursor to the exact time w here you w ant to create the first keyframe for youranimation.
3. In the Layer panel of the Stage or Camera view , click on the

Animate button of the 3D object

you w ish to animate.
The

Animate button turns yellow and changes shape.

In the Layer Animation track of the Timeline view , a keyframe is created at the current frame. This
keyframe stores the position, angle and size of the layer at the current frame.

88Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

4. In the Tools toolbar, select theLayer Transform tool.

In the Stage or Camera view , the controls of the Layer Transform tool appear around the selecteddraw ing layer.

5. Using the manipulator box, transform the layer so that it is in the position, angle and size you w ant
it to be at the beginning of the animation:l

To move the layer, either click on its artw ork or on the blue point in the centre, then drag it to
the desired position.

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Chapter 12: How to Animate Layers

TIPSl

If you are having trouble dragging the layer by its artw ork, you can also click
and drag on theblue point in the centre. How ever, this point may be

obstructed by the layer's

pivot point . If that is the case, you can click anddrag on the pivot point to move it out of the w ay, then click and drag on thecentre point to move the layer.
l

You can also nudge the selection by using the arrow keys on your keyboard.

l

You can also enter specific coordinates in the

Horizontal Offset andVertical Offset fields in the Tool Properties view .

lTo scale the layer, click on one of the squares at the edges or corners of the manipulator box
and drag them to stretch or shrink the draw ing.

TIPSl

You can preserve the horizontal and vertical proportions of the selection byholding the Shift key.

ll

You can also enter specific scale percentages in the
Vertical Scale fields in the Tool Properties view .

Horizontal Scale andTo rotate the layer, move the cursor just outside of one of the corners of the manipulator box
until the mouse cursor becomes. Then, click and drag in either direction to rotate thelayer clockw ise or counterclockw ise.

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TIPSl

You can rotate the artw ork in 15° increments by hold the Shift key.

l

You can also enter a specific angle in degrees in theAngle field of theTool Properties view .
lYou can also rotate the clip in 90° increments by clicking on the

Rotate 90

CW button in the Tool Properties view to rotate it 90° clockw ise, or on the
Rotate 90 CCW button to rotate it 90° counterclockw ise.

l

To flip the layer horizontally, click on the

Flip Horizontally button in the Tool Properties

view .
l

To flip the layer vertically, click on the

Flip Vertically button in the Tool Properties view .

lTo reset a layer to its original position, scale and angle, do one of the follow ing:lSelect Layer > Reset Transform.

lPress Ctrl + R (W indow s) or ⌘ + R (macOS).

6. In the Timeline view , move the cursor to the frame w here you w ant to create your second keyframe.

7. In the Stage or Camera view , use the manipulator box to transform the layer so that it is in theposition, angle and size you w ant it to be at the end of the animation.

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Chapter 12: How to Animate Layers

A keyframe is created at the current frame as soon as you make the first transformation.

8. Move the timeline cursor back to the beginning of the panel.
9. In the Playback toolbar, click on thePlay button to preview the animation.

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93

Chapter 13: How to Import Audio

Chapter 13: How to Import Audio
You can add sound to your animatic. An animatic can have one or several audio tracks, and each audio track
can have one or multiple sound files cued at different times in your project.

Enabling Sound
By default, sound is disabled in Storyboard Pro. You must enable sound so as to be able to hear your project's
audio during playback.

How to enable or disable audio playback
1. Do one of the follow ing:l

In the Playback toolbar, click theSound button.

l

In the top menu, select Play > Audio Playback.

Next time you play your animatic, you w ill hear the sound clips in your audio tracks play.

Importing Sound Clips
You can import sound files into the audio track in your project's timeline. You can cue and edit sound clips sothat they are timed w ith the action in your animatic. By default, your project has a single audio track, but moreaudio tracks can be added as needed.

How to import a sound clip
1. In the Timeline view , select the audio track in w hich you w ant to import sound clips.
2. Do one of the follow ing:l

In the top menu, select File > Import > Sound Clip.

l

Right-click on the audio track in w hich you w ant to import sound clips, then selectImport Sound Clips.

lRight-click on the empty space below the tracks in the Timeline view , then selectImport Sound Clips.

The Import Sound Clips dialog box opens.

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Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

3. Click on the Brow sebutton.

4. In the file brow ser, locate and select the sound file that you w ant to add to your project, then click
on Open.
5. In the Target Audio Track panel, select New Audio Track if you w ant to create a new audio track
and import the sound file in it, or Current Audio Track if you w ant to import the sound file into theselected audio track.
6. In the Target Frame section, select w hether you w ant the sound clip to be added to the First
Frame of the audio track or to the Current Frame, w here the timeline cursor is.
7. If you selected the Current Audio Track option, and if other sound clips are present in the target
audio track, specify w hat w ill happen if the imported sound clip is too long and spans over anotherexisting sound clip by selecting an Import Rule:l

Overwrite Existing Sound Clips: If there are existing sound clips w here the imported clips
are supposed to be added, the existing clips w ill be overw ritten.

lFill Next Available Frames: If there are existing sound clips w here the new clips aresupposed to be added, the clips w ill be trimmed just before the existing clips.

8. Select the Set as default and don’t show dialogue again option if you w ant to use the samesettings next time you need to import a sound file.
9. Click OK.
The selected sound files w ill be added to your project as sound clips, in the selected destination95

Chapter 13: How to Import Audio

audio track, at the selected position.

How to import sound clips using drag & drop
1. Open an Explorer (W indow s) or Finder (macOS) w indow .
2. Brow se to the location of the sound files you w ant to import.
3. Select all the sound files you w ant to import.

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TIP
You can select multiple files by doing one of the follow ing:l

W hile pressing Ctrl (W indow s/Linux) or ⌘ (macOS), click on each file you w ant toselect.

l

W hile pressing Shift, click on the first file you w ant to select, then one the last file
you w ant to select to select every file in-betw een.

4. Make sure that both the Storyboard Pro w indow and the Explorer or Finder w indow are visible.
5. In the low er half of the Timeline view , scroll vertically to the audio track in w hich you w ant to insert
sound clips, then scroll horizontally to the point in time w here you w ant to insert sound clips.
6. In the Explorer or Finder w indow , click and drag on one of the selected files, then drop them in theaudio track w here you w ant to import them, at the time w here you w ant them to be imported.

The selected sound clips w ill be added to the target audio track, at the point in the timeline w here
you dropped them.

Adding Audio Tracks
If you need to have several sound clips playing at the same time, you must add additional audio tracks to yourproject so that you can cue several sound clips in the same areas of the timeline.

97Chapter 13: How to Import Audio

How to add an audio track
1. Do one of the follow ing:l

In the top menu, select Storyboard > New > New Audio Track.

l

In the Timeline view , either right-click on an existing audio track or underneath all tracks,then select New Audio Track.

l

In the Clips and Tracks toolbar, click the New Audio Track

You can now import or move sound clips to the new audio track.

98

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Chapter 14: How to Import Videos

Chapter 14: How to Import Videos
W hen you create a Storyboard Pro project, the only track intended to contain visuals in your animatic is thestoryboard track. How ever, it is also possible to add video tracks to your project, w hich can contain still images
or video files that w ill display over or under your animatic. This can be useful if you need to use reference
images or videos, to have elements such as logos or backgrounds span over several panels or scenes, or toinsert videos, such as opening sequences, credit sequences or live action footage to your animatic.
Contrary to layers in a panel, clips in video tracks can extend over several panels, and are not affected bycamera movements.

Adding Video Tracks
Just like sound clips must be added to audio tracks, video clips must be added to video tracks. Hence, before
you can add video clips to your animatic, you must create video tracks.
Just like audio tracks, you can add several video tracks to your project and have clips overlap each other. You
can also add video tracks above or below the storyboard track, so that videos appear in front of, or behind theanimatic.

How to add a video track
1. Do one of the follow ing:l

In the top menu, select Storyboard > New > New Video Track.

l

In the Timeline view , right-click on an existing video track or in the empty space below thetracks, and select New Video Track.

l

In the Clips and Tracks toolbar, click the New Video Trackbutton.

You can now import or move video clips to the new video track.

2. If you w ant the video track to display behind the animatic, right-click on the video track and selectMove Track Down.

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Importing Video Clips
Once you have a video track, you can import image or video clips to this track.

How to import a video clip or an image clip using the Import Videos/Images dialog
1. If you w ant to import clips into an existing video track, select the video track in w hich you w ant toimport clips in the Timeline view .
2. Do one of the follow ing:l

In the top menu, select File > Import > Videos/Images as Clips.

lRight-click on the video track in w hich you w ant to import clips, then select Import
Videos/Images as Clips.

lRight-click on the empty space below or above the tracks in the Timeline view , then selectImport Videos/Images as Clips.

The Import Video Clips dialog box opens.

3. Click on the Brow sebutton.

4. In the file brow ser, locate and select the image or video file that you w ant to add to your project,then click on Open.
5. In the Destination panel, select New Video Track if your project does not have a video track or if
you w ant to import the clip into a new video track, or Current Video Track if you w ant to import it
into the currently selected video track.

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6. If you have selected an image, set the desired duration of the still image in the Still Images
Duration field. This determines the amount of frames the image clip w ill span over in the timeline.
For example, if the frame rate of your project is 24 frames per second, and you w ant the image tospan for 1 second, set the Clips Duration to 24.
7. If you have selected a movie file w ith transparency, select the proper alpha type for your movie filein the Alpha Type drop-dow n:This option allow s you to inform Storyboard Pro of how transparent and semi-transparent pixels inyour clip w ere encoded so that it blends these pixels properly w ith the other visual elements inyour animatic.
l

Ignore Alpha: Display every pixel in the video clip as opaque, w ithout demultiplying theircolour values or blending them w ith other visual elements in your animatic.

l

Premultiplied with Black: The colour values of semi-transparent pixels in the video havebeen encoded so that the more transparent they are, the closer to black they are. W hen avideo that is premultiplied w ith black is loaded in a softw are that does not support
transparency, it appears blended w ith a black background. Select this to make Storyboard
Pro reverse this premultiplication so that the video clip blends properly w ith other visualelements in your animatic.

l

Premultiplied with W hite: The colour values of semi-transparent pixels in the video havebeen encoded so that the more transparent they are, the closer to w hite they are. W hen avideo that is premultiplied w ith w hite is loaded in a softw are that does not support
transparency, it appears blended w ith a w hite background. Select this to make Storyboard
Pro reverse this premultiplication so that the video clip blends properly w ith other visualelements in your animatic.

lStraight: The colour of semi-transparent pixels in the image is encoded independently fromtheir transparency. W hen a video clip that is not premultiplied is loaded in a softw are that
does not support transparency, semi-transparent pixels simply appear fully opaque, making
its edges appear pixelated.

TIP
If you are not sure about the alpha type of your movie file, select Straight. Then, once
your clips are imported, view them in the Stage view . If the semi-transparent pixels inyour movie appear too dark, change the clip's Alpha Type to Premultiplied with Black.
If the transparent pixels in your movie appear too light, change the Alpha Type of theclip to Premultiplied with W hite.
You can change the Alpha Type of a video clip by right-clicking on the clip in theTimeline view , then selecting Alpha Type in the context menu.

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8. If your movie file has an audio track and you w ish to import it to your project, check the Import
Audio checkbox.

9. If you checked the Import Audio checkbox, do one of the follow ing:l

If you w ant to create a new audio track in your project in w hich to import the movie's audio
track, select New Audio Tracks.

l

If you w ant to import the movie's audio track into an existing audio track in your project,select Existing Audio Track. Then, in the drop-dow n below , select w hich audio track in yourproject to import the movie's audio track into.

10. If you selected the Current Video Track option, and if other video clips are present in the target
video track, specify w hat w ill happen if the imported clip is too long and spans over anotherexisting clips by selecting an Import Rule:l

Overwrite Existing Clips: If there are existing video clips w here the imported clips areinserted, the existing clips w ill be overw ritten.

lFill Next Available Frames: If there are existing video clips w here the new clips areinserted, the clips w ill be trimmed just before the existing clips.

11. Click OK.
The video file w ill be added to your project as a video clip, in the selected destination video track.

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Chapter 14: How to Import Videos

How to import video clips or image clips using drag & drop
1. Open an Explorer (W indow s) or Finder (macOS) w indow .
2. Brow se to the location of the video or image files you w ant to import.
3. Select all the video or image files you w ant to import.

TIP
You can select multiple files by doing one of the follow ing:l

W hile pressing Ctrl (W indow s/Linux) or ⌘ (macOS), click on each file you w ant toselect.

l

W hile pressing Shift, click on the first file you w ant to select, then one the last file
you w ant to select to select every file in-betw een.

4. Make sure that both the Storyboard Pro w indow and the Explorer or Finder w indow are visible.
5. In the upper half of the Timeline view , scroll vertically to the video track in w hich you w ant toimport your clips. Then, scroll horizontally to the point in time w here you w ant to insert these clips.
6. In the Explorer or Finder w indow , click and drag on one of the selected files, then drop them in theaudio track w here you w ant to import them, at the time w here you w ant them to be imported.

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The selected files w ill be added as video clips to the target video track, at the point in the timeline
w here you dropped them.

105Chapter 15: How to W ork in 3D

Chapter 15: How to W ork in 3D
Storyboard Pro allow s you to manipulate draw ing layers in the 3D space as w ell as to integrate 3D models
into your storyboard. If your project uses 3D models, you can import them into your project, then insert theminto your panels instead of having to draw them.

Converting a Scene to 3D
W hen you create a scene, it is in 2D mode by default. This means layers are locked at the same position on thez-axis and can only be rotated on the z-axis. This is to avoid incumbering your w orkflow w ith 3D
functionalities that are not needed.
You can easily convert a 2D scene to 3D, and back and forth. In a 3D scene, you can move layers on the z-axis
and rotate them in any direction. You can also rotate the camera in any direction and make it move across thedepth of the stage. Likew ise, you can rotate the Stage view in any angle and navigate the stage in its depth,
allow ing you to look at it from various points of view .

NOTE
You can convert a scene to 3D, but not a single panel. W hen sw itching to 3D mode, the mode is
only applied to the current scene, not the entire project.

How to enable the 3D option
1. In the Thumbnails or Timeline view , select the scene you w ant to convert to 3D.
2. Do one of the follow ing:l

In the Storyboard toolbar, click the

Enable 3D button.

l

Select Storyboard > Enable 3D for Current Scene.

Resetting a Scene to 2D
You can reset a 3D scene back to 2D. W hen you do this, the follow ing changes are made to your scene:lImported 3D models are removed.

l

3D camera movements are converted to 2D camera movements. Camera movements on the z-axis w ill
be converted to 2D camera zoom-ins and zoom-outs, but 3D rotations w ill be ignored.

l

3D transformations on layers are converted to 2D transformations. Layers that have been moved on thez-axis w ill be scaled up or dow n to preserve their apparent proportions, but 3D rotations w ill beignored.

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How to reset a scene to 2D
1. Do one of the follow ing:l

In the Storyboard toolbar, click the

Reset Scene to 2D button.

l

Select Storyboard > Reset Scene to 2D.

Viewing Objects from the Top and SideW hen w orking in 3D, you can use the Stage view to look at your stage from any point of view and any angle,
allow ing you to see how objects are positioned in space, and you can use the Camera view to look at yourstage from the point of view of the camera. How ever, you may often need to have precise control over how
objects and layers are positioned on the z-axis.
The Top and Side view s allow you to view the stage from its top and from its side, respectively. Because theseview s do not apply perspective to the stage, they can be used to position elements w ith more precision. Using
the Side view , you can view and position layers and objects on the front-back (z) axis , as w ell as on the northsouth (y) axis. Using the Top view , you can view and position layers and objects on the front-back (z) as w ellas the east-w est (x) axis. Hence, both view s combined can help you position objects on the z-axis w ithout
losing sight of their position on the other axes.

The Top and Side view s display 2D layers as thin segments, as if you w ere looking at sheets of paper from theside. You can manually select and manipulate 2D layers right from these view s.

How to display the Top or Side viewslIn the top-right corner of any view , click on the

Add View button and select Side View or Top

View.
l

From the top menu, select W indows > Side View or Top View.

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Chapter 15: How to W ork in 3D

Positioning 2D Elements in 3D SpaceIn a 3D scene, draw ing layers can be manipulated like 3D objects. You can position them closer to or further
aw ay from the camera, allow ing you to create a multiplane effect. You can also rotate them in any direction,
allow ing you to make pseudo-3D constructions such as open-faced rooms.

How to position a 2D element in 3D space
1. In the Tools toolbar, selectLayer Transform button.

2. In the Stage view , select the element you w ant to reposition.
A 3D transformation manipulator appears over the layer in the Stage, Camera, Top and Side view s.

3. This 3D manipulator has a blue arrow that you can click and drag to move the layer on the z-axis.
How ever, since this blue arrow is directly facing the Stage view , you cannot click and drag it.
Instead, you must take one of the follow ing approaches:l

Click and drag the blue arrow in the Top View or Side View. If you drag the layer closer tothe tip of the camera cone, it w ill move closer to the camera and appear bigger. If you drag it
aw ay from the tip of the camera cone, it w ill be further back and appear smaller.

108

Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guidel

Rotate the point of view of the Stage view by holding Ctrl + Shift (W indow s) or Shift + ⌘(macOS), then clicking and dragging the view . W hen the Stage view is in any angle but thedefault one, you w ill be able to click and drag the blue arrow and move the layer across thez-axis.

As you drag the element around in 3D space, the position of the element w ill also update in theother view s.

Importing 3D Models
You can integrate 3D models to your project by importing them to your library, then dragging and droppingthem into your panels w here needed. Each Storyboard Pro project has its ow n 3D Models library. Since each
instance of the model is sourced from your project's library, Storyboard Pro does not have to store a copy ofyour model for each panel that uses it.
Storyboard Pro supports the follow ing types of 3D models:109

Chapter 15: How to W ork in 3DlFilmbox (.fbx)l

3DS Max (.3ds)l

W avefront OBJ (.obj)lAllembic (.abc)lCollada (.dae)

NOTE
It is recommended to use the Filmbox (.fbx) format, as it can be packaged w ith textures embeddedin the model.

How to import a 3D object into the Library
1. In the Library view , right-click on the 3D Models library folder, then select Import Files.
2. In the file brow ser, locate and select your 3D model, then click on Open.
The follow ing prompt appears.

If you w ant, you can choose to import your model in its original format. Converting it to FBX w ill
how ever make sure its textures are consolidated w ith the model in your project.
3. Click on OK.
The selected model appears in the 3D Models folder of the Library view .
4. Drag and drop the 3D model from the Library view to the Stage or Camera view :lTo insert it betw een tw o specific layers, drop it betw een those layers in the Layer panel ofthe Stage or Camera view .

l

If you w ant to insert it over all the other layers, you can drop it directly in the Stage or
Camera view .

The 3D model is inserted into your panel, in its original size, in the centre of the stage. A layer forthe 3D model is added to the layer list.

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Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

NOTE
If you delete a 3D model from the library, every instance of that model in the project w ill bedeleted.

Manipulating 3D Objects
If you select a 3D model w ith the Layer Transform

tool, a 3D transformation manipulator w ill appear overit in the Stage, Camera, Top and Side view s. The transformation manipulator for 3D models is a cube w ith
controls w ithin it to move, rotate and scale the model on any of the three axes.
A 3D model that has just been imported into a panel w ill be facing the camera. Consequently, the cube of its
3D manipulator w ill also be facing the camera, making it look like a square. At this angle, it w ill not allow you
to move or scale the model on the z-axis. To w ork around this, you must either rotate the Stage view , use theTop or Side view s, or rotate the model itself.

How to rotate the Stage view in 3D
1. Do one of the follow ing:l

In the Tools toolbar, double-click on the Hand

tool and select the 3D NavigationlPress and hold Ctrl + Shift (W indow s) or Shift + ⌘ (macOS).

2. Click and drag the inside of Stage view to rotate it in all directions.

111

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Chapter 15: How to W ork in 3D

How to manipulate a 3D object
1. In the Tools toolbar, select theLayer Transform tool.

2. Select the 3D model you w ant to manipulate.
3. In the Stage view , Camera view , Top view or Side view , do one of the follow ing:l

To translate the model on the x- axis, click ad drag the red arrow.

l

To translate the model on the y- axis, click and drag the green arrow.

l

To translate the model on the z- axis, click and drag the blue arrow.

l

To translate the model laterally relative to your point of view , click and drag on its
geometry.

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Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guidel

To rotate the model on the x- axis, click and drag the red circle.

l

To rotate the model on the y- axis, click and drag the green circle.

l

To rotate the model on the z- axis, click and drag the blue circle.

l

To rotate the model in any direction, click and drag on its outer circle.

l

To scale the model on the x- axis, click and drag on the red square dot.

l

To scale the model on the y- axis, click and drag on the green square dot.

l

To scale the model on the z- axis, click and drag on the blue square dot.

l

To scale the model on all axes, click and drag on any vertex of the cube.

TIP
If you need to rotate or scale the 3D model from a specific pivot point, you can move thepivot point of the 3D model by clicking and dragging thepivot in the middle of themanipulator. The manipulator and its pivot w ill move, but not the model.

Previewing 3D Scenes
In Storyboard Pro, the Stage view is the default view in w hich to draw and manipulate objects. How ever,w hen w orking in 3D, it has one pitfall: W hen you pan, rotate, zoom into or zoom out of the stage view , you arechanging the point of view from w hich you are looking at the stage. This means that the apparent position andsize of elements may not be representative of w hat w ill appear in your storyboard or animatic.
If you w ant to see a 3D scene exactly as it w ill look in your storyboard, you must use the Camera view . The
Camera view alw ays displays the stage from the point of view of the camera, even if you pan, rotate or zoom it.
Therefore, you should alw ays preview your scene from the Camera view if you make changes to the positionof the Camera or of 3D objects, to make sure the composition of the scene is as expected.

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Chapter 15: How to W ork in 3D

How to add the Camera view to your workspace.
1. Do one of the follow ing:l

In the top-right corner of the Stage view , click on the
Camera View.

l

In the top menu, select W indows > Camera View.

114

Add View button, then selectStoryboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

115

Chapter 16: How to Create and Import Templates

Chapter 16: How to Create and Import Templates
A template is a copy you make of one or several layers, or of one or several panels, into a library. Once you
have created a template, you can re-import it as many times as you need, either in the same project or in adifferent project.

NOTE
W hen you create a template, it is not linked to the original project. A copy of the assets are created
for the template, and you can modify the original project w ithout affecting your template. Likew ise,w hen you import a template into your project, it is copied into your project. Making changes to thetemplate w ill not affect its imported copies, and you can make changes to the imported assets
w ithout affecting the template.

Creating Layer Templates
You can create a template of one or several layers from the Layer panel in the Stage or Camera view .

How to create a template from one or several layers using the Stage or Camera view
1. In the Library view , select a folder in w hich you w ant to store your template.
2. In the Layer panel of the Stage or Camera view , select one or several layers. To select several
layers, do one of the follow ing:l

W hile holding Shift, click on the first layer you w ant to add to your selection, then on the lastlayer you w ant to add to your selection. All layers in-betw een w ill be part of the selection,
inclusively.

l

W hile holding Ctrl (W indow s) or ⌘ (macOS), click on each layer you w ant to add to yourselection.

3. Drag and drop the selection into the right pane of the Library view .

4. In the Rename dialog box, enter the name for your new template.

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Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

NOTE
You can also rename a template after it is created by right-clicking on it and selecting
Rename.

Importing Layer Templates
You can import a layer template into a panel using the Stage or Camera view .

How to import a template's layers into a panel
1. In the Thumbnails or Timeline view , select the panel in w hich you w ant to insert the template.
2. In the Library view , select the template you w ant to import.
3. Drag and drop the template into the Stage or Camera view :lTo insert it betw een tw o specific layers, drop it betw een those layers in the Layer panel ofthe Stage or Camera view .

l

If you w ant to insert it over all the other layers, you can drop it directly into the Stage or
Camera view .

Creating Panel Templates
You can create a template of one or several panels using the Thumbnails or Timeline view .

How to create a template of one or several panels using the Thumbnails view
1. In the Library view , select a folder in w hich you w ant to store your template.
2. In the Thumbnails view , select one or several panels. To select several panels, do one of thefollow ing:l

W hile holding Ctrl (W indow s) or ⌘ (macOS), click on each panel you w ant to add to yourselection.

117

Chapter 16: How to Create and Import TemplateslW hile holding Shift, click on the first panel you w ant to add to your selection, then on thelast panel you w ant to add to your selection. Both panels you clicked on and every panel inbetw een w ill be added to the selection.

3. Click and drag on the drag and drop handle

of one of the selected panels, then drop the selection

into the right pane of the Library view .

4. In the Rename dialog box, rename the new template.

NOTE
You can also rename a template after it is created by right-clicking on it and selecting
Rename.

How to create a template of one or several panels using the Timeline view
1. In the Library view , select a folder in w hich you w ant to store your template.
2. In the Timeline view , select one or several panels. To select several panels, do one of the follow ing:l

W hile holding Ctrl (W indow s) or ⌘ (macOS), click on each panel you w ant to add to yourselection.

l

W hile holding Shift, click on the first panel you w ant to add to your selection, then on thelast panel you w ant to add to your selection. Both panels you clicked on and every panel inbetw een w ill be added to the selection.

3. Drag and drop the selected panels into the right pane of the Library view .

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Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

4. In the Rename dialog box, enter the name for your new template.

NOTE
You can also rename a template after it is created by right-clicking on it and selecting
Rename.

Importing Panel Templates
You can import a panel template into the Thumbnails or Timeline view .

How to insert a panel template between two panels in the Thumbnails view
1. In the Library view , select the template you w ant to import.
2. Drag and drop the selected template into the Thumbnails view , betw een the tw o panels w here you
w ant it to be inserted.

119Chapter 16: How to Create and Import Templates

NOTE
If you are inserting the template betw een tw o scenes, you are able to choose w hether thepanel w ill beattached to the previous scene or the next scene, or w hether it w ill be inserted
into its ow n scene. This w ill depend on how close to either scene or to the gap betw een them
you drop the template. As you move the panel around in the gap, a red line w ill indicate w here
the panel w ill end up.

How to insert a panel template between two panels in the Timeline view
1. In the Library view , select the template you w ant to import.
2. Drag the selected template into the Timeline view , betw een the tw o panels w here you w ant it to
be inserted.

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NOTE
If you are inserting the template betw een tw o scenes, you are able to choose w hether thepanel w ill be attached to the previous scene or the next scene, or w hether it w ill be inserted
into its ow n scene. This w ill depend on how close to either scene you drop the template. As
you move the panel around the seam betw een the scenes, a green bracket w ill indicate w here
the panel w ill end up.

121Chapter 17: How to Export your Project

Chapter 17: How to Export your ProjectOnce you have finished your storyboard or animatic, you can export it to take it to the next stage of yourproduction.
If you look in the File > Export menu in the top menu, you w ill see that there are many w ays of exporting yourproject. This chapter w ill introduce you to three commonly used types of export:l

PDF: Exporting your storyboard as Portable Document File (.pdf) creates a document containing a
traditional-style animation storyboard, presenting each panels in their chronological order, w ith theirscene and panel numbers as w ell as their captions. In this format, you can print it or share it digitally,
and it can be used as reference or as pitching material.

lMovie: Exporting your animatic as a movie allow s you to share it w ith project collaborators as w ell as toimport it into third party softw are.

l

Harmony: You can export each scene in your animatic into separate Toon Boom Harmony scenes, w ith
the panels inserted into the scenes so they can be used as references to create the animation. If you
intend to create your animation in Storyboard Pro, this allow s you to quickly take the production fromthe storyboarding stage to animation.

Exporting a PDF
Exporting a PDF w ill create a traditional animation storyboard displaying the panels along w ith their scene
and panel number and their captions.

NOTE
View ing a PDF file requires a PDF reader, such as Adobe Reader, w hich you can dow nload fromthe follow ing page: https://get.adobe.com/reader/

How to export a PDF
1. In the top menu, select File > Export > PDF.
The Export to PDF dialog box opens.

122Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

2. In the Destination Path section, click theBrow se button.

3. In the Save dialog, brow se to the location in w hich you w ant to export your PDF document. In theFile name field, type in the desired name for the document and click on Save.
4. In the PDF Export Parameters section, select a layout for the PDF file.
5. In the Export Range section, select w hether you w ant to export the entire project, or only specificparts of it:lAll: Exports the entire storyboard.

lSelected Scenes: Select this option to export a specific selection of scenes. Then, click on
the Select button to open the Scenes Picker dialog box, in w hich you can:lType the number of a sequence or of a scene in the Sequence or Scene fields in theFilter section, to only show matching sequences or matching scenes in the list.

lClick and drag to select a range of scenes.

lHold the Ctrl key and click on each scene you w ant to add to your selection.

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Chapter 17: How to Export your ProjectlHold the Shift key, then click on the first scene and the last scene you w ant to add toyour selection, to select every scene betw een those tw o scenes inclusively.

l

If your project has sequences, click on a sequence to select every scene in thatsequence.

l

Current Scene: Exports only the currently selected scene.

lCurrent Panel: Exports only the currently selected panel.

lTracked Panels:Exports panels on w hich tracking changes is enabled.

6. If you w ant to view the storyboard after it is exported, check the Open document after export
option.
7. Click on Export button.

Exporting a Movie
Once you have created your storyboard and animatic, you can export it as a movie file to share it w ith project
collaborators or import it in third party softw are. You can export your animatic as a video file w ith audio, or as asequence of image files, the latter w hich can be assembled in Harmony or in a third party softw are.

How to export a movie
1. In the top menu, select File > Export > Movie.
The Export to Movie dialog box opens.

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2. In the Destination Path section, click theBrow se button and choose a folder in w hich to savethe exported files.
3. In the File Pattern field, type in a prefix for the exported files if you plan to export an image
sequence.
4. In the Export Movie Format section, configure the follow ing options:a. In the Movie Format drop-dow n, select an export format:lQuickTime ProRes Movie (*.mov): The Apple QuickTime format. This is the default
export format and is recommended for its portability, and also because it allow s you
to choose among several video codecs.

125Chapter 17: How to Export your Project

NOTES
l

On W indow s, Apple QuickTime must be installed to allow Storyboard
Pro to export QuickTime movies. You can configure the export of
QuickTime movies to use any codec that is compatible w ith QuickTime,
including H.264, MPEG-4 and Animation.

l

On macOS, Storyboard Pro uses Apple AVFoundation to export
QuickTime movies, w hich allow s you to export using codecs such as
H.264, Apple ProRes 422 and Apple ProRes 4444, among others.

l

If you are looking to export a QuickTime movie w ith transparency, besure to choose a codec that supports encoding w ith an alpha channel.

l

H.264/MPEG- 4 (*.mov) : A simple movie format that uses the H.264 codec, w hich is
supported by most w eb brow sers.

NOTES
l

Using this format does not require additional softw are. How ever, if
this is the first time you export a movie in H.264/MPEG-4 format, you
w ill be prompted to dow nload the OpenH264 library from Cisco.
Simply click Yes w hen prompted, and Storyboard Pro w ill
automatically dow nload the library, then export the movie.

lThere are no encoding options for this format.

lThis format supports resolutions of up to 4096×2304. Each dimension
must be a multiple of 16 pixels.

l

Audio exported in this format is encoded in PCM 16-bit stereo, 22.05
kHz.

l

W indows Media Video (*.wmv): The native format for W indow s Media Player.

NOTES
l

W indow s Media Video (.wmv) files can only be exported on W indow s.

lVideo players and editors on non-W indow s systems can generally notopen W indow s Media Video (.wmv) files.

b. The Transparent Background option is only available for QuickTime Movie (.mov), Targa(.tga) and Portable Netw ork Graphic (.png) formats. Check this box if you w ant to export
your movie or image sequence w ith a transparent background.

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Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guidec. In the Resolution drop-dow n, select w hether you w ant the exported movie to be in FullSize, Half Size or Quarter Size, relative to the resolution of your project. It is recommended
to export your animatic in full size unless you w ant to quickly export a test video.
d. In the Colour Space drop-dow n menu, select a colour space to use, or stay w ith the default
Project W orking Colour Space.
If you plan to create an export for use in a different softw are, you may w ant to match colour
spaces to keep all your colours consistent. The default setting is the current Storyboard Pro
project colour space, w hich w as selected on creation of the project.
e. In the One Clip drop-dow n, select how you w ant your video clips to be separated:l

Per Scene: Create one movie file for each scene in your project.

l

Per Sequence: Create one movie file for each sequence in your project, if any.

l

Per Project: Export your w hole animatic into a single video file.

5. In the Export Range section, select w hether you w ant to export the entire project, or only specificparts of it:lAll: Exports the entire storyboard.

lSelected Scenes: Select this option to export a specific selection of scenes. Then, click on
the Select button to open the Scenes Picker dialog box, in w hich you can:lType the number of a sequence or of a scene in the Sequence or Scene fields in theFilter section, to only show matching sequences or matching scenes in the list.

lClick and drag to select a range of scenes.

lHold the Ctrl key and click on each scene you w ant to add to your selection.

lHold the Shift key, then click on the first scene and the last scene you w ant to add toyour selection, to select every scene betw een those tw o scenes inclusively.

l

If your project has sequences, click on a sequence to select every scene in thatsequence.

l

Current Scene: Exports only the currently selected scene.

lCurrent Panel: Exports only the currently selected panel.

lTracked Panels:Exports panels on w hich tracking changes is enabled.

6. If you w ant to automatically play the video or view the exported files once the export is done, checkthe Open document/folder after export option.
7. Click on the Export button.

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Chapter 17: How to Export your Project

Exporting to Harmony
Storyboard Pro can automatically export each scene in your project into a scene that can be opened inHarmony, w here you can use the animatic to create and time your animation. The resulting Harmony scenes
w ill be the same length as the scenes in your Storyboard Pro project, they w ill contain each of their panels sothat you may animate over them, and they w ill contain their respective part of the animatic's soundtrack.

How to export Harmony scenes
1. In the top menu, select File > Export > Export to Harmony.
The Export to Harmony dialog box opens.

2. In the Destination Path section, click theBrow se button and choose a folder in w hich to savethe exported files.
3. In the File Pattern field, type in a prefix for the exported files if you plan to export an image
sequence.

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Storyboard Pro 22 Getting Started Guide

4. In the Format drop-dow n, select one of the follow ing options:lHarmony Offline: This w ill create scenes that can be opened in Harmony Stand Alone.

lHarmony Database: This w ill create a package of scenes that can be imported into a
Harmony Server database.

5. Select one of the follow ing export types, depending on w hat you prefer to w ork w ith.
lRendered Animatic: Renders the animatic into a sequence of bitmap images that areassembled into the exported Harmony scenes. This ensures that the content of youranimatic is accurately rendered in Harmony, especially if you intend to use an older version.

lOriginal Scene: Exports the animatic directly into Harmony scenes w ithout rendering it. This
preserves the layers, draw ings, 3D objects, images, videos and camera movements so thatthey can be used in Harmony.

6. In the Export Range section, select w hether you w ant to export the entire project, or only specificparts of it:
7. If you w ant to view the exported files once the export is done, check the Open document/folder
after export checkbox.
8. Click on Export.

129